4i6 



THE CARNIVORES 



ago, a pair of them at night broke into a matted house, and went off with a brace of 

 ewes, which had half a dozen lambs between them. ... I have caught this 

 species in traps, and when let loose in an indigo vat, with a miscellaneous pack of 

 dogs, they have invariably fought hard. . . . Some years ago one got into my 

 fowl-house at night, and just as I opened the door to enter, it made a fierce jump at 

 me from a perch on the opposite side." The most remarkable instance of the 

 ferocity of this cat is, however, related by Blyth. In this case a newly-caught male 

 of the fishing-cat was put into a cage separated by a thin partition from one contain- 

 ing a tame female leopard, which, although young, was about double the size of the 

 fishing-cat. The latter succeeded, however, not only in breaking through the parti- 

 tion between the two cages, but in actually killing the leopard, although it made 

 no attempt to eat its flesh. 



THE LEOPARD-CAT. 

 (One-sixth natural size.) 



THE LEOPARD-CAT (Felts bengalensis) 



The pretty little cat from Southeastern Asia, commonly known as the leopard- 

 cat, is subject to such an extraordinary amount of individual variation in color and 

 markings that it has received no less than fifteen separate scientific names, such 

 variations having been regarded as indicating distinct species. 



In size it has been compared by Mr. Blanford to a rather small domestic cat, 

 with relatively longer legs. The pupil of the eye is circular in ordinary light, and 

 the length of the tail usually varies from about one-third to rather less than one-half 

 that of the head and body. Usually the head and body measure together from 

 twenty-four to twenty-six inches, while the tail has a length of from eleven to twelve 



