THE "BUN" OR "TICKED" SHORT-HAIRED CAT.Photo by H. Trevor Jessop.THE "BUN" OR "TICKED" SHORT-HAIRED CAT.This is one of the rarest cats in England. It belongs to Miss K. Maud Bennett who has kindly had it photographed for this work.
Photo by H. Trevor Jessop.THE "BUN" OR "TICKED" SHORT-HAIRED CAT.This is one of the rarest cats in England. It belongs to Miss K. Maud Bennett who has kindly had it photographed for this work.
Photo by H. Trevor Jessop.
THE "BUN" OR "TICKED" SHORT-HAIRED CAT.
This is one of the rarest cats in England. It belongs to Miss K. Maud Bennett who has kindly had it photographed for this work.
One variety is quite new and distinctive—theSmoke Long-haired, whose dark brown or black surface-coat, blown aside, shows an under-coat of blue and silver, with a light brown frill round its neck. All the other long-haired cats can pair with the short-haired for colouring and marking, but I have not yet seen aBunny Long-haired.
THE FOSSA, CIVETS, AND ICHNEUMONS.
THE FOSSA.
In theFossaMadagascar possesses an altogether peculiar animal. It is a very slender, active creature, with all its proportions much elongated. It is of a bright bay uniform colour, with thick fur, and has sharp retractile claws. It has been described as the natural connecting-link between the Civets and the Cats, anatomically speaking. Thus it has retractile claws, but does not walk on its toes, like cats, but on the soles of its feet (the hind pair of which is quite naked), like a civet. Very few have been brought to England; indeed, the first time that one was exhibited in our Zoological Gardens was only ten years ago. Formerly stories were told of its ferocity, which was compared to that of the tiger. These tales were naturally the subject of ridicule. The fossa usually attains a length of about 5 feet from snout to tail, and is the largest of the carnivora of Madagascar. A fine young specimen lately brought to London, and in the Zoological Gardens at the time of writing, is now probably full grown. It is about the same length and height as a large ocelot, but with a far longer tail, and is more slenderly built. The extreme activity of the fossa no doubt renders it a very formidable foe to other and weaker creatures. It has been described by a recent writer as being entirely nocturnal, and preying mainly on the lemurs and birds which haunt the forests of Madagascar. The animal kept at the Zoological Gardens has become fairly tame. It is fed mainly on chickens' heads and other refuse from poulterers' shops. Apparently it has no voice of any kind. It neither growls, roars, nor mews, though, when irritated or frightened, it gives a kind of hiss like a cat.
FOSSA.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.FOSSA.The only feline animal of Madagascar.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.FOSSA.The only feline animal of Madagascar.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
FOSSA.
The only feline animal of Madagascar.
LARGE INDIAN CIVET.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.LARGE INDIAN CIVET.Civets are nocturnal in their habits. That shown here has just awakened in broad daylight.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.LARGE INDIAN CIVET.Civets are nocturnal in their habits. That shown here has just awakened in broad daylight.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
LARGE INDIAN CIVET.
Civets are nocturnal in their habits. That shown here has just awakened in broad daylight.
THE CIVETS AND GENETS.
TheCivetsare the first marked deviation from the Cat Family. Their bodies are elongated, their legs short, their claws only partially retractile. Some of them have glands holding a strong scent, much esteemed in old days in Europe, when "The Civet Cat" was a common inn-sign even in England. The civets are generally beautifully marked with black stripes and bands on grey. But none of them grow to any large size, and the family has never had the importance of those which contain the large carnivora, like the true cats or bears. Many of the tribe and its connections are domesticated. Some scholars have maintained that the cat of the ancient Greeks was one of them—the common genet. The fact is that both this and the domestic cat were kept by the ancients; and the genet is still used as a cat by the peasants of Greece and Southern Italy.
TheAfrican CivetandIndian Civetare large species. The former is common almost throughout Africa. Neither of them seems to climb trees, but they find abundance of food by catching small ground-dwelling animals and birds. They are good swimmers. The Indian civet has a handsome skin, of a beautiful grey ground-colour, with black collar and markings. It is from these civets that the civet-scent is obtained. They are kept in cages for this purpose, and the secretion is scooped from the glands with a wooden spoon. They produce three or four kittens in May or June. Several other species very little differing from these are known as theMalabar,Javan, andBurmese Civets.
TheRasseis smaller, has no erectile crest, and its geographical distribution extends from Africa to the Far East. It is commonly kept as a domestic pet. Like all the civets, it will eat fruit and vegetables.
TheGenets, though resembling the civets, have no scent-pouch. They are African creatures, but are found in Italy, Spain, and Greece, and in Palestine, and even in the south of France. Beautifully spotted or striped, they are even longer and lower than the civet-cats, and steal through the grass like weasels.
AFRICAN CIVET.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.AFRICAN CIVET.This is one of the largest of the Civet Tribe. The perfume known as "civet" is obtained from it.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.AFRICAN CIVET.This is one of the largest of the Civet Tribe. The perfume known as "civet" is obtained from it.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
AFRICAN CIVET.
This is one of the largest of the Civet Tribe. The perfume known as "civet" is obtained from it.
TheCommon Genetis black and grey, the latter being the ground-colour. The tail is very long, the length being about 15 inches, while that of the body and head is only 19 inches. Small rodents, snakes, eggs, and birds are its principal food. It is kept inSouthern Europe for killing rats. Several other very similar forms are found in Africa. The presence of such a very Oriental-looking animal in Europe is something of a surprise, though many persons forget that our South European animals are very like those of Africa and the East. The porcupine, which is common in Italy and Spain, and the lynx and Barbary ape are instances. A tame genet kept by an acquaintance of the writer in Italy was absolutely domesticated like a tame mongoose. It had very pretty fur, grey, marbled and spotted with black, and no disagreeable odour, except a scent of musk. It was a most active little creature, full of curiosity, and always anxious to explore not only every room, but every cupboard and drawer in the house. Perhaps this was due to its keenness in hunting mice, a sport of which it never tired. It did not play with the mice when caught as a cat does, but ate them at once.
AFRICAN CIVET.Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.AFRICAN CIVET.This photograph shows the finely marked fur of the species and the front view of the head.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.AFRICAN CIVET.This photograph shows the finely marked fur of the species and the front view of the head.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.
AFRICAN CIVET.
This photograph shows the finely marked fur of the species and the front view of the head.
TheLinsangs, an allied group, are met with in the East, from India to Borneo and Java. They are more slender than the genets, and more arboreal. Of theNepalese LinsangHodgson writes: "This animal is equally at home on trees and on the ground. It breeds and dwells in the hollows of decaying trees. It is not gregarious, and preys mainly on living animals." A tame female owned by him is stated to have been wonderfully docile and tractable, very sensitive to cold, and very fond of being petted. There is an allied West African species.
SUMATRAN CIVET.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.SUMATRAN CIVET.A small and very beautiful member of the Civet Family. It feeds largely on fish.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.SUMATRAN CIVET.A small and very beautiful member of the Civet Family. It feeds largely on fish.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
SUMATRAN CIVET.
A small and very beautiful member of the Civet Family. It feeds largely on fish.
ThePalm-civetsandHemigalesstill further increase this numerous tribe. Slight differences of skull, of the markings on the tail, which may only have rings on the base, and of the foot and tail, are the naturalist's guide to their separation from the other civets;Hardwicke's Hemigalehas more zebra-like markings. Borneo, Africa, India, and the Himalaya all produce these active little carnivora; but the typical palm-civets are Oriental. They are sometimes known as Toddy-cats, because they drink the toddy from the jars fastened to catch the juice. The groves of cocoanut-palm are their favourite haunts; but they will make a home in holes in the thatched roofs of houses, and even in the midst of cities. There are many species in the group.
TheBinturongis another omnivorous, tree-haunting animal allied to the civets; but it has a prehensile tail, which few other mammals of the Old World possess. It is a blunt-nosed, heavy animal, sometimes called the Bear-cat. Very little is known of its habits. It is found from the Eastern Himalaya to Java.
The last of the Civet Family isBennett's Civet, the only instance of a cat-like animal with partlywebbed feet. Found in the Malay Peninsula and in Sumatra and Borneo, it is very rare, but is known to feed on fish and crustacea, and to be semi-aquatic. The author of the chapter on the civets in the Naturalist's Library says, "It may be likened to a climbing otter."
THE MONGOOSE AND ICHNEUMON FAMILY.
These are a numerous and useful race of small mammals, feeding mainly on the creatures most annoying to man within tropical countries. Snakes, the eggs of the crocodile, large lizards, rats, mice, and other creatures known generally as "vermin," are their favourite food. It must be added that, though they are most useful in destroying these, they also kill all kinds of birds, and that their introduction into some of the West India Islands, for the purpose of killing rats, has been fatal to the indigenous bird life.
GENET.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.GENET.The genets are smaller than some civets, but allied to them. One was anciently domesticated like a cat.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.GENET.The genets are smaller than some civets, but allied to them. One was anciently domesticated like a cat.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
GENET.
The genets are smaller than some civets, but allied to them. One was anciently domesticated like a cat.
The Indian Mongoose.
This universal favourite is one of the largest, the head and body being from 15 to 18 inches long, and the tail 14 inches. The fur is loose and long, and capable of being erected. As in all the tribe, the tint is a "pepper and salt," the "pepper" colour being sometimes blackish and sometimes red, but a speckled appearance characterises the whole group. This is the animal supposed to be immune from snake-bite. It is possibly so to some extent, for it kills and eats the poisonous snakes, and it is now known that theeatingof snake-poison tends to give the same protection as inoculation does against certain diseases. But it is certain that in most cases the mongoose, by its activity, and by setting up the hair on its body, which makes the snake "strike short," saves itself from being bitten.
Many descriptions of the encounters between these brave little animals and the cobra have been written. Here is one of the less known: "One of our officers had a tame mongoose, a charming little pet. Whenever we could procure a cobra—and we had many opportunities—we used to turn it out in an empty storeroom, which had a window at some height from the ground, so that it was perfectly safe to stand there and look on. The cobra, when dropped from the bag or basket, would wriggle into one of the corners of the room and there coil himself up. The mongoose showed the greatest excitement on being brought to the window,and the moment he was let loose would eagerly jump down into the room, when his behaviour became very curious and interesting. He would instantly see where the snake was, and rounding his back, and making every hair on his body stand out at right angles, which made his body appear twice as large as it really was, he would approach the cobra on tip-toe, making a peculiar humming noise. The snake, in the meantime, would show signs of great anxiety, and I fancy of fear, erecting his head and hood ready to strike when his enemy came near enough. The mongoose kept running backwards and forwards in front of the snake, gradually getting to within what appeared to us to be striking distance. The snake would strike at him repeatedly, andappearedto hit him, but the mongoose continued his comic dance, apparently unconcerned. Suddenly, and with a movement so rapid that the eye could not follow it, he would pin the cobra by the back of the head. One could hear the sharp teeth crunch into the skull, and, when all was over, see the mongoose eating the snake's head and part of his body with great gusto. Our little favourite killed a great many cobras, and, so far as I could see, never was bitten."
TWO-SPOTTED PALM-CIVET.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.TWO-SPOTTED PALM-CIVET.This is a West African species, which, with an allied form from East Africa, represents the palm-civets in the Dark Continent.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.TWO-SPOTTED PALM-CIVET.This is a West African species, which, with an allied form from East Africa, represents the palm-civets in the Dark Continent.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
TWO-SPOTTED PALM-CIVET.
This is a West African species, which, with an allied form from East Africa, represents the palm-civets in the Dark Continent.
TheEgyptian Mongoose, orIchneumon, has an equally great reputation for eating the eggs of the crocodile; and theKaffir Mongoose, a rather larger South African species, is kept as a domestic animal to kill rats, mice, and snakes, of which, like the Indian kind, it is a deadly foe. There are more than twenty other species, most of much the same appearance and habits.
The smooth-nosed mongoose tribe are closely allied creatures in South Africa, mainly burrowing animals, feeding both on flesh and fruit. TheCusimansesof Abyssinia and West Africa are also allied to them. Their habits are identical with the above.
MASKED PALM-CIVET.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.MASKED PALM-CIVET.A whole-coloured species of the group.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.MASKED PALM-CIVET.A whole-coloured species of the group.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
MASKED PALM-CIVET.
A whole-coloured species of the group.
The Meerkats, or Suricates.
Most people who have read Frank Buckland's Life will remember the suricate which was his chief pet in Albany Street. TheSuricates, orMeerkats, burrow all over the South African veldt, especially in the sandy parts, where they sit up outside their holes like prairie-dogs, and are seen by day. They are sociable animals, and make most amusing pets. A full-grown one is not much larger than a hedgehog, but more slender. It barks like a prairie-dog, and has many other noises of pleasure or anger. A lady, the owner of one, writes inCountry Life: "It gets on well with the dogs and cats, especially the latter, as they are more friendly to her, and allow her to sleep by their side and on the top of them. One old cat brings small birdsto her (her favourite is a sparrow), and makes her usual cry, and Janet runs to her and carries off the bird, which she eats, feathers and all, in a very few minutes, if she is hungry." When near a farm, the meerkats will devour eggs and young chickens. They are also said to eat the eggs of the large leopard-tortoise. The commonest is theSlender-tailed Meerkat. It is found all over South Africa, and is very common in the Karroo. It eats insects and grubs as well as small animals, and is commonly kept as a pet throughout the Colony.
BINTURONG.Photo by Robert D. Carson][Philadelphia.BINTURONG.The binturong is placed with the civets. It has a prehensile tail like the kinkajou (seepage 127).
Photo by Robert D. Carson][Philadelphia.BINTURONG.The binturong is placed with the civets. It has a prehensile tail like the kinkajou (seepage 127).
Photo by Robert D. Carson][Philadelphia.
BINTURONG.
The binturong is placed with the civets. It has a prehensile tail like the kinkajou (seepage 127).
We have now traced the long line of the Carnivora from the lordly Lion, the slayer of man and his flocks and herds, and the Tiger, equally formidable and no less specially developed for a life of rapine on a great scale, to creatures as small and insignificant as the Meerkat, which is at least as much an insect-feeder as a devourer of flesh, and the Ichneumons and Civets. The highest form of specialisation in the group is the delicate mechanism by which the chief weapons of offence, the claws, are enabled to keep their razor edge by being drawn up into sheaths when the animal walks, but can be instantly thrust out at pleasure, rigid and sharp as sword-blades. The gradual process by which this equipment deteriorates in the Civets and disappears in the Mongoose should be noted. There are many other carnivora, but none so formidable as those possessing the retractile claws. Thus the Bears, though often larger in bulk than the Lion, are far inferior in the power of inflicting violent injury. At the same time such delicate mechanism is clearly not necessary for the well-being of a species. The members of the Weasel Tribe are quite as well able to take care of themselves as the small cats, though they have non-retractile and not very formidable claws.
MONGOOSE.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.MONGOOSE.The Indian mongoose is the great enemy of snakes. Another species eats the eggs of the crocodile.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.MONGOOSE.The Indian mongoose is the great enemy of snakes. Another species eats the eggs of the crocodile.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
MONGOOSE.
The Indian mongoose is the great enemy of snakes. Another species eats the eggs of the crocodile.
Such a very abnormal animal as theBinturong—of which we are able to give an excellent photograph—is doubtless rightly assigned to the place in which modern science has placed it. But it will be found that there are several very anomalous forms quite as detached from any general type as is the binturong. Nature does not make species on any strictly graduated scale. Many of these nondescript animals are so unlike any other group or family that they seem almost freaks of nature. The binturong is certainly one of these.
The next group with which we deal is that of the Hyænas. In these the equipment for catching living prey is very weak. Speed and pursuit are not theirmétier, but the eating of dead and decaying animal matter, and the consumption of bones. Hence the jaws and teeth are highly developed, while the rest of the body is degenerate.
MEERKAT.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.MEERKAT.A small, mainly insectivorous animal, found in South Africa; also called the Suricate.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.MEERKAT.A small, mainly insectivorous animal, found in South Africa; also called the Suricate.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
MEERKAT.
A small, mainly insectivorous animal, found in South Africa; also called the Suricate.
The question of the comparative intelligence of the Apes and Monkeys, and the carnivorous animals subsequently described in these pages, is an interesting one. It would seem at first as if the Cat Tribe and their relations, which have to obtain their prey by constant hunting, and often to make use of considerable reflection and thought to bring their enterprises against other animals to a successful issue, would be more likely to develop intelligence and to improve in brain-power than the great Apes, which find an easy living in the tropical forests, and only seek fruits and vegetables for their food. Yet it is quite certain that this is not the case. The Cat Tribe, with the exception of the domesticated cats, does not show high intelligence. Even the latter are seldom trained to obey man, though they learn to accommodate themselves to his ways of life. There is no evidence that cats have any sense of number, or that any of them in a wild state make any effort to provide shelter for themselves or construct a refuge from their enemies, though the Leopard will make use of a cave as a lair. In matters requiring intelligence and co-operation, such rodents as the Beaver, or even the Squirrel, are far beyond the feline carnivora in sagacity and acquired or inherited ingenuity. Except the Stoat, which sometimes hunts in packs, no species of the carnivora yet dealt with in this work combines to hunt its prey, or for defence against enemies. Each for itself is the rule, and even among the less-specialised flesh-eating animals of the other groups it is only the Dog Tribe which seems to understand the principles of association for a common object.
THE HYÆNAS AND AARD-WOLF.
If every animal has its place in nature, we must suppose that the hyæna's business is to clear up the bones and such parts of the animal dead as the vultures and other natural "undertakers" cannot devour. Hyænas have very strong jaws, capable of crushing almost any bone. In prehistoric times they were common in England, and lived in the caves of Derbyshire and Devon. In these caves many bones were found quite smashed up, as if by some very large wild animal. It was supposed that this was done by bears—Dean Buckland said "by hyænas." He procured a hyæna, kept it at his house, and fed it on bones. The smashed fragments he laid on the table at a scientific lecture beside the fragments from the caverns. The resemblance was identical, and the Dean triumphed.
The hyænas are carnivorous animals, with the front limbs longer than the hind. The tail is short, the colour spotted or brindled, the teeth and jaws of great strength.
SPOTTED HYÆNA.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.SPOTTED HYÆNA.The largest of the carrion-feeding animals. A South African species.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.SPOTTED HYÆNA.The largest of the carrion-feeding animals. A South African species.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
SPOTTED HYÆNA.
The largest of the carrion-feeding animals. A South African species.
TheBrown Hyæna, orStrand-wolf, is an African species, with very long, coarse hair, reaching a length of 10 inches on the back. It is not found north of the Zambesi; and it is nocturnal, and fond of wandering along the shore, where it picks up crabs and dead fish. Young cattle, sheep, and lambs are also killed by it, and offal of all kinds devoured.
TheSpotted Hyænais a large and massive animal, the head and body being 4 feet 6 inches long without the tail. It is found all over Africa from Abyssinia and Senegal southwards. A few are left in Natal. It is believed to be the same as the cave-hyæna of Europe. By day it lives much in the holes of the aard-vark (ant-bear); by night it goes out, sometimes in small bands, to seek food. It has a loud and mournful howl, beginning low and ending high. It also utters a horrible maniacal laugh when excited, which gives it the name of Laughing-hyæna. "Its appetite," says Mr. W. L. Sclater in his "South African Mammals," "is boundless. It is entirely carnivorous, but seems to prefer putrid and decaying matter, and never kills an animal unless driven to do so by hunger. Sheep and donkeys are generally attacked at the belly, and the bowels torn out by its sharp teeth. Horses are also frequent objects of attack; but in this case shackling is useful, as the horse, unable to escape, faces the hyæna, which instantly bolts. It is an excellent scavenger, and it has been known to kill and carry off young children, though the least attempt at pursuit will cause it to drop them. Many stories are told, too, of its attacking sleeping natives; in this case it invariably goes for the man's face. Drummond states that he has seen many men who had been thus mutilated, wanting noses, or with the whole mouth and lips torn away. This is confirmed by other authors." Drummond gives an instance of seven cows being mortally injured in a single night by two hyænas, which attacked them and bit off the udders. Poisoned meat is the only means to get rid of this abominable animal.
SPOTTED HYÆNA.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.SPOTTED HYÆNA.The jaws of the hyæna are specially made for cracking hones. They will smash the thigh-bone of a buffalo.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.SPOTTED HYÆNA.The jaws of the hyæna are specially made for cracking hones. They will smash the thigh-bone of a buffalo.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
SPOTTED HYÆNA.
The jaws of the hyæna are specially made for cracking hones. They will smash the thigh-bone of a buffalo.
Sir Samuel Baker says: "I can safely assert that the bone-cracking power of this animal is extraordinary. I cannot say that it exceeds the lion or tiger in the strengthof its jaws; but they will leave bones unbroken which a hyæna will crack in halves. Its powers of digestion are unlimited. It will swallow and digest a knuckle-bone without giving it a crunch, and will crack the thigh-bone of a buffalo to obtain the marrow, and swallow either end immediately after.... I remember that once a hyæna came into our tent at night. But this was merely a friendly reconnaissance, to see if any delicacy, such as our shoes, or a saddle, or anything that smelt of leather, were lying about. It was bright moonlight, and the air was calm. There was nothing to disturb the stillness. I was awakened from sleep by a light touch on my sleeve, and my attention was directed by my wife to some object that had just quitted our tent. I took my rifle from beneath the mat on which I lay, and, after waiting for a few minutes sitting up in bed, saw a large form standing in the doorway preparatory to entering. Presently it walked in cautiously, and immediately fell dead, with a bullet between its eyes. It proved to be a very large hyæna, an old and experienced depredator, as it bore countless scars of encounters with other strong biters of its race."
STRIPED HYÆNA.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.STRIPED HYÆNA.This is the Hyæna of Northern Africa, Palestine, and India.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.STRIPED HYÆNA.This is the Hyæna of Northern Africa, Palestine, and India.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
STRIPED HYÆNA.
This is the Hyæna of Northern Africa, Palestine, and India.
AARD-WOLF.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.AARD-WOLF.The aard-wolf stands in a family by itself. It is allied to the hyænas, but is a far feebler animal.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.AARD-WOLF.The aard-wolf stands in a family by itself. It is allied to the hyænas, but is a far feebler animal.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
AARD-WOLF.
The aard-wolf stands in a family by itself. It is allied to the hyænas, but is a far feebler animal.
TheStriped Hyænais found in India as well as in Africa. In portions of Abyssinia these animals are so numerous that on the Nile tributaries Sir Samuel Baker used to hear them cracking the bones after supper every night just as they had been thrown by the Arabs within a few feet of the deserted table. In this way they are useful scavengers.
The Aard-wolf.
This small African hyæna-like creature stands in a family by itself. The animal is like a small striped hyæna, with a pointed muzzle, longer ears, and a kind of mane. It is common all through South and East Africa, where it lives on carrion, white ants, and lambs and kids. It has not the strong jaws and teeth of the dog or hyæna family. The colonists commonly hunt and kill it with fox-terriers.
YOUNG GREY WOLF.Photo by New York Zoological Society.YOUNG GREY WOLF.The grey wolf of North America, which once preyed mainly on young bison calves, is now a formidable enemy to the increasing flocks of sheep and herds of cattle in the north and west.
Photo by New York Zoological Society.YOUNG GREY WOLF.The grey wolf of North America, which once preyed mainly on young bison calves, is now a formidable enemy to the increasing flocks of sheep and herds of cattle in the north and west.
Photo by New York Zoological Society.
YOUNG GREY WOLF.
The grey wolf of North America, which once preyed mainly on young bison calves, is now a formidable enemy to the increasing flocks of sheep and herds of cattle in the north and west.
THE DOG FAMILY.
A GROWING CUB.Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co., Parson's Green.A GROWING CUB.Note how the wolf cub develops the long pasterns, large feet, and long jaw before its body grows in proportion
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co., Parson's Green.A GROWING CUB.Note how the wolf cub develops the long pasterns, large feet, and long jaw before its body grows in proportion
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co., Parson's Green.
A GROWING CUB.
Note how the wolf cub develops the long pasterns, large feet, and long jaw before its body grows in proportion
The tribe now treated is called the Dog Family, and rightly so, for our domestic dogs are included in the group, which comprises the Wolves, Dogs, Jackals, Wild Dogs, and Foxes. Their general characters are too familiar to need description, but it should be noted that the foxes differ from the dogs in having contracting pupils to the eye (which in bright sun closes like a cat's to a mere slit) and some power of climbing. The origin of the domestic dog is still unsettled.
The Wolf.
This great enemy of man and his dependants—the creature against the ravages of which almost all the early races of Europe had to combine, either in tribes, villages, or principalities, to protect their children, themselves, and their cattle—was formerly found all over the northern hemisphere, both in the Old and New Worlds. In India it is rather smaller, but equally fierce and cunning, though, as there are no long winters, it does not gather in packs. It is still so common in parts of the Rocky Mountains that the cattle and sheep of the ranch-holders and wild game of the National Yellowstone Park suffer severely. In Switzerland the ancient organisations of wolf clubs in the cantons are still maintained. In Brittany the Grand Louvetier is a government official. Every very hard winter wolves from the Carpathians and Russia move across the frozen rivers of Europe even to the forests of the Ardennes and of Fontainebleau. In Norway they ravage the reindeer herds of the Lapps. Only a few years ago an artist, his wife, and servant were all attacked on their way to Budapest, in Hungary, and the man and his wife killed. The last British wolf was killed in 1680 by Cameron of Lochiel. Wolves are common in Palestine, Persia, and India.
Without going back over the well-known history of the species, we will give some anecdotes of the less commonly known exploits of these fierce and dangerous brutes. Mr. Kipling's "Jungle Book" has given us an "heroic" picture of the life of the Indian wolves. There is a great deal of truth in it. Even the child-stealing by wolves is very probably a fact, for native opinion is unanimous in crediting it. Babies laid down by their mothers when working in the fields are constantly carried off and devoured by them, and stories of their being spared and suckled by the she-wolves are very numerous.
Indian wolves hunt in combination, without assembling in large packs. The following is a remarkable instance, recorded by General Douglas Hamilton: "When returning with a friend from a trip to the mountain caves of Ellora, we saw a herd of antelope near a range of low rocky hills; and as there was a dry nullah, or watercourse, we decided on having a stalk. While creeping up the nullah, we noticed two animals coming across the plain on our left. We took them at first for leopards, but then saw that they were wolves. When they wereabout 500 yards from the antelope, they lay down quietly. After about ten minutes or so, the smaller of the two got up and trotted off to the rocky hills, and suddenly appeared on the ridge, running backwards and forwards like a Scotch collie dog. The larger wolf, as soon as he saw that the antelope were fully occupied in watching his companion, got up and came as hard as he could gallop to the nullah. Unfortunately he saw us and bolted; and his companion, seeing there was something wrong, did the same. Now, it is evident that these wolves had regularly planned this attack. One was to occupy the attention of the antelope, the other to steal up the watercourse and dash into the midst of them. At another time a brother-officer of mine was stalking a herd of antelope which were feeding down a grassy valley, when suddenly a wolf got up before him, and then another and then another, until fourteen wolves rose out of the grass. They were extended right across the valley in the shape of a fishing-net or jelly-bag, so that as soon as the herd had got well into the jelly-bag they would have rushed on the antelope, and some must have fallen victims to their attack." They have been known to join in the chase of antelopes by dogs. Captain Jackson, of the Nizam's service, let his dogs course an antelope fawn. A wolf jumped up, joined the dogs, and all three seized the fawn together. He then came up, whipped off the dogs and the wolf, and secured the fawn, which did not seem hurt. The wolf immediately sat down and began to howl at the loss of his prey, and in a few moments made a dash at the officer, but when within a few yards thought better of it, and recommenced howling. This brought another wolf to his assistance. Both howled and looked very savage, and seemed inclined to make another dash at the antelope. But the horse-keepers came up, and the wolves retired.
WOLF CUBS.Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.WOLF CUBS.These are evidently the foster-brothers of Romulus and Remus.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.WOLF CUBS.These are evidently the foster-brothers of Romulus and Remus.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.
WOLF CUBS.
These are evidently the foster-brothers of Romulus and Remus.
The Indian wolf, if a male, stands about 26 inches high at the shoulder. The length of head and body is 37 inches; tail, 17 inches.
The same species practically haunts the whole of the world north of the Himalaya. It varies in colour from almost black to nearly pure white. In the Hudson Bay fur-sales every variety of colour between these may be seen, but most are of a tawny brindle. The male grows to a very great size. One of the largest ever seen in Europe was for years at the London Zoo. It stood 6 feet high when on its hind legs, and its immense head and jaws seemed to occupy one-third of the space from nose to tail. Horses are the main prey of the Northern Wolf. It will kill any living creature, but horseflesh is irresistible. It either attacks by seizing the flank and throwing the animal, or bites the hocks. The biting power is immense. It will tear a solid mass of flesh at one grip from the buttock of a cow or horse. In the early days of the United States, when Audubon was making his first trip up the head-waters of the Missouri, flesh of all kinds was astonishingly abundant on the prairies. Buffalo swarmed, and the Indians had any quantity of buffalo-meat for the killing. Wolves of very large size used to haunt the forts and villages, and were almost tame, being well fed and comfortable. Far differentwas the case even near St. Petersburg at the same period. A traveller in 1840 was chased by a pack of wolves so closely that when the sledge-horses reached the post-house and rushed into the stable, the doors of which were open, seven of the wolves rushed in after them. The driver and traveller leaped from the sledge just as it reached the building, and horses and wolves rushed past them into it. The men then ran up and closed the doors. Having obtained guns, they opened the roof, expecting to see that the horses had been killed. Instead all seven wolves were slinking about beside the terrified horses. All were killed without resistance.
WHITE WOLF.Photo by L. Midland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.WHITE WOLF.White wolves are quite common in North America. Recently two white wolves were brought to the Zoological Gardens from Russia.
Photo by L. Midland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.WHITE WOLF.White wolves are quite common in North America. Recently two white wolves were brought to the Zoological Gardens from Russia.
Photo by L. Midland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
WHITE WOLF.
White wolves are quite common in North America. Recently two white wolves were brought to the Zoological Gardens from Russia.
In Siberia and Russia the wolves in winter are literally starving. Gathering in packs, they haunt the roads, and chase the sledges with their unfaltering gallop. Seldom in these days does a human life fall victim; but in very hard winters sledge-horses are often killed, and now and then a peasant. Rabies is very common among wolves. They then enter the villages, biting and snapping at every one. Numbers of patients are sent yearly from Russia and Hungary to the Pasteur Institutes, after being bitten by rabid wolves. In Livonia, in 1823, it was stated that the following animals had been killed by wolves: 15,182 sheep, 1,807 oxen, 1,841 horses, 3,270 goats, 4,190 pigs, 703 dogs, and numbers of geese and fowls. They followed the Grand Army from Russia to Germany in 1812, and restocked the forests of Europe with particularly savage wolves. It is said that in the retreat from Moscow twenty-four French soldiers, with their arms in their hands, were attacked, killed, and eaten by a pack of wolves.
PRAIRIE-WOLF, OR COYOTE.Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.PRAIRIE-WOLF, OR COYOTE.This is the small, grey, thickly furred species found on the prairies.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.PRAIRIE-WOLF, OR COYOTE.This is the small, grey, thickly furred species found on the prairies.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.
PRAIRIE-WOLF, OR COYOTE.
This is the small, grey, thickly furred species found on the prairies.
From very early times special breeds of dogs have been trained to guard sheep against the attacks of wolves. Some of these were intended to defend the flock on the spot, others to run down the wolves in the open. The former are naturally bred to be very large and heavy; the latter, though they must be strong, are light and speedy. Of the dogs which guard the flocks several races still survive. Among the most celebrated are those of Albania and the mountainous parts of Turkey, and the wolf-dogs of Tibet, generally called Tibetan Bloodhounds. The Tartar shepherds on the steppes near the Caucasus also keep a very large and ferocious breed of dog. All these are of the mastiff type, but have long, thick hair. When the shepherds of Albania or Mount Rhodope are driving their flocks along the mountains to the summer pastures, they sometimes travel a distance of 200 miles. During this march the dogs act as flankers and scouts by day and night, and do battle with the wolves, which know quite well the routes along which the sheep usually pass, and are on the look-out to pick up stragglers or raid the flock. The Spanish shepherds employ a large white shaggy breed of dog as guards against wolves. These dogs both lead the sheep and bring up the rear in the annual migration of the flocks to and from the summer pastures. In the west of America, now that sheep-ranching on a large scale has been introduced, wolf-dogs are bred to live entirely with the sheep. They are suckled when puppies by the ewes instead of by their own mothers, and become as it were a part of the flock.
Colonel Theodore Roosevelt gives an interesting account of wolf-coursing in Russia, in an article contributed to "The Encyclopædia of Sport" (Lawrence & Bullen). "In Russia the sport is a science," he writes. "The princes and great landowners who take part in it have their hunting-equipages equipped perfectly to the smallest detail. Not only do they follow wolves in the open, but they capture them and let them out before dogs, like hares in a closed coursing-meeting. The huntsman follows his hounds on horseback. (These hounds are the Borzoi, white giant greyhounds, now often seen in England.) Those in Russia show signs of reversion to the type of the Irish wolf-hound, dogs weighing something like 100 lbs., of remarkable power, and of reckless and savage temper. Now three or four dogs are run together. They are not expected to kill the wolf, but merely to hold him.... The Borzois can readily overtake and master partly grown wolves, but a full-grown dog-wolf, in good trim, will usually gallop away from them."
"THE WOLF WITH PRIVY PAW."Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin."THE WOLF WITH PRIVY PAW."The photograph shows admirably the slinking gait and long stride of the wolf.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin."THE WOLF WITH PRIVY PAW."The photograph shows admirably the slinking gait and long stride of the wolf.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.
"THE WOLF WITH PRIVY PAW."
The photograph shows admirably the slinking gait and long stride of the wolf.
A number of these Borzoi dogs have been imported into America, and are used to course wolves in the Western States. But there professional wolf-hunters are employed to kill off the creatures near the ranches. One such hunter lives near Colonel Roosevelt's ranche on the Little Missouri. His pack of large dogs will tear in pieces the biggest wolf without aid from the hunter. Of his own efforts in wolf-coursing he writes: "We generally started for the hunting-ground very early, riding across the open country in a widely spread line of dogs and men. If we put up a wolf, we simply went at him as hard as we knew how. Young wolves, or those which had not attained their full strength, were readily overtaken, and the pack would handle a she-wolf quite readily. A big dog-wolf, or even a full-grown and powerful she-wolf, offered an altogether different problem. Frequently we came upon one after it hadgorged itself on a colt or a calf. Under such conditions, if the dogs had a good start, they ran into the wolf and held him.... Packs composed of nothing but specially bred and trained greyhounds of great size and power made a better showing. Under favourable circumstances three or four of these dogs readily overtook and killed the largest wolf.... Their dashing courage and ferocious fighting capacity were marvellous, and in this respect I was never able to see much difference between the smooth and rough—the Scotch deerhound or the greyhound type."