Page:VCH Suffolk 1.djvu/270

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A HISTORY OF SUFFOLK to orange. Albinos, among pure bred wild rabbits, are rare. In an article on the ' Mam- malia and Reptilia of Norfolk' (ZW. 1871, p. 2757), Mr. Southwell refers to a very curious variety shot by Mr. J. H. Gurney on Corton Denes, Lowestoft, which was decor- ated with alternate black and grey markings like a Cyprus' cat. UNGULATA 35. Red Deer. Cervus eJaphus, Linn. Among the eleven Suffolk deer parks enu- merated by Whitaker in his list, published in 1892,' two only are mentioned as containing red deer, viz. Helmingham Park (72 head) and Somerleyton Park (20 head). Judging by the number of antlers which have been found, this must formerly have been a common animal in this county. Several of these have been dredged up from the beds of the Orwell and the Aide, and there are now in the Ipswich Museum specimens from the former river in various states of preser- vation. Mr. Norgate has seen antlers of the red deer, stated by their owner to have been obtained from Undley Fen, Mildenhall. 36. Fallow Deer. Cervus dama, Linn. The following herds of fallow deer are mentioned in Mr. Whitaker's list, published in 1892 : — Ickworth Park . . 300 head, formerly 600 Livermere Park . . 120 „ (about) Flixton Hall Park . 220 „ „ Helmingham Park . 260 „ small, black in colour Shrubland Park . . 150 „ Woolverstone Park . 400 „ Orwell Park ... 200 „ Redgrave Park . . 60 „ (about) Polstead Park . . 80 Campsey Ashe Park 60 Somerleyton Park . 35 Besides the above, Ampton Park also con- tains a herd of fallow deer. Some were kept in Christcliurch Park, Ipswich, until some forty or fifty years ago. The ' dappled herd ' of Euston Park, immortalized by Robert Bloomiield in the Fakenham Ghosty disappeared from there, as I am informed by Mr. W, G. Clarke, about the year 1845 or 1846. 37. Roe Deer. Capreolus capreoluSy Linn. Bell — Capreolus caprea. Though this animal has long been extinct in Suffolk, its remains, found in more than one part of the county, show it to have been formerly not uncommon.' It has in one dis- trict been re-introduced, and there are at the present time roe deer living at large and breeding within the Suffolk boundary. Mr. Heatley Noble, in an interesting article en- titled ' The Birds and other Animals of Thet- ford Warren' {Zool. April 1903, p. 157), quotes a letter from the owner of the warren, W. Dalziel Mackenzie, Esq., where it is stated that ' Roe Deer obtained from WUr- temberg have been turned down in the young Warren woods, and have increased consider- ably.' Mr. Noble, in a letter dated 30 April 1903, has been good enough to supply the following additional information : ' Queen's Wood, where the deer were turned out, was planted by Mr. Mackenzie. It is about 800 acres in extent, and runs down to the river.' * He further adds : ' I have not heard of one on the Norfolk side yet.' CETACEA 38. Common Rorqual. Balanoptera muscu- lus, Linn. 'A much decayed specimen was cast ashore at Kessingland about the 29th of October 1899.' (This was seen and identified by Mr. Southwell.) The Rev. J. G. Tuck, in an article which appeared at the time in Land and Water recording this occurrence, says : The village of Kessingland was in a state of excitement, the whale having been cast upon the shore there and left high and dry, exhaling an ' A Descriptive List of the Deer Forks and Paddocks of England, Joseph Whitaker, F.Z.S. (1892). odour which almost made the neighbourhood un- bearable. The local authorities decided to cremate it, and this with some difficulty was at last effected. 39. Lesser Rorqual. Balanoptera rostrata, Fab.

  • A female was captured in the river at

' In East Anglia tabby cats are almost univer- sally so called, the two words 'tabby' and ' Cyprus' having a similar origin. ' Mr. F. Norgate possesses a horn from the peat at Burnt Fen, Mildenhall, and has been shovni others, stated by their owner to be from Undley Fen, Mildenhall. • The Little Ouse, which here divides Suffolk from Norfolk. 232