56 a hand-book of the management of animals 



Observations on their habits. 



Both the specimens that lived in this garden were unsuspicious in 

 their movements, never resenting the approach of visitors near their 

 cages. Both appeared to be more active than other cats during the 

 day. ^ One of them had a habit of hiding its food under the straw 

 bedding and eating it at night. 



(54) THE FISHING-CAT. 



(FELIS VIVEERINA— Bennett.) 



Hindi — Baraun, Ban Bilai. Bengali — Ban Bidal. 



Description. — Larger than a domestic cat. Head and body about 

 30 inches, tail about 11, height at the shoulders from 12 to 15 inches. 

 Colour of the upper part of the body dark or earthy grey, lighter or 

 almost whitish below. Body and limbs covered with spots of varied 

 size and distinctness. Five to six, sometimes eight, black lines on the 

 head run backwards to the nape, and on reaching the shoulder are 

 broken up and continue as dotted lines to the lower back. There are 

 two horizontal cheek bands, one from behind and another from below 

 the eye ; there are also some cross bands on the throat. In some 

 specimens the limbs are spotted and in others marked with spotted 

 lines. Tail ringed above, the tip of the tail black, penultimate portion 

 whitish. 



Sab. — Indian and Indo-Chinese subregions of the Oriental region. 

 Bengal, probably Orissa, and the Indo-Gangetic plain generally, extend- 

 ing as far as Sindh. Malabar coast, from Mangalore to Cape Comorin, 

 Ceylon. Along the base of the Himalayas, as far as Nepal ; through- 

 out Burmah, Southern China, and the Malayan peninsula. Said to 

 exist in Formosa. 



Fishing-cats have been received in this garden from the follow- 

 ing places : — Calcutta, 24-Pergunnahs, Nuddea, Jessore, Run^pore, 

 Purneah, Malda, Rajshahye, Assam, Chittagong, Midnapore. 



Length of life in captivity. 



The maximum period during which a fishing-cat has lived in the 

 garden has been ten years and a few months. 



Treatment in health. 



Homing. — Fishing-cats, together with other smaller carnivorous 

 animals, are kept in the Kuch Behar House. It is a lofty, spacious and 

 open bungalow, giving shelter from sun and rain to a double row of 

 cages, which are raised on iron supports three feet above the floor of the 

 house ; the central passage separating the two lines of cages is used by 

 the keeper for the purpose of cleaning and feeding, while the deep 

 verandah outside affords shelter to visitors. Each row of cages is 

 divided into eight compartments, communicating with each other 

 by sliding doors. The compartments are each 8 feet long, 5 feet 

 broad, and 4 feet high, and are built of stout wire netting fastened 

 to a strong iron frame. To protect the animals from cold and draughts, 



