ARE WILD CATS SCARCE? 



SOMETIMES one is assailed with a doubt whether 

 animals generally supposed to be rare are actually 

 as rare as they are reputed to be. When, for 

 example, the badger is written about it is usually 

 represented as an animal verging towards extinc- 

 tion. But occasionally one comes upon a credible 

 authority on such subjects who declares that it 

 is by no means scarce, though it is rarely seen. 

 Strictly nocturnal in its habits, it never will be 

 seen as one of the chance sights of the country- 

 side ; and even in the days of its greatest 

 abundance it was seen in its own haunts only by 

 the people who specially sought for it and dug it 

 out. At that time it was the object of a barbarous 

 sport, now no longer indulged unless it be in secret, 

 and there was a purpose in seeking it. Now 

 even the game-preserver feels little urged to per- 

 secute it, for, despite its strength, size, and 

 undoubted carnivorous affinities, it is generally 

 recognized that it is hardly worth considering as 

 an enemy of game. 



The rarity of the true wild cat is even more a 

 matter of common belief, and about three times 

 a year the newspapers contain a paragraph record- 

 ing the capture of one and setting forth its 



