BATRACniANS OF THE MEItGUI ARCHIPELAGO. 



333 



The tiger is found on all the large islands close to the main- 

 land, its most western range being King and Doniel Islands ; 

 and on the former it is said to be so numerous and aggressive, 

 that the few villagers, on the eastern side, seldom venture into 

 the forest ; and at the village of Taing, at the head of the creek 

 already mentioned, it is unsafe to penetrate into the jungle, 

 as the Burmese and Karens settled there wage war on the 

 animal by setting formidable dart- or spear-traps, the triggers of 

 which, so to speak, are thread-like fibres stretched across the 

 runs of wild animals, and, if broken through, entail almost 

 certain death. The tigtrr, however, is unknown on such western 

 islands as the Elphinstone and Grant groups, and on Sullivan 

 Island, 70 miles to the south and distant about 10 miles from 

 the coast ; but it occurs on Campbell and Forbes Islands to the 

 south of Kisseraing, the former being separated from the main- 

 land by a channel only one mile in width, whereas the latter is 

 eight miles in breadth, but linked to the coast by two small inter- 

 mediate islands, the widest sea-passage being three miles. 



Both elephants and rhinoceroses find their way on to the 

 island of Kisseraing ; but the former are unknown on any of the 

 other islands. The latter, however, I was informed by Mr. Leslie, 

 of the Maleewon Police, whose duties frequently took him past 

 Campbell and Forbes Islands, occurred on those islands ; but 

 whether Rhinoceros sondaicus, the dried hide of which is sold in 

 Mergui bazaars for food, or a two-horned species, he could not say. 

 He also told me that he had once met a two-horned rhinoceros 

 swimming in the sea close to High Island, about twenty miles 

 distant from the mainland, but with islands everywhere in sight. 



The names of the less prominent mammals met with are 

 recorded in the accompanying list ; but all the species, with the 

 exception of the two bats already mentioned and Ehizomys ery- 

 throgenys, are well-known forms on the neighbouring mainland. 



One of the features of the Reptilian fauna of the Archipelago 

 is the occurrence of Crocodilus porosus in the neighbourhood of 

 almost every island of any siz'e, at least within the area that came 

 under my observation. The great bay on the eastern side of King 

 Island is fringed by mangrove swamps, through which some small 

 freshwater streams flow. The detritus brought down by these 

 streams has converted the head of the bay into a great mud-bank 

 continuous with the mangrove swamps, and at low water it is an 



