One would be forgiven for assuming it was a lion, for its tawny, smooth fur was draped over the powerful frame of a big cat. The cat's forelimbs, in particular, were the scaffold for great haunches of muscles, the pistons for the slashes of its claws, now jutting out partially through the parted fur in its toes. Ears twitching, golden eyes unblinking, it sniffed at the uprooted potato plant, jaws hung slack as the giant canines protruded to the side from scarlet gums, still tinted with a faint red. On its neck the big cat sported a ragged, scanty mane, a far cry from the luxuriant, groomed flagship of its African brethren.
