92 NATURAL SCIENCE. Feb., 



called the leopard in opposition to the short thick panther, is said to 

 occur in the Peninsula. The relations of these forms or subspecies 

 in the Malayan region are well worth the study of local naturalists. 



The smaller cats are very numerous in the Peninsula, but 

 owing to their nocturnal habits very little is known of them in the 

 wild state. They appear to live all day in holes in trees or high 

 up among the creepers, coming out at dusk in search of prey. In 

 captivity they usually remain motionless all day. [A Felis planiceps 

 which I have in captivity, remains in one corner of its cage, without 

 moving, till night, when it comes out to take its food. The 

 commonest wild cat is F. bengalensis. I have seen it in Singapore, and 

 it appears to be abundant in the Peninsula and to be often trapped. 

 F. tristis has been taken in Malacca ; and I had a fine golden cat, 

 F. temminckii, from Pahang. The latter was very quiet in captivity, 

 but was never at all tame. When taken young F. bengalensis becomes 

 very tame and playful, and lives a long time in captivity, but trapped 

 adults are always ferocious and ill-tempered. The native name for 

 a cat is Kuching ; wild ones are called Kuching Hutan (wood-cats) 

 and the large ones Kuching Rimau (tiger-cats). 



The Viverridae are well represented here. The commonest 

 species is Viverra malaccensis, the Musang. It inhabits hollow trees or 

 masses of creepers, or very commonly takes up its abode in the roof 

 of a house, leaving its hiding place in the dusk and rambling about in 

 search of food. It is very regular in its habits. I have had no less 

 than seven living in the roof of the house at one time. The animals 

 used to leave the house about six p.m., descending by one of the posts 

 of the house, and would return at nine o'clock, leaving again later in 

 the night, and coming back at about five a.m. Once I saw Musangs 

 moving about in the top of a tree at midday ; they were an old one 

 and one or more young, which the adult was apparently teaching to 

 walk on the boughs. Musangs are very clever at climbing, far more 

 so than a cat. A pet one, belonging to one of the officers, used to 

 walk skilfully on a very thin string ; put on the tightened twine, it 

 would grasp it with its fore-paws and draw itself up, and then 

 balance itself by waving its tail round and round, or even by clasping 

 the string with its tail, which is slightly prehensile ; when it had got 

 its balance it would walk along the string briskly, carrying the tail 

 free. The Musang feeds chiefly on fruit, but also devours birds, and 

 is a great nuisance to pigeon- and chicken-fanciers. It is very 

 serviceable, however, in keeping away rats from a house. 



It plays an important part in the dispersal of seeds, eating a great 

 deal of fruit, and dropping the seeds on paths and bare places on 

 the ground, where they speedily spring up. It seems particularly 

 partial to the fruit of Strychnos finite, in which the seeds are enclosed 

 in a very bitter pulp, apparently rich in brucine. It is most trouble- 

 some to fruit growers, and especially in the coffee-fields, where it 

 devours the coffee-berries and passes the seeds uninjured. As it 



