12 FELID.E. 



Creighton, Lord Roden's gamekeeper at the former locality, he infonned 

 me that he had never seen this species in Ireland. 



The largest cat I ever saw (it Aveighed 10 lbs. 9 oz.) was shot in a wild 

 state, at Shane's Castle Park (Co. Antrim), in Dec, 1847, and sent to 

 Belfast for the purpose of being preserved. This specimen was Felis 

 catiis in everything but the form of the tail, which was not bushy at the 

 end, and in the fur being finer in texture. It was as strong in every re- 

 spect as that animal, but of a lighter grey colour than a F. catiis from 

 Invernesshire, with which it was compared. Throughout the entire body, 

 legs, and tail, it had all the black markings of the true wild cat. The 

 animal appeared to be a genuine hybrid between Felis catus and the 

 domestic cat. 



My relative Robert Langtry, Esq., on returning to Belfast from Aber- 

 arder, Invernesshire, in the middle of October, 1842, brought me two 

 wild cats {Felis catus), an old and a young animal, which had been killed 

 a few days previously. The story of their capture is as follows : Mac- 

 gregor, one of his keepers, observed a great quantity of the feathers and 

 other remains of many grouse about a " water-break " in his beat, and five 

 of these birds, in excellent condition, just killed, and wanting the head 

 and neck, but otherwise quite uninjured, so that they were taken to his 

 master and served uj) at table. Suspecting that wild cats were the cul- 

 prits, he set traps for them, and caught these two. He expected to cap- 

 ture two or three more, as the young generally keep with their parents. 

 It was supposed that the wild cats would not have made any further use 

 of the grouse off which they had taken the heads. These had probably 

 been eaten. 



The Fox, Vidpcs vu?(/aris, Briss. 



The fox, like the otter, is still found in suitable localities throughout 

 the island, M'herever it can remain in spite of man. In many parts of the 

 country this species is abundant, but in no district of which I am aware 

 have so many been taken as on the mountains in the south of the County 

 of Down. The keeper at Tollymore Park, situated in this district, in- 

 formed me, in August, 1851, that, since he came there, in 1827, he had 

 killed upwards of 400 foxes in the neighbourhood. A little dog (the 

 stuffed remains of which he still possesses) Avas at the death of 131 in the 

 space of six or seven years. The poor dog was drowned when crossing 

 the river in the park, during a great flood. 



Wlien visiting Dunfanaghy, and the neighbouring mountains of Done- 

 gal, on 27th June, 1852, a fox-earth, said to contain two old and five 

 young ones, and situated above a small lake at the base of Rosheen, was 

 pointed out to m.e. Two cubs, almost full-grown, were out sjjorting them- 

 selves, and I lay for a long time, at the distance of seventy or eighty 

 yards, observing their gambols. They were playful as young kittens, and 

 very graceful in their movements. At first they amused themselves about 

 the mouth of the earth, but afterwards went quite away from it. A little 

 further on I saw an old fox. 



Professor Stevelly informed me, in September, 1851, that he frequently 

 saw, at Col. Hodder's, Hoddersfield (Co. Cork), between the years 1815 

 and 1819, a pet fox, which was regularly fed with the fox-hounds, and 

 went out pretty constantly with them in pursuit of wild foxes, taking as 

 much pleasure in the sport as the hounds did. This fox frequently Avent 

 aAvay for upAvards of a Aveek at a time, but ahvays returned of his OAvn 

 accord back to Hoddersfield. 



