1905. 



THK WIIvD CAT IN IRKI^AND. 



BY R. F. SCHARFF, PH.D., F.I^.S. 



In the report of the Irish Cave Committee sent to the British 

 Association meeting last year, I announced the discovery ot 

 the remains of a wild cat in the Clare caves. 



I am now working out the mammalian remains of these 

 caves in detail tor the Cave Committee's second report, giving 

 fuller particulars of the structure and affinities of this wild 

 cat. 



There can be no doubt, to judge from the position and 

 nature of the bones found, that this animal is not long extinct 

 in Ireland. There is even a possibility that a few specimens 

 may yet survive in the more remote mountain recesses of the 

 western districts. 



When William Thompson compiled his notes for the con- 

 templated w^ork on the Fauna of Ireland about sixty years ago, 

 he received letters from correspondents who alleged that 

 wild cats then existed in the mountains of Krris in the county 

 of Mayo. 



It was then thought that if a wild cat existed in Ireland, 

 it must be of the same species as that inhabiting Scotland. 

 The cave remains, however, prove that the Irish wild cat was 

 different from the Scotch— that it resembled, in fact, a wild 

 cat peculiar to southern Kurope and northern Africa, and 

 that its tail was not bushy, but pointed like that of our domestic 

 cat. 



Might I urge upon the readers of the Iris/i Naturalist^ par- 

 ticularly those living in the western counties, to find out 

 from gamekeepers whether anything has been seen or heard 

 of a wild cat lately. If so, let them if possible secure a 

 living specimen for our Zoological Gardens. I should also be 

 glad to receive cats which have met with their death in traps 

 or which have been shot under the impression that they are 

 tame cats gone wild. Any information on the subject will be 

 gladly received and acknowledged. 



The Museum, Dubliu, 



