84 
TRINIDAD. 
are so mimerous and so blood-thirsty that it is seldom 
you can pass a night without your toes, or even your 
noise getting hit. The only effectual preventive is light. 
If you burn a light, all is well, but should the light go 
out from any cause, the bats are sure to bite you ; they 
out away a piece of the sldo, but so kindly do they 
manage this, fanning the place with their wings, that 
the bite is seldom felt until the bat has had its fill of 
your blood. Some animals are much distressed, and 
seriously weakened by loss of blood from the bats con- 
stantly sucking them. It is customary to hang up the 
prickly bush of the lime-tree, which does to some 
extent keep them away. 
Carnivora. — The tiger-cat or ocelot {Felis 'pardalis) is 
one of the most beautiful, though not one of the least 
ferocious of the feline tribe. When full grown it is 
almost four times as large as the domestic cat; they some- 
times weigh as much as thirty-three pounds. The ocelot 
preys upon all sorts of small animals, is particularly 
fond of poultry, and in one night may destroy a dozen 
or more. It climbs the highest trees, but when hunted 
down, or hard pressed by dogs, it backs against the 
trunk of some tree, and keeps its enemies at bay with 
its powerful paws. They are generally shot, but some- 
times bayonetted,and tlie hunter who ventures to do this, 
with an old sj)ear on the end of a pole, a few feet long, 
is not wanting in courage. They are valued for their 
skins, which are striped with greyish and blackish 
stripes. 
As there is a wild cat, so is there a wild dog — Galo 
milao {Mustela harhara). This animal is not common, 
and its habits are imperfectly known. Like the ocelot, 
it can ascend the loftiest trees, and invariably descend- 
ing head downwards ; it lives upon honey, bird’s eggs, 
&c., and makes terrible havoc amongst fowls ; when 
attacked by dogs it defends itself fiercely. 
Marsupialia, opossum or manicou {pcdilphis). The 
opossum is very common here, and feeds upon fruits. 
