﻿48 
  

  

  THE 
  VERTEBEATE 
  FAUNA 
  OF 
  " 
  DEE." 
  

  

  named 
  Clark 
  in 
  Glendye 
  in 
  1850 
  ; 
  one 
  in 
  the 
  Invercauld 
  

   district, 
  1862, 
  Feb. 
  11th, 
  by 
  James 
  Lundie 
  ; 
  one 
  about 
  1850 
  

   near 
  Old 
  Mar 
  Lodge 
  by 
  Mr. 
  M'Donald, 
  head 
  keeper. 
  Two 
  

   young 
  were 
  obtained 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  period, 
  and 
  were 
  kept 
  for 
  

   some 
  time 
  by 
  the 
  Duke 
  of 
  Leeds. 
  One 
  was 
  killed 
  by 
  Mr. 
  John 
  

   Robb 
  above 
  Bridge 
  of 
  Alford 
  on 
  the 
  Don 
  in 
  1862." 
  

  

  On 
  17th 
  June, 
  1875, 
  a 
  male 
  Wild 
  Cat 
  killed 
  in 
  Glen 
  Tanner 
  

   passed 
  through 
  my 
  hands, 
  and 
  was 
  in 
  the 
  possession 
  of 
  the 
  

   late 
  Sir 
  W. 
  C. 
  Brooks. 
  One 
  was 
  killed 
  at 
  Old 
  Mar 
  Lodge 
  in 
  

   1890, 
  and 
  another 
  in 
  Glenmuick 
  in 
  December, 
  1891. 
  In 
  the 
  

   Aberdeen 
  Evening 
  Gazette 
  of 
  Feb. 
  24th, 
  1892, 
  a 
  Wild 
  Cat 
  was 
  

   reported 
  to 
  have 
  been 
  killed 
  by 
  Mr. 
  A. 
  Grant, 
  gamekeeper, 
  

   Glenmuick. 
  Upon 
  enquiry, 
  however, 
  I 
  learned 
  that 
  this 
  was 
  

   not 
  a 
  Wild 
  Cat, 
  but 
  merely 
  a 
  tame 
  cat 
  that 
  had 
  taken 
  to 
  

   the 
  woods. 
  

  

  " 
  What 
  are 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  Wild 
  Cats 
  are 
  occasionally 
  found 
  in 
  

   solitary 
  places, 
  but 
  there 
  is 
  no 
  reason 
  to 
  doubt 
  whether 
  they 
  

   are 
  not 
  merely 
  such 
  as 
  have 
  escaped 
  from 
  a 
  state 
  of 
  domesti- 
  

   cation." 
  — 
  N. 
  S. 
  A., 
  p. 
  217, 
  parish 
  of 
  Dunnottar. 
  

  

  " 
  The 
  Wild 
  Cat 
  is 
  rare, 
  if 
  not 
  now 
  extinct."— 
  S.A.,-g. 
  234, 
  

   parish 
  of 
  Straehan. 
  

  

  It 
  may, 
  therefore, 
  be 
  said 
  that 
  this 
  species 
  has 
  now 
  

   scarcely 
  a 
  footing 
  within 
  " 
  Dee," 
  unless 
  in 
  some 
  of 
  the 
  wild 
  

   solitary 
  glens 
  in 
  the 
  west 
  of 
  our 
  district 
  ; 
  but 
  even 
  this 
  seems 
  

   doubtful, 
  considering 
  the 
  extraordinary 
  desolation 
  of 
  these 
  

   glens, 
  and 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  they 
  are 
  covered 
  for 
  such 
  a 
  length 
  

   of 
  time 
  with 
  deep 
  winter 
  snows, 
  rendering 
  food 
  extremely 
  

   difficult, 
  if 
  not 
  impossible, 
  to 
  obtain 
  during 
  a 
  great 
  part 
  of 
  

   the 
  year. 
  We 
  fear 
  that 
  Felis 
  catus 
  has 
  now 
  to 
  be 
  numbered 
  

   with 
  the 
  Wild 
  Boar, 
  Wolf, 
  and 
  others 
  of 
  byegone 
  days, 
  so 
  far 
  

   as 
  our 
  area 
  is 
  concerned. 
  

  

  Family 
  CANIDiE. 
  

   Genus 
  VULPES. 
  

  

  Canis 
  vulpes, 
  Linn. 
  Fox. 
  "Tod." 
  

  

  Still 
  in 
  fair 
  abundance, 
  but 
  yearly 
  decreasing. 
  Referring 
  

   to 
  the 
  Kemnay 
  MS., 
  already 
  mentioned, 
  we 
  find 
  that 
  

   between 
  January, 
  1776, 
  and 
  September, 
  1779, 
  226 
  Foxes 
  were 
  

  

  