578 REPORT— 1898. 



Present Fauna of the Caves. 



Mammalia. — The most abundant tenants of the caves are the bats. 

 In some caves, such as the Quarry Cave, these seemed to be exclusively 

 fruit-bats {Cynopterus) ; in another there were thousands of two small 

 insectivorous species {Rhinolophus ajfinis, and R. minor). The bats livo 

 in the darkest parts of the caves, the ground beneath their roosting- 

 places being often covered with their bones, of which those of the wings 

 seemed to be the most durable. 



The larger mammals can hardly be said to be denizens of the caves. 

 In the entrances of some of the smaller caverns fresh tracks of tigers, 

 very abundant in the surrounding woods, were to be seen ; but they 

 do not, it seems, inhabit the caves regularly, or breed there. Tracks 

 of bears {Ilelarctos malayanus) were seen in one rather open cave, and 

 with them were those of deer. 



Civet cats [Viverra, spp.) certainly use the caves a good deal, as not 

 only were their tracks seen, but in many parts of the darkest caves 

 germinated coffee beans were to be seen deposited here in the dung of 

 these animals, but neither the animals themselves nor their bones were 

 found. In one or two caves tracks and burrows of what was evidently 

 one of the porcupines were met with, probably the brush-tailed porcupine 

 (Atheritra), which I have seen in the caves of Kota Glanggi, in Pahang. 

 No signs of any other rodents were seen in or near the caves, and though 

 I set traps for them I never caught any. 



The surrounding forest contains a large assortment of the bigger wild 

 beasts, including tiger, bear, wild-ox, pig, muntjac, deer, and elephant, 

 and the absence of any bones of these animals in the caves is worth noting 

 by palaeontologists as showing that a district may be rich in large animals, 

 although there may be no remains of them preserved in the caves. 



In a tropical region primitive man seldom utilises caves except as a 

 temporary ref age from rain, or, at a later stage of civilisation, as a temple. 

 He prefers here to live either in tree houses or in buildings supported on 

 high poles, so as to avoid risk from the nocturnal attacks of tigers or the 

 incursions of snakes, scorpions, or other such vermin, and with the aid of 

 leaves of pahns or screw-pines he can protect himself against rain, and has 

 no fear of cold or snow, which the early European races had to guard 

 against. 



A large proportion of the bones of animals found in European caverns 

 Avere introduced by hyenas and other beasts of prey. The hyena is absent 

 from this region, and the large carnivores do not carry their prey to any 

 distance to de\our it, so that there is little chance of the bones of their 

 victims being found in caves. 



A certain number of the bones in European caverns again are 

 accounted for by the animals having fallen through openings at the top. 

 In these cases it is evident that the upper surface of the limestone 

 whence the animals fell must have been plain, open country, or, at all 

 events, well suited for the existence of large animals. This is not the 

 case here. The larger animals could hardly ascend the cliOs at all, and 

 would have much difficulty in moving about when once there. Monkeys, 

 however, which do frequent the woods clothing the upper part of the hills, 

 not seldom fall into the shaft?, and their bones may often be seen lying 

 at the foot. 



