SMALLER CATS. 41, 



China : but its cliKtriLution in the countries it inlialiits appears to -be sonicwliat 

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

 is luikuowu in the peninsula, excei)t on part of the Malabar coast. It occurs, 

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

 as tlie 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 tlie great Malayan Islands, such as Sumatra and Borneo. Tiio species 

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

 will show that its distribution will accord very closely witli tliat of the clouded 

 leopard. 



Tills cat is found in the neiglibourhood of tliickets bordering lakes, swamps, 

 and rivers, and is stated to be far from unconnuon 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 fisli it lias been stated on good authority that this cat is also a 

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

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

 kind of I'ooil is equally acceptable to the fishing-cat, which doubtless catches all 

 the smaller animals that come witliin reach of its clutches. All writers wlio have 

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

 species : and it is on record tliat it has lieeii known to destroy not only slieep, 

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

 In reference to thiwe 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 undeserxedly 

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

 matted house, and went ofi" with a brace of ewes, which had half a dozen lamlis 

 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 tlu; 

 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 

 B\ji\\. 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 eventually, not only in breaking tlirough the partition between the 

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

 its flesh. 



The Leopard-Cat {Felis bengaleiisis). 



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

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

 mai'kings tliat it has received no less than fifteen separate scientific names, such 

 variations having been regarded as indicating distinct species. 



In size it lias been compared by Mr. Blanford to a rather small iloinestic 



