“I brought up the young one above alluded to along with some Greyhound
pups, and they soon became excellent friends. Even when nearly
full-grown it would play with the Dogs (who did not over relish its
bounding at them), and was always sportive and frolicsome. It got much
attached to me, at once recognising its name (Billy), and it would
follow me on horseback like a Dog, every now and then sitting down for
a few seconds, and then racing on after me. It was very fond of being
noticed, and used to purr just like a Cat. It used to climb on any high
object--the stump of a tree, a stack of hay--and from this elevated
perch look all round for some moving object. As it grew up, it took
first to attacking some Sheep which I had in the compound, but I cured
it of this by a few sound horsewhippings; then it would attack Donkeys,
and get well kicked by them; and when not half-grown it flew one day
at a full-grown tame Nylghau, and mauled its legs very severely before
it could be called off. I had some Chikaras (_Gazella Bennettii_)
caught, and let loose before it to train it. The young Cheetah almost
always caught them easily, but it wanted address to pull them down, and
did not hold them. Occasionally, if the Antelope got too far away, it
would give up the chase, but if I then slipped a Greyhound, it would
at once follow the Dog and join the chase. It was gradually getting to
understand its work better, and had pulled down a well-grown Antelope
Fawn, when I parted with it, as I was going on field service.”
Brehm had a Cheetah called “Jack,” which was so tame that his master
led him about like a Dog, and even took him into a drawing-room
full of ladies, by whom, after they had recovered from their fright
at seeing a real wild beast enter the room, he allowed himself to be
patted and caressed. The same author states that a Cheetah once lived
at large in an English seaport, and was the greatest possible favourite
with the sailors and other inhabitants.
THE HYÆNA FAMILY.[61]
This group contains the single genus _Hyæna_, one species of which, the
Striped Hyæna (_H. striata_), inhabits North-east Asia and Northern
Africa; the others (_H. crocuta_ and _H. brunnea_) inhabiting South
Africa.
Externally, the Hyænas have something the appearance of extremely
ugly and unattractive-looking Dogs. They are somewhat larger than a
Shepherd’s Dog, and are covered with coarse bristly hair, short over
the greater part of the body, but produced into a sort of mane along
the ridge of the neck. The mode of progression is entirely digitigrade,
the legs having much the same proportion as in an average Dog, except
for the fact that the hind legs are shorter than the fore legs, so that
the body slopes from the withers to the haunches. The claws resemble
those of the Dog in that they cannot be retracted in sheaths of skin:
here, therefore, we have a great and marked difference from all the Cat
tribe.
[Illustration: SKULL OF HYÆNA.]
[Illustration: TEETH OF HYÆNA.
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