THE CAT FAMILY— WILD CAT. 



99 



just as intolerant of bad usage, and rebels when he 

 does not like the treatment accorded him by Man. 

 Combat Between Indian princes still arrange combats 

 Tiger and between Tigers and other animals, 

 Elephant. especially the Elephant and Buffalo. 

 Tachard witnessed such a fight in Siam. Three 

 Elephants, whose heads were protected by a kind of 

 harness, were led into an enclosure, fenced in by 

 stakes. The Tiger was already there, but was held 

 by two ropes. He was not very large, and when he 

 caught sight of the Elephants, looked about for a 

 hiding place ; but the Elephants at once gave him a 

 few blows with their trunks, which sent him to the 

 floor in a dead faint. He was then untied, soon re- 

 gained consciousness and, with a roar, rushed at the 

 trunk of one of the Elephants, but the giant lifted 

 it high up and threw the Tiger into the air with his 

 tusks. He did not attempt another attack after this, 

 but ran back and forth 

 near the stakes and tried 

 to escape. The three 

 Elephants were then 

 pitted against him, and 

 they administered such 

 terrific blows that he 

 again fainted. If the 

 struggle had not ended 

 at this point the enraged 

 Elephants would have 

 killed him. 



The ancients did not 

 know the Tiger until a 

 late period. The Bible 

 does not mention him, 

 and the Greeks speak 

 of him but little. Near- 

 chos, Alexander's gen- 

 eral, saw a Tiger-skin, 

 but not the animal itself, 

 although the Hindoos 

 informed him that it was 

 as big as the largest 

 Horse and was superior 

 to all other creatures in 

 swiftness and strength. 

 Strabo is the first writer 

 who gives any detailed 

 account of him. The 

 Romans had no knowl- 

 edge of Tigers up to the 

 time of Varro. Claudius 

 had four of them in his 

 possession. Subse- 

 quently Tigers were of- 

 ten brought to Rome, and Heliogabalus had them 

 draw his chariot when performing as Bacchus. 

 Avitus gave, in an amphitheatre, the first perform- 

 ance in which Tigers were killed, five of the beasts 

 being slaughtered. 



Description of The Royal Tiger has as few near kins- 

 the Clouded men as the Eion; his nearest relatives, 

 Tiger. one f which was the Tiger of the 



Caverns that inhabited central Europe, all being ex- 

 tinct. One South Asiatic species, the Clouded Tiger 

 (Fe/is nebulosa), approaches him nearest, having like 

 him a long body set on strong, short limbs. The 

 head is small, the ears are rounded, and the soft fur 

 resembles the stripes of the Royal Tiger. The great- 

 est points of difference are its smaller size, the very 

 short limbs and the tail, which is as long as the body. 

 The ground color of his fur is a dingy, whitish-gray, 



sometimes overlaid with a yellow or brownish tinge. 

 The lower parts are of a tan color. Tin- head) it* I 

 and abdomen are adorned with black, round or oblong 

 spots or stripes. The margins of the lips show a 

 black edge, and the ears are black with gray spots. 

 The length of the body is a little more than three 

 feet, and the tail measures a little less than the body. 

 The range of this animal is very extensive, embrac- 

 ing all southeastern Asia. 



A few years ago the Clouded Tiger was a very 

 rare animal in collections and zoological gardens, 

 but is now more frequently met with. The natives of 

 Sumatra say that he is anything but ferocious and 

 lives only upon small mammals and birds. Among 

 the latter we must, unfortunately, include Chickens, 

 and the damage he does in poultry yards is consider- 

 able. A beautiful specimen of the Clouded Tiger 

 was attached to the London Zoological Garden, and 



THE MARBLED CAT. This animal is a little larger than a large house Cat. The ground tint of the fur 



varies, but is usually of a brownish gray and merges into a black strip which extends along the entire back. On the 

 sides are dark spots, not so sharply denned as those of the Leopard, but still quite prominent. The Marbled Cat 

 inhabits Assam, Burmah, the Malay Peninsula, Java, Sumatra and perhaps Borneo. {Pelts marmorata.) 



the keeper treated it as he would a good-natured 

 Domestic Cat. 



THE COMMON WILD CAT. 



The Common Wild Cat {Felis cattts) is the only 

 one of the family that has not been quite exter- 

 minated in the Old World countries, like Germany. 

 For a long time it was thought to be the ancestor of 

 our Domestic Cat, but closer investigation does not 

 support this belief. The Wild Cat is considerably 

 larger than Pussy. It may be distinguished from 

 the latter at a glance by its thicker fur, its larger 

 whiskers, its ferocious look and its stronger teeth; 

 its head is thicker, and its tail is fuller and shorter, 

 does not taper toward the end, and is ringed in 

 gray and black. The throat shows a whitish-yellow 

 spot, and the soles of the feet are black or dark. 



