CATS.

The Lion is the _king of cats_; though there are some who think that the

Tiger has a better claim to the _throne_. In point of size and

strength, there is not much difference between these two animals. The

lion _appears_ larger, on account of his shaggy mane; but specimens of

the tiger have been taken whose measurement was equal to that of the

largest lion. Otherwise, the tiger is decidedly superior in courage, in

address, and in beauty; in fact, the royal tiger is one of the most

beautiful of animals; while the lion, notwithstanding the great fame he

enjoys, is among the very ugliest of brutes.

These two powerful creatures often meet in the jungles of India, and try

their strength in single combat. It is not decided which is superior in

prowess, since victory is sometimes on one side and sometimes on the

other. No doubt this depends on the individuals who may engage, for

lions are not all alike, nor tigers neither. Both differ in strength

and courage, just as men do; and this difference is caused by a variety

of circumstances--such as age, size, season of the year, nature of the

country and climate, and many like contingencies.

Remember that the lion is found both in Asia and Africa, and nowhere

else. He inhabits the whole of Africa, from the Cape to the shores of

the Mediterranean, and there are three well-marked varieties on that

continent. In Asia he is only found in its southern part--that is, in

the tropical and sub-tropical regions; and there are also two or three

varieties of the Asiatic lion.

With regard to the tiger, he is altogether an Asiatic. There are no

tigers in Europe, Africa, and America--of course we mean in their wild

state; and the stories of tiger-hunts in Africa and America, frequently

to be met with in books and newspapers, are the narratives of mere

ignorant travellers, who confound the royal tiger with several species

of spotted cats--of which we shall presently speak. We may add that the

tiger, although exclusively Asiatic, is not exclusively tropical in his

haunts. Tigers are more abundant in the hot jungles of India and some

of the larger islands of the Indian Ocean than elsewhere; but they have

also been observed far to the north of the Himalayan chain on the great

_steppes_ that extend almost to the confines of Siberia.

To continue the monarchical analogy; there are four cats that may be

called the princes of the family. These are the _Jaguar_, the

_Leopard_, the _Panther_, and the _Hunting-leopard_ or _Cheetah_. The

first of these is exclusively American; the other three, African and

Asiatic. They are all four what are termed spotted cats; that is,

having black markings on a buff or yellowish ground. I need not add

that they are all beautiful creatures. A superficial observer would

easily mistake the one for the other; and in common phrase, they are

indifferently termed leopards, panthers, and even tigers; but the

naturalist, and even the _furrier_ knows that they are four distinct

species.

I shall endeavour to point out as briefly as possible some marks that

will enable _you_ to distinguish them. In the spots we find a tolerably

good criterion of the species. Those upon the body of the jaguar are

not spots, but rather what may be termed rosettes. So, too, the black

markings of the leopard and panther are rosettes; that is, irregular

black rings enclosing an open space of the yellow ground. On the

contrary, the spots upon the hunting-leopard are real spots, of a

uniform black; and, consequently, this animal is easily distinguished

from the other three. He differs from them also in shape. He is longer

in the legs, stands more upright upon them, and can run more swiftly

than any of the cat tribe. In fact, he has a tendency towards the

nature and habits of the dog, and might be appropriately termed the

cat-dog, or the dog-cat, whichever you please. It is on account of his

canine qualities that he is sometimes trained to the chase: hence his

specific name of the hunting-leopard. He inhabits both Asia and Africa.

But how are the jaguar, leopard, and panther to be distinguished from

one another? The jaguar easily enough from the other two. His rosettes

have a black point in the centre, which is wanting in the rings of the

panther and leopard. Besides, the jaguar is a larger and more powerful

animal. Humboldt and others have observed specimens of the jaguar

nearly equal in dimensions to those of the royal tiger himself; and his

feats of fierce prowess, in the forests of Spanish America, are scarce

eclipsed by those of his congener in the jungles of India. Human beings

are frequently his victims, and settlements have been abandoned on

account of the dangerous proximity of the jaguars. His range in America

is pretty nearly co-terminal with the Spanish territories--including, of

course, Brazil and Guiana, and excluding the country of Patagonia, where

a smaller species takes his place. In all these countries he is

misnamed tiger (_tigre_)--hence the anomalous stories to which we have

alluded. We may add that there is a _black_ jaguar in tropical America,

just as there is a _black_ panther in Asia. In neither case is it a

different species: only a variety as regards colour. In all other

respects the black and yellow kinds are alike. Even on the black ones

the spots are observable in a certain light, being of a deeper hue than

the general ground colour of the skin.

Thus, then, it is easy to distinguish a cheetah from a jaguar, or either

from a leopard or panther; but with regard to these last two, the

distinction is more difficult. In fact, so much are they alike, that

the two species are confounded even by naturalists; and it is yet an

undecided point which is the leopard, and which the panther! That there

are two distinct species is certain. The London furrier knows that

there are two kinds of skins, which he distinguishes mainly by the feel;

but the learned zoologist, Temminck, has pointed out a difference in the

anatomical structure. Both animals are natives of Africa, and both were

supposed to exist in Asia; but it is doubtful whether that known as the

leopard extends beyond the limits of the African continent. The panther

is that one which is a little heavier in the body, more cat-like in

shape, and of a deeper yellow in the ground colour; but, perhaps, the

truest distinction is found in the tail, which is longer in the panther

than in the leopard, and consists of a greater number of vertebrae.

The panther is a well-known animal in India and the Asiatic islands;

and, as already stated, there is a dark-skinned variety, commonly known

as the Black Panther of Java.

Taking the cat family according to size, the next that deserves mention

is the Couguar, or Puma. This is the panther of the Anglo-Americans,

and the lion (_leon_) of the Mexicans and South Americans. His colour

is a uniform tawny red, or calf colour; and he is inferior to the jaguar

in size, strength, and courage. Notwithstanding, he is a formidable

animal, and has been known to attack and destroy the larger mammalia.

When wounded, or at bay, he will also defend himself against a human

enemy; and there have been instances of hunters, both white and Indian,

having succumbed to his strength. His range extends over nearly the

whole continent of America; but he more particularly affects the deep

shadow of the forests; and, like the jaguar, he is a tree-climber. He

has no claim to the title of lion, except from some resemblance in

colour; and no doubt it was this that led to his misnomer among the

early settlers of Spanish America.

The Ounce comes next. Of all the large cats this is the least known,

either to naturalists or hunters. We only know that such a species

exists; that it is a native of Western Asia (Persia, and perhaps

Arabia); that it is an animal nearly as large as the leopard or panther,

but of stouter build and clumsier shape; that it is covered with long

woolly hair of a pale-yellow colour, and spotted, not so distinctly as

the true leopards, from which it is easily distinguished, both by its

form and colour. The name Ounce is from Buffon; but this specific

appellation is also applied to the jaguar of America, the Jaguarundi, or

lesser jaguar of Paraguay, and even to the Ocelot.

The _Rimau-dahan_ is one of the most beautiful species of cats. It is

of a yellowish ground colour, not spotted like the leopard, but marked

with broad black bands and patches; in other words, clouded. It is not

so large as either of the species described. It is a tree-climber, and

lies in wait for its prey in the forks of the lower limbs, where it also

goes to sleep. From this habit it derives its name, _Dalian_; which, in

the Sumatran language, signifies the fork of a tree.

Not unlike the _Rimau-dahan_, both in size and markings, is the Nepaul

cat: a species, as its name imports, found in Nepaul, in the mountain

forests.

The Serval is a spotted cat--black upon a pale-yellowish ground--and

considerably larger than the domestic species. It is a native of South

Africa; and its skin is prized among the Kaffirs, for making their fur

cloaks or _karosses_.

The Ocelot is about equal in size to the last-named, and equally prized

for its beautiful skin, which is clouded with an admixture of spots and

stripes upon a ground of yellowish-grey. It belongs to Spanish

America--more especially Mexico: and it is said to have been this animal

that is represented on the hieroglyphical paintings of the ancient

Aztecs. More probably its nobler congener, the jaguar, which is also

found in Mexico, is the animal that held this distinction in the land of

Anahuac.

In Central and South America there are a great many species of striped

and spotted cats, known generally as tiger cats. The Ocelot is one of

these; but there are also the Pampas cats, the Chati, the Jaguarundi,

the Margay, the False Margay, and many others.

Numerous species, too, exist in the forests of India; as also in the

great tropical islands of Java, Sumatra, Borneo, and the Philippines.

There is yet a section of the cat family to be described. These are the

lynxes, or cats with short tails and long ears--the latter erect, and at

the tips pointing inward, or towards each other.

Of the _Lynxes_ three species are found in North America. The largest

of these is the Canada lynx, which in point of size approaches the

smaller species of leopards. The colour of this animal is of a reddish

grey, with spots very indistinctly marked. Its fur is long, and its

skins form one of the principal articles of the Hudson's Bay trade.

The Canada lynx is not found so far south as the United States; but its

place is there occupied by the Bay lynx--a smaller species, and one very

similarly marked, except that the rufous tint on the back and sides of

the latter is deeper, and the spots more pronounced.

Still further south is a third species, only made known to naturalists

within the last few years. It inhabits Texas, and is hence called the

Texan lynx. It is of a darker red than either of the preceding; but in

other respects--size, shape, and habits--it is almost identical with the

Bay lynx. Both range to the Pacific.

Of the lynxes of the Old World, there is the common or European lynx,

which is still found in several European countries; the Caracal, a

native of Africa and part of Asia; the Booted lynx, also indigenous to

both continents; the Chaus, belonging to the country of the Mahrattas;

the Kattlo, a large species, of Northern Europe; the Nubian lynx, of

North Africa; and the Southern lynx, a native of Spain.

It may be added that there is scarce one of these species of which there

are not two or more varieties, known only to those who have made a study

of the Kingdom of Nature.