These Dogs hunt in packs, six, eight, ten, or as many as thirty, animals in a pack. They hunt either by night or day; and it is said that “when once a pack of them put up any animal, no matter whether Deer or Tiger, that animal’s doom is sealed; they never leave it. They will dog their prey for days, if need be, and run it down exhausted, and if it turns to fight, they go in fearlessly, and by their numbers win. All animals dread the Wild Dog; others they may elude by speed, artifice, or battle: but their instinct tells them that there is no escaping the Wild Dog, as it hunts in packs by scent as well as by sight, and is as brave as it is persevering.” They make no noise when running, except sometimes a low whispering kind of note, which may either express their own gratification, or act as a signal to other Dogs. Great numbers of them are destroyed in their hunting expeditions, as the larger animals, such as the Elk and Boar, defend themselves with great fierceness, and sacrifice many of their pursuers before they fall a victim to the overwhelming numbers and unconquerable perseverance of the latter. In some parts of India they are half-domesticated, and used in the noble sport of “Pig-sticking.” “They are remarkably savage, and frequently will approach none but their _doonahs_, or keepers, not allowing their own masters to come near them. Some of them are very fleet, but they are not to be depended upon in coursing; for they are apt suddenly to give up the chase when it is a severe one, and, indeed, they will too often prefer a Sheep or a Goat to a Hare. In Hog-hunting they are more valuable. It seems to suit their temper, and they appear to enjoy the snapping and the snarling incident to that species of sport.”[118] THE DINGO, OR AUSTRALIAN WILD DOG.[119] This is another distinct breed of Wild Dog, quite as remarkable in its way as the Indian Wild Dog, and possessing far greater interest than the latter, from the fact that it is the only Mammal not belonging to the group of Marsupials, or pouched animals (Kangaroos, Wombats, &c.), found in the great island of Australia. In all probability, it is not a true native even there, but was most likely introduced before the discovery of the island by Europeans. The Dingo “approaches in appearance to the largest kind of Shepherd’s Dog (see figure on page 147). The head is elongated, the forehead flat, and the ears short and erect, or with a slight direction forwards. The body is thickly covered with hair of two kinds--the one woolly and grey, the other silky and of a deep yellow or fawn colour. The limbs are muscular, and, were it not for the suspicious yet ferocious glare of the eye, he might pass for a handsome Dog. When he is running, the head is lifted more than usual in Dogs, and the tail is carried horizontally. He seldom barks.”[120]