158 Journal of Travel and Natural History 



mammals that are vertically, or more or less obliquely striped, 

 but very few indeed that are truly longitudinally striped; and there 

 are several of the cats that have irregular semi-longitudinal oblique 

 patches or broken stripes, but the banded tail in all these shews 

 the true direction of the stripes. The ground colour in the Abu 

 Sothan is whitish, but this is no discrepancy, for the tiger in 

 Siberia has also a whitish ground colour. The known range of 

 the tiger is from the Malayan peninsula northwards to the Amoor, 

 and from the Pacific to the Caspian Sea, and we know of no 

 reason why it should not also be found in Abyssinia. The lion 

 as well as the tiger is found in India and Persia, and there are 

 very good reasons for holding that the original specific centre of 

 both was in the northern hemisphere, and that it was only Avhen 

 the elevation of Abyssinia bridged the dividing Saharan Sea, between 

 Europe and Africa, that the lion found its way into India and Africa 

 proper, and it is only since then that it established its supremacy 

 over the whole of it. That the tiger did not do so too is ex- 

 plained by the fact, which is of so universal application as to have 

 been laid down by naturalists as a general law, that two species of 

 the same genus of the larger animals almost never inhabit the same 

 district, the one or other apparently obtaining the mastery, and 

 driving the other out. The occurrence of the lion at Goojerat 

 may be said to contradict this ; but probably before man came 

 to disturb the balance of power, the truth might be that there 

 were all lions and no tigers at Goojerat ; and certainly, so far as 

 we can learn, there was a greater comparative preponderance of 

 tigers on the east than on the west side of India. In a contest 

 for possession, the lion would probably have the mastery wher- 

 ever the country was suited to his requirements, and most of 

 Africa being suited to these it is natural that under the supposed 

 law he should engross it; but Abyssinia is one of the parts which 

 does not suit him, but suits the tiger. Heuglin says the lion does 

 not occur higher up than Moina Dega, a range near Gondar, 

 about 7000 above the sea. The whole of the upper Highlands of 

 Abyssinia are thus left free for the tiger, and as he can thrive in 

 a much colder climate than the lion (as is evident from his being 

 found in Siberia, and even on the skirts of Thibet, far up towards 

 the snowy region), it would appear a not unlikely place to look for 

 Jiim. We trust that by the time our troops have reached Mag- 

 dala some of our sporting officers will have settled this interesting 

 question. 



