THE CAFFRE CAT. 



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stripes. The cheeks are white, and below each eye is generally a white spot. There 

 is an under coating of soft woolly hair, which is set next to the skin, and through this 

 woolly coating the larger hairs protrude. It is this double set of hair which gives to 

 the fur of the Chaus its rough fulness. 



The Chaus, although it has been distinguished by the specific title Lybicus, is an 

 Asiatic as well as an African animal, inhabiting the south of Africa, the shores of the 

 Caspian Sea, Persia, and many parts of India. Of the specimens which are placed 

 in our national collection, some have been taken at Madras, some in the Mahratta 

 territories, some in Nepal, and some in Egypt. The localities where this creature is 

 known to frequent are generally those spots where it finds marshy, boggy ground, and 

 plenty of thick brushwood. It does not appear to care for wooded districts, where trees 

 grow, for it is but a poor climber, and seeks its prey only on the ground. Its food 

 consists chiefly of the smaller quadrupeds and birds, and it is also fond of fish, which it 

 captures in the shallow water by watching quietly for their approach, and then adroitly 

 scooping them from their native element by a quick sweep of its paw. River banks, 

 especially those where the vegetation grows dense and low, are favorite resorts of the 

 Chaus, which can in those favored localities find its two chief requisites : a place of 

 concealment, from whence to pounce upon any devoted bird or quadruped that may 

 chance to come within reach of the deadly spring, and a convenient fishing place where- 

 in to indulge its piscatorial propensities. 



THE CAPFRE CAT. Chaus Gaffer. 



ANOTHER species, of the genus Chaus, is the animal which is generally known by the 

 name of the Caffre Cat, but which properly belongs to the Lyncine group. In color it 

 is rather variable, some individuals being much paler than others, the general tint of the 

 fur being a gray, here and there grizzled with black and diversified with dark brindlings. 

 On the legs the stripes become bolder and better defined. When young, the fur is paler 

 than when the animal has attained its full growth. In size it rather surpasses a large 

 domestic cat. As may be inferred from its name, it is an inhabitant of Southern Africa, 

 being found at the Cape, and in those lands which are inhabited by the various native 

 tribes which are popularly termed Caffres or Kaffirs. 

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