the Tyger-cat of the Cape of Good Hope, 3 
Since it is quite foreign to my purpofe to fpeak of chofe fpe- 
cies which are known already to the naturaMft, I confine myfelf 
to that fpecies only which hitherto has been imperfe&ly known 
to naturalifts. 
The firit notice we had of the Cape Cat is, in my opinion, 
to be met with in labat’s Relation Hiftorique de TILthiopie 
occidentals , tom. I. p. 177, taken as is fuppofed from Father 
car azzi. labat mentions there the ’ NfuJJi , a kind of wild 
Cat of the fize of a Dog, with a coat as much ftriped and varied 
as that of a Tyger. Its appearance befpeaks cruelty, and its eyes 
fiercenefs ; but it is cowardly, and gets its prey only by cunning 
and infidious arts. All thefe characters are perfectly applicable 
to the Cape Cat, and it feems the animal is found in all parts of 
Africa, from Congo to the Cape of Good Hope, in an extent of 
country of about eleven degrees of latitude, kolbe, in his Prefent 
State of the Cape Good Hope, vol. IL p. 127. (of the Englifh 
edition) fpeaks of a Tyger Bujh-cat , which he defcribes as the 
largeft of all the wild Cats of the Cape-countries, and is fpot- 
ted fomething like a Tyger. A Ikin of this animal was feen by 
Mr. pennant in a furrier’s fhop in London, who thought it 
came from the Cape of Good Hope ; from this (kin Mr. pen- 
nant gave the firft defcription which could be of any utility 
to a natural hiftorian *. All the other authors mention this 
animal in a vague manner. When I and my fon touched the 
lecond time at the Cape of Good Hope in the year 1775, an 
animal of this fpecies was offered me topurchafe ; but I refufed 
buying it becaufe it had a broken leg, which made me apprehen- 
sive of loiing it by death during the pahage from the Cape to 
London. It was very gentle and tame. It was brought in a 
pinnant’s' S vnoplls of Quadrupeds, p. 1S1 . nr ft edit. 
B 2 
bafket 
