MAMMALS 



county which is not visited annually by this wander- 

 ing tribe. It is commoner on the rivers, estuaries, 

 and open sea on the south coast than on the Bristol 

 Channel side, though evidently not uncommon along 

 the whole length of the Camel. Speaking of the 

 otter, Couch says : ' By far the greatest portion of 

 these creatures in Cornwall derive their food from the 

 sea, where they may be seen diving for fish even when 

 the waves are very tempestuous. Several instances 

 are known of their being drowned in crab-pots, into 

 which they had entered in search of prey and had 

 not afterwards been able to find the opening.' 

 Though occurring frequently in the open sea and in 

 caves along the south coast and occasionally in the 

 estuaries of the Looe river, the Fowey, and the Fal, 

 it does not appear to be so marine in its habits now 

 as formerly, and seems to prefer the rocky streams to 

 all other habitats. During the last forty years it has 

 been reported in crab-pots about half a dozen times. 



22. Common Seal. Pboca vltulina, Linn. 



The common seal occurs along the north coast 

 from Moorwinstow to Land's End. A few frequent 

 the cliffs near Cape Cornwall and even the castle 

 caves near Castle Treryn close to the Logan Rock, 

 but it is not often seen along the south coast, and 

 most of those reported from the Channel are otters. 

 One, however, was killed at Whitsand Bay in 1 86 1, 

 two were seen several times by Marryat near Pol- 

 perro in 1 890, and Matthias Dunn saw it occasion- 

 ally on the rocks about Gorran. The lonesome 

 character of the littoral and the many caves in the 

 slate by the Severn Sea no doubt explain its prefer- 

 ence for the northern shores of the county, where it 

 undoubtedly breeds in small numbers. Baby seals 

 have also been seen on the beaches at Porthcurnow 

 and Porthgwarra, and once on Whitsand Bay, Land's 

 End. 



Ray, in his Itinerary, speaks of the soils (seals) he 

 saw at the Longships ; while Borlase mentions them 

 in his 'Natural History of Cornwall. These references, 

 together with the carvings of this mammal on the 

 pew ends at Zennor Church and the many legends of 

 mermaids in the folk-lore of the county, show that the 

 seal is not a recent settler as has been suggested, but 

 has been a denizen of the Cornish seas for centuries. 



This species is completely replaced at Scilly by the 

 grey seal, as Mr. Dorrien-Smith only knows of one 

 killed there during the last forty years. 



23. Grey Seal. Halichaerus gryphus, Fabr. 



The Isles of Scilly are the headquarters of this fine 

 seal. Mr. T. A. Dorrien-Smith, the lord proprietor 

 of the isles, writes : ' Undoubtedly the grey seal exists 

 at Scilly, and in considerable numbers. I have seen 

 as many as a dozen on a rock together and twenty or 

 thirty on one small group of islands at the same time. 

 The largest we have killed weighed 672 lb., just 

 6 cwt., and I have often seen them up to 5 cwt.' On 

 Roseveare, Rosevean, Gorregan, and the western islands 

 generally they are almost always in evidence. When 

 Mr. J. G. Millais visited Scilly in May, 1903, for 

 the purpose of securing a specimen, he saw six on a 

 rock on his first introduction to their haunts. On 

 the writer's first visit he counted seventeen one day 

 on Rosevean and Gorregan, and their presence was so 

 commonplace as scarcely to excite remark from the 

 boatmen. Several white pups of the grey seal have 

 been taken on the Cornish mainland from time to 



time, but Millais thinks it improbable that they breed 

 there. Adult specimens are occasionally seen on the 

 north coast near Zennor, Newquay, Padstow, and 

 Boscastle, and on the south coast to the west of 

 Penzance. 



RODENTIA 



24. Squirrel. Sciurus leucourus, Kerr. 



Bell Sciurus vulgaris. 



The squirrel is abundant throughout the Truro 

 and Falmouth districts, but does not seem to occur 

 further west than Tehidy, while in many parts of the 

 eastern half of the county it is scarce or altogether 

 wanting. 



25. Dormouse. Muscardinus avellanarius, Linn. 



Bell Myoxus avellanarius. 



The ' dory mouse ' is widespread throughout the 

 county, but somewhat local. Though apparently 

 scarce in the Hayle, Camelfbrd, and Callington dis- 

 tricts, it is common in places about Bodmin, Truro, 

 Falmouth, and Newquay. 



26. Brown Rat. Mus decumanus, Pallas. 



Common and generally distributed. Pied varieties 

 are not uncommon, and an albino was killed by 

 Mr. Henry Harris near Stratton in 1901. 



27. Black Rat. Mus rattus, Linn. 



As late as 1850 this rat was not uncommon about 

 Falmouth, and was of frequent occurrence at Hayle 

 and Penzance. At Looe it persisted till the early 

 seventies. In August, 1878, Mr. T. Cornish killed a 

 black rat at Prussia Cove which, from his description, 

 may have been M us akxandrinus. Several were seen 

 and two killed on the Gull Rock, Portscatho, in 1882. 

 About 1880 a small colony existed at a farm called 

 Trenuggo, about four miles west of Penzance, but 

 when Cornish went there in 1883 he failed to 

 secure a specimen, and concluded they had deserted 

 the spot. In 1885 two were killed about a week 

 apart at Newquay. In 1889 Cornish recorded in the 

 Zoologist the capture of a black rat at Tredorwin, about 

 five miles north-east of Penzance, and of another at 

 Paul, three miles to the south-west. He also mentions 

 that one had been seen that year at Camborne. In 

 1891 one was killed near Falmouth by a farm lad, and 

 was seen by the writer when it was in an advanced 

 state of decomposition. There appears to be no fur- 

 ther county record till 1902, when one was caught 

 in a trap and another seen at Heamoor, about two 

 miles north-west of Penzance. A fine female speci- 

 men of Mus akxandrinus was killed in Falmouth Docks 

 on 30 June, 1900. 



28. House Mouse, Mus musculus, Linn. 

 Abundant. 



29. Long-tailed Field Mouse. Mus sylvaticus, Linn. 



Abundant almost everywhere. This was the only 

 mouse that appeared in the two ' larders ' of the butcher 

 bird that have recently been found near Truro. One 

 of the birds caught and impaled three of these mice 

 on a stunted white-thorn between four o'clock one 

 afternoon and ten the following morning. During 

 the time these 'larders' were in use eleven long-tailed 

 field mice appeared in one of them and ten in the 

 other. 



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