MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 671 



longer make it out. Presently the buffalo grazed up to within five paces of the 

 kill , as it took no notice of the panther, I concluded that the brute had sneaked 

 off unobserved by me. At this moment however I heard a crunch, as the 

 panther started to feed. The buffalo looked up, and advanced a pace towards 

 the kill. The panther continued its meal, and the buffalo, after a prolonged 

 stare, went on grazing, paying no more attention to the panther than if it was a 

 pariah dog. It was actually grazing within five yards of the panther, and 

 broadside on to it. For the next twenty minutes or so, the buffalo remained 

 within fifty yards of the kill, grazing unconcernedly. The other buffaloes 

 seemed to take no interest in the proceedings, though I could hear them moving 

 about in the vicinity. The buffalo's behaviour seems to me inexplicable, being 

 within five yards of the panther, I should have expected it to show some signs 

 of excitement, and either charge or decamp. The absolute indifference which 

 it exhibited towards the panther was most extraordinary. I should like to 

 know if any of the members of the Bombay Natural History Society have ever 

 observed anything similar to this incident ? I may add that I did not bag the 

 panther. What little moon there was, was clouded over, and as the panther 

 continued feeding for twenty minutes or so, I could not make out anything to 

 fire at. Finally as I was leaning over the edge of the machan in my endeavour 

 to spot it, the panther took alarm and made off. 



H. TYLER, I.C.S. 

 Camp Kalahandi, 10th April 1908. 



No. Ill —THE INDIAN MONGOOSE. 



A casual acquaintance with several of the mongooses leads me to believe that 

 a great deal remains to be learnt regarding the less common species. The Indian 

 Herpestes mungo is a favourite pet in the East, and so its intelligent and amusing 

 habits have become well known. Several other species, however, exist, differing 

 from it conspicuously in both colour and size. 



I have been especially puzzled over a mongoose which I saw on several 

 occasions in the neighbourhood of Jagner, thirty-four miles from Agra, in 

 the United Provinces. This animal was rather larger in size, than H mungo 

 but appeared to be of much the same colour. The noticeable feature about it, 

 however, was the tail, which was somewhat full, with a very marked white tip. 

 At the time it did not strike me that there would be any difficulty in identify- 

 ing the animal, and it was only after I had left the district and the opportunity 

 for obtaining a specimen had gone that I found to my surprise that natural 

 history works mentioned no white- tailed Indian mongoose, though there seem 

 to be two in Africa, H. albicauda and Cyructis penicillata, both of which have 

 white tips to their tails. 



A large red mongoose, apparently Herpestes smithi, is common all over 

 the Neilgherry plateau and in Wynaad. I have seen and shot specimens from 

 near Ootacamund, over 7,000 ft. above sea level, down to South-East Wynaad, 

 which has an elevation of about 3,000 ft. These ruddy mongooses are big, 



