THE RIM A U-DAHAN. 
155 
the fowls which it had snatched from the steward, and had eaten their heads before they could 
be reclaimed. 
Ocelots have been kept in the Zoological Gardens at Central Park, and always attract by 
their exceeding beauty of markings. They resisted all attempts at familiarity, and seemed 
not amenable to domestication ; though perhaps a longer term of confinement might prove 
them otherwise. 
The Eyba Cat ( Fells eyra ) is enumerated as a North American animal, being common 
in the region near the Rio Grande of Texas. 
The Maegay is a very handsome example of the Tiger Cats. The tail is rather more 
bushy towards the tip than those of the preceding animals, and the spottings are hardly so 
MARGAY.— Leopardus tignnus. 
apt to run into hollow streaks or links. It will be observed that the spots are small and 
numerous towards the hind quarters. 
It is, when caught young and properly treated, a very docile and affectionate animal, 
although it has been slanderously described as a wholly untamable and ferocious beast. Mr. 
Waterton mentions, in one of his essays on natural history, that when he was in G-uiana he 
possessed a Margay which had been captured by a negro while still a kitten. It was nurtured 
with great care, and became so fond of its master that it would follow him about like a dog. 
Against the rats which inhabited the house, this Margay waged incessant war, creeping about 
the staircase in search of the destructive rodents, and pouncing with unerring aim on any rat 
that was unfortunate enough to make its appearance from out of its hiding-place behind the 
casements. 
With an instinctive knowledge of rats and their habits, the Margay was accustomed to 
choose the closing hours of day as its best hunting time. The creature’s assistance in rat- 
killing was most useful, for, during the owner’ s absence, the rats had gained entrance to his 
house, and, finding no one there to oppose their devices, took possession, and roamed about 
the rooms at their own will. Thirty-two doors had been gnawed through by the chisel-edged 
teeth of the rats, and many of the valuable window-frames had suffered irreparable damage 
from these long-tailed pests. 
The very handsome animal which is known by the name of Rimau-dahan, or more 
popularly as the Clouded or Tortoise-shell Tiger, was, until comparatively late years, a 
