CATS 



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Cats. 



Several carnivorous mammals are highly characteristic of the 

 Malay countries. Among them is the clouded leopard (Felis nebulosa), 

 which inhabits heights up to 6500 feet in the south-eastern Himalaya and the 

 mountains of Assam, Burma, Siam, the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, Java, and Borneo, 

 being replaced in Formosa by a race with a shorter tail. In the typical race the 



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tail is generally four - fifths the 

 length of its body, which is 38 or 

 40 inches ; in addition to its length, 

 the tail is remarkable for its long 

 close fur, which is almost equally 

 thick throughout. In general 

 colour this cat is earthy greyish 

 or pale yellowish brown, the lower- 

 parts as well as the inner sides 

 of the legs being white or yellow- 

 ish. On the head it is more or 

 less distinctly marked with ver- 

 tical stripes, and on the sides 

 with large irregular dark blotches of which in old individuals only the black 

 edges remain. The legs and lower-parts are marked with black spots, and the 

 tail is irregularly ringed. Although its habits are very imperfectly known, this 

 cat apparently leads a nocturnal life, feeding on mammals and birds. Still less 

 is known about its smaller relative the marbled cat (F. marmorata), which is of 

 similar marking and colouring, and has a length of about 21 A inches, with a tail of 



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CLOUDED LEOPARD. 



