Chapter VIII: Introduction (6)

There is another Thibetan badger mentioned by Professor Milne-Edwards in his 'Recherches sur les Mammiferes,' a white-throated one, _M. obscurus_, but it appears to be the same as _M. albogularis_.

_GENUS MELLIVORA_.

Tubercular grinder transverse; flesh-tooth larger, with a small internal lobe, and with a single tubercle; lower flesh-tooth tricuspidate, sharp-edged; head depressed; nose blunt; ears not visible externally; body stout, depressed; legs short, and strong; feet plantigrade, five-toed; front claws elongated and strong; the bald sole of the hind foot occupying the whole under surface, only slightly divided across about one-third of its length from the front; tail very short, with powerfully offensive glands; it has a thick loose skin and a subcutaneous layer of fat, which doubtless protect it from stings of bees, on which this genus is supposed to feed whenever it can.

NO. 174. MELLIVORA INDICA. _The Indian Ratel or Honey-Badger_ (_Jerdon's No. 94_).

NATIVE NAME.--_Biju_, Hind.; _Biyu-khawar_, Telegu; _Tavakaradi_, Tamil; _Bajru-bhal_, at Bhagulpore (Santali?); _Bharsiah_, Nepalese.

HABITAT.--Throughout India.

[Figure: _Mellivora Indica_.]

DESCRIPTION.--The upper half of its body is ashy-grey; the lower half, muzzle, limbs, and tail black; the general appearance is that of a black animal with a grey cloak on its back. The only difference between the Indian and the Cape Ratel is, that the grey cloak of the latter has a conspicuous white border which is wanting in the Indian species; the tail also of the latter is shorter, otherwise they are the same, and were for a long time considered the same.

SIZE.--Head and body, 26 to 32 inches; tail, 5 to 6 inches.

Jerdon says it is chiefly found in hilly districts, and that he has not found it in Lower Bengal nor on the Malabar coast. In Central India it is not uncommon. It has got a reputation for digging into graves, and is called in some parts "the grave-digger;" but I do not believe in its carnivorous propensities to this extent; it lives principally on small fry, insects, and small animals, honey and vegetable food. Jerdon says it is destructive to poultry, which is probable, for it will eat small birds. Both it and the Cape species will eagerly look out for bees, but it is not to be supposed, as some books would make out, that bees and honey form the staple diet. Its thick and loose skin, the stiffness of the hair above, and the layer of fat below, effectually preserve it from the effects of the stings. The tail glands contain a very strong and pungent secretion.

Some years ago, before I knew exactly what they were, the Ratels in the London Zoological Gardens used to interest me greatly. They had a low cage, on the ground I think, and their peculiar antics never failed to draw a crowd. They used to run round in an idiotic sort of way, and always at one point gravely turn head over heels and then proceed as before and repeat. In Cassell's 'Natural History' this is alluded to, only the writer says that now they are in fresh quarters, and the flitting seems to have disturbed them. He adds: "We have often watched one of them run round and round the cage in the usual purposeless manner of captive animals, but with this peculiarity: when he reached a particular corner of the den, he quietly, and without effort, turned head over heels, and then went on again. On one occasion, after he had been doing this with great regularity for some rounds he seemed to become abstracted, and passed the usual spot without the somersault; when, however, he had proceeded a few paces he recollected himself, stopped for a moment, returned to the exact place, turned over as usual, and proceeded without further let or hindrance." The African species is said to live largely on bees--I suppose ground bees, such as our English humble bee, for these animals are not arboreal--and it is said to exhibit great skill in tracking the flying insects to their nest. "Sparrman states that it seats itself on a hillock to look for the bees, and shades its eyes with one forepaw against the rays of the setting sun." Here is something for our Indian naturalists to observe. Some other animals are said to do the same; whether the Biju does it or not I cannot say. McMaster says of it: "Two that I saw in confinement appeared very good-tempered, and much more playful than tame bears would have been. They were, I think, fed entirely upon vegetables, rice and milk." This animal is the same as Hodgson's _Ursitaxus inauritus_, the _Bharsiah_ which figures as a separate genus in Cuvier. The skull is very like that of the wolverenes in general form.

_GENUS GULO--THE GLUTTON OR WOLVERENE_.

This animal was placed by Linnaeus among the _Ursidae_, and is classed by some with the _Melididae_, but its dentition is more that of the Martens, which occupy the next group. The true Glutton (_Gulo luscus_) is not known in India, but we have some so-called Wolverenes (_Helictis_) to which I shall presently allude. Still a few remarks about the typical animal, which is by no means an uninteresting creature, may not be out of place. The Glutton inhabits a wide tract of country in the Northern Hemisphere, the colder regions of Europe, Asia, and America; it is abundant in Siberia and Kamschatka, and is the pest of the trappers in North America. Fabulous stories were told of this animal in olden days, some of which are still propagated at the present time. It was supposed to be of insatiable appetite, and to attack its prey (deer, &c.) by dropping down from the branch of a tree on to the back of its victim, and to eat its way into a vital part, whilst being carried along--a decided fallacy, for neither the Glutton nor our Indian species of _Helictis_ are arboreal in their habits. Then it was accused of eating to such a pitch of distention that it had to squeeze itself between two close-growing trees for relief ere it returned again to the repast. There is no doubt, however, that it is to a great extent voracious and extremely cunning; and what it cannot eat it will carry off and hide. The trappers complain bitterly of it, and spare no pains to kill every one they can come across; but it is not easily to be caught, and only a very cunningly-devised bait will succeed.

Were I to relate some of the stories recorded of this animal I might get accused, if not of being a romancer myself, at all events of being a too credulous propagator of other people's romances. It is told of it that it will discover hidden stores, and, digging them up out of the snow, carefully smooth the surface over again; that it will avoid every trap set for itself, and, going round to the back of spring guns, gnaw through the string connected with the trigger before it drags away the bait. It follows up the lines laid down by the trappers, taking the martens out, and devouring them, or hiding what it cannot eat, and by wearying out the patience of the hunters, compel them to strike a new "marten-road."

It is said by Dr. Coues to possess a singular habit of sitting down on its haunches, shading its eyes with a forepaw, and gazing earnestly at the approaching enemy before it takes to flight. I have already alluded to the Cape ratel doing this on the look-out for bees. The Indian form of Wolverene is a slighter and much smaller animal, with a still more weasel-like appearance. The Glutton is comparatively a large beast, the body being about 2-1/2 feet, and the tail 10 inches; the _Helictis_ is only half the size, and there is a slight difference in the dentition.

_GENUS HELICTIS_.

"Head tapering; nose acute, conical; muzzle bald, obliquely truncated; other side hairy, with a central groove; nostrils inferior; ears ovate; body slender; legs short; toes 5.5; front claws elongate, curved; hinder short and acute; sole of foot hairy behind, bald in front, and rhombic for half the length of the foot, with three large oblong pads on the front, and three small ones on the hinder edge; toes elongate; thumb short; fur black, like _Herpestes_; tail moderate, sub-cylindrical; teeth, 38; premolars, 4--4/4--4; grinders, 5/6."--Gray.

There are four species of this genus, and of these two come within the geographical limits of these papers, viz., _Helictis Nipalensis_ and _H. moschata_; the third, _H. orientalis_, belongs to Java; and the fourth, _H. subaurantiaca_, to Formosa.

NO. 175. HELICTIS NIPALENSIS. _The Nepal Wolverene_ (_Jerdon's No. 95_).

NATIVE NAME.--_Oker_, Nepalese; _Kyoung-pyan_, Arakanese.

HABITAT.--Nepal, Arakan, and Pegu.

DESCRIPTION.--Hodgson, who first described this animal in the 'Journal of the Asiatic Society of Beng.' (vol. v. pp. 237-38), says: "Above earthy brown; below, with the edge of the upper lip, the insides of the limbs, and terminal half of the tail, yellow; a white mesial stroke from the nape to the hips, and a white band across the forehead, spreading on the cheeks, and confluent with the pale colour of the animal's lower surface; head and body vermi-formed; digits and nails of the anterior extremities stronger; half way from the os calcis to the fingers hairy; fur of two sorts and abundant, but not lengthened, nor harsh, nor annulated; tail cylindrico-tapered, pointed, half the length of the animal." He goes on to add: "The anterior limbs are decidedly fossorial, and the hinder suited for walking in a sub-plantigrade manner; both wholly unfitted for rapatory or scansorial purposes."

SIZE.--Head and body 16 inches; tail 7-1/2 inches, 9 inches, including hair.

The habits of this animal are nocturnal. Swinhoe mentions this in his account of the Formosan species, and Dr. Anderson relates that he is aware that the Nepal one is similar in its ways, and that it not unfrequently enters Bhotia huts at night; and on one occasion he killed one in a Bhotia hut, thinking it was a large rat, greatly to the chagrin of his host, who informed him that the animal was in the habit of visiting him nightly, and was most useful in destroying cockroaches and other insects.

NO. 176. HELICTIS MOSCHATA. _The Chinese Wolverene_.

HABITAT.--China, also Burmah (Pegu, Yunnan).

DESCRIPTION.--Similar to the last, but differing in dentition and the formation of certain points in the skull. The teeth are smaller, and the infra-orbital foramen much larger. Both the above species are noted for long skulls and palate, whereas _H. orientalis_ has a short skull and palate. The following are the chief characteristics:--

Short head and palate, large teeth, _small_ infra-orbital foramen = _H. orientalis_.

Long head and palate, large teeth, _small_ infra-orbital foramen = _H. Nipalensis_.

Long head and palate, _small_ teeth, _large_ infra-orbital foramen = _H. moschata_.

Dr. Anderson obtained a specimen of this species at an elevation of 5000 feet, at Teng-yue-chow in Yunnan.

MUSTELIDAE--MARTENS AND WEASELS.

In India the members of this family are restricted to the Weasels and Martens, but in other countries are included the Grisons, Zorillas, Skunks, &c. They are small animals of elongated form, with short legs, commonly expressed as vermiform; where the head of a weasel will go his body will follow--at least that was my experience in my boyish days, when I was particularly interested in vermin, and the gamekeeper was my first instructor in natural history. The face is rounded like a cat, but the skull behind the eye is very long and pear-shaped when viewed from above; in proportion to a cat's skull the brain case is a fourth longer. They are most sanguinary in their habits, and their agility is great, so on the whole they are most formidable to many animals, not only smaller, but in many cases four times their own size. The ferocity of the common weasel (_Putorius vulgaris_) ought to be as proverbial as its watchfulness. A case has been known of a kite carrying off one of these animals, but falling dead after a time with the large blood-vessels under the wing cut through by the savage little prisoner, who, on reaching _terra firma_, escaped apparently unhurt. I think in Wolff's admirable 'Illustrations of Natural History' this fact, related by Bell, is made the subject of a picture called "Catching a Tartar."

[Figure: Skull of _Putorius_.]

Most of the animals of this group are eagerly sought for on account of their fur. In Northern India the skin of one species, probably a variety of _Martes abietum_, is sold in the bazaars at Peshawur and Lahore. In 1868 I bought sufficient to line a large overcoat, which proved most comfortable in travelling in the cold weather in the Punjab, as well as in subsequent wanderings on the European continent in winter.

Dr. E. Coues, in his monograph on the North American Mustelidae, gives the following interesting information regarding the number of skins of various species sold by the Hudson's Bay Company in London during the century 1769-1868:--

Sables, 1,240,511; otters, 674,027; wolverenes, 68,694; minks, 1,507,240; skunks, 218,653; badgers, 275,302; sea otters, 5349. In 1868, which appears to have been a prosperous year, the Company sold: Sables, 106,254; otters, 14,966; wolverenes, 1104; minks, 73,473; skunks, 6298; badgers, 1551; sea otters, 123.[8]

[Footnote 8: In the same year were sold by other firms, 22,000 otter skins and 4500 sables. See Appendix _C_ for further statistics.]

When one considers the number of those whose skins are damaged and cast aside, the number that fall victims to larger predatory animals, and the operations of disease, from which no animals, small or great, are free, we may form some idea of the immense multitude of these little creatures.

The ordinary divisions of the restricted Mustelidae are the Martens (_Martes_), Pole-cats (_Putorius_), and Weasels (_Mustela_), but Gray has further subdivided them chiefly on the characteristics of the feet.

The Martens have four more teeth than the rest, which are distinguished as follows:--

_Putorius_.--Short ovate head; feet very hairy, especially between the pads; body stout; underside blackish.

_Mustela_.--Narrow, elongated head; feet very hairy between the pads; slender body; under-side yellow or white.

_Vison_.--Head elongate, narrow; feet slightly hairy; pads exposed; body rather slender; under-side same colour as upper.

_Gymnopus_.--Head elongate, narrow; feet rather naked, bald beneath, between, and rather behind the pads; toes largely webbed; soles hairy behind; body slender.

It is doubtful whether these distinctions are of sufficient importance to warrant so much subdivision; and unnecessary multiplication of genera is a thing to be avoided as much as possible.

_GENUS MARTES--THE MARTENS_.

A more or less arboreal group of larger size, and possibly less sanguinary habits than the weasels, although in this respect I do not think there is much difference. The tail is longer, though not so long as the head and body, and it is bushy; the fur is fine and in general highly prized; the dentition differs from the typical _Mustela_ in having four more teeth and an additional false molar on either side in each jaw; and the inner side of the carnassial or flesh tooth has a tubercle which is not present in the weasels; head elongate; feet very hairy; space between the pads hairy, often covering them from sight, except in the case of _Martes flavigula_, of which the soles are nude.

NO. 177. MARTES FLAVIGULA. _The White-cheeked Marten_ (_Jerdon's No. 96_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Mal-sampra_, Nepalese; _Tuturala_ in Kumaon; _Kusiah_ in Sirmoor; _Huniah_ or _Aniar_, Bhotia; _Sakku_, Lepcha.

HABITAT.--Nepal, Thibet, Kumaon, Gurhwal, Sirmoor, Assam, Burmah, Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.--Glossy blackish brown, with the throat and breast yellow; the chin and lower parts white, from which I have preferred to call it after Pennant "the White-cheeked Marten" instead of the "yellow-throated," this characteristic belonging also to some other species. The fur seems to vary a good deal. Jerdon says of it: "The body is at times dirty brownish or chestnut brown, or brown mixed with grey, and the middle of the back is sometimes paler than the rest, or the same tint as the sides of the body. In some the top of the head is pale brown, but it is edged by a dark peripheral line, and in some there are one or more irregular dark spots between the fore-limbs."

Blyth writes of the Burmese specimens that they are "similar to the Himalayan, but differing from the Malayan race--found also in Formosa--by having much longer fur, and a wholly black cap instead of a brown cap with a black periphery." The soles are nude.

SIZE.--Head and body about 20 inches; tail, including fur, 12 inches.

This Indian Marten, according to Jerdon, is also found in Ceylon; it was, however, apparently unknown to Kellaart, nor does Sir Emerson Tennent allude to it. It is to be had in the Neilgherries, the Khasia hills, and the ranges in Arakan, as well as in the valleys of the great Himalayan chain up to 7000 or 8000 feet of elevation. It is found in pairs or in small families of five or six. If hunted it takes to trees at once, being a good climber. According to Captain the Hon. C. Shore, who observed its habits in Kumaon and Gurhwal, "its food is chiefly birds, rats, mice, hares and even young fawns of the kakur or barking-deer." He adds: "The specimen sent to the Zoological Society was brought to me in September 1828, when it was about four months old. It had been caught when not many days old, and was so tame that it was always kept loose about a well, sporting about the windlasses, posts, &c., and playing tricks with the people who came to draw water." This is the one alluded to by Jerdon as having been described by Mr. Bennett in the 'Gardens and Menageries of the Zoological Society.' _Martes Gwatkinsi_ of Horsfield's Catalogue (page 99), is evidently, as Jerdon says, the same as _M. flavigula_, although the colouring is different, and is supposed to be the same animal in its summer fur, some specimens being darker than others. It is just one hundred years since this little animal was first described, the earliest record of it being in Pennant's 'History of Quadrupeds' (first edition), published in 1781. It must, however, have been known before that, for Pennant first observed it in Brooks's Menagerie in 1774, and named it the "White-cheeked Weasel," which Boddart afterwards in 1785 introduced into his 'Elenchus Animalium' under the name of _Mustela flavigula_ (_Horsfield_).

NO. 178. MARTES ABIETUM. _The Pine Marten_.

HABITAT.--Ladakh and the Upper Himalayas, Afghanistan (?)

DESCRIPTION.--Brown; throat yellow or yellow spotted (_Gray_). Light yellowish-grey, rather deeper in a line along the back; the hair brown; extremities blackish; chin, threat and breast white (according to Horsfield).

SIZE.--About 18 to 20 inches; tail 12 inches.

Horsfield remarks that the specimens received in the Indian Museum combine the peculiarities of the Pine and Beech Martens respectively, and lead to the conclusion that both are varieties of one species. This idea was prevalent some time ago, and the Beech Marten (_M. foina_) was supposed to be merely a variety of the Pine species, but there are certain differences in the skulls of the two animals. It is stated by the editor of my edition of Cuvier that, on examination of the crania of the two, he found that those of _M. abietum_ are constantly smaller, with the zygomatic arch fully twice as strong as in the other. There is also a slight difference in the teeth, the hinder upper tubercular grinder in _M. foina_ not being quite so large as in the other.

The Pine Marten has a wide distribution; the finest specimens are found in Sweden; in England it is becoming scarce, but in other parts of Europe and Asia it is common. Professor Parker and his brother write of it: "This animal is essentially arboreal in its habits, inhabiting chiefly thick coniferous woods, whence its name of Pine Marten is derived. In the branches the female makes a nest of leaves or moss, and sometimes spares herself this trouble by ejecting squirrels or woodpeckers, and occupying the vacant dwellings. For its size it is, like all the Mustelidae, extremely ferocious and strong. It attacks and kills fawns, notwithstanding their superior size; from these down to mice nothing comes amiss to it, and nothing is safe from its attacks." It seems almost incredible that such a small animal should venture on such large game, but the same is reported of _M. flavigula_; and a much smaller creature, the Yellow-bellied Weasel, _M. kathiah_, is reported by Hodgson to attack even goats and sheep.

NO. 179. MARTES TOUFOEUS.

NATIVE NAME.--_Toufee_.

HABITAT.--Thibet.

DESCRIPTION (from skins only).--General colour smoky brown, darker along the spine and on the limbs, but without marks, and paler to sordid yellowish hoary on the neck and head; head palest, except the mystaceal region and chin, which are embrowned; moustache moderate and dark brown.

SIZE.--Head and body about 20 to 22 inches.

The above description is taken from Hodgson, who had only received imperfect skins. Jerdon just alludes to it by name, but I cannot find it mentioned by any other author. As much stress cannot be laid on colouring in these animals, I feel inclined to think that it is a variety of _Martes abietum_, probably in its dark summer coat.

_GENUS MUSTELA--THE WEASELS_.

These are smaller animals of the true vermiform shape; the legs are very short in comparison with the body, and the neck is very thick and very long, and the head is small, so that head, neck, and body are almost equally cylindrical, and the length of the neck gives a far, set-back appearance to the forelegs, so much so that they seem to start from behind the chest instead of in front of it. The teeth are 34 in number, or four less than in the preceding genus; upper tubercular grinder transverse or broader than long; the feet are slightly webbed, covered with hair, and the space between the pads is hairy; the tail is short; fur dark above, white or yellowish beneath.

Some authors contend that the weasel, though commonly referred to the genus _Mustela_, should be _Putorius_, which is an instance of the disagreement which exists among naturalists. I have however followed Gray in his classification, although perhaps Cuvier, who classes the weasels and pole-cats under the genus _Putorius_, has the claim of priority. Ray applied the name of _Mustela_ to the restricted weasels, and _Martes_ to the martens, but Cuvier gives _Mustela_ to the martens, and brings the weasels and pole-cats together under _Putorius_.

NO. 180. MUSTELA (VISON: _Gray_) SUB-HEMACHALANA. _The Sub-Hemachal Weasel_ (_Jerdon's No. 97_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Zimiong_, Bhotia; _Sang-king_, Lepcha; _Kran_ or _Gran_, Kashmiri.

DESCRIPTION.--"Uniform bright brown, darker along the dorsal line; nose, upper lip, and forehead, with two inches of the end of the tail black-brown; mere edge of upper lip and whole of lower jaw hoary; a short longitudinal white stripe occasionally on the front of the neck, and some vague spots of the same laterally, the signs, I suspect, of immaturity; feet frequently darker than the body or dusky brown; whiskers dark; fur close, glossy and soft, of two sorts, or fine hair and soft wool, the latter and the hair basally of dusky hue, but the hair externally bright brown; head, ears, and limbs more closely clad than the body, tail more laxly, tapering to the point."--_Hodgson_.

SIZE.--Head and body about 12 inches; tail, 6 inches.

Jerdon calls this the Himalayan Weasel, but I have preferred to translate Hodgson's' name, which, I confess, puzzled me for some time till I found out there was a Hemachal range in Thibet.

NO. 181. MUSTELA (GYMNOPUS: _Gray_) KATHIAH. _The Yellow-bellied Weasel_ (_Jerdon's No. 98_).

NATIVE NAME.--_Kathia-nyal_, Nepalese.

HABITAT.--Nepal, Bhotan.

DESCRIPTION.--Dark brown; upper lip, chin, throat, chest, underside of body and front of thighs, bright yellow; tail dark brown, shorter than the body and head, tapering, and of the same colour to the tip; the soles of the hind feet bald; pads well developed, exposed.

SIZE.--Head and body, 10 inches; tail, 5 inches.

Hodgson states that a horribly offensive yellowish-grey fluid exudes from two subcaudal glands. He says that the Nepalese highly prize this little animal for its services in ridding houses of rats. It is easily tamed; and such is the dread of it common to all murine animals that not one will approach a house wherein it is domiciled. Rats and mice seem to have an instinctive sense of its hostility to them, so much so that when it is introduced into a house they are observed to hurry away in all directions, being apprised, no doubt, of its presence by the peculiar odour it emits. Its ferocity and courage are made subservient to the amusement of the rich, who train it to attack large fowls, geese, and even goats and sheep. It seizes these by the great artery of the neck, and does not quit its hold till the victim sinks exhausted from the loss of blood--a cruel pastime which one could only expect of a barbarous people.

NO. 182. MUSTELA (GYMNOPUS: _Gray_) STRIGIDORSA. _The Striped Weasel_ (_Jerdon's No. 99_).

HABITAT.--Sikim.

DESCRIPTION.--Dark chestnut-brown, with a narrow streak of long yellow hairs down the back; edge of upper lip, chin, throat, chest, and a narrow stripe down the centre of the belly, yellow, or yellowish-white.

SIZE.--Head and body, 12 inches; tail, 5-1/2 inches without the hair, 6-1/2 inches with it.

This is similar to the last, but is slightly larger, and distinguishable by the dorsal stripe.

NO. 183. MUSTELA ERMINEA. _The Ermine or Stoat_.

HABITAT.--Europe, America and Asia (the Himalayas, Nepal, Thibet, Afghanistan).

DESCRIPTION.--Brown above; upper lip, chin, and lower surface of body, inside of limbs and feet yellowish-white; tail brown, with a black tip. In winter the whole body changes to a yellowish-white, with the exception of the black tip of the tail.

SIZE.--Head and body, about 10 inches; tail, 4-1/2 inches.

This is about the best known in a general way from its fur being used as part of the insignia of royalty. The fur however only becomes valuable after it has completed its winter change. How this is done was for a long time a subject of speculation and inquiry. It is, however, now proved that it is according to season that the mode of alteration is effected. In spring the new hairs are brown, replacing the white ones of winter; in autumn the existing brown hairs turn white. Mr. Bell, who gave the subject his careful consideration, says that in Ross's first Polar expedition, a Hudson's Bay lemming (_Myodes_) was exposed in its summer coat to a temperature of 30 degrees below zero. Next morning the fur on the cheeks and a patch on each shoulder had become perfectly white; at the end of the week the winter change was complete, with the exception of a dark band across the shoulder and a dorsal stripe.

Hodgson remarks that the Ermine is common in Thibet, where the skins enter largely into the peltry trade with China.

In one year 187,000 skins were imported into England.

NO. 184. MUSTELA (VISON: _Gray_) CANIGULA. _The Hoary Red-necked Weasel_.

HABITAT.--Nepal hills, Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.--Pale reddish-brown, scarcely paler beneath; face, chin, throat, sides of neck and chest white; tail half as long as body and head, concolorous with the back; feet whitish. Sometimes chest brown and white mottled, according to Gray. Hodgson, who discovered the animal, writes: "Colour throughout cinnamon red without black tip to the tail, but the chaffron and entire head and neck below hoary."

SIZE.--15-1/2 inches; tail without hair 7-1/2 inches, with hair 9-1/2 inches.

NO. 185. MUSTELA STOLICZKANA.

HABITAT.--Yarkand.

DESCRIPTION.--Colour pale sandy brown above; hairs light at base, white below; tail concolorous with back; small white spot close to anterior angle of each eye; a sandy spot behind the gape; feet whitish.

SIZE.--Head and body, 12.2; tail, 3 inches, including hair.

NO. 186. MUSTELA (VISON) SIBIRICA.

HABITAT.--Himalayas (Thibet?); Afghanistan (Candahar).

DESCRIPTION.--Pale brown; head blackish, varied; spot on each side of nose, on upper and lower lips and front of chin, white; tail end pale brown like back, varies; throat more or less white.

This Weasel, described first by Pallas ('Specil Zool.' xiv. t. 4, f. 1.) was obtained in Candahar by Captain T. Hutton, who describes it in the 'Bengal Asiatic Society's Journal,' vol. xiv. pp. 346 to 352.

NO. 187. MUSTELA ALPINA. _The Alpine Weasel_.

HABITAT.--Said to be found in Thibet, otherwise an inhabitant of the Altai mountains.

DESCRIPTION.--Pale yellow brown; upper lip, chin, and underneath yellowish-white; head varied with black-tipped hairs; tail cylindrical, unicolour, not so long as head and body.--_Gray_.

NO. 188. MUSTELA HODGSONI.

HABITAT.--Himalaya, Afghanistan.

DESCRIPTION.--Fur yellowish-brown, paler beneath; upper part and side of head much darker; face, chin, and throat varied with white; tail long, and bushy towards the end.

NO. 189. MUSTELA (VISON) HORSFIELDI.

HABITAT.--Bhotan.

DESCRIPTION.--Uniform dark blackish-brown, very little paler beneath; middle of front of chin and lower lip white; whiskers black; tail slender, blackish at tip, half the length of head and body.

NO. 190. MUSTELA (GYMNOPUS) NUDIPES. _Gymnopus leucocephalus_ of Gray.

HABITAT.--Borneo, Sumatra, Java, but possibly Tenasserim.

DESCRIPTION.--Golden fulvous with white head.

As so many Malayan animals are found on the confines of Burmah, and even extending into Assam, it is probable that this species may be discovered in Tenasserim.

_GENUS PUTORIUS--THE POLE-CAT_.

This is a larger animal than the weasel, and in form more resembles the marten, except in the shortness of its tail; the body is stouter and the neck shorter than in _Mustela_; the head is short and ovate; the feet generally hairy, and the space between the pads very much so; the under side of the body is blackish; the fur is made up of two kinds, the shorter is woolly and lighter coloured than the longer, which is dark and shining.

The disgusting smell of the common Pole-cat (_Putorius foetidus_) is well known, and has become proverbial. In my county, as well as in many parts of England, the popular name is "foumart," which is said to be derived from "foul marten." The foumart is the special abhorrence of the game-keeper; it does more damage amongst game and poultry than any of the other _Mustelidae_, and consequently greater pains are taken to trap and shoot it, in fact, so much so that I wonder that the animal is not now extinct in the British Isles. Professor Parker writes: "It has been known to kill as many as sixteen turkeys in a single night; and indeed it seems to be a point of honour with this bloodthirsty little creature to kill everything it can overpower, and to leave no survivors on its battle-fields." According to Bell, a female Pole-cat, which was tracked to her nest, was found to have laid up in a side hole a store of food consisting of forty frogs and two toads, all bitten through the brain, so that, though capable of living for some time, they were deprived of the power of escape. Now, this is a most wonderful instance of instinct bordering upon reason. Only the Reptilia can exist for any length of time after injury to the brain; to any of the smaller mammalia such a process as that adopted by the Pole-cat, would have resulted in instant death and speedy decomposition.

The Ferret (_Putorius furo_) is a domesticated variety of the Pole-cat, reputed to be of African origin. Certain it is that it cannot stand extreme cold like its wild cousin, and an English winter is fatal to it if not properly looked after. It inter-breeds with the Pole-cat.

Ferrets are not safe pets in houses where there are young children. Cases have been known of their attacking infants in the cradle, and severely lacerating them.

They are chiefly used for killing rats and driving rabbits out of burrows; in the latter case they are muzzled. As pets they are stupid, and show but little attachment. Forbearance as regards making its teeth meet in your fingers is, I think, the utmost you can expect in return for kindness to a ferret, and that is something, considering what a sanguinary little beast it is.

NO. 191. PUTORIUS LARVATUS _vel_ TIBETANUS. _Black-faced Thibetan Pole-cat_.

HABITAT.--Utsang in Thibet, also Ladakh.

DESCRIPTION.--"Tail one-third of entire length; soles clad; fur long; above and laterally sordid fulvous, deeply shaded on the back with black; below from throat backwards, with the whole limbs and tail, black; head pale, with a dark mask over the face."--_Hodgson_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 14 inches; tail, 6 inches, with hair 7 inches; palma, 1-3/4; planta, 2-3/8.

This animal, according to Gray, is synonymous with the Siberian _Putorius Eversmannii_, although the sudden contraction of the brain case in front, behind the orbit, mentioned of this species, is not perceptible in the illustration given by Hodgson of the skull of this Thibetan specimen. Horsfield, in his catalogue, states that the second specimen obtained by Captain R. Strachey in Ladakh, north of Kumaon, agreed in external character.

In some respects it is similar to the European Pole-cat, but as yet little is known of its habits.

NO. 192. PUTORIUS DAVIDIANUS.

HABITAT.--Moupin in Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.--Uniform fulvous brown, yellower under the throat; upper lip and round nostrils to corner of the eye white, darker on nose and forehead.

SIZE.--Head and body about 11-1/2 inches; tail, 6-1/2 inches.

This is one of the specimens collected by the Abbe David, after whom it is named. A fuller description of it will be found in Milne-Edwards's 'Recherches sur les Mammiferes,' page 343. There is also a plate of the animal in the volume of illustrations.

NO. 193. PUTORIUS ASTUTUS.

HABITAT.--Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.--About the size of Ermine, but with a longer tail. Colour brown, the white of the chest tinted with yellow; tail uniform in colour, darker on head.

SIZE.--Head and body, 10 inches; tail, 4-1/5 inches.

This is also described and figured by Milne-Edwards.

NO. 194. PUTORIUS MOUPINENSIS.

HABITAT.--Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.--Reddish-brown, white under the chin, and then again a patch on the chest.

_LUTRIDAE--THE OTTERS_.

We now come to the third group of the musteline animals, the most aquatic of all the Fissipedia--the _Lutridae_ or Otters--of which there are two great divisions, the common Otters (_Lutra_) and the Sea-Otters, (_Enhydra_). With the latter, a most interesting animal in all its ways, as well as most valuable on account of its fur, we have nothing to do. I am not aware that it is found in the tropics, but is a denizen of the North Pacific. Of _Lutra_ we have several species in two genera. Dr. Gray has divided the Otters into no less than nine genera on three characteristics, the tail, feet, and muzzle, but these have been held open to objection. The classification most to be depended upon is the division of the tribe into long-clawed Otters (_Lutra_), and short or rudimentary-clawed Otters (_Aonyx_). The characteristics of the skulls confirm this arrangement, as the short-clawed Otters are distinguishable from the others by a shorter and more globose cranium and larger molars, and, as Dr. Anderson says, "the inner portion of the last molar being the largest part of the tooth, while in _Lutra_ the outer exceeds the inner half; the almost general absence of the first upper premolar; and the rudimentary claws, which are associated with much more feebly-developed finger and toe bones, which are much tapered to a point, while in _Lutra_ these bones are strong and well developed." Gray has separated a genus, which he called _Pteronura_, on account of a flattened tail arising from a longitudinal ridge on each side, but this flattening of the tail is common to all the genera more or less.

All the Otters, though active on land, are still only thoroughly at home in the water, and they are therefore specially constituted for such a mode of life. They have an elongated flattened form; webbed feet with short claws; compressed and tapering tail; dense fur of two kinds, one of long brown shining hairs; the under fur short and fine, impervious to wet, and well adapted for keeping an equality of temperature; the skull is peculiar, the brain case being very long, and compressed from above downwards; the facial portion forms only about one-fourth of the extreme length; the teeth are strong and sharp; the upper flesh tooth very large.

Dental formula: Inc., 3--3/3--3; can., 1--1/1--1; premolars, 4--4/3--3; molars, 1--1/2--2.

Jerdon states that the otter has a nictitating membrane or additional semi-transparent eyelid, similar to that in the eyes of birds, which he supposes is a defence to them under water; but I have not noticed this myself, and have failed to discover it in the writings of others. I should think that the vision of the animal under water would not require obscuring by a semi-transparent membrane, which none of the marine carnivora possess, though their eyes are somewhat formed for seeing better under water than when exposed to the full light above. Some idea of the rapidity of these animals in the water may be conceived when we think that their food is almost exclusively fish, of which they sometimes kill more than they can eat. They reside in burrows, making the entrance under water, and working upwards, making a small hole for the ventilation of their chamber. The female has about four or five young ones at a time, after a period of gestation of about nine weeks, and the mother very soon drives them forth to shift for themselves in the water.

For a pretty picture of young otters at play in the water, nothing could be better than the following description from Kingsley's 'Water Babies':--

"Suddenly Tom heard the strangest noise up the stream--cooing, grunting, and whining, and squeaking, as if you had put into a bag two stock-doves, nine mice, three guinea-pigs, and a blind puppy, and left them there to settle themselves and make music. He looked up the water, and there he saw a sight as strange as the noise: a great ball rolling over and over down the stream, seeming one moment of soft brown fur; and the next of shining glass, and yet it was not a ball, for sometimes it broke up and streamed away in pieces, and then it joined again; and all the while the noise came out of it louder and louder. Tom asked the dragon-fly, what it could be: but of course with his short sight he could not even see it, though it was not ten yards away. So he took the neatest little header into the water, and started off to see for himself; and when he came near, the ball turned out to be four or five beautiful creatures, many times larger than Tom, who were swimming about, and rolling, and diving, and twisting, and wrestling, and cuddling, and kissing, and biting, and scratching, in the most charming fashion that ever was seen. And if you don't believe me you may go to the Zoological Gardens (for I am afraid you won't see it nearer, unless, perhaps, you get up at five in the morning, and go down to Cordery's Moor, and watch by the great withy pollard which hangs over the back-water, where the otters breed sometimes), and then say if otters at play in the water are not the merriest, lithest, gracefullest creatures you ever saw."

Professor Parker, who also notices Kingsley's description,[9] states that the Canadian otter has a peculiar habit in winter of sliding down ridges of snow, apparently for amusement. It, with its companions, scrambles up a high ridge, and then, lying down flat, glides head-foremost down the declivity, sometimes for a distance of twenty yards. "This sport they continue apparently with the keenest enjoyment, until fatigue or hunger induces them to desist."

[Footnote 9: In fact it was his quotation that induced me to buy a copy of that most charming little book, which I recommend every one to read.--R. A. S.]

The following are the Indian species; _Lutra nair_, _L. simung vel monticola_, _L. Ellioti_, and _L. aurobrunnea_ of the long-clawed family, and _Aonyx leptonyx_ of the short-clawed.

_GENUS LUTRA_.

NO. 195. LUTRA NAIR. _The Common Indian Otter_ (_Jerdon's No. 100_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Ud_ or _Ood_, _Ood-bilao_, _Panikutta_, Hindi; _Nir-nai_, Canarese; _Neeru-kuka_, Telegu; _Jal-manjer_, Mahratti.

HABITAT.--India generally, Burmah and Ceylon.

DESCRIPTION.--Hair more or less brown above, sometimes with a chestnut hue, sometimes grizzled, or with a tinge of dun; yellowish-white, or with a fulvescent tinged white below; the throat, upper lip, and sides of head are nearly white; the line of separation of upper and lower parts not very distinctly marked. Some have whitish paws.

SIZE.--Head and body, 29 to 30 inches; tail about 17 inches.

This otter, which is synonymous with _L. Indica_, _L. Chinensis_ and Hodgson's _L. Tarayensis_, is well known throughout India, and indeed far beyond Indian limits. They are generally found in secluded spots, in parties of about half a dozen hunting in concert. The young ones are easily tamed, and become greatly attached if kindly treated. I had one for some time. Jerdon tells a curious story of one he had, and which used to follow him in his walks. He says: "As it grew older it took to going about by itself, and one day found its way to the bazaar and seized a large fish from a moplah. When resisted, it showed such fight that the rightful owner was fain to drop it. Afterwards it took regularly to this highway style of living, and I had on several occasions to pay for my pet's dinner rather more than was necessary, so I resolved to get rid of it. I put it in a closed box, and, having kept it without food for some time, I conveyed it myself in a boat some seven or eight miles off, up some of the numerous back-waters on this coast. I then liberated it, and, when it had wandered out of sight in some inundated paddy-fields, I returned by boat by a different route. That same evening, about nine whilst in the town about one and a-half miles from my own house, witnessing some of the ceremonials connected with the Mohurrum festival, the otter entered the temporary shed, walked across the floor, and came and lay down at my feet!" It is to be hoped Dr. Jerdon did not turn him adrift again; such wonderful sagacity and attachment one could only expect in a dog.

McMaster gives the following interesting account of otters hunting on the Chilka Lake: "Late one morning I saw a party, at least six in number, leave an island on the Chilka Lake and swim out, apparently to fish their way to another island, or the mainland, either at least two miles off. I followed them for more than half the distance in a small canoe. They worked most systematically in a semicircle, with intervals of about fifty yards between each, having, I suppose, a large shoal of fish in the centre, for every now and then an otter would disappear, and generally, when it was again seen, it was well inside the semicircle with a fish in its jaws, caught more for pleasure than for profit, as the fish, as far as I could see, were always left behind untouched beyond a single bite. I picked up several of these fish, which, as far as I can recollect, were all mullet." Kingsley notices this. The old otter tells Tom: "We catch them, but we disdain to eat them all; we just bite out their soft throats and suck their sweet juice--oh, so good!" (and she licked her wicked lips)--"and then throw them away, and go and catch another."

General McMaster also quotes from a letter by "W. C. R." in the _Field_ about the end of 1868, which gives a very curious incident of a crocodile stealing up to a pack of otters fishing, and got within thirty yards; "but no sooner was the water broken by the hideous head of the reptile, than an otter, which evidently was stationed on the opposite bank as a sentinel, sounded the alarm by a whistling sort of sound. In an instant those in the water rushed to the bank and disappeared among the jungle, no doubt much to the disgust of the _mugger_."

I have not heard any one allude to the offensive glands of the Indian otter, but I remember once dissecting one and incautiously cutting into one of these glands, situated, I think, near the tail. It is now over twenty years ago, so I cannot speak with authority, but I remember the abominable smell, which quite put a stop to my researches at the time.

This otter is trained in some parts of India, in the Jessore district and Sunderbunds of Bengal, to drive fish into nets. In China a species there is driven into the water with a cord round its waist, which is hauled in when the animal has caught a fish.

NO. 196. LUTRA MONTICOLA _vel_ SIMUNG. (_Jerdon's No. 101_).

HABITAT.--Nepal, Sumatra, and Borneo.

DESCRIPTION.--"The colour is more rufous umber-brown than _L. nair_, and does not exhibit any tendency to grizzling, and the under surface is only somewhat hoary, well washed with brownish; the chin and edge of the lips are whitish; and the silvery hoary on the sides of the head, on the throat, and on the under surface of the neck and of the chest is marked; the tail above and below is concolorous with the trunk. The length of the skeleton of an adult female, measured from the tip of the premaxillaries to the end of the sacral vertebrae, is 23.25, and the tail measures 17.75 inches" (_Anderson_). Of the Sumatran specimen the first notice was published in 1785 in the first edition of Marsden's 'History of Sumatra.' This otter is larger than the common Indian one, the skull of a female, as given by Dr. Anderson, exceeding in all points that of male of _Lutra nair_.

Jerdon has this as _Lutra vulgaris_, which is the common English otter, but there is a difference in the skull.

NO. 197. LUTRA ELLIOTI.

HABITAT.--Southern Mahratta country.

DESCRIPTION.--The colouring is the same as the last, only a little darker; the distribution of the silvery white is the same; the muzzle is however more depressed than in the last species, and it differs from _L. nair_ by a broader, more arched head, and shorter muzzle.

Dr. Anderson, who distinguishes it by the feature of its skull from the two preceding species, says: "It may be that this otter has a north-westerly distribution, and that it is the species which occurs in the lake at Mount Abu in Rajputana, and also in Sindh and in the Indus."

NO. 198. LUTRA AUROBRUNNEA.

HABITAT.--Nepal.

DESCRIPTION.--Fur of a rich ferruginous brown colour, the upper surface of the head being a deeper brown than the back; the nose is bare; the ears are small and pointed posteriorily. All the strong bristles of the moustache, eyes, cheeks, and chin, are dark brown; claws as in _Lutra_ (_Anderson_). Hodgson says it has a more vermiform body than the rest of Indian otters; tail less than two thirds of the body; nails and toes feebly developed (whence it is classed by Gray in the next genus); fur long and rough, rich chestnut-brown above, golden red below and on the extremities.

SIZE.--Head and body, 20 to 22 inches; tail, 12 to 13 inches.

_GENUS AONYX--CLAWLESS OTTERS_.

Muzzle bald, oblong; skull broad, depressed, shorter and more globose than in _Lutra_; the molars larger than in the last genus; flesh tooth larger, and with a large internal lobe; first upper premolar generally absent; feet oblong, elongate; toes slender and tapering; claws rudimentary.

NO. 199. AONYX LEPTONYX. _The Clawless Otter_ (_Jerdon's No. 102_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Chusam_, Bhotia; _Suriam_, Lepcha.

HABITAT.--Throughout the Himalayas, also in Lower Bengal and in Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.--"Above earthy brown or chestnut brown; lips, sides of head, chin, throat, and upper part of breast white, tinged with yellowish-grey. In young individuals the white of the lower parts is less distinct, sometimes very pale brownish."--_Jerdon_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 24 Inches; tail, 13.

Mason speaks of this species as common in Burmah, and McMaster mentions his having seen in the Sitang River a colony of white-throated otters smaller than _L. nair_, though larger than _L. aurobrunnea_, but he did not secure specimens.

AELUROIDEA.

This section includes the Cat family (_Felidae_); the Hyaenas (_Hyaenidae_); two families unknown in India, viz. the _Cryptoproctidae_ and the _Protelidae_; and the Civet family (_Viverridae_).

_FELIDAE--THE CAT FAMILY_.

This family contains the typical carnivores. There is in them combined the greatest power of destruction, accompanied by the simplest mechanism for producing it. All complications of dentition and digestion disappear. Here are the few scissor-like teeth with the enormous canines, the latter for holding and piercing the life out of their prey, the former for chopping up the flesh into suitable morsels for swallowing. Then the stomach is a simple sac, undivided into compartments, and the intestine is short, not more than three times the length of the body, instead of being some twenty times longer, as in some herbivores. This family has the smallest number of molars, a class of tooth which would indeed be useless, for the construction of the feline jaw precludes the possibility of grinding, and therefore a flat-crowned tuberculous tooth would be out of place. As I have before described it, the jaw of a tiger is incapable of lateral motion. The condyle of the lower jaw is so broad, and fits so accurately into its socket, the glenoid cavity, that there can be no departure from the up and down scissor-like action. The true Cats have, therefore, only one molar on each side of each jaw; those in the upper jaw being merely rudimentary, and placed almost at right angles to the rest of the teeth, and seem apparently of little use; those of the lower jaw are large and trenchant, cutting against the edge of the third upper premolar.

It may interest my readers to know which are premolars and which are molars. This can be decided only by dissection of the jaw of a young animal. True molars only appear as the animal approaches the adult stage. They are never shed, as are all the rest of the teeth, commonly called milk teeth. The deciduous or milk teeth are the incisors, canines, and premolars; they drop out and are replaced, and behind the last premolar comes up the permanent molar.

Another peculiar feature of the Cat family is the power of sheathing their talons. Claws to a cat are of as great importance to him in the securing of his prey as are his teeth. The badger is a digger, Hodge, who carries his mattock on his shoulder; but the feline is the free-lance whose sword must be kept keen in its scabbard, so by a peculiar arrangement of muscles the points of the claws are kept off the ground, while the animal treads noiselessly on soft pads. Otherwise by constant abrasion they would get so blunted as to fail in their penetrating and seizing power. I give here an illustration of the mechanism of the feline claw. In the upper sketch the claw is retracted or sheathed; in the lower it is protruded as in the act of striking.

The senses of hearing and smell are much developed, and the bulb of the ear (_bulla tympani_) is here found of the largest dimensions. I have once before alluded to this in writing of the bears, in whom this arrangement is deficient. I give here a section of the auditory apparatus. I do not know whether the engraver has effectually rendered my attempt at conveying an idea, based as it is on dissections by Professor Flower; but if he has failed I think the fault lies in the shakiness of my hand in attempting the fine shading after nearly breaking a saw and losing my temper over a very tough old skull which I divided before commencing my illustration. The great cavity is the _bulla tympani_ or bulb of the ear; _a m_ is the _auditory meatus_ or external hole of the ear. On looking into a dry skull the passage seems to be of no great depth, nor can an instrument be passed directly from the outside into the great tympanic cavity, the hindrance being a wall of bone, _s_, the _septum_ which divides the _bulla_ into two distinct chambers, the reason for which is not very clear, except that one may suppose it to be in some measure for acoustic purposes, as all animals with this development are quick of hearing. The communication between the two chambers lies in a narrow slit over the _septum_, the Eustachian tube, _e_, being on the outside of the _septum_ and between it and the tympanum or ear drum, _t_.

The above are the chief characteristics of the family. For the rest we may notice that they have but a rudimentary clavicle imbedded among the muscles; the limbs are comparatively short, but immensely muscular; the body lithe and active; the foot-fall noiseless; the tongue armed with rough papillae, which enables them to rasp the flesh off bones, and their vision is adapted for both night and day.

None of them are gregarious, as in the case of dogs and wolves. One hears sometimes of a limited number of lions and tigers being seen together, but in most cases they belong to one family, of which the junior members have not been "turned off on their own hook" as yet.

_GENUS FELIS_.

NO. 200. FELIS LEO. _The Lion_ (_Jerdon's No. 103_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Sher-babbar_, _Singh_, _Unthia-bagh_.

HABITAT.--Guzerat and Central India.