ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS. 
127 
retractile as in other cats. The dark line that passes 
down the cheek from the angle of the eye to the mouth 
gives the face a peculiar and supercilious appearance. 
The hunting leopard, as its name implies, is used in the 
chase, but by no amount of human training can one of these 
animals be made a proficient hunter, and consequently 
cheetahs reared in confinement are generally considered of 
no value. They must have the benefit of parental training 
to be adepts in coursing game. When taken to the field 
the cheetah is hooded and carried in a cart to which it is 
chained, and when the hunter comes within reach of a 
herd of antelopes the hood is removed, and no sooner 
does the cheetah see the game, then it cautiously makes 
for it, taking advantage of any inequalities in the ground 
to conceal itself from its quarry, but, when it has reached 
within killing distance, it suddenly springs forwards by 
five or six vigorous bounds, and strangles its prey. 
The hunter then runs up, cuts the throat of the antelope, 
and collecting the blood in a vessel out of which 
the cheetah is accustomed to eat, gives it the blood 
to drink, and while it is so engaged he again cleverly 
hoods it. 
Two varieties are recognised; one inhabiting Asia, 
which is the maned cheetah ; a second, without a mane, 
and confined to .Africa. 
The cheetah found in South Africa is distinguished by 
having wooly hair and unusually short hind legs. It is 
generally considered to be a distinct species, called Felts 
lanea . 
The visitor will now retrace his steps along the front 
of the Burdwan House to the small house immediately 
to the east of the lion’s den, and known as 
