A very fine specimen was brought over by the Prince of Wales after his visit to India, and deposited in the Zoological Gardens in Regent’s Park.
THE PAMPAS CAT.[29]
This animal, as its name implies, is found on the Pampas of South America, extending as far south as the Strait of Magellan, and being especially abundant in the region of the Rio Negro. It is about forty inches long, with a shortish tail and long fur: the hairs, indeed, sometimes attain a length of four or five inches. “The colour of the skin is a pale yellowish-grey, traversed by regularly disposed yellow or brown bands, which run obliquely from the back and the flanks. The hairs, considered separately, are brown at the root, then yellow, and finally black at the point, but those of the hinder part of the back are black at the root, then grey, then yellowish-white, and finally white up to the point, which is black.”
The Pampas Cat is a comparatively harmless beast, not preying upon poultry-yards, but confining itself to the small Mammals which abound in the South American steppes.
THE LONG-TAILED TIGER-CAT.[30]
This little-known form—the “Oceloid Leopard” as it is sometimes called—was discovered by Prince Maximilian of Neuwied, in Brazil, where it inhabits the great forests, and is often killed for the sake of its beautiful fur. In colour it is not unlike the Ocelot, in size it is inferior to it, and its longitudinally elongated spots are neither so large nor so well marked. It is chiefly distinguished from other forms by its long bushy tail, and its big staring eyes. It is considerably smaller than the preceding species, the body being about twenty-seven inches long, the tail fourteen.
LONG-TAILED TIGER-CAT.
THE MARGAY.[31]
This is also an American species, being found in Brazil and Guiana, where it is often known as the “Tiger-Cat.” It is much smaller than the Ocelot—little larger than the Domestic Cat, in fact—the body being about twenty-three inches long, and the tail thirteen, and resembles the Ocelot in general appearance ([see next page]). Its spots are, however, smaller, and more regularly arranged, so that it is by no means so handsome an animal as F. pardalis.