Of the Moluccas. 397 



strait to Gilolo — that it seems more likely to have originated 

 from some individuals which had escaped from confinement, 

 these and similar animals being often kept as pets by the 

 Malays, and carried about in their praus. 



Of all the carnivorous animals of the Archipelago the 

 only one found in the Moluccas is the Vivei-ra tangalunga, 

 which inhabits both Batchian and Bouru, and probably some 

 of the other islands. I am inclined to think that this also 

 may have been introduced accidentally, for it is often made 

 captive by the Malays, who procure civet from it ; and it is 

 an animal very restless and untamable, and therefore likely 

 to escape. This view is rendered still more probable by 

 what Antonio de Morga tells us was the custom in the Phil- 

 ippines in 1602. He says that "the natives of Mindanao 

 carry about civet-cats in cages, and sell them in the islands ; 

 and they take the civet from them, and let them go again." 

 The same species is common in the Philippines, and in all the 

 large islands of the Indo-Malay region. 



The only Moluccan ruminant is a deer, which was once 

 supposed to be a distinct species, but is now generally con- 

 sidered to be a slight variety of the Rusa hippelaphus of Java. 

 Deer are often tamed and j^etted, and their flesh is so much 

 esteemed by all Malays that it is very natural they should 

 endeavor to introduce them into the remote islands in which 

 they settled, and whose luxuriant forests seem so well adapted 

 for their subsistence. 



The strange Babirlisa of Celebes is also found in Bouru, 

 but in no other Moluccan island, and it is somewhat difficult 

 to imagine how it got there. It is true that there is some 

 approximation between the birds of the Sula Islands (where 

 the Babirdsa is also found) and those of Bouru, which seems 

 to indicate that these islands have recently been closer to- 

 gether, or that some intervening land has disappeared. At 

 this time the Babirusa may have entered Bouru, since it 

 probably swims as well as its allies the pigs. These are 

 spread all over the Archipelago, even to several of the smaller 

 islands, and in many cases the species are peculiar. It is 

 evident, therefore, that they have some natural means of dis- 

 persal. There is a popular idea that pigs can not swim, but 

 Sir Chai'les Lyell has shown that this is a mistake. In his 



