Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-02-13
WILD CATS.

something About the Various Species
Found In tho United States.
First on the list of American wild
COTS comes the panther (Fc5is concolor).
II is a large, powerful and handsome
animal. Its body reaches a length Of
four and one-half feet; it's color above
;s tawny yellow, beneath greyish white;
rs limbs are short and heavy, and the
xbole contour of the animal shows
compactncss, agility and strength in a
hich degree. The panther is found
over the entire continent Of America up
~ ffty-fve degrees north latitude. OF
no other animal in u country are so
many fabulous stories afioat, but in re-
nl;tv if is a retiring and timid ANIMAL,
living only in wild and mountainous
d;str7cts. and rarely indeed does it,
oven when pressed by hunger, carry off
ocalf, D O or sheep from some isolated
form house; nevertheless it is at times
nn lty of such thefts. Young deer,
ono.slms, rabbits, grouse and other
know Of but n or w reliable in
stances of a panther attacking q man,
syccp, when the animal was desper-
atclv wounded and unable to escape.
Several have been killed by my per-
soral fr ends, and in NJ case did the
i.njmal made any resistance, only striv-
inc its utmost to escape. l know OF
SEVERAL instances where it has been
;k;llcd with a club, the hunter climbing
mn the tree in which it had taken ref
noe. and either killing the animal there,
or shaking it down, to be killed by his
companion below. Indeed this animal
can hardly be considered as ''danger-
ous'' as a powerful buck of our com.
mon deer during the rutting season!
The cougars this species is also
callcd-is Il silent animal, seldom ut
tering any other cry than a low growl.
The cries usually attributed to it really
emanate from the great horned owl,
the fox, or the common wild cur.
This beautiful species of cat is nearly
exterminatcd in most States east of the
Mississippi; a few yet remain in the
widest localities. 1t is not necessary
to suggest any means of disposing Of
the panther, for should one be SO un-
fortunate as to show itself in any set
tied district, all the men, boys and dogs
of the neighbothood sally out after it,
and sooner or later the poor animal is
borne home in triumph, pierced by
countless buckshot, and mangled by q
score OF NANCY ours!
The Canada lynx Nynx ~Canadensis)
is Il much smaller species than the pre-
ceding, being but three feet in length,
and seldomw we Ching morethan twenty
five pounds, even when very fat. The
feet are very large, and densely furred
beneath in the winter season. The tri-
angular ears are tipped by an upright
tuft of coarse, black hairs. The gen
eral color. is grey, clouded with
darker spots. This animal ranges
over the greater portion of North
America north of the Southern States,
and is found in many localities where
the panther has been long extinct. In
the thinly settled portions of our North
ern States and Canada the farmer not
infrequently has some of his sheep or
young pigs killed and dragged of by
The Canada lynx; turkeys, from their
wandering habits, also frequently fall
prey to this species of cat. But it
seldom disturbs the poultry house. al
most always avo ding q near approach
to the habitatlons OF man. Its usual
food consists of rabbits, squirrels,
grouse, young fawns, and the like.
The female lynx has two cubs yearly,
and is Il most affectionate mother to
her offspring.
The skin Of this animal is valuable,
and many are annually trapped for
their fur. The lynx may be caught in
apowerful steel trap baited with a
newly killed fowl, but the only eligible
mode of destroying it is by the merry
rifle and the help OF a well-trained
houndor two, When pursued bydogs,
the lynx always ascends Il tree, and
may then be easily shot by the hunter,
:" it being too large an ANIMAL to hide 1T
self among the branches in the manner
OF the common wild cat.
The American wild cat (Lynx rufus)
seldom reaches two and 4 half feet in
length, and rarely wei CHS more than six
teen pounds. Its ears are tufted like
those OF the Canada lynx, but its feet
are small, and the soles naked. The
color is brown, with darker mottlings.
The wild cat is found throughout the
United States, and northward 10 lati.
tude sixty degrees. In the Southern
States it is particularly abundant, and
there makes great havoc among the
G hckens, turkeys. ducks and geese
OF the planter. The cat is purely
an enemy, for its appetite is epi.
curean, and confined to ''game anG
poultry" and only when pressed by
hunger does it prey upon the small
and destructive rodcntia - domestic
fowls, grouse, partr.dges, w:M turkeys
and rabbits forming it's usual food:
The home of this animal is usually s
tree, hollow ora feet above the
ground. Here, on Il bed Of leaves, il
the early spring, the female bring;
forth from wv to four young. Ever
when captured very young, the wilc
cat S scarcely tamablc; it will become
accustomed % confinement, and cvet
take food from the hand, but it is i'll
natul'ed an uncertain, seldom losing
an opportunity to bite or scratch, ane
exhlb ting much cunning in capturing
the poultry that come within reach o
Its cna.n.
The wild cat is nocturnal, but no