fends itself with courage and ferocity, from birds
of prey, from dogs, and even from man himself.
Weasels pursue their prey with much pertinacity; hunting not only by the eye, but also by the scent. "Most amusing it is to see one of these flexible, agile little creatures tracing up the scent when it is at fault. They will quarter the ground like a dog till they hit it off, and to lose no help from their eye, will occasionally sit up, raising themselves on their hind quarters to gain a more extended view around them. ‘Their perseverance will tire down animals larger and stronger than themselves; nor will water stop them when their game takes to it for safety. In they plunge, and seldom quit their object till the fatal bite is indicted.” [1]
It is commonly supposed that the blood of the victim is the most agreeable part of the repast; but this is not borne out by observation. The brain seems to be the favourite morsel; and it is by a single bite through the skull piercing the brain, that death is ordinarily inflicted.
Family II. Felidæ.
(Cats.)
The Cats are the most eminently carnivorous of Mammalia. The body is light and agile; the spine is flexible; the limbs muscular but capable of free, rapid, and energetic motion; the toes armed with strongly curved and pointed talons, whose acuteness is preserved by a curious structure; the short and rounded skull is beset with
- ↑ Pen. Cycl. Art. Weasels.
