REMINISCENCES FROM THE MELBOURNE ZOO. 
93 
kind of fright that Mr. A. C. Le Souef did when this creature was 
first brought to the gardens. He was entertaining some friends one 
evening when he suddenly was startled by screams of agony, followed 
by the long-drawn-out groans of something enduring the tortures of 
purgatory. With his friends, he rushed pell-mell for the gardens and 
down to the lions’ cages, for he was sure some poor unfortunate man 
had been caught and was being tortured to death by a lion; but peace 
and quiet reigned there, as usual. The groaning had ceased, and they 
made a hasty search for a dead or unconscious body among the cages 
of the great carnivora — resultlessly ; then, perfectly mystified, they 
slowly retraced their steps, most reluctant to leave the gruesome mystery 
unsolved. All at once the heart-rending screams began again, and the 
wailing followed — close by! Another moment, and they saw the cat on 
his haunches, pouring forth his woes on the startled night air. Mr. Le 
Souef’s fright has been suffered by many a score of people since, who 
have had to bear their alarm as best they could until older residents 
have enlightened them about the origin of the blood-curdling night- 
disturbing noises. 
TALES TOLD BY TAILS. 
Not so long ago three very fine brown Tasmanian opossums lived 
next door to Mr. Golden Cat. They were very friendly and very tame, 
and many a wild opossum that lived in the trees in the Zoo or in the 
Royal Park, or in Princes’ Park, visited the captives at night time. If 
one mistook the compartment and went next door, the old story of the 
Spider and the Fly was enacted over again, and next morning a bushy 
tail and some bits of fur had to be cleaned out of this hermit’s cage. 
But one unfortunate night one of the valuable brown opossums managed 
to squeeze his little self out of his cage and join his wild companions in 
a night’s escapade. Coming home early in the morning, he mistook his 
neighbor’s house for his own, and before he could even apologise for 
disturbing the cat he was caught in the cruel claws and torn to pieces, 
and the keepers still mourn the loss of a real pet. 
TIGER CATS. 
Horribly ugly are the tiger cats. The golden cat has some claim to 
the beauty of all the cat tribe of India, whence he comes; but the tiger 
cat belongs to the same tribe as the Tasmanian devil, and it is just 
about as repulsive to look at as its relative. Once on a time the tiger 
cat was common in Victoria and New South Wales, as well as in Tas- 
