i8o A NATURALIST IN WESTERN CHINA 



came upon fresh tracks of a Leopard, but lost them again. In 

 the afternoon of the same day he met two hunters who had 

 captured this animal in a bamboo noose and purchased from 

 them the skin and skull. 



The Sifan and other tribesfolk are very fond of leopard 

 skins, making them into girdles and robes. On one occasion, 

 when descending the valley of the Upper Min River, I met 

 three men laden with over a hundred of these skins. The men 

 had come from Sui Fu, and were bound to Sungpan. The 

 skins they were carrying came from Yunnan and Kweichou 

 provinces, where the animal is comparatively abundant. 



THE SNOW LEOPARD OR OUNCE 



The beautiful skin of this animal [Fclis uncia), known as 

 Hsueh Pao-tsze, can frequently be purchased in Chengtu and 

 Chungking, where it is said to come from Thibet. At Tachienlu 

 and Monkong Ting this skin is more frequently on sale, being 

 brought there from Derge. This prosperous and famous 

 Thibetan state is smrounded on three sides by lofty snow-clad 

 ranges, and these mountains are the haunt of Snow Leopard, 

 which prey on Goa, Chiru, Bharal, and other animals fairly 

 abundant in those regions. 



A skin of the Hsueh Pao-tsze in my possession which I 

 pmxhased at Tachienlu for Tls. 8, measures 94 inches, tip 

 to tip, the tail itself being 44 mches long and extremely bushy. 

 I have seen better-marked skins than this, but never one quite 

 so large. The fur is very soft, long, and thick, of a white 

 ground colour, covered with irregularly shaped black spots, 

 each with a light centre ; on the head the spots are all black. 

 The stomach is pure white and the rings on the part lower of 

 the tail are broad and well defined. Unfortunately, the head 

 was badly skinned and the ears cut away. The Thibetans 

 hunt and trap this animal for its pelt. 



The Clouded Leopard {Felis nebulosa) is found in Yunnan 

 and Kweichou, and skins are commonly on sale in Chungking 

 and Sui Fu. In size this animal is nearly as large as the Common 

 Chinese Leopard, with a longer tail. The ground colour is 

 pale fulvous grey, heavily covered with large, irregular-shaped, 



