CARACAL. 



435 



the Himalaya, and also occurs in Ceylon and Burma, yet it has a wide range to the 

 westward, Ix-ini;- common in Persia, and thence extending through Syria to North 

 Africa. Occasionally black specimens of this cat are met with in India. 



The jungle-cat, although, from its nocturnal habits, rarely seen, is described by 

 the late Dr. Jerdon as frequenting " alike jungles and the open country, and is very 

 partial to long grass and reeds, sugar-cane fields, corn-fields, etc. It does much 

 damage to game of all kinds, hares, partridges, etc., and once I shot a pea-fowl 

 at the edge of a sugar-cane field, when one of these cats sprang out, seized the 

 pea-fowl, and, after a short struggle (for the bird was not dead), carried it off before 

 my astonished eyes, and, in spite of my running up, made good his escape with his 

 booty." It is said to be very destructive at times to poultry. The present writer 

 once came suddenly upon the jungle-cat in the outer Himalaya on the edge of a 

 recently-cut field of maize, which, after staring in astonishment for a few seconds, 

 quietly made its way into cover. 



In disposition the jungle-cat is described as being very savage; and, even 

 when caught young, is generally untamable. It is said to breed twice a year (like 

 the European wild cat), and to produce three or four kittens at a birth, which, 

 when captured, are very difficult to rear. The late Sir O. B. St. John, as quoted 

 by Mr. Blanford, when writing of his Persian experiences, states that among the 

 mountains of the South he found three kittens of this species so young as to be 

 unable to drink milk. " I reared them," continues this observer, " with some 

 difficulty, till about three months old, by which time they became very tame and 

 playful, climbing up on to my knees when at breakfast, and behaving very much 

 like ordinary domestic kittens. Unfortunately one was killed by a greyhound, and 

 another by a scorpion, within a few days, on which the survivor became morose, 

 and refused to be comforted, even by the society of a kitten of his own age, which 

 I procured as a companion to him. When I left Persia, in 1867, he was a year old, 

 and very large and powerful. Two English bull-terriers I had, who made short 

 work of the largest domestic cat, could do nothing with my wild cat. In their 

 almost daily battles the dogs always got the worst of it." 



THE CARACAL (Felis caracal). 



The foxy-coloured cat known as the caracal is a species of larger size 

 than the jungle-cat, though smaller than the true lynx, and agrees with the 

 latter in its long limbs, pencilled ears, and the characters of its teeth; but in 

 its longer tail, absence of a ruff round the throat, and less close and thick fur, 

 it resembles the jungle -cat. The transition from the typical cats to the lynxes is, 

 therefore, complete. 



The caracal, in addition to its relatively long limbs, is characterised by its 

 slender build, by the length of the tail being equal to one-third of that of the hind 

 leg and body, and by the long tufts of black hair surmounting the long ears. From 

 the latter feature the animal is known to the Persians by the name of Siyah-gush ; 

 siyah signifying black, and gush ears. The skull is characterised by the elevation 

 of the crown, and the shortness of the face ; while there are but two premolar teeth 

 in the upper jaw, and the flesh-tooth of the lower jaw is distinguished by the 



