148 Lloyd's natural history. 



We made a walk for them, enclosed by a kind of hurdle, in 

 which we could introduce Rats, Fowls, Ducks, or young Dogs, 

 and upon opening their cage we found that usually only a single 

 Cat came out in pursuit of each victim, and almost always in 

 precedence, according to the length of time they had been in 

 confinement. They caught Cats and Dogs by the nape of the 

 neck in their mouths, and throwing them to the ground, over- 

 laid them, without permitting any movement, until they were 

 quite dead. Cat's flesh seemed to produce the itch, which 

 fretted them, making them mew like Domestic Cats, and finally 

 leading to their death. They also ate Snakes — both innocuous 

 and poisonous — and Toads, but these disagreed with them to 

 such an extent that, after being reduced almost to skeletons, 

 they perished in the course of a few days. If a Dog were 

 as big as themselves they did not touch him, for they do not 

 come to one another's assistance; and if one alone cannot 

 overcome any prey which may present itself, he leaves it. They 

 catch birds by the head and neck, and thoroughly strip them 

 of their feathers with their teeth before eating them. It appears 

 that they are not unnecessarily cruel ; my friend at least 

 observed that one did not kill a fowl enclosed in his den till 

 the third day. We frequently shut the doors of the yard and 

 opened the den that they might leave it ; those which had been 

 most recently caught moved first, and on some occasions the 

 old ones would not come out, even when the boy entered the 

 den to sweep it out. We left them at liberty for several 

 hours, during which time they examined every crevice and 

 then lay down to sleep ; on the boys persecuting them with 

 sticks and canes they went back to the den without turning 

 on their pursuers, although severely beaten. On a certain 

 occasion, one of them becoming exceedingly lazy, on enter- 

 ing the den he was abused and bitten by his female, as if she 

 would punish him. Their eyes shone at night like those of 

 the Domestic Cat, which animal they resemble in form and 



