THE COMMON WILD CAT. 59 



THE BAY CAT.* 



This animal (see figure on previous page) is found on the Gold Coast of Africa, as well as in Nepaul, 

 Sumatra, and Borneo. It is of a deep bay-red colour above, becoming paler below : there are a few 

 indistinct dark spots on the hind legs, and the head is splendidly ornamented with stripes of black, 

 white, and orange, offering a striking contrast to the uniform tint of the body, and reminding one 

 strongly of the Tiger. The head and body measure about thirty-one inches, the tail nineteen inches. 



Unfortunately nothing is known of the habits of this Cat, so that we can only assume that 

 it has the same savage nature and untamable disposition as the members of its family most nearly 

 allied to it, 



THE SPOTTED WILD CAT.| 



The habits of this Indian species differ a good deal from those of most Wild Cats, for instead of 

 living in forests and jungles, it frequents " open, sandy plains, where the Field Rat must be its principal 

 food. I hardly ever remember seeing it in what could be called jungle, or even in grass." \ 



It is of a grey colour, spotted with black, and attains a length of sixteen to eighteen inches, not 

 including the tail, which measures ten or eleven inches more. The ears are of a dull-reddish colour, 

 and have a small tuft of hair on the tip, thereby showing a relationship between this Cat and the 

 Lynxes. 



THE MANUL. 



The Manul seems to replace the common Wild Cat in Northern Asia, where it occurs on the 

 steppes of Tartary and Siberia. It was discovered by Pallas, who gives no account of its habits. 



Its body is twenty-eight, its tail twelve inches long, so that it is about the same length as the 

 Wild Cat ; it has, however, longer legs. The skin contains a mixture of yellowish and of white hairs ; 

 the head is striped, and the tail ringed with black. 



THE EGYPTIAN CAT.|| 



This is an animal (see figure on next page) of great historic interest, as its remains have been 

 found embalmed in the Egyptian monuments. At the present day it is found in Abyssinia and Egypt. 



It is about the size of an average Domestic Cat, but has a longer tail. The general colour is light 

 tawny or yellowish-grey, with dark transverse bands. The tail is tawny above, white below, and 

 ringed only at the termination. 



THE COMMON WILD CAT.f 



The Wild Cat exists in " all the wooded countries of Europe, Germany especially, Russia, Hungary, 

 the North of Asia, and Nepaul. This animal is larger in cold climates, and its fur is there held 

 in high estimation. In Britain it was formerly plentiful, and was a beast of chase, as we learn from 

 Richard the Second's Charter to the Abbot of Peterborough, giving him permission to hunt the Hare, 

 Fox, and Wild Cat. The fur in those days does not seem to have been thought of much value, for it 

 is ordained in Archbishop Corboyl's canons, A.D. 1127, that no abbess or nun should use more costly 

 apparel than such as is made of Lambs' or Cats' skins. 



" The Wild Cat is now rarely found in the South of England, and even in Cumberland and 

 Westmoreland its numbers are very much reduced. In the North of Scotland and Ireland it is still 

 abundant." 



The average length of a full-grown male specimen is, from snout to root of tail, about twenty-eight 

 inches, the tail itself measuring about thirteen inches. The soft thick fur is of a grey colour, inclining 

 to yellowish on the face, and being nearly white on the belly. There is a black band along the middle 

 of the back, from which numerous dark-grey bands proceed in a transverse direction like the hoops of 

 a barrel, gradually dying away as they reach the belly. The thick tail is ringed with grey and black. 



" The Wild Cat leads a solitary life ; at most, two individuals are seen together. It even appears 

 that the occupant of one district prevents access to it of any others. Its life is completely nocturnal, 



* Felis aurata. t Felis torquata. + Scott, quoted by Jerdon. Felis manv.L 



|| Felis maniculata. U Felis catus. 



