iso FLESH-EATERS OF THE LAND 



powers are enormous ; it can reach with ease the bough 

 of a tree that is twenty feet from the ground. 



There are a large number of smaller tiger cats and 

 leopard cats, possessing the beautiful coats and all the 

 bloodthirsty characteristics of their larger brethren. The 

 Ocelot (Felis pardalis), Plate IX. Fig. 3, of South America 

 has a body three feet in length without the tail. Its fur 

 is a mixture of grey and fawn, upon which are drawn 

 longitudinal partially broken bands of fawn, black at the 

 margins ; on the neck, head, and inner side of the limbs the 

 bands give place to irregular spots and dashes. It can be 

 easily tamed and kept as a pet. Mr. Waterton had one for 

 some time, and found it very useful in extirpating rats. 



The Fishing Cat (Felis viverrina) of India is brownish 

 grey in colour, marked with dark brown or black spots. 

 It is supposed to live largely upon fish, but although it 

 is only two and a half feet in length from the nose to the 

 root of the tail, it is fully capable of destroying calves, sheep, 

 and dogs, and upon occasion carries off a Hindoo baby. 

 There is one very well authenticated instance of the Fishing 

 Cat's ferocity. A newly captured male broke into a neigh- 

 bouring cage, where it destroyed a tame female leopard that 

 was quite twice its size. 



The Serval (Felis serval), Plate X. Fig. 3, is a spotted 

 tawny cat with longer legs than the foregoing. The tail is 

 ringed with black. It is found from Algeria to the Cape. 

 It feeds mainly on hares, rabbits, rats, birds, &c., but it is 

 large enough to pull down and kill the young of the smaller 

 antelopes. 



WILD CAT (Felis catus). 

 Plate VIII. Fig. 2. 



The Wild Cat of Europe is one of the oldest inhabitants 

 of Britain, but was never known in Ireland. It is now 

 practically extinct in England, but still lingers in some parts 

 of Scotland. When one hears of a Wild Cat being seen or 

 captured in any other part of the country, it is almost sure 

 to be but a feral cat, or one that has abandoned domesti- 



