The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-01-09
CATS THAT %HOwLANDROAR
DIR. ELLIOT TALKS AMOUR THEN
TO THE LINSBAN SOCIETY.


From the sssre-Tsethed or the nIieccpe Period,
that starved TO Death Because 10 Oouidn't
Open Hts Mouth. Dewn Through the Liens
ana Leepards 20 the Taiiiess N1nux Cat.
That there is q widespread interest among
men. women. and children on tho subject Of cats
was attested by tho big assemblage that met In
the great lecture hall Of the American Museum
Of Natural History last Thursday niRht to hear
DANIEL Giraud Elliot, r. II. s., the Curator of
Zoology in the Field Columbian Museum. tell the
story. Cats. and the Lands They Inhabit."
Tho lecture was tho first OF tho hfth
annual course of tho Linnean Society
OF New York city. In hls recital Mr.. Elliot
took his audience on n journey around the
world, and he described scenery and people as
we'll as cats. He talked OF both wild and do
mestic cats. and brilliant bits Of description
were embelllshcd by beautiful pictures Of cats
and the localities in which they dwelt.
Mr.. Elliot said at the outset that the Feiid1,
or cat family, fulfilled q most important part in
natures economy, and also comprised In Its wild
members tho most powerful Of existing animals
OF prey, including the lion. tiger, and leopard.
The cat family, he added, Is OF very ancient
lineage, feline remains having been procured in
the eocene deposits of both hemispheres,
foreshadowing the creature Of our own
time. The Old World has now the larg-
. utht " ANAbb ~ ~ sS~S.N
discoveries In this country may raise q doubt
whether In the earlier epoohs Of the world this
so-called Now World did not surpass the old In
tho variety and number of its oatlike animals.
These early Inhabitants, Of course, differed
from existing species. but the specialized forms
of carly times have. progressed toward higher
and higher types until they finally attained the
highly organized cat of our own times.
I'm tho miocene period" said DR.. Elliot,
stllrol l. .~r.ot .ohr. tanthnl ,afa xyhtoh ,or-
tinued to exist down to modern INES. They do
rived their namo from the heightened and
curved canine teeth. which were capable Of In
nicting dreadful wounds on their prey. In some
of these species these teeth were SO enormously
developed that tho points OF the upper teeth met
those of the lower teeth oven when tho jaws
were opened to their fullest extent. They were
so great in size. In fact, and projected down.
WARD SO far that the cat was quite incspsble Of
stab. similar to that delivered by the tusk of the
extinct by starvation. This animal shows clear:
~ that since carly geological times cats passed
filled their mission by keeping the abundant
animal life about them from undue expansion.
Modern times afford many and varied spo-
cies of cats. In the land where dwelt the sabre;
I sgSsaIln aif Is fo ears D now St the I pSmpa sn cat si remar K.
able for its curiously striped coat Of various
solors, and Geof 4 cat, a spotted ed animal ad d;
II the A A%s6o &m %s ana e sos %Sst R ESs : jasua Ta di 81
SO NAM %rosettes, with a small black spot in The
c%entro of each series Of spots, This
fear water ap and which readily sIims rivers. and
is noted for its peculiar taste in the matter Of
no DOG st or negro or indian MAJ accessible to sstisfy
It's hunger: Mexico gives us tho singular
{sGsS hsnsd S and he h. gre n. a slender aaS a cat x,r With Idrs q
tail. These animals are found as far south as
Paraguay. Another species is the occiot. re-
the largest cat Of the New World is the
puma, sometimes called the American lion."
nesses OF both North and South America. 1t has
q tawny coat. but the. young are covered with
short tail and peculiar tufts upon the ears. It
iss fss. sf Fhs wxi 10 she is sU aiso fon ana in ms seotisn ID
and extends throughout Western Europe and
N the so Asis; Ae eat. is o oeo Of Of tn the Sa nGsssaess
Of the lynx species is I found in Spain and Is not
sble for its spotted coat and long whiskers.
and grouse and which Also kills sheep just for
elevation Of 10. 900 feet, as high an altitude as
an animal can exist in, we lind the beautiful
however s0 "a il seldom Ventures forth IN \ day.
light: 1t preys upon wild and domestic sheep
cat, the size of the domestic cat and possessing
Eastern Asia furnishes the Pallas Thibetan
cat, with its long. curiously marked, ana bushy
tail-a small animal that was probably the an.
cestor of the mOderr domestic Angora. In tho
tea district Of India iives the celebrate ed Benga!
cat, a family that displays such a diversity of
AT the h~eadwaters Of the GanEes is found
water. and which is known as the nshing cat Of
India. " wanders along the bank and catches
n ssRaF eer n l@ iyG three ta I feet long land and very r. p po ~ses
full, and 1t has been known to kin young calves
and even to carry OF children from the huts of
"a survivor of prehistoric times is tho chez
tab. the only cat whose claws arc not ~retrac-
tile, and which in its disposition and Its attach
ment to man resembles the dog. Its prey is tho
antelope, and it is used BY Its owner to hunt that
ing it must be captured young and taught how
to bring dETn or throT the antelope. Or On hunt
folded in a cart. which is driven as close as pos
sieie to the game nSd Then 4 nsl taS e h9it t , eyes
frightened. Then the cheetah darts for
SiTs Ti shd = .. yislsI tbs %sntsld is %Df Sg Thy t lpSon;
Keeper q XII The ramo. ?sumatrta produces tho
harmless to man and remsrfabie for its greatly
elongated canine teeth. 1t becomes tame and
very Unlike the Asiatie Or ); African cIaSs.w WHICH
is not larger than the domestic cat: but Is very
powerful anu ueF0T tdIuhDlo. AnOtuOr african
cat is the, caracah. a species of lynx,
with very long tufts to It's ears. II Is
also found In Southern Asia. Persia. and Central
India. The Persians and Arabs use 1t to hunt
antelope and birds like the peafowl and crane,
taking IL hunting in a cart after the fashion Of
the cheetah.. Africa gives us still another
species. called tho CATER cat, an ancestor OF tho
domestic puss, and greatly resembling In its
markings the domestic tiger cat"
Mr.. Elliot reviewed at length tho character
istics of the tiger and lion, praised them rs
majestic types OF the cat species. but declared
that tho lion. as In tho case Of all wild animals.
Is gradually disappearing from the earth.
"The day is not far distant" he said. I" when
the last survivor Of the king of boasts will roar
out his defiance of his foes and pass from the
scene. In Africa. where only lately 1t roamed
over the whole continent, It's domains are year
more and moro into tho interior. A small num-
Der only now remain In India and Persia"
Mr.. Elliot next enumerated the entire family of
domestic cats. from the tailless cat Of the lslo of
Man. to those with truncated tails from the
Malay archipelago and the Chinese cat with
drooping ears. In one part Of South America
he said dwell a specie OF cats which have lost
THAR natural slEep-destrOylnR howl. He hODed