RUSSIAN WOLF.Photo by J. W. McLellan][Highbury.RUSSIAN WOLF.This is a most characteristic photograph of one of the so-called "greyhound wolves" of the Russian forests.
Photo by J. W. McLellan][Highbury.RUSSIAN WOLF.This is a most characteristic photograph of one of the so-called "greyhound wolves" of the Russian forests.
Photo by J. W. McLellan][Highbury.
RUSSIAN WOLF.
This is a most characteristic photograph of one of the so-called "greyhound wolves" of the Russian forests.
Wolf cubs are born in April or May. The litter is from four to nine. There was one of six a few years ago at the Zoological Gardens at the Hague, pretty little creatures like collie puppies, but quarrelsome and rough even in their play. When born, they were covered with reddish-white down; later the coat became woolly and dark.
The European wolf's method of hunting when in chase of deer is by steady pursuit. Its speed is such and its endurance so great that it can overtake any animal. But there is no doubt that the favourite food of the wolf is mutton, which it can always obtain without risk on the wild mountains of the Near East, if once the guardian dogs are avoided. M. Tschudi, the naturalist of the Alps, gives a curious account of the assemblage of wolves in Switzerland in 1799. They had, as is mentioned above, followed the armies from Russia. Having tasted human flesh, they preferred it to all other, and even dug up the corpses. The Austrian, French, and Russian troops penetrated in 1799 into the highest mountain valleys of Switzerland, and fought sanguinary battles there. Hundreds of corpses were left on the mountains and in the forests, which acted as bait to the wolves, which were not destroyed for some years.
Wolves will interbreed with dogs readily, which the red fox will not. The progeny do not bark, but howl. The Eskimo cross their dogs with wolves to give them strength.
The Coyote, or Prairie-wolf.
Besides the large grey wolf, a smaller and less formidable animal is common on the prairies and mountains of the northern half of the continent of America. This is the Coyote. It takes the place of the hyæna as a scavenger, but has some of the habits of the fox. It catches birds and buck-rabbits, and feeds on insects, as well as small rodents like prairie-dogs and mice. Its melancholy howls make night hideous on the northern prairies, and it is the steady foe of all young creatures, such as the fawns of prong-horned antelope and deer. Its skin, like that of most northern carnivora, is thick and valuable for fur wraps. The coyotes assemble in packs like jackals.
In the National Park in the Yellowstone Valley grey wolves and coyotes are the only animals which it is absolutely necessary to destroy. As the deer and antelope and other gameincreased under State protection, the wolves and coyotes drew towards a quarter where there were no hunters and a good supply of food. It was soon found that the increase of the game was checked. The coyotes used to watch the hinds when about to drop their calves, and usually succeeded in killing them. The large grey wolves killed the hinds themselves, and generally made life most unpleasant for the dwellers in this paradise. Orders were issued to kill off all the wolves by any means. Poison was found to be the best remedy; but in the winter, when all the game descended into the valleys, the wolves found so much fresh food in the carcases of the animals they killed for themselves that they would not eat very eagerly of the poisoned baits. The coyotes were killed off fairly closely, as they are less able to obtain living prey; but the grey wolves are constantly reinforced from the mountains, and are a permanent enemy to be coped with.
A curious instance of change of habit in wolves on the American prairies was recently noted in theSpectator. Formerly they followed the caravans; now they come down to the great transcontinental railways, and haunt the line to obtain food. Each train which crosses the prairie is, like a ship, full of provisions. Three meals a day take place regularly, and these are not stinted. The black cooks throw all the waste portions—beef-bones, other bones, stale bread, and trimmings—overboard. The wolves have learnt that the passing of a train means food, and when they hear one they gallop down to the line, and wait like expectant dogs in the hope of picking up a trifle. The coyotes come close to the metals, and sit like terriers, with their sharp noses pricked up. The big grey wolves also appear in the early morning, standing on the snow, over which the chill wind of winter blows, gaunt and hungry images of winter and famine.
A WOLF OF THE CARPATHIANS.Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.A WOLF OF THE CARPATHIANS.This wolf is a shorter and more heavily built specimen than the Russian wolf on the previous page.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.A WOLF OF THE CARPATHIANS.This wolf is a shorter and more heavily built specimen than the Russian wolf on the previous page.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.
A WOLF OF THE CARPATHIANS.
This wolf is a shorter and more heavily built specimen than the Russian wolf on the previous page.
INDIAN WOLF.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.INDIAN WOLF.This photograph shows the Indian wolf alarmed. It has a reputation for stealing children as well as killing cattle.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.INDIAN WOLF.This photograph shows the Indian wolf alarmed. It has a reputation for stealing children as well as killing cattle.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
INDIAN WOLF.
This photograph shows the Indian wolf alarmed. It has a reputation for stealing children as well as killing cattle.
Some years ago experiments were made at the Regent's Park Zoological Gardens to ascertain if there were any foundation for the old legends that wolves feared the sound of stringed instruments such as the violin. Every one will remember the story of the fiddler pursued by wolves. It is said that as the pack overtook him he broke a string of his instrument, and that the sudden noise of the parting cord caused the pack to stand still for a minute, and so enabled him to reach a tree, which he climbed. Further, that when he improved on the hint so given, and played his fiddle, the wolves all sat still; when he left off, they leapt up and tried to reach him. Experiments with the Zoo wolves showed that there was no doubt whatever that the low minor chords played on a violin cause the greatest fear and agitation in wolves, both European and Indian. The instrument was first played behind the den of an Indian wolf, and out of sight. At the first sound the wolf began to tremble, erected its fur, dropped its tail between its legs, and crept uneasily across its den. As the sounds grew louder and more intense, the wolf trembled so violently, and showed such physical evidence of being dominated by excessive fright, that the keeper begged that the experiment might be discontinued, or the creature would have a fit. A large European wolf is described in "Life at the Zoo" as having exhibited its dislike of the music in a different way. It set up all its fur till it looked much larger than its ordinary size, and drew back its lips until all the white teeth protruding from the red gums were shown. It kept silent till the violin-player approached it; then it flew at him with a ferocious growl, and tried to seize him.
WOLF'S HEAD.Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.WOLF'S HEAD.A very fine study of the head, jaws, and teeth of a female wolf. The head of the male is much larger.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.WOLF'S HEAD.A very fine study of the head, jaws, and teeth of a female wolf. The head of the male is much larger.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.
WOLF'S HEAD.
A very fine study of the head, jaws, and teeth of a female wolf. The head of the male is much larger.
There are instances of wolves having been quite successfully tamed, and developing great affection for their owners. They are certainly more dog-like than any fox; yet even the fox has been tamed so far as to become a domesticated animal for the lifetime of one particular individual. An extraordinary instance of this was lately given inCountry Life, with a photograph of the fox. It was taken when a cub, and brought up at a largecountry house with a number of dogs. Among these were three terriers, with which it made friends. There were plenty of wild foxes near, some of which occasionally laid up in the laurels in a shrubbery not far from the house. These laurels were, in fact, a fairly safe find for a fox. It was the particular sport of the terriers to be taken to "draw" this bit of cover, and to chase out any fox in it. On these expeditions the tame fox invariably accompanied them, and took an active part in the chase, pursuing the wild fox as far as the terriers were able to maintain the hunt.
RUSSIAN WOLF.Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.RUSSIAN WOLF.Note the expression of fear and ferocity on the face of this wolf; also the enormously powerful jaws.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.RUSSIAN WOLF.Note the expression of fear and ferocity on the face of this wolf; also the enormously powerful jaws.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.
RUSSIAN WOLF.
Note the expression of fear and ferocity on the face of this wolf; also the enormously powerful jaws.
In Central Asia the wolves lie out singly on the steppes during the summer, and feed on the young antelopes and the lambs and kids of the Tartars' flocks. The Kirghiz organise wolf-killing parties, to which as many mounted men and dogs come as can be brought together. In order to aid the dogs, the Tartars often employ eagles trained to act like falcons, which sit on the arm of the owner. As the eagle is too heavy to be carried for any time in this way, a crutch is fastened to the left side of the saddle, on which the bearer of the falcon rests his arm. When a wolf is sighted, the eagle is loosed, and at once flies after the wolf, and overtakes it in a short time, striking at its head and eyes with its talons, and buffeting it with its wings. This attack so disconcerts the wolf that it gives time for the dogs to come up and seize it.
The habits of the Siberian wolf are rather different from those in West Russia, and the settlers and nomad Tartars of Siberia are far more adventurous and energetic in defending themselves against its ravages than the peasants of European Russia. Being mounted, they also have a great advantage in the pursuit. The result is that Siberian wolves seldom appear in large packs, and very rarely venture to attack man. Yet the damage they do to the flocks and herds which constitute almost the only property of the nomad tribes is very severe.
Both the Russians and Siberians believe that when a she-wolf is suckling her young she carefully avoids attacking flocks in the neighbourhood of the place where the cubs lie, but that if she be robbed of her whelps she revenges herself by attacking the nearest flock. On this account the Siberian peasants rarely destroy a litter, but hamstring the young wolves and then catch them when partly grown, and kill them for the sake of their fur. Among the ingenious methods used for shooting wolves in Siberia is that of killing them from sledges. A steady horse is harnessed to a sledge, and the driver takes his seat in front as usual. Behind sit two men armed with guns, and provided with a small pig, which is induced to squeak often and loudly. In the rear of the sledge a bag of hay is trailed on a long rope. Any wolf in the forest near which hears the pig concludes that it is a young wild one separated from its mother. Seeing the hay-bag trailing behind the sledge in the dusk, it leaps out to seize it, and is shot by the passengers sitting on the back seat of the sledge.
NORTH AFRICAN JACKAL.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.NORTH AFRICAN JACKAL.This is the common jackal of Cairo and Lower Egypt.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.NORTH AFRICAN JACKAL.This is the common jackal of Cairo and Lower Egypt.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
NORTH AFRICAN JACKAL.
This is the common jackal of Cairo and Lower Egypt.
The Jackal.
Of the Wild Canine Family, theJackalis the next in numbers and importance to the wolves. Probably in the East it is the most numerous of any. In India, Egypt, and Syria it regularly haunts the outskirts of cities, and lives on refuse. In the Indian plains wounded animals are also killed by the jackals. At night the creatures assemble in packs, and scour the outskirts of the cities. Horrible are the howlings and weird the cries of these hungry packs. In Ceylon they live in the hills and open country like foxes, and kill the hares. When taken young jackals can be tamed, and have all the manners of a dog. They wag their tails, fawn on their master, roll over and stick up their paws, and could probably be domesticated in a few generations, were it worth while. They eat fruits and vegetables, such as melons and pumpkins, eagerly.
In Africa two species are found—theBlack-backed Jackaland theStriped Jackal; the former is the size of a large English fox. The young jackals are born in holes or earths; six seems to be the usual number of puppies. They have nearly always a back door by which they can escape; this is just large enough for the puppies to squeeze through, whatever their size. When fox-terriers are put into the earth, the jackal puppies fly out of their back doors, through which, as a rule, the terriers are unable to follow them. Should there be no one outside, the puppies race out on to the veldt as hard as they can go. This jackal is terribly destructive to sheep and lambs in the Colony. A reward of 7s.6d.per tail is paid to the Kaffirs for killing them. TheSide-striped Jackalis a Central African species, said to hunt in packs, to interbreed with domestic dogs, and to be most easily tamed.
INDIAN JACKAL.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.INDIAN JACKAL.This Indian Jackal might be sitting for his portrait in Mr. Rudyard Kipling's tale of the "undertakers"—the jackal, alligator, and adjutant.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.INDIAN JACKAL.This Indian Jackal might be sitting for his portrait in Mr. Rudyard Kipling's tale of the "undertakers"—the jackal, alligator, and adjutant.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
INDIAN JACKAL.
This Indian Jackal might be sitting for his portrait in Mr. Rudyard Kipling's tale of the "undertakers"—the jackal, alligator, and adjutant.
Both in India and South Africa the jackal has been found to be of some service to the white man by providing him with a substitute for the fox to hunt. It has quite as remarkable powers of endurance as the fox, though it does not fight in the same determined way when the hounds overtake it. But it is not easy to estimate the courage of a fox when in difficulties. The writer has known one, when coursed by two large greyhounds, to disable both almost instantaneously. One was bitten across the muzzle, the other through the foot. The fox escaped without a bite from either. In India the hounds used are drafts from English packs. The hot weather does not suit them, and theyare seldom long-lived; but while they are in health they will run a jackal across the Indian plains as gaily as they would a fox over the Hampshire Downs. The meet is very early in the morning, as the scent then lies, and riding is not too great an exertion. The ground drawn is not the familiar English covert, but fields, watercourses, and old buildings. A strong dog-jackal goes away at a great pace, and as the ground is open the animal is often in view for the greater part of the run; but it keeps well ahead of the hounds often for three or four miles, and if it does not escape into a hole or ruin is usually pulled down by them. Major-General R. S. S. Baden-Powell has written and illustrated an amusing account of his days with the fox-hounds of South Africa hunting jackals. The local Boer farmers, rough, unkempt, and in ragged trousers, used to turn up smoking their pipes to enjoy the sport with the smartly got-up English officers. When once the game was found, they were just as excited as the Englishmen, and on their Boer ponies rode just as hard, and with perhaps more judgment.
MANED WOLF.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.MANED WOLF.A South American animal; its coat is a chestnut-red.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.MANED WOLF.A South American animal; its coat is a chestnut-red.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
MANED WOLF.
A South American animal; its coat is a chestnut-red.
TURKISH JACKAL.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.TURKISH JACKAL.This jackal is common in both Turkey in Europe and in Asia. Near Constantinople it feeds largely on the bodies buried in the cemeteries at Scutari.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.TURKISH JACKAL.This jackal is common in both Turkey in Europe and in Asia. Near Constantinople it feeds largely on the bodies buried in the cemeteries at Scutari.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
TURKISH JACKAL.
This jackal is common in both Turkey in Europe and in Asia. Near Constantinople it feeds largely on the bodies buried in the cemeteries at Scutari.
Jackals are said to be much increasing in South Africa since the outbreak of the war. The fighting has so far arrested farming operations that the war usually maintained on all beasts which destroy cattle or sheep has been allowed to drop. In parts of the more hilly districts both the jackal and the leopard are reappearing where they have not been common for years, and it will take some time before these enemies of the farmer are destroyed.
The Maned Wolf.
This is by far the largest of several peculiar South American species of the Dog Family which we have not room to mention. It occurs in Paraguay and adjoining regions, and is easily distinguishable by its long limbs and large ears. It is chestnut-red in colour, with the lower part of the legs black, and is solitary in its habits.
WILD DOG.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.WILD DOG.These animals range from the plains of India and Burma to the Tibetan Plateau and Siberia. They hunt in small packs, usually by day, and are very destructive to game, but seldom attack domestic animals.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.WILD DOG.These animals range from the plains of India and Burma to the Tibetan Plateau and Siberia. They hunt in small packs, usually by day, and are very destructive to game, but seldom attack domestic animals.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
WILD DOG.
These animals range from the plains of India and Burma to the Tibetan Plateau and Siberia. They hunt in small packs, usually by day, and are very destructive to game, but seldom attack domestic animals.
The Wild Dog of Africa, or Cape Hunting-dog.
This is a most interesting creature, differing from the true dogs in having only four toes on both fore and hind feet, and in being spotted like a hyæna. These dogs are the scourge of African game, hunting in packs. Long of limb and swift of foot, incessantly restless, with an overpowering desire to snap and bite from mere animal spirits, the Cape wild dog, even when in captivity and attached to its master, is an intractable beast. In its native state it kills the farmers' cattle and sheep and the largest antelopes. A pack has been seen to kill and devour to the last morsel a large buck in fifteen minutes. Drummond says: "It is a marvellous sight to see a pack of them hunting, drawing cover after cover, their sharp bell-like note ringing through the air, while a few of the fastest of their number take up their places along the expected line of the run, the wind, the nature of the ground, and the habits of the game being all taken into consideration with wonderful skill." The same writer says that he has seen them dash into a herd of cattle feeding not a hundred yards from the house, drive out a beast, disappear over a rising ground, kill it, and pick its bones before a horse could be saddled and ridden to the place.
DINGO.Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.DINGO.The wild dog of Australia. It was found there by the first discoverers, but was probably introduced from elsewhere.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.DINGO.The wild dog of Australia. It was found there by the first discoverers, but was probably introduced from elsewhere.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.
DINGO.
The wild dog of Australia. It was found there by the first discoverers, but was probably introduced from elsewhere.
DINGOES.Photo by Kerry & Co.][Sydney.DINGOES.The destruction done to the flocks of the settlers by the dingoes caused the latter to combine and almost to destroy these wild dogs.
Photo by Kerry & Co.][Sydney.DINGOES.The destruction done to the flocks of the settlers by the dingoes caused the latter to combine and almost to destroy these wild dogs.
Photo by Kerry & Co.][Sydney.
DINGOES.
The destruction done to the flocks of the settlers by the dingoes caused the latter to combine and almost to destroy these wild dogs.
The Indian Wild Dogs.
Mr. Rudyard Kipling's stories of the "Dhole," the red dogs of the Indian jungle, have made the world familiar with these ferocious and wonderfully bold wild dogs. There is very little doubt that they were found in historic times in Asia Minor. Possibly the surviving stories of the "Gabriel hounds" and other ghostly packs driving deer alone in the German and Russian forests, tales which remain even in remote parts of England, are a survival of the days when the wild dogs lived in Europe. At present there is one species of long-haired wild dog in West Central Siberia. These dogs killed nearly all the deer in the large forests near Omsk some years ago. Across the Himalaya there are several species, one of them as far east as Burma; but the most famous are theRed Dogs of the Deccan. They frequent both the jungles and the hills; but their favourite haunt is the uplands of the Indian Ghats. They are larger than a jackal, much stronger, and hunt in packs. They have only ten teeth on each side, instead of eleven, as in the other dogs and foxes. There is no doubt that these fierce hunting-dogs actually take prey from the tiger's jaws, and probably attack the tiger itself. They will beset a tiger at any time, and the latter seems to have learnt from them an instinctive fear of dogs. Not so the leopard, which, being able to climb, has nothing to fear even from the "dhole." A coffee-planter, inspecting his grounds, heard a curious noise in the forest bordering his estate. On going round the corner of a thick bush, he almost trod on the tail of a tiger standing with his back towards him. He silently retreated, but as he did so he saw that there was a pack of wild dogs a few paces in front of the tiger, yelping at him, and making the peculiar noise which had previously attracted his attention. Having procured a rifle, he returned with some of his men to the spot. The tiger was gone, but they disturbed a large pack of wild dogs feeding on the body of a stag. This, on examination, proved to have been killed by the tiger, for there were the marks of the teeth in its neck. The dogs had clearly driven the tiger from his prey and appropriated it. The dread of the tiger for these wild dogs was discovered by the sportsmen of the Nilgiri Hills, and put to a good use. They used to collect scratch packs and hunt up tigers in the woods. The tiger, thinking they were the dreaded wild pack, would either leave altogether or scramble into a tree. As tigers never do this ordinarily, it shows how wild dogs get on their nerves.
Several South American wild dogs and foxes are included in the series with the wolves and jackals. Among these areAzara's Dogand theRaccoon-dog. These are commonly called foxes, though they have wolf-like skulls.
CAPE HUNTING-DOG.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.CAPE HUNTING-DOG.This animal hunts in packs. It is very active and most destructive to large game of many kinds.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.CAPE HUNTING-DOG.This animal hunts in packs. It is very active and most destructive to large game of many kinds.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
CAPE HUNTING-DOG.
This animal hunts in packs. It is very active and most destructive to large game of many kinds.
The Dingo.
The only non-marsupial animal of Australia when the continent was discovered was theWild Dog, orDingo. Its origin is not known; but as soon as the settlers' flocks and herds began to increase its ravages were most serious, though doubtless some of the havoc with which it was accredited was due in a great measure to runaways from domestication. Anyhow, in the dingo the settlers found the most formidable enemy with which they had to contend, and vigorous measures were taken to reduce their numbers and minimise their ravages, so that by now they are nearly exterminated in Van Diemen's Land and rare on the mainland of Australia.
It is a fine, bold dog, of considerable size, generally long-coated, of a light tan colour, and with pricked-up ears. It is easily tamed, and some of those kept in this country have made affectionate pets. Puppies are regularly bred and sold at the Zoological Gardens. The animal has an elongated, flat head which is carried high; the fur is soft, and the tail bushy. In the wild state it is very muscular and fierce.
HIMALAYAN BLACK BEAR.Photo by Ottomar Anschütz, Berlin.HIMALAYAN BLACK BEAR.This photograph shows the most active climber of the two Himalayan bears.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz, Berlin.HIMALAYAN BLACK BEAR.This photograph shows the most active climber of the two Himalayan bears.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz, Berlin.
HIMALAYAN BLACK BEAR.
This photograph shows the most active climber of the two Himalayan bears.
THE FOXES.
Foxesform a very well-marked group. They have very pointed muzzles, strong though slightly built bodies, very fine thick fur, often beautifully coloured and very valuable, bushy tails, pricked-up ears, and eyes with pupils which contract by day into a mere slit. They are quite distinct from dogs (although wolves are not), and will not interbreed, though stories are told to the contrary. The smell of a fox is disgusting to a dog, and quite sufficient to distinguish it.
FOX CUBS.Photo by C. Reid][Wishaw, N.B.FOX CUBS.Fox cubs are born from March 25 till three weeks later, the time when young rabbits, their best food, are most numerous.
Photo by C. Reid][Wishaw, N.B.FOX CUBS.Fox cubs are born from March 25 till three weeks later, the time when young rabbits, their best food, are most numerous.
Photo by C. Reid][Wishaw, N.B.
FOX CUBS.
Fox cubs are born from March 25 till three weeks later, the time when young rabbits, their best food, are most numerous.
If the present writer takes a simpler view of the kinds and species of foxes than that adopted by many naturalists, he must plead to a study of the subject on slightly different lines than those usually followed. The skins of all foxes are valuable, some more than others. But they are sent in hundreds of thousands, and from all parts of the northern hemisphere, to London to the great fur-sales. There these differences can be studied as they can be studied nowhere else. As the habits and structure of foxes are much alike, allowing for differences of climate, and the discrepancies in size, not more than can be accounted for by abundance or scarcity of food, it seems pretty certain that these animals are some of the few, almost alone among mammals, showing almost every variety of colouring, from black to white, from splendid chameleon-red to salmon-pink, and many exquisite shades of brown, grey, and silver. At the Hudson Bay Company's sales you may see them all, and trace the differences and gradations over whole continents. The most important are those of North America. There theRed Canadian Fox, of a ruddier hue than brown, shades off into the yellow and greyCross Foxof farther north. But of these there are many varieties. Then farther north still comes an area where red foxes, cross foxes, and black foxes are found. The black fox, when the fur is slightly sprinkled with white, is the famousSilver Fox. This and the black fox are also found in North Siberia and Manchuria. Farthest north we find the little stuntedArctic Foxes. In the Caucasus and Central Asia large yellowish-red foxes live, and in Japan and China a very bright red variety. A small grey fox lives in Virginia, and is hunted with hounds descended from packstaken out before the American Revolution. India has its smallDesert-foxes("the little foxes that eat the grapes") and theBengal Fox.
MOUNTAIN-FOX.Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.MOUNTAIN-FOX.In hilly countries the fox becomes a powerful and destructive animal, killing not only game but lambs.
Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.MOUNTAIN-FOX.In hilly countries the fox becomes a powerful and destructive animal, killing not only game but lambs.
Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.
MOUNTAIN-FOX.
In hilly countries the fox becomes a powerful and destructive animal, killing not only game but lambs.
The value of the foxes as fur-bearing animals is immense. Only white, blue, and black skins seem to be appreciated in England. The black fox has been known to fetch 150 guineas a skin. But in the East, from Asia Minor to China, red, grey, and yellow fox-skins are the lining of every rich man's winter wraps. Splendid mixed robes are made by the Chinese by inserting portions of cross fox-skins into coats of cut sable, giving the idea that it is the fur of a new animal.
LEICESTERSHIRE FOX.Photo by C. Reid][Wishaw, N.B.LEICESTERSHIRE FOX.Leicestershire is the best fox-hunting county in England. The foxes are famous for their speed and endurance.
Photo by C. Reid][Wishaw, N.B.LEICESTERSHIRE FOX.Leicestershire is the best fox-hunting county in England. The foxes are famous for their speed and endurance.
Photo by C. Reid][Wishaw, N.B.
LEICESTERSHIRE FOX.
Leicestershire is the best fox-hunting county in England. The foxes are famous for their speed and endurance.
TheCommon Fox, the foundation or type of all the above, is the best-known carnivorous animal in this country. Abroad its habits do not greatly differ, except that, not being hunted much with hounds, it is less completely nocturnal. It drops its young in an earth early in April. Thither the vixen carries food till late in June, when the cubs come out, and often move to a wood or a corn-field. There they are still fed, but learn to do a little on their own account by catching mice and moles. By late September the hounds come cub-hunting, partly to kill off superfluous foxes, partly to educate the young hounds, and to teach the foxes to fear them and to make them leave cover easily. Four or five cubs in a litter are commonly seen. The distance which a fox will run is extraordinary. The following is a true account of one of the most remarkable runs ever known. The hounds were those of Mr. Tom Smith, master of the Hambledon Hunt. He was the man of whom another famous sportsman said that if he were a fox he should prefer to be hunted by a pack of hounds rather than by Tom Smith with a stick in his hand. The fox was found in a cover called Markwells, at one o'clock in the afternoon in December, near Petersfield. It crossed into Sussex, and ran into an earth in Grafham Hill a little before dark. The fox had gone twenty-seven miles. The hounds had forty miles to go back to kennel that night, and three only found their way home four days afterwards. Dog-foxes assemble in considerable numbers when a vixen is about in spring, and at all times common foxes are sociable creatures, though not actually living in societies. Sometimes as many as five or six are found in a single earth. Two years ago five foxes and a badger were found in one near Romford. They eat mice, beetles, rats, birds, game, poultry, and frogs. Their favourite food is rabbits. If there are plenty of these, they will not touch other game. They hunt along the railway-lines for dead birds killed by the telegraph-wires. In the New Forest they also go down to the shore and pick up dead fish. One in the writer's possession was shot when carrying away a lamb from a sheepfold near the cliffs of Sidmouth, in Devon. The shepherd thought it was a marauding dog, and lay in wait with a gun.
TOO DIFFICULT!Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.TOO DIFFICULT!Foxes can easily climb trees with small projecting branches. One was found 87 feet up a tree in Savernake Forest; but a branchless stump such as that here shown no fox could climb.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.TOO DIFFICULT!Foxes can easily climb trees with small projecting branches. One was found 87 feet up a tree in Savernake Forest; but a branchless stump such as that here shown no fox could climb.
Photo by Ottomar Anschütz][Berlin.
TOO DIFFICULT!
Foxes can easily climb trees with small projecting branches. One was found 87 feet up a tree in Savernake Forest; but a branchless stump such as that here shown no fox could climb.
The Arctic Fox.
ARCTIC FOX.Photos by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.ARCTIC FOX.In summer.Changing his coat.In winter.The Arctic Fox is one of the few animals showing different phases of colour, some being blue at all seasons, while others are white in winter and mottled brownish in summer.
Photos by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.ARCTIC FOX.In summer.Changing his coat.In winter.The Arctic Fox is one of the few animals showing different phases of colour, some being blue at all seasons, while others are white in winter and mottled brownish in summer.
Photos by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.
ARCTIC FOX.
In summer.Changing his coat.In winter.The Arctic Fox is one of the few animals showing different phases of colour, some being blue at all seasons, while others are white in winter and mottled brownish in summer.
TheArctic Foxis somewhat different in habits from others. It is also much smaller than the red foxes. Its fur is almost as soft as eiderdown, and so thick that the cold does not penetrate. In winter the whole coat changes colour, not gradually, but in patches. At the same time a dense growth of under-fur comes up on the body. In summer this is shed in patches, almost like loose felt. The foxes live in colonies, but are so hard put to it for food in the winter that they desert their homes to gather round whaling-ships or encampments. There they steal everything edible, from snowshoe-thongs to seal-flesh. Blue foxes are bred and kept for the sake of their fur on some of the islands in Bering Sea. They are fed on the flesh of the seals killed on the neighbouring islands, and are, like them, killed when their coat is in condition.
The Fennecs.
FENNEC-FOX.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.FENNEC-FOX.Remarkable for the great size of the ears. An African species. Its sense of hearing is probably very acute.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.FENNEC-FOX.Remarkable for the great size of the ears. An African species. Its sense of hearing is probably very acute.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
FENNEC-FOX.
Remarkable for the great size of the ears. An African species. Its sense of hearing is probably very acute.
Africa has a group of small foxes of its own. They have very large ears and dark eyes. Some of them remind us of the Maholis and other large-eyed lemuroids. Several are not more than 9 or 10 inches long; they are a whitish-khaki colour, but the eyes are very dark and brilliant.
TheCommon Fennecis found over the whole of Africa. Its favourite food is dates and any sweet fruit, but it is also fond of eggs, and will eat mice and insects. It is probably the original hero of the story of the fox and the grapes. The large-eared fennec, which is sometimes called theSilver Fox, is found from the Cape to as far north as Abyssinia. It is 23 inches long, and lives mainly on insects and fruit.
DOMESTIC DOGS.
BY C. H. LANE.
TheDog, almost without exception, shows a marked liking for the society of human beings, and adapts itself to their ways more than any other animal.
Fox-, Stag-, and Hare-hounds—the latter better known as Hariers and Beagles—have many points in common, much beauty of shape and colour, and great suitability for their work, though differing in some other particulars.
Another group—Greyhounds, Whippets, Irish Wolf-hounds, Scottish Deer-hounds, all of which come under the category of Gaze-hounds, or those which hunt by sight—are built for great speed, to enable them to cope with the fleet game they pursue. In the same group should be included theBorzoi, or Russian Wolf-hound, now very popular in this country, with something of the appearance of the Scottish deer-hound about it as to shape, but with a finer, longer head, deeper body, more muscular limbs, and shaggier in the hair on body and tail.
TheOtter-houndis one of the most picturesque of all the hound tribe. This variety somewhat reminds one of a large and leggy Dandie Dinmont terrier, with a touch of the blood-hound, and is thought to have been originally produced from a cross between these or similar varieties.
TheBlood-houndis another, with much style and beauty of shape, colour, and character about it which cannot fail to favourably impress any beholder. The matches or trials which have of late years been held in different localities have been most interesting in proving its ability for tracking footsteps for long distances, merely following them by scent, some time after the person hunted started on the trail. By the kindness of my friend Mr. E. Brough, I am able to give as an illustration a portrait of what he considers the best blood-hound ever bred.
STAG-HOUND PUPPIES.Photo by F. H. Dembrey][Bristol.STAG-HOUND PUPPIES.This gives an interesting group of hounds in kennel.
Photo by F. H. Dembrey][Bristol.STAG-HOUND PUPPIES.This gives an interesting group of hounds in kennel.
Photo by F. H. Dembrey][Bristol.
STAG-HOUND PUPPIES.
This gives an interesting group of hounds in kennel.
Much valued by sportsmen with the gun arePointers, so called from their habit of remaining in a fixed position when their quarry is discovered, eagerly pointing in its direction until the arrival of the guns. They are most often white, with liver, lemon, or black markings; but occasionally self colours, such as liver or black, are met with. They have been largely bredin the west of England. I have been fortunate in obtaining one of Mr. E. C. Norrish's celebrated strain as a typical specimen for illustration.
GREYHOUND.Photo by T. Fall][Baker Street.GREYHOUND.A typical specimen of this elegant variety.
Photo by T. Fall][Baker Street.GREYHOUND.A typical specimen of this elegant variety.
Photo by T. Fall][Baker Street.
GREYHOUND.
A typical specimen of this elegant variety.
TheSettergroup, which comprises three varieties, are all useful and beautiful in their way. The English are usually white, with markings or tickings of blue, lemon, or black; they are rather long and narrow in the head, with bodies and sterns well feathered, and are graceful and active movers. Gordon setters, which are always black and tan in colour, and preferred without any white, are generally larger and stronger in build than the last-named. Irish setters are more on the lines of the English, being a rich tawny red in colour, rather higher on the leg, with narrow skulls, glossy coats, feathered legs and stern, ears set low and lying back, and lustrous, expressive eyes.
Retrieversmay be divided into flat-coated and curly-coated. Both are usually black, but other colours are occasionally seen. The coats of the first-named are full, but without curl in them; while the latter have their bodies, heads, legs, thighs, and even tails covered with small close curls. The eyes of both should be dark, and the ears carried closely to the sides of the head. In an article dealing with retrievers, which appeared in theCornhill Magazineunder the title of "Dogs which Earn their Living," the author writes: "There is not the slightest doubt that in the modern retrievers acquired habits, certainly one acquired habit, that of fetching dead and wounded game, are transmitted directly. The puppies sometimes retrieve without being taught, though with this they also combine a greatly improved capacity for further teaching. Recently a retriever was sent after a winged partridge which had run into a ditch. The dog followed it some way down the ditch, and presently came out with an old rusty tea-kettle, held in its mouth by the handle. The kettle was taken from the dog, amid much laughter; then it was found that inside the kettle was the partridge! The explanation was that the bird, when wounded, ran into the ditch, which was narrow. In the ditch was the old kettle, with no lid on. Into this the bird crept; and as the dog could not get the bird out, it very properly brought out the kettle with the bird in it. Among dogs which earn their living, these good retrievers deserve a place in the front rank." The illustration shows a good flat-coated retriever at work.
TheSpanielgroup is rather large, including the English and Irish water-spaniels, the former an old-fashioned, useful sort, often liver or roan, with some white or other markings, and a good deal of curl in the coat and on the ears. His Irish brother is always some shade of liver in colour, larger in the body and higher on the leg, covered with a curly coat, except on the tail, which is nearly bare of hair, with a profusion of hair on the top of the head, often hanging down over the eyes, giving a comical appearance, and increasing his Hibernian expression. They make lively, affectionate companions and grand assistants at waterfowl-shooting.
RETRIEVER.Photo by C. Reid][Wishaw, N.B.RETRIEVER.This represents a flat-coated retriever at work, and is remarkably true to life.
Photo by C. Reid][Wishaw, N.B.RETRIEVER.This represents a flat-coated retriever at work, and is remarkably true to life.
Photo by C. Reid][Wishaw, N.B.
RETRIEVER.
This represents a flat-coated retriever at work, and is remarkably true to life.
BLOOD-HOUND.BLOOD-HOUND.This photograph shows what an almost perfect blood-hound should be like.
BLOOD-HOUND.This photograph shows what an almost perfect blood-hound should be like.
BLOOD-HOUND.
This photograph shows what an almost perfect blood-hound should be like.
Clumber Spanielsare always a creamy white, with lemon or light tan markings, and are rather slow and deliberate in their movements, but have a stylish, high-class look about them.
Sussex Spanielsare also rather heavy in build and of muscular frame, but can do a day's work with most others. They are a rich copper-red in colour, with low short bodies, long feathered ears, full eyes of deep colour, and are very handsome.
Black Spanielsshould be glossy raven-black in colour, with strong muscular bodies on strong short legs, long pendulous ears, and expressive eyes. Good specimens are in high favour, and command long prices. I regret I cannot find room for an illustration of this breed, so deservedly popular.
Cockers, which are shorter in the back, higher on the leg, and lighter in weight, being usually under 25 lbs., are very popular, full of life, and very attractive in appearance.
Basset-hounds, both rough- and smooth-coated, are probably the most muscular dogs in existence of their height, with much dignity about them. In the Sporting Teams at the Royal Agricultural Hall there were some thirteen or fifteen teams of all kinds of sporting dogs, and of these a team each of rough and smooth bassets was in the first four.
Dachshundsare often erroneously treated as Sporting Dogs. There are certainly not so many supporters of the breed as formerly. Their lean heads, with long hanging ears, long low bodies, and crooked fore legs, give them a quaint appearance. The colours are usually shades of chestnut-red or black and tan; but some are seen chocolate and "dappled," which is one shade of reddish brown, with spots and blotches of a darker shade all over it.