It may well be asked, Which of the many species of wild cats mentioned above is the ancestor of our domestic cats? Probably different species in different countries. The African Kaffir cat, the Indian leopard-cat, the rusty-spotted cat of India, and the European wild cat all breed with tame cats. It is therefore probable that the spotted, striped, and brindled varieties of tame cats are descended from wild species which had those markings. The so-called red tame cats are doubtless descended from the tiger-coloured wild cats. But it is a curious fact that, though the spotted grey-tabby wild varieties are the least common, that colour is most frequent in the tame species.
THE LYNXES.
In the Lynxes we seem to have a less specially cat-like form. They are short-tailed, high in the leg, and broad-faced. Less active than the leopards and tiger-cats, and able to live either in very hot or very cold countries, they are found from the Persian deserts to the far north of Siberia and Canada.
The Caracal is a southern, hot-country lynx. It has a longer tail than the others, but the same tufted ears. It seems a link between the lynxes and the jungle-cats. It is found in India, Palestine, Persia, and Mesopotamia. In India it was trained, like the cheeta, to catch birds, gazelles, and hares. The Common Lynx is probably the same animal, whether found in Norway, Russia, the Carpathians, Turkestan, China, or Tibet. The Canadian Lynx is also very probably the same, with local differences of colour. The Northern Lynx is the largest feline animal left in Europe, and kills sheep and goats equally with hares and squirrels. The beautiful fur, of pale cinnamon and light grey, is much admired. In some southern districts of America we have the Red Lynx, or so-called "wild cat," which is distinct from the lynx of Canada. The Mediterranean or Spanish Lynx seems likewise entitled to rank as a distinct species.
Of the lynxes the Caracals are perhaps the most interesting, from their capacity for domestication. They are found in Africa in the open desert country, whereas the Serval is found in the thick bush. In Africa it is believed to be the most savage and untamable of the Cats. That is probably because the Negro and the Kaffir never possessed the art of training animals, from the elephant downwards. In India the caracal's natural prey are the fawns of deer and antelope, pea-fowl, hares, and floricans. The caracal is the quickest with its feet of any of the Cats. One of its best-known feats is to spring up and catch birds passing over on the wing at a height of six or eight feet from the ground. A writer, in the Naturalist's Library, notes that, besides being tamed to catch deer, pea-fowl, and cranes, the caracal was used in "pigeon matches." Two caracals were backed one against the other to kill pigeons. The birds were fed on the ground, and the caracals suddenly let loose among them, to strike down as many as each could before the birds escaped. Each would sometimes strike down with its fore paws ten or a dozen pigeons. "Caracal" means in Turkish "Black Ear," in allusion to the colour of the animal's organ of hearing.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz] [Berlin.
LYNX.
This animal is a uniformly coloured specie common to India and Africa.
The Common Lynx is a thick-set animal, high in the leg, with a square head and very strong paws and forearms. It is found across the whole northern region of Europe and Asia. Although never known in Britain in historic times, it is still occasionally seen in parts of the Alps and in the Carpathians; it is also common in the Caucasus. It is mainly a forest animal, and very largely nocturnal; therefore it is seldom seen, and not often hunted. If any enemy approaches, the lynx lies perfectly still on some branch or rock, and generally succeeds in avoiding notice. The lynx is extremely active; it can leap great distances, and makes its attack usually in that way. When travelling, it trots or gallops in a very dog-like fashion. Where sheep graze at large on mountains, as in the Balkans and in Greece, the lynx is a great enemy of the flocks. In Norway, where the animal is now very rare, there is a tradition that it is more mischievous than the wolf, and a high price is set on its head.