Anecdotes of the Habits and Instinct of AnimalsLee, R., Mrs.
General
Anecdotes of the Habits and Instinct of Animals
Lee, R., Mrs.
Animal behavior -- Juvenile literature
In Java there is a large, wild dog, and in Beloochistan whole packs are
to be found, which pull down buffaloes with ease; their footmarks are
like those of a hound; and still further to the west a much larger
species is said to exist.
The Sheeb or Schib, of Syria, is wild, and is probably the wolf-dog of
Natolia. The Deeb of Nubia would seem to be also a primitive species,
but not resembling the packs of wild dogs which inhabit Congo and South
Africa, etc., and live in covers and burrows.
The hunters of South Africa tell us that they pull down the strongest
antelopes; they are very destructive to sheep, and mangle more than they
devour. They are extremely swift, and utter a sharp bark, or chattering
cry, which calls the pack together, and is very soft and melodious. The
hatred between them and tame dogs is unconquerable, and in their
appearance they look like a link between the wolf and the hyæna.
A large group of dogs includes all the indigenous canines of South
America, under the name of Aguaras, and resembles foxes. They are
silent, if not dumb, and appear to congregate in families rather than
packs. They have a peculiar propensity to steal and secrete, without any
apparent object for so doing.
Colonel Hamilton Smith, the able writer on dogs, does not acknowledge
some of these wild races, but thinks they are what he calls feral, or
domestic dogs which have regained their liberty, and have subsisted for
many generations on their own intelligence. To these he refers the
Natolians and Aguaras; but there can be no doubt concerning the feral
nature of the dog of St. Domingo, which descends from the hounds trained
to hunt human beings by the Spaniards, and which are supposed to have
regained their liberty in the woods of Haiti. It is of these dogs the
stories are told concerning runaway negroes, and which were taught by
means of raw food, placed in stuffed representations of human beings.
They are very handsome creatures, carrying their heads with an air of
conscious superiority. They follow a track rapidly, and in complete
silence; they, however, always seize their victims.
A contrast to the feral dog of St. Domingo, is the Alco of Mexico, with
its small head, short neck, and very thick body. Those of the Pampas
having assumed the shapes of all the dogs transported from Europe, have
now settled into what may be called curs. They are very bold, very
sagacious, are not inimical to men, but destructive to the young animals
in herds. They live in burrows, and if brought back to domesticity, are
valuable for their courage and highly developed senses.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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