1832.] On the Mammalia of Nepal. 341 



dom approaching inhabited places, or doing greater mischief than the 

 occasional destruction of a village dog. They are much less dreaded 

 than the bears. 



Some of the small cats of the central region are numerous and 

 beautiful ; such as the Felts Nipalensis. The Murmi cat (mihi) 

 is peculiar to this tract, in which and in the northern region also is 

 found a species of wild cat belonging to the section of the lynxes, or 

 medial cats, with shortish tails and pencilled ears. It answers 

 precisely to Felts Chaus of Ruphel, but not to the booted lynx, 

 which has usually been held to be the same animal. The domestic 

 cat is as common in Nepal as elsewhere, and has no peculiarity worthy 

 of note. Judging by its marks, I should conjecture that it is derived 

 from the Felis Nipalensis ; if so, it has lost by domestication the fine 

 ground colour of that beautiful species. Strange as it may appear, it 

 is unquestionably true that the royal tiger is found in the Kachar, 

 close to the snows. But it must be remembered, that in that extra- 

 ordinary region there are valleys of extreme depth and heat, as well 

 as mountains of extreme height and coldness. Why this monster 

 should avoid the central region, and yet seek the western one, may be 

 probably explained by the paucity of ruminants in the former region, 

 and by their comparative abundance in the latter : and it must be re- 

 membered, that there is free access from the Tarai and Bhawar (the 

 nursery of tigers) to the Kachar, by the means of the banks of the 

 large rivers. The leopard is also found in the Kachar, and a variety 

 of undescribed small cats. All the three regions of Nepal abound in 

 weasels ( Mustelidcs) , many of which are unknown altogether to Natural 

 History. 



We have, in the central region, besides Mustela Hardwickii, another 

 species nearly allied to it, but of a fuller habit, and larger : and yet 

 another similarly allied, but very small and beautifully coloured. The 

 two last are undescribed. In the lower hills is found a new species, 

 with shorter tail than the above, and more closely resembling the vulgar 

 weasel of England : having a white stripe down the vertex and a white 

 band across the forehead ; and one species in the Kachar, also new. 

 The polecat likewise is an inhabitant of the central and northern re- 

 gions, — rare in the former, and common in the latter. 



Of the genus Lutra^ we have seven species, all differing from 

 either of the two species found ordinarily in the plains, as well as with 

 one exception, from those described by authors. The exception allud- 

 ed to is the common otter, (L. vulgaris^) of which the largest Nepa- 

 lese species cannot be considered more than a variety. This animal 



