BEARS — WEASEL TRIBE— MONGOOSES 53 



15 inches. From the east the little Bengal fox (C. bengalensis) just enters the 



Mediterranean region, but does not range westward of Sind and the Punjab ; while 



from the west Riippell's fennec (C. famelicus) seems to extend over south-western 



Asia. The latter is intermediate between the North African fennec and the true 



fennecs, having proportionately smaller ears than the African forms, although these 



appendages are larger than in other small foxes. 



Two races of the brown bear are found in south-western Asia, 



the one the silvery grey Syrian brown bear ( Ursus arctus syriacus), 



and the other the Himalayan brown bear ( U. arctus isabellinus), which, at least in 



immature animals, displays a more creamy or " isabelline " tone of colour. A very 



different species, the Himalayan black bear (U. torquatus), also enters the 



Mediterranean region in Kashmir and the adjacent countries. 



Among the representatives of the weasel tribe met with in the 

 Weasel Tribe. . . 



area under consideration, the beech-marten is found in Palestine, 



Syria, and Asia Minor, although probably not in Persia, and only in northern 

 Afghanistan. In Kashmir the yellow-throated Indian marten (Mustela fiavigula) 

 enters the region. The polecat is replaced near Kandahar and Quetta, and perhaps 

 also in other countries bordering on south-western Asia, by the mottled polecat 

 (M. sarmatica). The European ermine does not range very far south, although its 

 habitat extends into Asia Minor, Persia, and the Himalaya. The weasel probably 

 inhabits much the same part of the region as the ermine. The badger ranges to 

 the Caucasus, but in southern Spain and perhaps Asia Minor is replaced by an 

 allied species or race (Meles mediterraneus), while farther east the latter is succeeded 

 by the smaller and paler Persian badger (M. canescens). The limits of the range 

 of the European otter in south-western Asia are still unknown, although the 

 species has been stated to occur in Mesopotamia and Persia. Elliot's otter 

 (Lutra ellioti, or barang), which is common in Sind and elsewhere in the Indus 

 country, though not farther west, extends from India into the Mediterranean 

 region. 



Certain kinds of mongoose demand brief notice, the well-known 

 Egyptian species (Herpestes ichneumon) being found in the European 

 and African, as well as in the Asiatic portion of the Mediterranean region. This 

 species (which is represented in Spain by a local race, H. i. wicldringtoni) reaches 

 a length of about 20 inches, with a tail-length of about 16 inches. The general 

 colour of the fur is greyish browm, the hairs being ringed with reddish brown and 

 pale yellow, and the tip of the tail black. This species shows the antipathy to snakes 

 characteristic of its kindred and is immune to their venom, but whether it eats 

 crocodile's eggs in the numbers reputed is not ascertained. The ancient Egyptians 

 kept the ichneumon as a domesticated animal, and perhaps their modern descend- 

 ants may do the same, as it is an excellent mouser. For this useful quality the 

 ancient Egyptians considered it sacred, and represented it in various ways on 

 their wall paintings and elsewhere. 



The small Indian mongoose (H. auropunctatus) ranges from the east into 

 south-western Asia, being found in the Punjab, Sind, Baluchistan, southern 

 Afghanistan, and Persia. This mongoose, w r hich is, moreover, indigenous to 

 northern India from Kashmir to upper Burma, is about half the size of the 



