4 68 THE CARNIVORES 



pale brownish gray ; the number of these bands being very generally either five or 

 six. There are also some dark longitudinal stripes on the nape of the neck ; while 

 the upper half of the tail is banded with dark rings. A peculiarity of these animals 

 is that the direction of the hair on the back of the neck is reversed. Their habits 

 are probably very similar to those of the other palm-civets. 



THE AFRICAN PALM-CIVET 

 Genus Nandinia 



The last member of this group is the African palm-civet {Nandinia binotata), 

 which, although nearly allied to the Oriental forms, is distinguished by certain 

 structural peculiarities in the skull, and also by having a shorter muzzle than any 

 other member of the family to which it belongs. The fur is of a grayish-brown 

 color, with the back and sides marked with large dark spots, and a pale spot on 

 either side of the shoulders from which it takes its second scientific name. The 

 tail, which is about two-thirds the length of the head and body, is indistinctly ringed 

 with dark bands ; the animal thus being the fourth representative of the palm- 

 civets in which the tail is thus ornamented. In size this animal is rather smaller 

 than the average of the typical palm-civets. 



The African palm-civet is found on the West Coast, in the district of Fernando 

 Po ; and it will be thus apparent that it presents precisely the same relation to the 

 Oriental palm-civets in respect to geographical distribution as is presented by the 

 African linsang to its Eastern cousins. We are not acquainted with any account 

 of the habits of this animal, but the nature of the teeth suggests that it lives largely 

 on flesh. 



THE BINTURONG 

 Genus Arctictis 



The remarkable animal, represented in the illustration on p. 469, and known 

 as the binturong, or bear-cat, although nearly allied to the palm-civets, is yet 

 so different from the members of that group in certain respects as to be entitled to 

 notice under a special heading. It is the sole representative of its genus, and has a 

 rather wide distribution in the Oriental region, ranging from Assam through 

 Arakan, Tenasserim, Siam, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Java. The 

 binturong {Arctictis binturong} is distinguished from all the other members of the 

 civet family by the long tufts of hair surmounting the ears, and also by the pre- 

 hensile nature of the long and somewhat bushy tail. As regards size, the length of 

 the head and body varies from twenty-eight to thirty-three inches, and that of the 

 tail from twenty-six to twenty-seven inches. The tail is thus nearly as long as the 

 head and body, and it is characterized by its great thickness at the root, from which 

 it tapers gradually ; it is covered with bristly straggling hairs, which exceed in 

 length those of the body. The whole of the fur is, however, long and coarse, 



