SMALLER CATS. 4II 



China ; but its distribution in the countries it inhabits appears to 'be somewhat 

 local. Thus, instead of occurring all over India, this cat, according to Mr. Blanford, 

 is unknown in the peninsula, except on part of the Malabar coast. It occurs, 

 however, in Ceylon, and is found along the flanks of the Himalaya as far westward 

 as the independent state of Nipal. Thence it extends into Burma, the Malay 

 Peninsula, and the south of China; but, somewhat curiously, it appears to be 

 absent from the great Malayan Islands, such as Sumatra and Borneo. The species 

 is, however, said to reappear in the Island of Formosa; which, if confirmed, 

 will show that its distribution will accord very closely with that of the clouded 

 leopard 



This cat is found in the neighbourhood of thickets bordering lakes, swamps, 

 and rivers, and is stated to be far from uncommon in the neighbourhood of 

 Calcutta. It does not appear that it has been observed by any European in the 

 act of catching the fish which form such a considerable portion of its diet, and an 

 account of the mode in which the capture is effected would be of much interest. 

 In addition to fish it has been stated on good authority that this cat is also a 

 consumer of the large mollusks found so abundantly in the swamps of India, and 

 one specimen is known to have eaten a snake. Probably, however, almost any 

 kind of food is equally acceptable to the fishing-cat, which doubtless catches all 

 the smaller animals that come within reach of its clutches. All writers who have 

 seen it in the wild state bear testimony to the fierce and savage disposition of this 

 species ; and it is on record that it has been known to destroy not only sheep, 

 calves, and dogs, but also to carry off native infants which have been left unguarded. 

 In reference to these destructive habits, a correspondent, quoted by Mr. R. A. 

 Sterndale, observes that the fishing-cat generally " takes up its quarters in low 

 swampy jungle, where it often carries off calves, for which the leopard undeservedly 

 gets credit. Lately, a couple of months ago, a pair of them at night broke into a 

 matted house, and went off with a brace of ewes, which had half a dozen lambs 

 between them. ... I have caught this species in traps, and when let loose in an 

 indigo-vat, with a miscellaneous pack of dogs, they have invariably fought hard. 

 . . . Some years ago one got into my fowl-house at night, and just as I opened the 

 door to enter it made a fierce jump at me from a perch on the opposite side." The 

 most remarkable instance of the ferocity of this cat is, however, related by 

 Blyth. In this case a newly-caught male of the fishing-cat was put into a 

 cage separated by a thin partition from one containing a tame female leopard, 

 which, although young, was about double the size of the fishing-cat. The latter 

 succeeded, however, not only in breaking through the partition between the 

 two cages, but in actually killing the leopard, although it made no attempt to eat its 

 flesh. 



THE LEOPARD-CAT (Felis bengalensis). 



The pretty little cat from South-Eastern Asia, commonly known as the leopard- 

 cat, is subject to such an extraordinary amount of individual variation in colour and 

 markings that it has received no less than fifteen separate scientific names, such 

 variations having been regarded as indicating distinct species. 



In size it has been compared by Mr. Blanford to a rather small domestic 



