* The Wild Cat 



in the wooded ravines below, I had many opportunities of 

 watching her springing nimbly over the dense undergrowth, 



as she made her escape', but I could never ge;t a shot 

 at her. I had traps set tor her, but without the desired 

 effect, for it was only spotted hya-nas that were caught 

 nightly. One morning, however, my taxidermist came 

 to me with the joyful news : " A black scrval has been 

 caught." And with these words he held out before me 

 a wonderful black female cat, on whose coat marks still 

 blacker in shade were clearly perceptible. This, it would 

 seem, is characteristic of these black servals, as it is of 

 the- blackish genet already referred to. I have noticed 

 something of the same kind with dapple-grey horses. Xext 

 morning I caught another serval, a male-, normally coloured 

 evidently the mate of" the black female; -in the same 

 snare. 



The catching of this serval was a very satisfactory 

 outcome; ot long days ot watching and waiting. Hour 

 after hour I hael sat se'annmg the great lonely mountain 

 through my field-glasses, on the; look-out lor signs ot 

 animal lite, with no break in the monotonous silence but 

 the mournful e-ry of the great grey shrike, or the tlutter- 

 ing by ot" mating pigeons (Co/iiniba ar<]itatn.\-\, or the 

 momentary appearane'e; ol a black lynx. or. more rarely, 

 of the grey wild cat (/v//.v lihvca ). a long-tailed and very 

 timid species, more usually found on the plains. 1 got 

 hold ol tour specimens ot this animal. It is singularly 

 like; oui" domestic cat, both in appearance and manner ot 

 lite. The caracal ^Clinical iinbicns}, an Last Atncan 

 speues ol lynx, I also came upon. 



