Abstract
THE carnivores are really a very remarkable group, ranging in size from the tiger to the weasel, and presenting singular contrasts in the matter of shape. Nor are they all flesh-eaters, some being almost exclusively vegetarians, and one, the kinkajou, has developed a prehensile tongue, like an ant-eater, and a prehensile tail like a spider-monkey. The shape of the body has been moulded by adjustment to their feeding habits. Some have become burrowers, some arboreal, and some aquatic. Their coloration has in like manner been governed by this same factor of food-hunting which of course determines their en vironment, as witness the polar bear, the tiger, the leopard, and the Cape hunting dog. But there are many other and less familiar types of coloration. Among these is the singular panda (Aelurus fulgens), a recent arrival at the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park. It is a creature which cannot fail to attract the attention of visitors owing to its striking color ation. A native of the south-eastern Himalayas, where it lives among rocks and trees at a height of 7,000–12,000 ft., its habits, and the relation thereto of its coloration, have never been the subject of careful observation. Placed under relatively nat ural surroundings—which is becoming more and more a distinctive feature of the Gardens—some useful information may be gleaned on this head.
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The Panda at the Zoological Gardens. Nature 131, 428–429 (1933). https://doi.org/10.1038/131428c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/131428c0