BEASTS OF PREY, is not a scientific term, but, as in the case of the phrase abirds of prey," represents merely the idea of an.as semblage of such mammals as prey upon other creatures. The greatest number and most prominent examples belong to the order Car nivora, whose members subsist mainly upon flesh, and some of which, as the cats, bears and wolves, are the most powerful, deadly and dangerous animals of the world. These have acquired bodies with great strength and endur ance in chasing and leaping, seizing and hold ing; teeth adapted to cutting and piercing; sharp, muscular claws, and a high degree of intelligence in the wiles of hunting and of courage and pertinacity in attacking prey or defending their gams against rivals. Their digestive organs are simplified and adapted to the assimilation of flesh, of which a less quan tity is required than in the case of an animal subsisting on vegetable fare, because' it is al ready in a concentrated, partly elaborated form ,• but as the obtaining of it is occasional and often interrupted by long intervals, all beasts of prey are likely to kill and eat excessively when opportunity offers, in instinctive prepara tion for a possible fast. To provide against
the loss of heat during the periods of famine, rather than as a provision against low temper ature, most beasts of prey are clothed in dense, hairy coats of hair, or "fur." Not all the beasts of prey belong to the Carnivora, for animals with similar structures and adaptations are to be found in other orders of mammals whose basal structure is very different. The blood sucking bats, for example, have teeth roughly similar to those of a dog, and some of the apes are savage and powerful and have car nassial teeth. The most precise parallel, how ever, is found in the predatory marsupials of Australia, such as the. Zebra wolf, Tasmanian devil and several others, which have the equip ment and habits of true beasts of prey.