54 NATURAL HISTORY ESSAYS 



of the "rimau dahan" obtained by M. Diard was 

 added to the Leyden Museum.^ 



On August 8, 1824, Sir Stamford Raffles landed 

 at Plymouth. His collection was presented partly to 

 the East India Company's Museum and partly to 

 that of the Zoological Society which he afterwards 

 founded. The tree-tiger had continued in excellent 

 health through a long and tempestuous voyage ; 

 playful and amiable, it even romped with the passen- 

 gers and a little Musi dog that was on board, and 

 toyed with its food like the light-hearted kitten it was. 

 The London Zoo lay yet two years in the future, so 

 the little tiger was placed under the care of Mr. Cross 

 in the menagerie at Exeter 'Change. Here for 

 several days amid its unaccustomed surroundings it 

 became both shy and savage — probably from sheer 

 nervousness. It has been excellently figured by 

 Wm. Daniell, R.A., in one of its fighting attitudes 

 with snarling retracted lip, half crouching body, and 

 curling tail. In about ten days the animal regained 

 its former composure, becoming playful as before 

 and rollinof about like a human infant when noticed 

 or caressed. Much attached to the menagerie atten- 

 dants and feeding well on beef and fowl's heads, it 

 would doubtless soon have become a great attraction, 

 but unfortunately died after about six weeks in 



1 MM. Diard and Duvaucel were two French naturalists who were 

 colleetin<if in Sumatra during the L'overiiorship of Sir Stamford Raffles. 

 The credit of discovering the clouded tiger seems to have been all but 

 assigned to the wrong individual, since one finds that Cuvier on receiving 

 a skin of this species actually proposed for it the name of Felis diardi ! 

 a term that has unfortunately been adopted by some zoologists. 



