The Kinkajou uses its paws in a wonderfully hand-like manner, and employs both fore and hind feet to bring food to its mouth. It will also hold a piece of bread in one hand, and break off pieces from it with the other, and this in spite of the fact that it has no opposable thumb, and that its fingers are short and webbed nearly to the claws. For the rest, it is a pretty, innocent-looking little animal, with a body about a foot long, and a tail of some eighteen inches, covered with soft brown fur, and walking on the soles of its fore feet, while in the hind feet the heel is well raised from the ground. The skull is remarkable for its rounded form, and for the shortness of its facial portion: on a superficial examination it looks almost Cat-like. It feeds upon fruit, eggs, insects, birds, &c. It is found in Mexico, Guatemala, and in the great forests of Peru and North Brazil. THE CACOMIXLE.[159] The Cacomixle, Civet, or ring-tailed Cat, as it is indifferently called by the miners of the districts where it is found, is a puzzling little creature, which was, until quite recently, placed in the Civet family, and, in consequence, was looked upon as one of the chief difficulties in the way of explaining satisfactorily the present geographical distribution of animals, for all the other _Viverridæ_ are Old World forms. Its true place has, however, at last been assigned to it, and the anomaly is at an end: for, like all other members of the Racoon family, it is confined to America, where it occurs in California, Texas, and the higher regions of Mexico. [Illustration: SKULL OF CACOMIXLE.] The Cacomixle is about a yard long, two-fifths of this length being taken up by the tail. Its fur is brown, and its tail beautifully ringed. Its habits are entirely arboreal, and it makes a moss-lined nest in hollow trees. It has a curious habit of gnawing the wood round the entrance of the hole, so that hunters are able to tell whether a hollow tree is inhabited or not, by the presence or absence of _débris_ of bark and wood at the root. It frequently trespasses into the miner’s tent “and plunders his provision bag. When caught, as it often is, it becomes so familiar and amusing, and does so much to relieve the monotony of the miner’s life, that it is highly valued, and commands quite a large price.” It is said to be a capital mouser. [Illustration: CACOMIXLE.] THE PANDA FAMILY.[160] This group, which has received a most unfortunate name, as it belongs to the _Arctoidea_ and not to the _Æluroidea_, contains only two genera, one of which has been recently discovered, while the other has been known for many years. THE PANDA[161]