ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 
113 
feet are specially adapted for this mode of attack. They 
have their toes furnished with strong, curved, retractile 
claws which, when not in use, are withdrawn by elastic 
ligaments within sheaths which prevent their sharp points 
being worn away by rubbing on the ground. When a cat 
strikes at its prey the claws are unsheathed by the action 
of flexor or bending muscles on the under surface of the 
foot, that can be exerted at will and which overcome the 
action of the restraining ligaments. The following species 
of the genus Felis are usually represented, namely, the 
Ocelot, the common Fishing-cat, the Leopard-cat, the 
common Wild Cat, and the Caracal or Indian Lynx. 
The Ocelot, Felispardalis , is one of the most handsome 
of the smaller Carnivora, and, like the Jaguar, is an Ameri¬ 
can animal. It is said to be very voracious and savage in 
its disposition, but it rarely attacks man. The keepers in 
this house, however, who have had the foolhardiness to enter 
the cage of this animal to clean it, instead of doing so from 
outside, have sometimes paid the penalty of their indiscre¬ 
tion, and on one occasion a keeper had his scalp nearly torn 
off. The Ocelot frequents trees, and generally drops on 
its prey as it passes beneath, and as its liking is more for 
blood than .flesh, it is very destructive to animal life, 
sucking the blood of its victim and leaving the carcass. 
The common Fishing-cat of India, Felis viverrina , is 
widely distributed, abounding chiefly in the southern and 
eastern portions of the country and extending into Assam 
and Burma. It is fond of moist situations and the banks 
of streams, and has the reputation of catching and eating 
fish, and of living on shell-fish as well as on small 
mammals and birds. 
The Leopard-cat, commonly known as Felis bengalensis y 
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