The Animal World, A Book of Natural History: Young Folks' Treasury (Volume V)Wood, Theodore
General
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History: Young Folks' Treasury (Volume V)
Wood, Theodore
Animals -- Juvenile literature
When one of these lynxes is running through long grass it looks very
odd; for it travels by means of a series of leaps, all four of its feet
coming to the ground together.
We have already mentioned the bay lynx of the United States, which in
size is equal to the Canada lynx.
THE CHETAH
Last among the cats comes the very curious chetah, or hunting-leopard,
which is found both in Africa and in India.
In some ways, however, it is much more like a dog than a cat. Its head
is quite small and round, its body is very slender, and its legs are
much longer in proportion to its size than they are in any other member
of the family. But, more remarkable still, the claws are not entirely
drawn back into their sheaths while not in use, as they are in all the
true cats, but partly project, so that the points are worn away by
constantly rubbing against the ground. So we may consider the chetah
as partly a cat and partly a dog--a connecting link joining the two
families together.
If it were not for the length of its limbs, however, the chetah might
very well be mistaken for a leopard, for its head and body are colored
and marked in much the same way. But the spots are solid, so to speak,
and not ring-like as they are in the leopard. The animal stands from
thirty to thirty-three inches in height at the shoulders and the body
and tail together are about seven feet long.
The chetah does not capture its prey as other cats do. Lions, tigers,
and leopards, for example, always try to creep up quite close to their
victims, so that they may be able to pounce upon them at a single
spring. But the chetah only creeps up to within about two hundred yards,
and then runs them down in fair chase. It is exceedingly swift of foot,
being able easily to outrun a greyhound, so that when once it starts in
pursuit its victim has but little chance of escape. Indeed, a chetah has
actually been seen to put up a blackbuck two hundred yards away, and to
run it down within a quarter of a mile.
Just fancy being able to run nearly twice as fast as an antelope!
In India the chetah is often caught and tamed, in order that it may
catch game for its master. It is always taken out to the hunting-ground
in a light cart, drawn by a pair of bullocks, and its eyes are covered
with a kind of hood. When a deer or an antelope is sighted, this hood is
taken off, and the chetah is released from its chain. No sooner does it
catch sight of its quarry than it creeps quietly toward it until it is
within distance, and then starts off in pursuit like an arrow shot from
a bow. The hunters ride quietly after it, and before they have gone very
far they are sure to find the chetah with its victim pinned upon the
ground. Then the throat of the animal is cut, and some of the blood is
given to the chetah to drink, after which it is again blindfolded and is
led back to the cart.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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