MAMMAL SURVEY OF INDIA. 491 



further south. In Java, I killed a specimen that had killed a 

 number of full grown imported chital in a park near Batavia; while 

 in Southern India, it is said to occasionally kill goats and to be very 

 destructive to poultry. 



Viverra civettina. — Recorded from Coorg b}^ Blanford but like Felis 

 viverrina it is probably a rare straggler from the coast. I could get 

 no information of it here, and it appears to be unknown locally. 

 Said to occur on the coast as far north as the northern boundary of 

 South Kanara, although probably more numerous from Malabar 

 southwards, 



Elephas maximus. — Elephants are at times fairly numerous in 

 North and East Coorg, although many if not all of them w^ander 

 backwards and forwards from Mysore and the Wynaad. They are 

 not driven into " Keddahs " here but occasionally captured in 

 pitfalls ; these pits are eleven feet square and about the same in depth, 

 and are filled in with dry grass to prevent the elephants from injuring 

 themselves when they fall in. 



Vernacular name : — " Ani." — G. 0, S. 



This collection, which is a particularly interesting and representa- 

 tive one, consists of 561 specimens, spread over 64 species in 45 

 genera. It is curious that this small province should produce the 

 largest number of species obtained in any one collection since the 

 survey ^vas begun. As Mr. Shortridge mentions in his field notes, 

 the mountain ranges of Coorg are evidently the dividing line for 

 several species, as in the case of the Preshytes, Ratufa and Leggada 

 where there are different species and sub-species within a few miles 

 of each other ; this is possibly due to the difference in altitude, and 

 in the vegetation on the Eastern and Western slopes of the Brahma- 

 giri hills. Besides two new species of mice and one new species and 

 two new subspecies of scjuirrels, there are fourteen species which have 

 been obtained for the first time in this survey, viz., Preshytis johni 

 and Preshytis liypoleucus (the specimens previously obtained from 

 Dharwar, Kanara, etc., and provisionally put down as P. liypoleucus, 

 will probably prove to be the Southern form of entellus. Another 

 interesting result is that Loris tardigrachis differs more than was 

 expected from Loris lydehkerianus, a series of the latter came from 

 Mysore and are larger throughout as well as being much greyer in 

 colom\ Two specimens of the fruit bat Rousettiis lescJienaulti were 

 also obtained and were especially welcome, as this bat appears to be 

 rather rare and local, and the National collection has only a few 

 specimens and none of recent date. A good series of Felis hengal- 

 ensis was procured for the first time and more are badly wanted from 

 other localities. Paradoxurus jerdoni was obtained, also a fine 

 series of otters, including the common otter and the clawless otter. 



The mungoose group is well represented, besides the common 

 mungoose, Mungos fuscus and the large handsome species Mungos 

 9 



