At the Cape, also, and in a great part of South Africa, we find another
species, the _Hyæna villosa_, or "Sea-Shore Wolf;" distinguished from
the preceding by having stripes on the legs, while the rest of the body
is of a dark grayish-brown. Allied to the Hyænas is the _Proteles_, or
"Aard-Wolf " (_Proteles Lalandii_), an animal nearly as large as a
jackal, inhabiting the southern parts of the African Continent. He has
the teeth and pointed head of the civits; the striped fur and stiff
bristly hair of the hyænas. The general colour is a yellowish-gray,
radiated with transverse stripes of dusky black; the tail is short and
bushy. The fore-feet are provided with five toes; the hinder ones with
four; all the claws being strong and large. He burrows like a fox, and
prowls abroad at night in search of food, which consists chiefly of
carrion and small vermin. But it is said that he particularly affects
the enormous fatty tail of the African sheep, devouring with avidity the
semi-fluid mass, which requires no mastication.
[Illustration: SPOTTED HYÆNAS (_Hyæna crocuta_).]
* * * * *
One of the most curious and most graceful of the South African carnaria
is the _Fennec_, or _Zorda_ (_Megatolis_), a genus of Canidæ, resembling
the European fox in form and stature, but his hair of a light brown
colour; his muzzle is of extreme fineness, and his eye lively and
intelligent; his enormous ears gift him with an extraordinary delicacy
of hearing. Every animal has its particular taste, and that of the
Fennec is for ostrich eggs, which, as he cannot open them with his teeth
on account of their size, he breaks by dashing them against hard angular
stones. He is not only met with at the Cape, but in Dongola, Nubia, and
the Sahara south of Tunis and Constantina.
[Illustration: ZIBETH, AND INDIAN GENET.]
I cannot conclude this chapter without alluding to a few of the
Carnivora with elongated snout and non-retractile claws, which inhabit
the plains of Southern Asia and the great adjacent islands. The first
place I give to the _Cuon Bansu_, or Pariah Dog of India, which seems
allied to both the Wild Dog, the Wolf, and the Jackal. His eyes are
prominent, his skin is of a reddish-yellow, brightest about the head,
spotted with black upon the tail. He is a gregarious animal, hunting in
large troops, and waging war against hares, gazelles, antelopes. He will
even venture to attack the buffaloes. Some varieties of this species
range high up on the mountains.
[Illustration: STRIPED PARODOXURE OF JAVA DEVOURING A CRESTED GOURA.]
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