74 SOUTH AFRICAN MAMMALS 



tracts of South Africa. It is nocturnal in habit, prowl- 

 ing about at night in search of food, and visiting poultry 

 yards whenever it gets the chance. It lies asleep during 

 the day in its lair in some reed bed, thicket or bush, 

 where it also brings forth its young, varying from two 

 to four or five in a litter. The usual number appears 

 to be four. It lives chiefly upon rats, mice, and other 

 rodents, and birds especially the young of game birds. 



It is a fierce and almost untameable animal, exhibiting 

 but little fear of man. I remember some years ago 

 coming suddenly upon a pair while shooting in the 

 mimosa scrub, near Brandfort, Orange Free State, and 

 they calmly stood and looked at me for a few seconds 

 before leisurely galloping off into the bush. This animal 

 often figured amongst the day's bag of a shooting party 

 in the eucalyptus plantations north of Johannesburg, 

 where it no doubt played havoc amongst the young 

 guinea-fowl and francolin, 



Mr. W. L. Sclater, in his " Mammals of South Africa," 

 mentions the fact that some writers recognize two varie- 

 ties in South Africa, and when I sent him some skins 

 from Modderfontein, near Johannesburg, in 1904, he 

 thought they might be those of F. chaus, the Indian 

 Jungle Cat, or a closely allied species. The general tone 

 was yellower than that of the Common Wild Cat, and 

 the tail appeared to be shorter. The subject, however, 

 requires further consideration before any definite con- 

 clusion can be arrived at. In captivity the Wild Cat 

 remains a fierce, snarling creature. The kittens are very 

 difficult to rear in captivity, but latterly I have had more 

 success by giving them more room for exercise, fresh air 

 in plenty, and the natural earth as a floor for their cage 

 instead of concrete or wooden floors. 



The Zoo has had examples from Kleinpoort, Grahams- 



