88 FELID-fi. 



Jerdon was actually robbed by a jungle cat of a peafowl he had 

 shot; and McMaster relates a similar incident that happened to 

 himself. The same observer says that he shot one in Burma in deep 

 black mud, where it was perhaps hunting for fish or crabs. The 

 voice, according to Blyth, differs from that of the domestic cat. 



The jungle cat is a very savage animal. McMaster says he was 

 once charged by a large individual that he had wounded with shot. 

 As a rule, even if captured young, F. chuus appears to be untam- 

 able, but exceptions occur. It frequently breeds, however, with 

 the domestic cat of India, and some of the latter closely resemble 

 it in colouring, although they are considerably smaller. It is said 

 to breed twice in the year, and to have three or four young at a 

 time. 



42. Pelis caracal. The Caracal. 



Felis caracal, Giildenstadt, Nov. Com. Pet. xx, p. 500 (1776) ; Blyth, 

 Cat. p. 64; Jerdon, Mam. p. 113; Elliot, Mon. Pel. pi. xli. 



Siydh-amh (black ears), Pers. and II. ; Tsoade, Little Tibet ( ? Gilgit) ; 

 Ech, Ladak (Vigne). 



Size intermediate between F. chaus and F. lynx. Build slender, 

 limbs long. Tail one third the length of the head and body. Ears 

 long and pointed, with a long black tuft of hair at the end. 



Skull convex above, facial portion short. Teeth well developed. 

 Anterior upper preinolar wanting ; inner lobe of upper flesh-tooth 

 moderate. 



Colour above varying from rufous fawn-colour to brownish rufous, 

 generally the former in Indian specimens, unspotted ; below paler 

 rufous or white, often with indistinct rufous spots. Fur nearly 

 the same colour throughout, slightly paler near the roots, some 

 white tips intermixed on the back, and in darker specimens black 

 tips also, giving a peculiar grizzled appearance. Limbs and tail 

 the same colour as the body, the tip of the latter sometimes black, 

 but not always. Ears outside black, often mixed with white, inside 

 white ; a blackish spot on each side of the upper lip, and others, 

 not always distinct, above each eye and on each side of the nose. 

 A white or pale spot inside, and another below each eye. 



Dimensions. Head and body 26 to 30 inches, tail 9 to 10, ear 3, 

 height 16 to 18 inches. Basal length of skull 4*55 inches, breadth 

 across zygornatic arches 3'8. 



Distribution. Found in the Punjab, Sind, North-western and 

 Central India, and the greater part of the Peninsula except the 

 Malabar coast, but rare everywhere. Ball met with it in Chutia 

 Nagpur. Unknown in Bengal and the Eastern Himalayas, but 

 said by Vigne to be found in the Upper Indus valley *. Outside 

 of India this species occurs in Mesopotamia, and perhaps on the 



* Perhaps only tamed specimens ; see J. A. S. B. xi, p. 759. 



