50 NATURAL HISTORY. 



and from this the Clouded Tiger certainly bears the palm. Its form is not particularly graceful as it, 

 legs are short in comparison with the length of its body, and its snout, though longer than that of most 

 efts, is blunt and somewhat awkward. One of the chief beauties of this creature, however, is its 

 magnificent tail, which is fully four-fifths the length of the body (the latter being some forty mches 

 lon^) and handsomely ringed with black. The skull is much elongated especially its facial portion, 

 and bears a strong resemblance to that of the extinct Felis smUodon. The pupil is oblong and erect, 

 not round, as in all the preceding species. 



The Clouded Ti^er, or Rinmu Da/uin, is found in Siam, Assam, Borneo, Java, Sumatra, and the 

 Malayan Peninsula It was first introduced to Great Britain by Sir Stamford Raffles, who brought 

 two specimens with him to England, of which he gives the following interesting account : 



CLOUDED TIGER. 



" Both specimens above mentioned, while in a state of confinement, were remarkable for good 

 "temper and playfulness ; no domestic kitten could be more so. They were always courting intercourse 

 with persons passing by, and in the expression of their countenance, which was always open and 

 smiling, showed the greatest delight when noticed, throwing themselves on their backs, and delighting 

 in being tickled and rubbed. On board the ship there was a small Musi Dog, who used to play round 

 the cage and with tha animal, and it was amusing to observe the playfulness and tenderness with which 

 the latter came in contact with his inferior-sized companion. When fed with a fowl that had died, he 

 seized the prey, and after svicking the blood and tearing it a little, he amused himself for hours in 

 throwing it about and jumping after it in the manner that a Cat plays with a Mouse before it is quite 

 dead. He never seemed to look on man or children as prey, but as companions, and the natives assert 

 that when wild they live principally on poultry, birds, and the smaller kind of deer. They are not 

 found in numbers, and may be considered rather a rare animal, even in the southern part of Sumatra. 

 Both specimens were procured from the interior of Bencoolen, on the banks of the Bencoolen River, 

 They are generally found in the vicinity of villages, and are not dreaded by the natives, except as far 



