THE STRIPED MUISHOND OR STINK CAT 



sight, especially delighted in the graceful move- 

 ments of the little cat. The cobra was at length 

 placed hors de combat by a bite upon its neck, and then 

 the polecat dragged it out of the path and began 

 to devour its head. One of the Fathers w^ho had 

 witnessed the fight, wishing to ascertain the length 

 of the snake, seized its tail and drew it out straight. 

 The polecat, instead of showing any signs of fear, 

 kept fast hold of the head and growled angrily, 

 just as a cat does if disturbed while devouring a 

 mouse." 



When attacking a cobra the muishond makes a 

 few feints, and when the snake strikes, it rushes 

 forward and seizes the reptile by the head or neck 

 before it is able to recover and deliver a second 

 thrust. When attacking sluggish snakes such as 

 the Puff Adder, it usually approaches the reptile 

 from behind, and with a sudden rush it is upon 

 the snake, and instantly grips it by the neck, the 

 vertebras of which it crushes. The fur is thick, and 

 the skin tough, and when bitten by a snake on the 

 back, the fangs, as a rule, do not penetrate, or not 

 sufficiently so to enable the reptile to inject a fatal 

 dose of venom. 



Of course if a muishond or a mungoose should 

 happen to be slightly bitten several times by 

 venomous snakes and recover, they would become 

 more or less immune to snake venom, but none 

 of these animals, so far as experimented upon, 

 have shown any noticeable degree of immunity. 



171 



