3/9 There are no lions in America. The animal known in Spanish-American countries as the lion (_leon_) is the cougar or puma (_Felis concolor_), which is not one-third the lion's size, and resembles the king of beasts only in being of the same tawny colour. He is found throughout the whole extent of that continent--excepting of course a few thickly inhabited spots, from which he has been expelled by man. He is not properly a _forest_ animal. He cannot climb trees, and therefore in the forest would less easily procure his food than in the open plain. |