The Hunting Hyena was first described by Mr. Burchell. It is smaller and
of a more slender shape than either the Striped or the Spotted Hyena;
the ground color of its body is sandy, shaded with darker hair, varied
with irregular blotches of black, and spots of white. In its teeth it
resembles the Dog; but, on the other hand, it approaches the Hyenas in
having only four toes on each foot.
Mr. Burchell was fortunate in bringing home a living specimen, which he
kept chained up for more than a year. At first it was so ferocious that
no one attempted to tame it; but at length its manners became softened,
and it used to play with a Dog chained up in the same yard; yet still
the man who fed it never dared to venture his hand within its reach. Mr.
Burchell informs us that in a wild state this animal hunts in packs;
though in general it hunts at night, it frequently pursues its prey by
day, and as it is very fleet, none but the swiftest animals can escape
it. Sheep and oxen are particularly objects of its attacks, the first
openly, the latter only by surprising them in their sleep and suddenly
biting off their tails, a mode of attack for which the wide gape and
great strength of its jaws are peculiarly adapted. This species is found
throughout Africa.