CAT FAMILY--HYÆNA FAMILY--CRYPTOPROCTA FAMILY--AARD-WOLF FAMILY.
THE COMMON JUNGLE CAT--THE COMMON LYNX--Historical
Sketch--Geographical Distribution--Distinctive
Characters--Habits--Uses--THE PARDINE LYNX--THE CANADIAN
LYNX--THE RED LYNX--THE CARACAL--THE CHEETAH--Distinctive
Characters--Geographical Distribution--Employment in Hunting--THE
HYÆNA FAMILY--External Characters--Skull and Teeth--THE
SPOTTED HYÆNA--Geographical Distribution--Habits--Laughing
Propensities--THE BROWN HYÆNA--THE STRIPED HYÆNA--THE CRYPTOPROCTA
FAMILY--Characteristics of the CRYPTOPROCTA--Its Occurrence and
Habits--THE AARD-WOLF FAMILY--Characters and Habits of the AARD-WOLF.
THE COMMON JUNGLE CAT.[52]
This, as Mr. Jerdon observes, “is the Common Wild Cat all over India,
from the Himalayas to Cape Comorin, and from the level of the sea to
7,000 or 8,000 feet of elevation. It frequents alike jungles and the
open country, and is very partial to long grass and reeds, sugar-cane
fields, corn-fields, &c. It does much damage to game of all kinds,
Hares, Partridges, &c., and quite recently I shot a Peafowl at the
edge of a sugar-cane field, when one of these Cats sprang out, seized
the Peafowl, and, after a short struggle (for the bird was not dead),
carried it off before my astonished eyes, and, in spite of my running
up made good his escape with his booty. It must have been stalking
these very birds, so immediately did its spring follow my shot.”
Besides being so common in India, the Chaus is found all over Africa,
especially in the north.
It is of a yellowish-grey colour, inclining to reddish in some parts,
and white below. The muzzle and the limbs have dark stripes, and the
tail is more or less ringed with black, but the greater part of the
body is unspotted. It is interesting to notice that the annulation of
the tail is most distinct in the young. We have elsewhere remarked that
the young of all the one-coloured Cats (Lion, Puma, &c.), are more or
less indistinctly spotted or striped. The ears are slightly tufted, so
that this species, like the Spotted Wild Cat, approaches the Lynxes.
The length, of the head and body together is twenty-six inches; of the
tail, nine or ten; the height at the shoulder fourteen or fifteen. A
black variety is to be met with in some parts of India.
THE COMMON LYNX.[53]
In the Lynx we come again to an animal of historical interest, for
this creature was well known to the ancients. It is mentioned by Pliny
as having first appeared in the Amphitheatre at Rome in the time of
Pompey, having been brought to the great city from Gaul, where, at
that time, it was probably very abundant. No doubt it would cause
grand sport in the arena, for it is an extremely savage beast, and
capable of holding its own against animals many times its own size. The
Lynx was also one of the animals sacred to Bacchus, and is sometimes
represented, instead of the Leopard, as drawing the car of this deity.
But the Lynx of the ancients has, as Buffon remarks, quite the
character of a fabulous animal. It was supposed “that its sight was
so piercing as to penetrate opaque bodies, that its water had the
marvellous property of becoming a solid body, a precious stone, called
_lapis lyncurius_!” This last legend, as Brehm suggests, probably
arose from the fact that the amber brought from Liguria was called
_lapis ligurius_, and that the Greek merchants, knowing nothing about
such a place as Liguria, corrupted _ligurius_ into _lyncurius_, and,
of course, connected it with _Lyncus_. A survival of the superstition
about the Lynx being able to see through walls still exists in our
common expression, “Lynx-eyed.”
The Common Lynx is found chiefly in Norway, Sweden, Russia, and
Northern Asia, and in the mountainous districts of Central Europe. In
other parts of the Continent it is nearly or quite extinct.
The animal attains a much greater size than any of the ordinary Wild
Cats, being as much as forty or fifty inches long, from the tip of its
snout to the root of its tail. It is also readily distinguished from
the Cats proper by the shortness of its tail, which does not exceed six
to nine inches, or about one-fifth the length of the body, and by the
length of its legs, which gives it a decidedly un-Cat-like look, and
brings its height at the shoulder up to twenty-five inches. Another
distinguishing feature is to be found in the long pointed ears, each
with a tuft of long stiff hair on its tip; and still another is the
length of the fur on the cheeks, whereby a pair of capital whiskers
of almost Dundreary length is produced. These, it must be understood,
are quite distinct from the true “whiskers,” or tactile vibrissæ,
with which the upper lip of the Lynx, like that of all _Felidæ_,
is provided. The tufted ears and bearded cheeks, together with the
fierce brightness of the eye, give the Lynx an altogether peculiar and
somewhat weird expression.
When we have added that the pads of the feet are overgrown with hair,
we have mentioned all the obvious differences between a Lynx and a true
Cat. In everything else, its teeth, its bones, its sheathed claws, its
manner of killing its prey, its habit of swearing and spitting when
angry, it is a Cat all over. Still, the differences between it and the
ordinary Cats are considerable, and some naturalists prefer to look
upon the Lynxes as a distinct genus (_Lyncus_); but, on the whole,
especially when we consider how the chasm is bridged over by the Jungle
Cat, it is more convenient to keep the two together, and consider the
Lynxes as simply a section of the great genus _Felis_.
The skin of the Common Lynx is of a reddish-grey colour, more or less
spotted with red or dark grey; but the variations in marking are very
great in different individuals, and in the same individual at different
ages. The fur, also, is longer in winter than in summer.
[Illustration: COMMON LYNX.]
[Illustration: CANADIAN LYNX.]
The Lynx is undoubtedly the most dangerous and destructive beast of
prey now left in Europe; at any rate, a single Lynx will do more
damage than an individual of any other wild species. The Russian Wolves
may be, on the whole, worse enemies, but they hunt in packs, and are
only dangerous in numbers, a single Wolf being a sorry coward, while
a Lynx is a truly redoubtable antagonist, as the following excellent
account of his habits will show:--
“While he succeeds in finding food in the forests and gorges of the
high mountains, he does not attempt to shift his quarters, but lives
alone with his mate, and betrays his presence by horrible howlings,
audible at a great distance. He only quits his chosen solitude at the
last extremity, and mounts on a branch, where he crouches at full
length among the foliage, which half hides without incommoding him.
With eye and ear on the watch, he remains whole days motionless, with
eyes half closed, and in a state of apparent sleep, which is only the
more dangerous, for then he is most completely cognisant of all that
is passing around him. The Lynx lives by stratagem. Like all Cats,
he has not a particularly fine sense of smell, and his pace is not
sufficiently rapid to allow him to pursue his prey. His patience, and
the skill with which he creeps noiselessly, bring him close up to his
victim. More patient than the Fox, he is less cunning; less hardy than
the Wolf, he leaps better and can resist famine longer. He is not so
strong as the Bear, but keeps a better look-out, and has sharper sight.
His strength resides chiefly in his feet, jaws, and neck. He prefers to
make his hunting as easy as possible, and only chooses his victim when
food abounds. Every animal he can reach with one of his bounds, which
rarely miss their aim, is lost and devoured; if he misses, he allows
the animal to escape, and returns to crouch in his post of observation,
without showing his disappointment. He is not voracious, but he loves
warm blood, and this passion makes him imprudent.... If he comes upon
a flock of Goats or Sheep, he approaches, dragging his belly along the
ground, like a Snake, then raises himself with a bound, falls on the
back of his victim, breaks its neck or cuts its carotid with his teeth,
and kills it instantaneously. Then he licks the blood which flows
from the wound, rips open the belly, devours the entrails, gnaws off
a part of the head, neck, and shoulder, and leaves the rest.”[54] So
bloodthirsty is his nature, that a single individual has been known to
destroy forty Sheep in a few weeks. Fortunately for the inhabitants,
this plague is now nearly extinct in Central Europe. It is extremely
rare in the Alps, though it was tolerably common within the last
fifty years; and in the forests of Thuringia, only two have been found
during the present century.
[Illustration: CARACAL.]
The Lynx, when caught young, is said to be quite tameable, but the
domesticated animal is liable to die of over-fatness. Its flesh is
eaten in Siberia, and even in Switzerland, but as usual with its tribe,
the skin is the part on which the greatest value is set. It has a very
beautiful hide, and in Siberia, where the greatest value is obtained,
each one costs from twenty to fifty francs on the spot. “The skin of
the fore-feet is sold separately; they are cut off, and fetch from ten
to fifteen francs a pair. A Lynx skin is worth three of the Sable, six
of the Wolf, twelve of the Fox, and a hundred of the Squirrel.”
There are some differences as to size, &c., between the Lynxes found in
Scandinavia and those inhabiting Central Europe. These are sometimes
separated as distinct species, the former being then called _Felis
borealis_, the other _F. cervaria_; the latter is the larger of the two.
THE PARDINE LYNX.[55]
This animal takes the place of the common kind in Southern Europe,
being especially abundant in Spain, where its range just overlaps that
of its relative.
It is somewhat smaller than the Common Lynx--not more than thirty-two
inches long. Its skin is of a beautiful rufous tint, regularly spotted
with black, the spots extending over the tail, and the red colour
merging into white on the under surface.
THE CANADIAN LYNX.[56]
This species (see figure, p. 73) replaces the European variety in North
America, where it is especially abundant in the Rocky Mountains and in
Canada.
It is about the same size as the Common Lynx. Its fur is shorter but
thicker. The hairs on the back are darker, the points being ringed with
grey and brown; those of the flanks are grey at the root, reddish-white
at the extremity. It has the reputation of being a very lazy beast, and
far less ferocious and more cowardly than its cousins of the Old World.
THE RED LYNX.[57]
The Red Lynx is found in the United States, from the Pacific to the
Atlantic. It differs but little in structure or habit from the species
we have already described.
Its skin, as well as that of the Canadian kind, is a very important
article of commerce.
THE CARACAL.[58]
This is the handsomest of the Lynxes (see figure on previous page),
both on account of its elegant shape, and of its fine colour, which is
a uniform reddish-brown or light chestnut, unspotted or very sparsely
spotted in the adult, but showing distinct spots in the young. It is
found in India, Persia, Arabia, and Tibet, and also throughout Africa.
Its length varies from twenty-six to thirty inches, the tail measures
nine or ten, and the height sixteen or eighteen inches. The ears are
fully three inches long, black externally, white within, with a long
dark ear-tuft.
Unlike the other Lynxes, the Caracal is made use of as a hunting
animal, being occasionally trained to stalk the Peafowl, Hares,
Kites, Crows, Cranes, &c. It is, however, a most savage animal in
captivity. The specimen in the London Zoological Gardens seems to be
in a permanent state of ill-temper. If the American Lynx, which is
unfortunate enough to live in the same cage with him, dares to come
“betwixt the wind and his nobility,” or even if he, in the course
of his peregrinations, should by chance get sufficiently near his
companion to be annoyed with the sight of so vulgar a beast, he
immediately arches his back, lays back his ears, uncovers his great
canines, and swears in the most fearful manner, until the other unlucky
animal is quite cowed, and looks as meek as its feline nature will
allow it, evidently deprecating the anger of my lord, and although not
conscious of having done wrong, quite ready to promise faithfully never
to do it again.
THE CHEETAH.[59]
The Hunting Leopard, or Cheetah, is the last member of the Cat family,
and is distinguished from the foregoing forms of the group by its long
legs, the peculiar form of the flesh tooth of the upper jaw, and by
the fact that its claws are less perfectly retractile than those of
other cats, owing to the excessive length of the elastic ligaments. So
much struck have some observers been with the variation of the Cheetah
from the ordinary feline type, that it has been named _Cynælurus_, or
Dog-Cat, a very inappropriate name, as the animal is a Cat all over,
as any one will see who will take the trouble to look at the specimens
in the Zoological Gardens. No Dog has that round face, long tail, and
supercilious, almost arrogant, expression.
The Cheetah is about four feet and half long from tip of snout to root
of tail. The latter appendage is two feet and a half in length, and
the height of the animal at the shoulder two feet and a half to two
and three-quarters. The hide is of a bright reddish fawn-colour, and
covered with numerous black spots, which are single, and not arrayed in
rosettes, as in the Leopard, Jaguar, Ocelot, &c. The appearance of the
face is very characteristic, owing to a black stripe which passes down
the cheek in a sort of sigmoid curve, from the corner of the eye to the
angle of the mouth. The tail has black spots and a black tip. The body
is slender and small in the loins like a Greyhound’s.
There are three varieties of this animal. One, the maneless Cheetah,
is confined to Africa; another, the maned Cheetah, is found all over
South-west Asia, and is distinguished from the first-named variety
by its longer hair, and by the presence of a distinct though short
mane, which, however, is more like the cheek-tufts (we must not call
them whiskers, though they exactly resemble them, as that name is
appropriated to the long vibrissæ) of the Tiger or Lynx than the mane
of the Lion. The third variety is the woolly Cheetah, which differs
so much from the other two, as to be usually separated as a distinct
species (_Felis lanea_). Its hair is woolly, and the spots and
face-mark light brown instead of black. The hind legs are unusually
short. It is a native of South Africa.
[Illustration: SKULL OF CHEETAH.]
Mr. Jerdon says, that “this animal was the original _Panther_ and
_Leopardus_ of the ancients, who considered (with the Arabs of the
present day in North Africa) that it was a breed between the Lion and
the Pard.” Possibly it was this animal to which Jeremiah alluded,
when he said, “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the _Leopard_
his spots?” For, although rare, it is still found in Palestine. Canon
Tristram says, “A few still haunt the neighbourhood of Tabor and the
hills of Galilee. In Gilead it is more common, and a sheikh there
presented me with three skins of the Cheetah, shot by his people.”
It frequents open plains, and hunts by day, in correspondence with
which habits it has a circular and not an elliptical pupil to the eye.
[Illustration: CHEETAH.]
The Cheetah is a half-domesticated animal; we say half-domesticated,
because, although it is used regularly in hunting, yet it is never
properly tamed, and always has to be, as it were, _gulled_ into doing
its work. The following account of the manner in which it is used in
Indian sport is given by Mr. Jerdon[60]:--
“‘On a hunting party,’ says Buchanan Hamilton, ‘the Cheetah is carried
on a cart, hooded, and when the game is raised the hood is taken off.
The Cheetah then leaps down, sometimes on the opposite side to its
prey, and pursues the Antelope. If the latter is near the cart, the
Cheetah springs forward with a surpassing velocity, perhaps exceeding
that which any other quadruped possesses. This great velocity is not
unlike the sudden spring by which the Tiger seizes its prey, but it
is often continued for three or four hundred yards. If within this
distance the Cheetah does not seize its prey, he stops, but apparently
more from anger or disappointment than from fatigue, for his attitude
is fierce, and he has been known immediately afterwards to pursue with
equal rapidity another Antelope that happened to be passing. If the
game is at too great a distance when the Cheetah’s eyes are uncovered,
he generally gallops after it, until it approaches so near that he can
seize it by a rapid spring. This gallop is as quick as the course of
well-mounted horsemen. Sometimes, but rarely, the Cheetah endeavours
to approach the game by stealth, and goes round a hill or rock until
he can come upon it by surprise. This account of the manner of hunting
I collected from the conversation of Sir Arthur Wellesley, who, while
commanding officer at Seringapatam, kept five Cheetahs that formerly
belonged to Tippoo Sultan.’ Mr. Vigne writes thus:--‘The hunting with
Cheetahs has often been described, but it requires strong epithets
to give an idea of the creature’s speed. When slipped from the cart,
he first walks towards the Antelope with his tail straightened, and
slightly raised, the hackle on his shoulder erect, his head depressed,
and his eyes intently fixed upon the poor animal, who does not yet
perceive him. As the Antelope moves, he does the same, first trotting,
then cantering after him; and when the prey starts off, the Cheetah
makes a rush, to which (at least I thought so) the speed of a racehorse
was, for the moment, much inferior. The Cheetahs that bound or spring
upon their prey are not much esteemed, as they are too cunning.
The good ones fairly run it down. When we consider that no English
Greyhound ever yet, I believe, fairly ran into a doe Antelope, which
is faster than the buck, some idea may be formed of the strides and
velocity of an animal who usually closes with her immediately, but
fortunately cannot draw a second breath, and, consequently, unless he
strike the Antelope down at once, is obliged instantly to stop and
give up the chase. He then walks about for three or four minutes in
a towering passion, after which he again submits to be helped on the
cart. He always singles out the biggest buck from the herd, and holds
him by the throat until he is disabled, keeping one paw over the horns
to prevent injury to himself. The doe he seizes in the same manner,
but is careless of the position in which he may hold her.’ The natives
assert that (in the wild state) if the ground is not very favourable
for his approaching them without being seen, he makes a circuit to the
place where he thinks they will pass over, and if there is not grass
enough to cover him, he scrapes up the earth all round, and lies flat
until they approach so near that by a few bounds he can seize on his
prey. Mr. W. Elliott says, ‘They are taught always to single out the
buck, which is generally the last in the herd. The meer-shikars are
unwilling to slip till they get the herd to run across them, when they
drive on the cart and unhood the Cheetah.’
“I have only to add to this, on my own testimony, that I have often
seen it, when unhooded, at some distance from the Antelope, crouch
along the ground and choose any inequality of surface to enable it to
get within proper distance of the Antelope. As to Vigne’s idea of its
rush being made during one breath, I consider it a native one, and
unfounded, and I may say the same of its holding one paw over the horns
of the buck. The Cheetah, after felling the Antelope, seizes it by the
throat, and when the keeper comes up he cuts its throat and collects
some of the blood in the wooden ladle from which it is always fed.
This is offered to the Cheetah, who drops his hold, and laps it up
eagerly, during which the hood is cleverly slipped on again. My tame
Cheetah, when hungry or left alone (for it appeared unhappy when away
from the Dogs with no one near it), had a plaintive cry, which Blyth
appropriately calls a ‘bleat-like mew.’ Shikaries always assert that
if taken as cubs they are useless for training, till they have been
taught by their parents how to pull down their prey. This opinion is
corroborated, in part at least, by my experiences with the tame one
mentioned above.”
Although capable of domestication, the Cheetah is, when roused,
anything but a pleasant animal to come across. Two colonists from the
Cape of Good Hope happened to meet one while they were out shooting
Gazelles, and, unfortunately for themselves, pursued it. “The roughness
of the road retarded the animal’s flight, and a ball reached it. It
immediately turned upon the hunter who had wounded it, and, leaping
upon him, pulled him from his Horse, and a hand-to-hand conflict began
between the two adversaries. The other hunter dismounted and hastened
to succour his comrade, at the risk of hitting him as well as the
animal from which he wished to deliver him. His shot was badly aimed.
The noise of the discharge changed the aspect of the combat, for the
Cheetah abandoned the man whom he had thrown down, to fling himself
with redoubled fury on the new assailant, who had not even time to draw
his hunting-knife. The animal seized him by the head, and, without
letting go, rolled with him to the bottom of a ravine. It was of no
avail that the first man, left alive, but horribly mutilated, dragged
himself to the new battle-field; the wounds of his companion were
mortal, and he only had the melancholy satisfaction of giving the _coup
de grâce_ to the animal, who was already exhausted by loss of blood.”
It is curious, considering the constant domestication of this animal
in India, that it does not breed at all readily in confinement. In
fact, Mr. Bartlett, who probably knows more about the matter than any
one, says that it has never to his knowledge bred in England; but Dr.
Günther affirms that it has bred in the Gardens in Frankfort.
The young animal is covered with soft brown hair, without spots, a
curious fact, quite reversing the usual order of things, for, as we
have seen, the young of the Lion, Puma, and other one-coloured Cats,
are distinctly spotted. The black mark on the cheek appears first,
and then the body spots. Mr. Jerdon gives an interesting account of a
Cheetah kitten belonging to him:--
“I brought up the young one above alluded to along with some Greyhound
pups, and they soon became excellent friends. Even when nearly
full-grown it would play with the Dogs (who did not over relish its
bounding at them), and was always sportive and frolicsome. It got much
attached to me, at once recognising its name (Billy), and it would
follow me on horseback like a Dog, every now and then sitting down for
a few seconds, and then racing on after me. It was very fond of being
noticed, and used to purr just like a Cat. It used to climb on any high
object--the stump of a tree, a stack of hay--and from this elevated
perch look all round for some moving object. As it grew up, it took
first to attacking some Sheep which I had in the compound, but I cured
it of this by a few sound horsewhippings; then it would attack Donkeys,
and get well kicked by them; and when not half-grown it flew one day
at a full-grown tame Nylghau, and mauled its legs very severely before
it could be called off. I had some Chikaras (_Gazella Bennettii_)
caught, and let loose before it to train it. The young Cheetah almost
always caught them easily, but it wanted address to pull them down, and
did not hold them. Occasionally, if the Antelope got too far away, it
would give up the chase, but if I then slipped a Greyhound, it would
at once follow the Dog and join the chase. It was gradually getting to
understand its work better, and had pulled down a well-grown Antelope
Fawn, when I parted with it, as I was going on field service.”
Brehm had a Cheetah called “Jack,” which was so tame that his master
led him about like a Dog, and even took him into a drawing-room
full of ladies, by whom, after they had recovered from their fright
at seeing a real wild beast enter the room, he allowed himself to be
patted and caressed. The same author states that a Cheetah once lived
at large in an English seaport, and was the greatest possible favourite
with the sailors and other inhabitants.
THE HYÆNA FAMILY.[61]
This group contains the single genus _Hyæna_, one species of which, the
Striped Hyæna (_H. striata_), inhabits North-east Asia and Northern
Africa; the others (_H. crocuta_ and _H. brunnea_) inhabiting South
Africa.
Externally, the Hyænas have something the appearance of extremely
ugly and unattractive-looking Dogs. They are somewhat larger than a
Shepherd’s Dog, and are covered with coarse bristly hair, short over
the greater part of the body, but produced into a sort of mane along
the ridge of the neck. The mode of progression is entirely digitigrade,
the legs having much the same proportion as in an average Dog, except
for the fact that the hind legs are shorter than the fore legs, so that
the body slopes from the withers to the haunches. The claws resemble
those of the Dog in that they cannot be retracted in sheaths of skin:
here, therefore, we have a great and marked difference from all the Cat
tribe.
[Illustration: SKULL OF HYÆNA.]
[Illustration: TEETH OF HYÆNA.
_a_, First lower molar. _b_, Last upper premolar.]
The tail is bushy, the snout long, but blunt, giving the beast a
snub-nosed appearance and a horridly vulgar expression, quite different
to that of most of his relatives. The long-nosedness is partly,
however, only a matter of external appearance, for the skull, although
nothing like as short as a Cat’s, is yet very far from being as long as
that of a Dog or a Civet, and it is still more Cat-like in the immense
width of the cheek-arches, and the great development of bony ridges
for the attachment of muscles. The great longitudinal ridge on the top
of the skull is indeed far larger than in even the Lion or Tiger, and
forms a great shelving crest, like that of an old-fashioned helmet.
As we have already mentioned, this ridge is for the attachment of the
great cheek muscles which close the jaw-muscles which, in the Hyæna,
are of such power, that the animal’s favourite way of attacking Dogs is
to bite their legs off, and one of its choicest titbits is the marrow
of bones, which can only be obtained by cracking the bone across, as we
should crack a nut. Any one who has examined a Horse’s or an Antelope’s
thigh-bone will have some notion of the power of jaws capable of
smashing such a tough morsel.
[Illustration: LOWER JAW OF HYÆNA.]
But something more is required than strong muscles for work such as
this; and the Hyæna is furnished with a set of tools which, when
worked by such mighty power, are simply irresistible. The large
grinding-teeth, instead of the scissor-blade form they have in the
Cats, have great conical crowns, the base of the cone being belted by a
strong ridge which defends the subjacent gum (see figure on preceding
page). One has only to look at these teeth to see their perfect
adaptation to their purpose. Sir Richard Owen remarks, “An eminent
civil engineer, to whom I showed the jaw of a Hyæna, observed that the
strong conical tooth, with its basal ridge, was a perfect model of a
hammer for breaking stones for roads.”
The canines of the Hyæna are proportionally much smaller than in the
_Felidæ_, and the outermost incisor--that nearest the canine--is much
larger than in the Cats, so that it approaches towards the canine in
size. This, as we shall see, is even more the case in the Dog.
Then, the number of the teeth is different; the Hyæna is a less
specialised animal than the Cats, that is, departs less from the
average structure of a Mammal, and, in correspondence with this, we
find that its jaws are longer and its teeth more numerous; it has, in
fact, one more premolar, or false grinder, on each side of each jaw,
bringing the total number of teeth to thirty-four, instead of thirty.
(See p. 13.)[62]
[Illustration: SKELETON OF HYÆNA.]
In speaking of the Cat family, we mentioned that the characters of
the floor of the skull, and particularly of the swollen, bulb-like
_bulla tympani_, were of great importance in determining the position
of an animal in the series. Now this _bulla_ in the Hyæna is large and
rounded, as in Cats, but differs in the fact that it is not divided by
a bony partition into two compartments. The external opening of the
cavity, too, is quite flush with its outer wall, and the clamp of bone
(see figures on pp. 11 and 79) is quite close to its hinder wall.
In these characters, as well as in certain matters of internal
structure, such as the presence of a small _cæcum_, or “blind-gut,”
the Hyænas approach to the Cats and Civets, being connected with the
latter group by the curious Aard-Wolf. In other respects they approach
the Dog family, their nearest ally in that group being the Cape Hunting
Dog.[63]
THE SPOTTED HYÆNA.[64]
This species exists over the whole of Africa south of the Sahara,
a portion of the continent which differs in a remarkable manner in
its animal productions from the northern part; so much so that in a
division of the world into regions for the purposes of studying the
geographical distribution of animals, the north of Africa is united
with Europe, while its ultra-Saharal portion is formed into a distinct
region. Over this _Ethiopian region_, then, the Spotted Hyæna ranges,
extending from Abyssinia and the Soudan in the north, where it meets
with its striped brother, to Cape Colony, where it exists along with
the curious Aard-Wolf. It is known as the “Wolf,” or “Tiger-Wolf,” by
the Cape colonists, who, it seems, have a fancy for giving animals
wrong names. We have seen already that the Leopard is with them a
“Tiger.”
The skin is of a yellowish-brown ground tint, irregularly blotched with
circular black spots. On the back of the neck and on the withers it has
a quantity of long stiff hairs, forming a kind of reversed mane. The
fur is coarse and bristly, its character adding greatly to the animal’s
singularly unattractive appearance. The height at the shoulder is about
two feet six or eight inches, the extreme length five feet ten inches,
of which length the tail takes up some sixteen inches.
Like some other beasts of a similarly mean nature, the Spotted Hyæna
prefers not to do his own killing, but likes better to live as a sort
of humble messmate on those better provided than himself with the
courage requisite to good hunters. When he does cater for himself,
instead of subsisting on the leavings of his betters, he always makes
his attack in a cowardly way, and trusts rather to stratagem than to
any of the higher qualities of a sportsman. Dr. Livingstone says:--“In
the evening of our second day at Serotli, a Hyæna appearing suddenly
among the grass, succeeded in raising a panic among our cattle. This
false mode of attack is the plan which this cowardly animal always
adopts. His courage resembles closely that of a Turkey-cock. He will
bite if an animal is running away; but if the animal stand still, so
does he.”
[Illustration: TEETH OF SPOTTED HYÆNA.]
Other authors tell a similar tale, showing, too, that under cover of
darkness the Hyæna can be moderately plucky; can, at any rate, muster
sufficient courage to attack the herds in an encampment. “More than
once, during dark and drizzling nights, they made their way into the
sheep-kraal, where they committed sad havoc. We had several chases
after them, but they managed invariably to elude us.”[65] Again, “The
Sheep having been placed in a pit to prevent them from straying, were
visited during the night by a party of Hyænas, which slaughtered some
and drove the residue to the summit of a high hill, where they were
found the following morning.”[66]
The Hyæna has his misfortunes, like other beasts; Sheep are not to be
had every day, often food is scarce, and he has to go with an empty
stomach for days together. He may suffer, too, in other ways, besides
hunger. Thus Mr. Andersson relates:--“Almost the first animal I saw at
this place was a gigantic ‘Tiger-Wolf,’ or Spotted Hyæna, which, to my
surprise, instead of seeking safety in flight, remained stationary,
grinning in the most ghastly manner. Having approached within twenty
paces, I perceived, to my horror, that his fore-paws and the skin
and flesh of his front legs had been gnawed away, and that he could
scarcely move from the spot. To shorten the sufferings of the poor
beast, I seized my opportunity and knocked him on the head with a
stone, and catching him by the tail, drove my hunting-knife deep into
his side. But I had to repeat the operation more than once before I
could put an end to his existence. I am at a loss to account for his
mangled condition. It certainly could not have been from age, for his
teeth were good. Could it be possible that, from want of food, he had
become too weak for further exertions, and that, as a last resource, he
had attacked his own body? Or, was he an example of that extraordinary
species of cruelty said to be practised by the Lion upon the Hyæna,
when the latter has the insolence to interfere with the monarch’s
prey?” ... “It is asserted by more than one experienced hunter, that
when the Hyæna proves troublesome, the Lion has been known to bite off
all its feet, and, thus mutilated, leave the poor animal to its fate.”
It may well be imagined the horrible nuisance such animals are to all
South African travellers. They steal everything they can get at. They
devoured two handsome flags of Mr. Andersson’s which he had hoped to
plant on the shores of Lake ’Ngami. But, perhaps, the greatest trouble
is caused by their infernal cachinnations; no noise in the forest
produces so much discomfort, for though not so loud as the Lion’s roar,
it is totally devoid of grandeur, and is only hideously grotesque
and vile in the ears of all but Hyænas, who, we suppose, are charmed
by it. The traveller we have just mentioned was, during an illness,
laughed to scorn in the most amazing fashion by Hyænas and Jackals,
and their derision was too much for his equanimity at a time when
he sorely needed sympathy and help. Flesh and water had become very
scarce, and in his trouble he says, “One evening I desperately resolved
to go to the water myself in the hope of succeeding better [than the
attendants]. Accordingly I ordered my servants to prepare a ‘skäran,’
and to carry me there, taking the chance of being run over or gored by
Elephants or Rhinoceroses, for in my disabled state it was impossible,
should any animal charge, to get out of its way. Seeing my helpless
condition, the men remonstrated, but I was resolved to go, and fortune
favoured me. I had patiently waited till nigh morning without seeing
anything but Hyænas and Jackals. I believe these creatures knew I would
not hurt them, for they approached within a very few paces, staring and
laughing at me in the most impudent manner. I threw gravel pebbles at
them, but this only served to increase their mockery. I could stand it
no longer, but hurled my camp-chair at their heads, when they quickly
betook themselves to flight.”
Livingstone had the same trouble with the fearful din. “An astonishing
number of Hyænas collected round, and kept up a loud laughter for two
whole nights. Some of them do make a very good imitation of a laugh.
I asked my men what the Hyænas were laughing at, as they usually give
animals credit for a share of intelligence. They said that they were
laughing because we could not take the whole, and that they would
have plenty to eat as well as we.” Any one who has never heard the
Hyæna laugh, and is anxious for that pleasure, has only to visit
the Zoological Gardens at feeding time. Some give utterance to such
horrible cachinnations when stirred up by the keeper, that one would
think they are enough to wake the dead and madden the living.
Most hunters think it quite _infra dig._ to hunt so contemptible and
cowardly a beast as the Hyæna. Regular expeditions are, however,
organised against it by the Cape colonists, who set fire to the
brushwood, to drive out the animals, which are then attacked by Dogs.
A method of killing, considered more suitable to the beast, is that
of the trap. Mr. Andersson succeeded in killing several by means of a
cleverly arranged spring-gun.
THE BROWN HYÆNA.[67]
The Brown Hyæna, or “Strand-Wolf” of the Cape colonists, is tolerably
common in South Africa, though far less so than the spotted species. It
is a smaller animal than the latter, its usual height at the shoulder
being about two feet four inches, its length, including the tail, four
feet ten inches, the tail itself being about a foot in length.
Its general colour is reddish-grey, brindled with brown and black
stripes or spots. The extremities are yellowish, with deep black
transverse bands. The tail is black, with red hairs towards the tip.
As to habits, there is really nothing to add to what has already been
said with regard to the Spotted Hyæna, except that it is especially
common at the sea-side, and feeds a good deal on dead bodies thrown
upon the shore. It only dares to attack flocks when very hungry.
[Illustration: STRIPED HYÆNAS AND JACKALS.]
THE STRIPED HYÆNA.[68]
The Striped Hyæna takes the place of the spotted kind over the northern
part of Africa. It also extends into Asia, where it ranges over Asia
Minor and Persia, and through India to the foot of the Himalayas.
Amongst other places, it is “common in every part of Palestine, and
indifferent as to the character of the country. We obtained the young
occasionally in spring, and procured on Mount Carmel the largest pair
of adults I ever saw. The old rock-hewn tombs afford to the Hyæna
convenient covert. It attacks the graves even in the vicinity of
towns.”[69]
[Illustration: HYÆNAS IN AN ARABIAN CEMETERY.]
In ground-colour it resembles the spotted kind, but instead of being
marked with spots, its hide is covered with complete black transverse
bands like the hoops of a barrel, which extend downwards on to the
legs. It is as nearly as possible of the same size as the brown variety.
As to its habits and characteristics, there is little to add to what
has already been said of its South African brother; it follows the Lion
for scraps, roams about the Arab cemeteries to dig up and devour the
dead, prowls round the towns and villages in Egypt and elsewhere to
pick up offal, and is always the same ugly, ill-conditioned, repulsive,
and yet useful beast. For the Arabs and Egyptians are never greatly
inclined to sanitary reform, and without Hyænas, Jackals, and Vultures,
would be in a sad case indeed.
As to the animal’s cowardliness, every writer bears witness. Jules
Gérard says:--“The Arabs say, ‘as cowardly as a Hyæna,’ and the Arabs
are right.” So much do the sons of the desert despise their scavenger,
that when Gérard killed one with his sabre, they implored him never
again to use the defiled weapon, saying that it would certainly betray
him after having been sheathed in such a dastardly carcass. It is
stated that the Dog is the only animal the Hyæna dares attack, and even
this game they like some help in killing. “When they feel inclined to
eat a Dog, they hang about some douar, in the neighbourhood of which
there happens to be a good cover. The female stations herself behind
some brushwood, and the male goes towards the Dogs, who attack him, and
follow him as far as the position of his consort. The female comes out
at the fitting moment to attack, throttle, and devour on the spot the
Dog who ventures farthest in pursuit of her husband.”
Although the Hyæna is generally considered unworthy of being hunted,
yet the Arabs occasionally condescend to come to the rescue of their
Dogs, by beating their destroyers to death. They have also a curious
“yarn” about a new and singular way of killing a Hyæna--a similar
process to the traditional method of bird-catching. “The Arab who finds
a Hyæna in his hole, takes a handful of Cow’s dung, and presents it
to him, saying, ‘Come, and I will render you beautiful with henna.’
The Hyæna holds out his paw; the Arab seizes it, drags him out, then
gags him, and causes him to be stoned by the women and children of the
douar, as a cowardly and unclean beast.” One would have imagined that
a Hyæna of ordinary mental capacity would be far too old to be caught
with this sort of chaff!
THE CRYPTOPROCTA FAMILY.[70]
This family contains a single animal only, so that the description of
the family and of the species will be identical. It has no English
name, and must, therefore, be known by its scientific appellation,
which is, unfortunately, none of the most musical.
THE CRYPTOPROCTA.[71]
This little animal is extremely interesting, from the fact that it
forms a perfect transition between the Cat family on the one hand, and
the Civet family on the other. Like the Cats it has truly retractile
claws; unlike them it is _plantigrade_, or, rather, _semi-plantigrade_,
for it does not walk on the tips of its toes, like a Cat or Dog,
neither does it keep the whole sole of the foot flat to the ground like
a Bear, but the soles of both fore and hind feet are devoid of hairs,
except for a short space near the ankle and heel, and it is the large
hairless space which is applied to the ground in walking.
The characters of the skull are almost exactly half way between those
of the two families we have mentioned. The bulb of the ear has its
opening quite flush with its outer wall, but is far less swollen than
in the Cats. The teeth differ from those of Cats in one important
particular, namely, in the fact of there being one more premolar in
each jaw.
The Cryptoprocta is about thirteen inches and a half long from snout to
root of tail, the latter appendage being nearly as long as the body.
The general colour is light brownish-red, this tint being produced by
the individual hairs being ringed with yellow and brown alternately.
The body is slender and elegantly formed. The head is also well shaped,
with a pointed snout, and large rounded ears. There are five toes on
each foot, and, as we have already mentioned, the claws are provided
with true retractile ligaments.
This curious and interesting little animal is very rare; only one or
two specimens having reached Europe. Even at the present time hardly
anything is known of its internal organs. It was first brought to
England forty or fifty years ago. “Mr. Telfair, President of the
Mauritius Natural History Society, who presented the animal to the
Zoological Society of London, received it from the interior and
southern part of Madagascar, and stated that it was the most savage
creature of its size he ever met with. Its motions and power and
activity were those of a Tiger, and it had the same appetite for blood
and destruction of animal life. Its muscular force was very great, and
the muscles of its limbs were remarkably full and thick. It lived with
Mr. Telfair for some months.”
[Illustration: AARD-WOLF.]
THE AARD-WOLF FAMILY.[72]
This family contains but a single genus and species, viz.:--
THE AARD-WOLF.[73]
This is a remarkable animal inhabiting the southern parts of Africa,
where its range is almost co-extensive with that of the brown variety
of the Hyæna. It is an extremely interesting animal, as it forms a
connecting link between the Civet family and the Hyænas; although
more nearly allied to the latter than to the former, it is found to
be impossible to assign it to one of these groups in reference to the
other, and it is, in consequence, placed in a family by itself.
This rare animal was first mentioned and described by Andrew Sparman
in 1772-6, but his account of it attracted little notice until it
was re-discovered by the traveller Delalande, who brought specimens
to France, where the beast was described and christened after him,
_Proteles Lalandii_, or _Delalandii_.
The relationships of the Aard-Wolf are well shown by its external
appearance. It has the sloping back of a Hyæna, owing to the fore legs
being longer than the hind legs; but its head is quite Civet-like,
the snout being long and pointed, and altogether unlike a Hyæna’s.
Its size is that of a full-grown Fox, but it stands higher upon its
legs; its ears are considerably larger and more naked, and its tail
shorter and not so bushy. At first sight it might be easily mistaken
for a young Striped Hyæna, so closely does it resemble that animal in
the colours and peculiar markings of its fur, and in the mane of long
stiff hair which runs along the neck and back; indeed, it is only to
be distinguished by its more pointed head, and by the additional fifth
toe of the fore-feet. It is also quite Hyæna-like in colour, being of
a dull yellowish-grey tint, and marked with dark brown stripes and a
black muzzle.
[Illustration: SKULL OF AARD-WOLF.]
The skull has all the essential characters of that of a Viverrine, the
form to which it approaches most nearly being the Ichneumon. The teeth
are also Civet-like, but in the characters of its internal organs it
approaches more nearly to the Hyænas.
“In its habits and manners the Aard-Wolf resembles the Fox. Like that
animal it is nocturnal, and constructs a subterraneous burrow, at
the bottom of which it lies concealed during the day-time, and only
ventures abroad on the approach of night to search for food, and
satisfy the other calls of nature. It is fond of the society of its own
species; at least many individuals have been found residing together
in the same burrow; and, as they are of a timid and wary character,
they have generally three or four entrances to this hole; so that,
if attacked on one side, they may secure a retreat in an opposite
direction. Notwithstanding the disproportionate length of their fore
legs, they are said to run very fast, and so strong is their propensity
to burrow, that one of M. Delalande’s specimens, perceiving itself
about to be run down or captured, immediately ceased its flight, and
began to scratch up the ground, as if with the intention of making a
new earth.” Its food consists very largely of carrion, but it also
devours Ants. Owing to the former “high” kind of diet, the animal is
generally possessed of an extremely bad smell.
With regard to its fighting propensities, which it probably possesses
in common with all its relations--partly from the necessities of the
struggle for existence, and partly from pure quarrelsomeness--we may
mention Professor Flower’s observation, that there is a “rounded patch
in front of each wrist joint,” or “knee,” as the wrist of digitigrade
quadrupeds is usually called, just as if the animals were in the
constant habit of kneeling. Professor Flower adds in a note:--“Mr.
Bartlett informs me that this is the habit both of the _Proteles_ and
the Hyænas, especially when fighting. He attributes it, at least in the
case of the Hyænas, to an instinctive dread lest their feet should be
seized and crushed by the powerful jaws of their adversary.”