A NATUEALIST IN CEYLON WOOD 537 



and dangerous under such cavalier (and probably to him grossly 

 unjust) treatment. 



The outlaw turns bandit and murderer; he spends his nights in 

 destroying plantations, overturning huts, and in pulling up rice 

 plants, and young coconut palms. Hiding in the jungle by da}^ these 

 crazed beasts often prowl about unfrequented roads and jungle paths, 

 and it is extremely dangerous for an unarmed man to wander in their 

 neighborhood ; and several instances of the killing of innocent natives 

 by them have been described to me. Fortunately rogue elephants 

 are rare in Ceylon and are said to number only about 1 in 500 in the 

 wild state. 



Of course, there is only one remedy for this anomaly — the death 

 of the hora — and here, the sportsman may be said to be of some 

 legitimate service. I clipped the following notice from the Ceylon 

 Times of January 18, 1925: 



The government agent of the northwestern Province is prepared to issue 

 licenses, free of stamp duty, fur the destruction of two rogue elephants, the 

 descriptions of which are appended below : 1. One near 24th milepost on 

 Kurunegala-Puttalam road ; male, height about 9 feet, white spots on head and 

 trunk. 2. One near 26th milepost on Kurunegala-Puttalam road ; male, height 

 about 8 feet, shot wounds on left side and lower left jaw, appears to be lame 

 on right front leg. 



Of the carnivora found in the Ceylon jungle the bear {Melursus 

 iirsinus) is everywhere said to be the most dangerous, much more to 

 be feared than the comparatively cowardly leopard. The Sinhalese 

 animal has the usual ursine habits, but when frightened or if he 

 imagines he is being pursued, never hesitates to attack anj^one, native 

 ^■'l European, that crosses his tracks. This species alwaj^s attempts 

 to claw and bite the head of its victim and I have seen friglitful 

 scars on the persons of survivors of these encounters. The wife of 

 an English official, a noted huntress, whom I knew, was nearly killed 

 by a bear despite the fact that she was armed Avith a rifle that she 

 used with decided effect during the fight. 



Although they are not very numerous or dangerous, one frequently 

 hears about and occasionally sees (especially if he watches a water 

 hole at night) the beautiful Ceylon leopard. This animal makes his 

 home in the hill country, chiefly in the clefts of rocks and subsists on 

 the wild deer and domestic animals found in and about the native 

 villages. He is hunted and trapped for his fur which, by the way, is 

 very poorly cured by the natives. Until they are full grown the baby 

 leopard (brought in by native hunters) makes a pretty and amusing 

 pet, which one may sometimes buy for a few rupees in the bazaars. 



There are at least two distinct species of crocodiles in Ceylon, both 

 with evil reputations. Although I have seen hundreds of these huge 

 reptiles in Sinhalese waters and have heard many tales of misadven- 



