The cheetah or hunting leopard (_Cynaelurus jubatus_) must be
carefully distinguished from the leopard proper. This animal appears
to be a native only of the Deccan, where it is trained for hunting the
antelope. In some respects it approaches the dog more nearly than the
cat tribe. Its limbs are long, its hair rough, and its claws blunt and
only partially retractile. The speed with which it bounds upon its
prey, when loosed from the cart, exceeds the swiftness of any other
mammal. If it misses its first attack, it scarcely ever attempts to
follow, but returns to its master. Among other species of the family
_Felidae_ found in India may be mentioned the ounce or snow leopard
(_F. uncia_), the clouded leopard (_F. nebulosa_), the marbled cat
(_F. marmorata_), the jungle cat (_F. chaus_), and the viverrine cat
(_F. viverrina_).
Wolf tribe.
Wolves (_Canis lupus_) abound throughout the open country, but are
rare in the wooded districts. Their favourite prey is sheep, but they
are also said to run down antelopes and hares, or rather catch them by
lying in ambush. Instances of their attacking man are not uncommon,
and the story of Romulus and Remus has had its counterpart in India
within comparatively recent times. The Indian wolf has a dingy
reddish-white fur, some of the hairs being tipped with black. By some
naturalists it is regarded as a distinct species, under the name of
_Canis pallipes_. Three distinct varieties, the white, the red and the
black wolf, are found in the Tibetan Himalayas. The Indian fox
(_Vulpes bengalensis_) is comparatively rare, but the jackal (_C.
aureus_) abounds everywhere, making night hideous by its
never-to-be-forgotten yells. The jackal, and not the fox, is usually
the animal hunted by the packs of hounds occasionally kept by
Europeans.
Dog.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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