has unquestionably the most beautiful and at the same time the most
elegantly variegated robe; that of the Leopard himself does not approach
it in liveliness of colour or regularity of design.” That this estimate
is by no means exaggerated will readily be allowed by all who have
had an opportunity of seeing this truly beautiful creature, which may
unquestionably be regarded as the _beau ideal_ of a cat. Nearly equal
in size to the Lynx of Europe, but shorter in its proportions and more
graceful in its form, it holds, as it were, a middle station between
the Leopard and the domestic cat. Its body, when full grown, is nearly
three feet in length, and its tail rather more than one; while its medium
height may be reckoned at about eighteen inches. The ground colour of
its fur is gray mingled with a slight tinge of fawn; and on this it is
elegantly marked with numerous longitudinal bands, the dorsal one being
continuous and entirely black, and the lateral, to the number of six or
seven on each side, consisting for the most part of a series of elongated
spots with black margins, sometimes completely distinct, and sometimes
running together. The centre of each of these spots offers a deeper tinge
of fawn than the ground colour external to them; and this deeper tinge
is also conspicuous on the upper part of the head and neck, and on the
outside of the limbs, all of which parts are irregularly marked with
full black lines and spots of various sizes. From the top of the head,
between the ears, there pass backwards, towards the shoulders, two, or
more frequently four, uninterrupted diverging bands, which are full black
anteriorly, but generally bifurcate posteriorly and enclose a narrow
fawn-coloured space within a black margin; between these there is a
single longitudinal somewhat interrupted narrow black line, occupying the
centre of the neck above. The ears are short and rounded, and externally
margined with black, surrounding a large central whitish spot. The under
parts of the body are whitish, spotted with black, and the tail, which is
of the same ground colour with the body, is also covered with blackish
spots.
The description above given is chiefly derived from the comparison of
two living specimens, the one existing in the Menagerie of the Tower,
the other in that of the Zoological Society, at their gardens in the
Regent’s Park. There is one circumstance, however, of which it may be
necessary to offer some explanation. We have stated the length of the
tail at more than a foot; and in all the known Ocelots, as well as in
all the species (of which there are several) that approach it in form
and colouring, the proportionate length of the tail is at least equal to
that which we have given as its average measurement. That of the Tower
specimen, however, does not exceed six or seven inches; its extremity is
completely overgrown with hair, and there is no appearance of a cicatrix.
Still its equality throughout, and its abrupt stumpiness, if we may so
express ourselves, induce the belief that this abbreviation of the tail
is purely accidental; and we feel by no means inclined to regard the
specimen before us as belonging to a new species, to be distinguished by
the excessive shortness of that appendage, by the unusually pale colour
of its markings, and by some slight peculiarities in the mode of their
arrangement, which varies indeed in every individual that we have seen.
The animal in question, accurately represented in the portrait which is
prefixed to the present article, was presented by the late Sir Ralph
Woodford, governor of Trinidad, about six months since, under the name
of the Peruvian Tiger; from which denomination we may presume that it
was originally brought from that part of the continent of America. The
species, however, is very widely spread, being found as well in Mexico,
from the language of which country it derives its name, as in Paraguay.
Its habits are similar to those of the other cats, keeping itself close
in the depths of the forests during the day, and prowling abroad at
night in search of victims, which it finds in the smaller quadrupeds
and birds. In the chase of the latter it is particularly successful,
pursuing them even to their nests amid the trees, which it climbs with
the greatest agility. It is easily tamed, but seldom loses all trace
of its natural ferocity. D’Azara, however, speaks of one which was so
completely domiciliated as to be left at perfect liberty; it was strongly
attached to its master, and never attempted to make its escape. The
specimen in the Tower, which is a male, is perfectly good tempered,
exceedingly fond of play, and has, in fact, much of the character and
manners of the domestic cat. Its food consists principally of rabbits and
of birds, the latter of which it plucks with the greatest dexterity, and
always commences its meal with their heads, of which it appears to be
particularly fond. It does not eat with the same ravenous avidity which
characterizes nearly all the animals of his tribe.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
THE CARACAL.
_FELIS CARACAL._ LINN.
The Caracal, which is unquestionably identical with the Lynx of the
Ancients, but whose original name has been, in modern times, usurped
by an animal of northern origin, utterly unknown to the Greeks, and
distinguished by the Romans by a totally different appellation, is
a native of most of the warmer climates of the Old World, infesting
probably as large an extent of the surface of the earth as the Lion or
the Leopard themselves. Throughout the whole of Africa, from Egypt and
Barbary to the extremity of Caffraria, and in the southern half of Asia,
at least as far eastwards as the Ganges, he follows, as it were, in the
footsteps of those larger and more formidable beasts. So uniformly
indeed has he been met with in the train of the Lion, that many early
writers, determined to find a reason for every thing, laid it down as
a settled fact that the Caracal, equally with the Jackal, although in
a different manner, was the Lion’s purveyor; that he accompanied that
terrible animal in the pursuit of his prey; pointed it out to him by
means of his more delicate nostril and piercing sight; and, when his
royal master had finished his meal, received a portion of the flesh in
reward for his good and loyal service. But the greater part of this
fanciful tale is now known to have had its origin only in the imagination
of men who had caught a glimpse of the real truth, and made up for the
want of accurate observation by the invention of a theory almost as
fabulous as the stories of the ancients, which attributed to the same
animal such wonderful powers of sight as to pierce even through stone
walls. He follows, it is true, in the traces of the Lion; but, far from
associating with him in the pursuit of game, he ventures not, any more
than the other beasts of the forest, to trust himself within reach of his
paw. His object is solely to satiate his appetite upon the remains of the
mangled carcases which the Lion may leave; consequently the latter might
with much greater truth and propriety be regarded as the purveyor of the
Caracal, who depends perhaps more for his subsistence upon the food thus
provided for him, than upon that which he can procure by the exercise of
his own powers or sagacity. He frequently, however, indulges his native
ferocity in petty ravages on the smaller and more timid quadrupeds, such
as hares and rabbits: birds also form a favourite object of his attacks,
and in pursuit of them he mounts the tallest trees with surprising
swiftness and agility. It is even said that his qualifications for the
chase are capable of cultivation; and it has been repeated by travellers,
from the days of the celebrated Marco Polo downwards, that the princes
of the East occasionally make use of his services in taking small game
in nearly the same manner as they employ the subject of the succeeding
article for the larger: but from all that we know of his disposition in a
state of captivity, this statement appears, to say the least, extremely
questionable.
In size the Caracal is somewhat larger than the Fox. The whole of the
upper surface of his body is of a deep and uniform brown, the hairs
being for the most part slightly tipped with gray; the under and inner
parts are nearly white; and the chin and lower lip, and two spots, one
on the inner side of and above the eye, and the other beneath its outer
angle, completely so. The neck and throat are of a lighter and brighter
brown than the rest of the fur. The ears, which are long and upright,
taper gradually to a fine tip, which is surmounted by a pencil of long
black hairs; they are black externally and whitish within. It is to the
striking character afforded by these organs that the animal is indebted
for his modern name of Caracal, corrupted from his Turkish appellation,
which, equally with that by which he is known in Persia, signifies
“black ear.” His whiskers are short, and take their origin from a series
of black lines which occupy the sides of the muzzle; at some distance
behind them, in front of the neck on each side, is a short and thick tuft
of lighter coloured hairs. The tail, which is eight or nine inches in
length, is of the same uniform colour with the body from its base to its
tip.
The specimen in the Tower, from which our engraving was made and our
description taken, is a native of Bengal, a locality from which these
animals have been so rarely brought to Europe, that it has been a
question among naturalists whether the Caracal of India and that of
Africa really belonged to the same species. There is, however, no
difference of any importance observable between the present animal and
those which have been brought from the latter continent. It is extremely
sulky, keeping constantly retired in one of the backward corners of
its cage, and swearing, as we express it in the common cat, almost
incessantly when conscious of being noticed. The Lynxes indeed appear,
at least when in captivity, to exercise this peculiar faculty of voice
to a much greater extent than any other species of the group. They are
remarkably irascible and mistrustful, and are seldom completely tamed.
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
THE CHETAH, OR HUNTING LEOPARD.
_FELIS JUBATA._ SCHREB.
Uniting to the system of dentition, the general habit and many of the
most striking peculiarities of the cats, some of the distinguishing
features and much of the intelligence, the teachableness, and the
fidelity of the dog, the Hunting Leopard forms a sort of connecting
link between two groups of animals, otherwise completely separated, and
exhibiting scarcely any other character in common than the carnivorous
propensities by which both are, in a greater or less degree, actuated
and inspired. Intermediate in size and shape between the leopard and the
hound, he is slenderer in his body, more elevated on his legs, and less
flattened on the fore part of his head than the former, while he is
deficient in the peculiarly graceful and lengthened form, both of head
and body, which characterize the latter. His tail is entirely that of a
cat; and his limbs, although more elongated than in any other species
of that group, seem better fitted for strong muscular exertion than
for active and long-continued speed. From these indications it may be
gathered that he approaches much more nearly to the feline than to the
canine group: we shall therefore follow the example of zoologists in
general, by referring him for the present and provisionally to the genus
Felis, and proceed to point out more particularly the characters by which
he is connected with, as well as those by which he is distinguished from,
the rest of that formidable and extensive tribe.
In the number and form of his teeth, in the asperity of his tongue, in
the conformation of his organs of sense, and in the number of his claws,
he accurately corresponds with the legitimate species of the genus Felis.
The principal character in which he differs from them consists in the
slight degree of retractility of these latter organs. Instead of being
withdrawn within sheaths appropriated for the purpose, as in the whole of
the cats properly so called, the claws of the Hunting Leopard are capable
of only a very limited retraction within the skin, and are consequently
exposed to the action of the ground on which they tread, their points and
edges being thus rendered liable to be blunted by the constant pressure
to which they are subjected, almost to the same extent as in the dogs.
The slightest consideration of the uses to which the claws are applied by
the whole of the feline tribe, in whom they are, in fact, in consequence
of their extreme power and sharpness, organs of offence if possible
more deadly and more destructive than the teeth, will teach us that the
modification which has just been described in so important a part of
their organization, must of necessity be accompanied by a corresponding
change in manners and habits; and that convenience alone, and the want of
analogous structure in any other animal, could justify us in continuing
to class the Chetah among the cats, from whom he differs in so essential
a particular.
In outward form, however, notwithstanding his more slender make, the
difference between them is by no means great. His head, although more
elevated and prominent in front, exhibits the same broad lateral
expansion, caused by the thick mass of muscle which acts so powerfully
upon the short and dilated jaws of the cats, and imparts to them that
tremendous force and effect for which they are so remarkable. His legs,
notwithstanding their increased length and slender proportions, retain
all the elastic springiness, by means of which the Leopard or the
Tiger are enabled to bound with so much vigour and velocity upon their
unsuspecting prey. His air and manners, too, are unquestionably those
of the cats; and his mode of colouring, which we shall next proceed to
describe, although exhibiting very peculiar and marked distinctions,
offers so close an analogy to that of the Jaguar and the Leopard, that,
were we to regard this character alone, it would be impossible to arrange
him in a different group from that which comprehends those beautifully
spotted, but ferocious, beasts. His fur, however, it must be remarked,
has little of the sleekness which characterizes those animals, but
exhibits, on the contrary, a peculiar crispness which is not to be found
in any other of the tribe.
His ground-colour is a bright yellowish fawn above, and nearly pure
white beneath, covered above and on the sides by innumerable closely
approximating spots, from half an inch to an inch in diameter, which are
intensely black, and do not, as in the Leopard and others of the spotted
cats, form roses with a lighter centre, but are full and complete. These
spots, which are wanting on the chest and under part of the body, are
larger on the back than on the head, sides, and limbs, where they are
more closely set: they are also spread along the tail, forming on the
greater part of its extent interrupted rings, which, however, become
continuous as they approach its extremity, the three or four last rings
surrounding it completely. The tip of the tail is white, as is also
the whole of its under surface, with the exception of the rings just
mentioned; it is equally covered with long hair throughout its entire
length, which is more than half that of the body. The outside of the
ears, which are short and rounded, is marked by a broad black spot at the
base, the tip, as also the inside, being whitish. The upper part of his
head is of a deeper tinge; and he has a strongly marked flexuous black
line, of about half an inch in breadth, extending from the inner angle of
the eye to the angle of the mouth. The extremity of the nose is black,
like that of the dog. The mane, from which he derives his scientific
name, is not very remarkable: it consists of a series of longer, crisper,
and more upright hairs, which extend along the back of the neck and the
anterior portion of the spine.
Such are the outward and physical characteristics of this beautiful
animal; in his moral and intellectual qualities he differs still more
widely from that compound of unteachableness, malice, and mistrust, which
is the necessary result of the low degree of intelligence possessed
by the remainder of the group of animals with which he is at present
associated. Of his habits in a state of nature we have no certain
information; but in his tamed and domesticated condition he has been
rendered, in some countries at least, auxiliary to man, by the successful
cultivation of his mental faculties, which have been trained into a
degree of subservience to the commands of his master, that can only
be surpassed by the superior sagacity of the hound. Chardin, Bernier,
Tavernier, and others of the older travellers had related that in several
parts of Asia it was customary to make use of a large spotted cat in the
pursuit of game, and that this animal was called Youze in Persia, and
Chetah in India; but the statements of these writers were so imperfect,
and the descriptions given by them so incomplete, that it was next to
impossible to recognise the particular species intended. We now, however,
know with certainty that the animal thus employed is the Felis jubata of
naturalists, which inhabits the greater part both of Asia and of Africa.
It is common in India and Sumatra, as well as in Persia; and is well
known both in Senegal and at the Cape of Good Hope; but the ingenuity
of the savage natives of the latter countries has not, so far as we
know, been exerted in rendering its services available in the chase in
the manner so successfully practised by the more refined and civilized
inhabitants of Persia and of Hindostan. In Senegal it is valued only on
account of its skin, which forms an important article in the commerce of
that colony; while at the Cape, where it is known to the Dutch settlers
by the misapplied name of Luipard (Leopard), it seems to be entirely
neglected even in a commercial point of view. In the neighbourhood of the
latter colony, it should be added, the animal appears from the testimony
of travellers to be of rare occurrence; and Professor Lichtenstein,
in particular, mentions an instance in which the skin of one was worn
by the chief of a horde of Caffres as a badge of peculiar dignity and
distinction.
But even in the East, where the qualities of the Chetah appear to be
best appreciated, and his faculties to be turned to most account, it
would seem that he is not employed in hunting by all classes of the
people indiscriminately; but, on the contrary, that he is reserved for
the especial amusement and gratification of the nobles and princes of
the land, rather than used for purposes of real and general advantage.
In this respect, and indeed in many others, as will be seen by the
following brief account of the mode in which the chase with the Hunting
Leopard is conducted, it bears a close resemblance to the ancient sport
of hawking, so prevalent throughout Europe in the days of feudal tyranny,
but scarcely practised at the present day except by the more splendid
slaves of Asiatic despotism. The animal or animals, for occasionally
several of them are employed at the same time, are carried to the field
in low chariots, on which they are kept chained and hooded, in order
to deprive them of the power and temptation to anticipate the word of
command by leaping forth before the appointed time. When they are thus
brought within view of a herd of antelopes, which generally consists
of five or six females and a male, they are unchained and their hoods
are removed, their keepers directing their attention to the prey, which,
as they do not hunt by smell, it is necessary that they should have
constantly in sight. When this is done, the wily animal does not at once
start forwards towards the object of his pursuit, but, seemingly aware
that he would have no chance of overtaking an antelope in the fleetness
of the race, in which the latter is beyond measure his superior, winds
cautiously along the ground, concealing himself as much as possible
from sight, and, when he has in this covert manner nearly reached the
unsuspecting herd, breaks forth upon them unawares, and after five or six
tremendous bounds, which he executes with almost incredible velocity,
darts at once upon his terrified victim, strangles him in an instant, and
takes his fill of blood. In the meanwhile the keeper quietly approaches
the scene of slaughter, caresses the successful animal, and throws to
him pieces of meat to amuse him and keep him quiet while he blinds him
with the hood and replaces him upon the chariot, to which he is again
attached by his chain. But if, as is not unfrequently the case, the herd
should have taken the alarm, and the Chetah should prove unsuccessful in
his attack, he never attempts to pursue them, but returns to his master
with a mortified and dejected air, to be again let slip at a fresh quarry
whenever a fit opportunity occurs.
The Chetah has been until of late years very imperfectly known in
Europe. Linnæus was entirely unacquainted with it, and Buffon described
it from the fur alone under the name of Guêpard, the appellation by
which its skin was distinguished in the commerce with Senegal, but
evidently without suspecting its identity with the Asiatic animal, the
trained habits of which, misled probably by the authority of Tavernier,
he erroneously attributed to his imaginary Ounce. Subsequent French
zoologists had rectified this error, and it was generally believed that
the tamed Leopard of Bernier, the Youze, the Guêpard, and Tavernier’s
Ounce, were one and the same animal; but it was not until a year or two
ago that the possession of a living specimen, brought from Senegal, in
the Menagerie of the Jardin du Roi, enabled M. F. Cuvier to ascertain
its characters with precision. The comparison of this African specimen
with the skins sent from India, and with the notes and drawings made in
that country by M. Duvaucel, to whom we are indebted for a vast deal of
interesting information relative to the zoology of the East of Asia, at
once put an end to all doubts of the identity of the two animals.
Several individuals have been brought alive to this country at various
times; but, notwithstanding the opportunities thus afforded, it does not
appear that English naturalists have paid any particular attention to the
study of their character and habits. In all probability the earliest that
arrived in Europe was one which was brought from India by Lord Pigot, and
which was figured by Pennant under the name of the Hunting Leopard. Three
others, found at the capture of Seringapatam among the rest of the state
paraphernalia of the fallen Sultan, came into the possession of General,
afterwards Lord, Harris, who, on his return to England, presented them
to his late Majesty, by whose command they were placed in the Tower.
They did not, however, long survive the effects of the passage and of
the change of climate, which latter has proved equally fatal to the
few specimens which have since been brought to this country for public
exhibition. They appear, indeed, to be exceedingly delicate in their
temperament, and to require considerable attention on the part of their
keeper. The pair now in the Tower, if two individuals of the same sex,
both of them being males, can be called a pair, were purchased by Mr.
Cops a few months since from the captain of a vessel trading to Senegal,
to whom they were brought by some of the natives when only a few weeks
old and no larger than an ordinary cat. They were the constant inmates of
his cabin, and soon became strongly attached to their master, never, as
they grew up, exhibiting the slightest symptom of that savage ferocity
to which all the larger cats are occasionally more or less prone, even
under the most favourable circumstances. Much of this peculiar meekness
of temper, which they still maintain, is doubtless owing to the very
early age at which they were made captive, as well as to the mild and
little stimulating nature of the food to which they have ever since been
accustomed. This consists chiefly of boiled meat and meal; and during the
winter season, in consequence of the delicacy of their habit, they are
supplied with hot mashes, gruel, &c. Their mode of feeding is very like
that of the dog.