With regard to the general habits of leopards, space permits only of reference to their remarkable partiality for the flesh of dogs, which is so strong as to render it difficult to keep these animals in leopard-infested districts. THE LYNX (_Felis (Lynx) lynx_) Whether the lynx is more keen of vision than other animals is more than problematical; but, nevertheless, it takes its name from the Greek word (_luké_) for light, and lynx-eyed has become a proverbial expression. Moreover, as if to set a seal of endorsement upon the proverb, the oldest and most renowned scientific society in Italy bears the title of _Regia Lynceorum Academia_ (the “Royal Academy of Lynxes”). Be all this as it may, the lynx is an aberrant and well-marked member of the _Felidæ_, distinguished, together with its immediate relatives, from other members of the cat tribe by its short, stumpy tail, the long tufts of hair at the tips of the ears, and the bushy whitish whiskers fringing the face, as well as by the large size of the feet, and a generally stout appearance, due to the thickness of the coat. The beautiful fur of the lynx, which commands a high price in the market, has also a character all its own, being long, soft, and silky, with a greyish or reddish tawny colour, and in most cases a number of more or less dark markings, which take the form of longitudinal streaks along the back, of flecks on the sides, and roundish spots on the limbs; the greater portion of the absurd apology for a tail, together with the backs and tufts of the ears, and a conspicuous streak on each side of the face, being black. Many lynx-skins are, however, more or less completely devoid of the dark markings; and it does not yet appear to be ascertained whether the difference in this respect is individual or seasonal. When the markings are fully developed, they so completely break up the outline of the body as to render the animal almost invisible at a short distance; this being noticeable even within the cramped confines of a cage. The lynx is the second and largest species of the cat tribe inhabiting northern Europe, where it is common in Scandinavia and Russia, while to the south it is found in mountainous districts as far as Spain. Eastwards it extends across Asia, from the Caucasus and northern Persia, to the northward of the Himalaya to the island of Saghalin. Its fossil remains prove that it was formerly a native of the British Isles. The Tibetan lynx, on account of its generally paler colour, has been separated as _F. lynx isabellina_, while the one from the Urals, Caucasus, and northern Persia is distinguished as _F. l. cervaria_. The Altai lynx, characterised by its unusually long coat, the, at least frequent, absence of spots, except on the limbs, and its extremely pale colouring, approximating in many parts to white, has likewise received a separate racial name, _F. l. wardi_. [Illustration]