known of these is the grey Ichneumon which comes from India or adjacent
countries. Naturally savage it soon becomes tame under kindly treatment.
It seems to have a natural enmity towards serpents, which it attacks and
destroys. The Mahrattas say that it neutralizes the effects of snake
bites by eating the root of the monguswail. Captain Brown records an
experiment in which the ichneumon was placed in a room with a poisonous
serpent which it tried to avoid. On the two being removed to the open
air, the ichneumon is said to have immediately darted at the serpent and
destroyed it, afterwards retiring to the wood and eating a portion of
the plant said to be an antidote to the serpent's venom. The Ichneumon
is about the size of the domestic cat and of a dark silver grey colour.
The Egyptian Ichneumon much resembles the cat in its habits and manners
and is so deadly a foe to reptiles and vermin, that it is domesticated
with a view to their destruction. It is remarkably quick in its
movements, darting with unerring aim at the head of the reptile it
attacks. It displays also the cat's patience in watching for its prey.
It has a great liking for crocodile's eggs and with remarkable instinct
unearths them from the banks of rivers where they have been deposited.
Dormant Instinct.
Though perfectly tame in captivity, the natural instincts of the
ichneumon are only dormant, as the following illustration will show. M.
d'Obsonville says, in his "Essay on the Nature of Various Animals", "I
had an ichneumon very young, which I brought up. I fed it at first with
milk, and afterwards with baked meat, mixed with rice. It soon became
even tamer than a cat; for it came when called, and followed me, though
at liberty, into the country. One day I brought to him a small water
serpent alive, being desirous to know how far his instinct would carry
him, against a being with which he was hitherto totally unacquainted.
His first emotion seemed to be astonishment, mixed with anger: for his
hair became erect; but in an instant after, he slipped behind the
reptile, and, with remarkable swiftness and agility, leaped upon its
head, seized it, and crushed it between his teeth. This essay, and new
aliment, seemed to have awakened in him his innate and destructive
voracity, which, till then, had given way to the gentleness he had
acquired from his education. I had about my house several curious kinds
of fowls, among which he had been brought up, and which, till then, he
had suffered to go and come unmolested and unregarded; but, a few days
after, when he found himself alone, he strangled them every one, eat a
little, and, as it appeared, drank the blood of two."
The Aard Wolf.
The Aard Wolf of South Africa, is the sole genus and species of the
Protelidæ family. It much resembles the hyæna in appearance and habit,
and feeds on carrion and white ants.
The Hyæna.
The Hyæna, though long treated as a member of the dog family, is now
separately classified as the Hyænidæ, a family of one genus and three
species, all of which are found in Africa. The Hyæna is also found in
Egypt, Arabia, Persia and other parts of Asia. He has immensely
powerful teeth with which he can crush the bones of his victims,
apparently eating bones and flesh with impunity. He is nocturnal in his
habits, living in caves and hollows in the day time and prowling about
at night in search of prey. Speaking of the Barbary hyæna Bruce
says:--"He seems to be stupid or senseless in the day, or at the
appearance of strong light, unless when pursued by hunters. I have
locked up a goat, a kid, and a lamb, with him all day when he was
fasting, and found them in the evening alive and unhurt." The principle
varieties are the striped Hyæna, and the spotted Hyæna. Bruce speaking
of the former says, "he is brutish, indolent, slovenly and impudent and
seems to possess much the manners of the wolf. His courage appears to
proceed from an insatiable appetite, and has nothing of the brave or
generous in it, and he dies oftener flying than fighting." The cry of
the hyæna, sometimes called a laugh, begins with a moan and ends with a
demoniacal shriek which has been variously described by travellers but
which all agree in calling hideous and disgusting. In size he resembles
a large mastiff, but the formation of his neck and jaws give him a power
far beyond that of other animals of his size. Whatever fear he may have
of man, he has none of other animals and will even face the lion. Bruce
speaks of his special liking for the flesh of the dog and of the dog's
reluctance to face him. "My greyhounds, accustomed to fasten upon the
wild boar, would not venture to engage with him. On the contrary, there
was not a journey I made that he did not kill several of my greyhounds,
and once or twice robbed me of my whole stock: he would seek and seize
them in the servants' tents where they were tied, and endeavour to carry
them away before the very people that were guarding them." His coat is
covered with long coarse hairs of a dirty grey colour, which form a mane
the length of his back, his sides being striped or spotted, according to
the species. The hyæna for all his repulsiveness serves a useful
purpose, as a scavenger, devouring all the offal which comes in its way,
including the dead of his own species which no other animal will touch.
The hyæna can be tamed and taught to follow its master and to hunt other
animals.
The Striped Hyæna.
Bruce tells the following story of the impudence of the striped hyæna.
"One night in Maitsha, being very intent on observation, I heard
something pass behind me towards the bed, but upon looking round could
perceive nothing. Having finished what I was then about, I went out of
my tent, resolving directly to return, which I immediately did, when I
perceived large blue eyes glaring at me in the dark. I called upon my
servant with a light; and there was the hyæna standing nigh the head of
the bed, with two or three large bunches of candles in his mouth. To
have fired at him, I was in danger of breaking my quadrant or other
furniture; and he seemed, by keeping the candles steadily in his mouth,
to wish for no other prey at that time. As his mouth was full, and he
had no claws to tear with, I was not afraid of him, but with a pike
struck him as near the heart as I could judge. It was not till then he
showed any sign. of fierceness; but, upon feeling his wound, he let drop
the candles, and endeavoured to run up the shaft of the spear to arrive
at me; so that, in self-defence, I was obliged to draw out a pistol from
my girdle and shoot him, and nearly at the same time my servant cleft
his skull with a battle-axe. In a word, the hyæna was the plague of our
lives, the terror of our night-walks, the destruction of our mules and
asses, which above all others are his favourite food."
The Spotted Hyæna.
The spotted hyæna belongs to South Africa and seems to possess more
daring than his cousin of Abyssinia, and to show a greater preference
for human food. According to Mr. Stepstone, the Mambookies build their
houses in the form of a beehive from eighteen to twenty feet in
diameter, placing a raised platform at the back and leaving the
front-area for the accommodation of the calves at night. Thus the
animals are nearest to the door, notwithstanding which the hyæna will
"pass by the calves and take the children from under the mother's
kaross; and this in such a gentle and cautious manner, that the poor
parent is unconscious of her loss, until the cries of her little
innocent have reached her from without, when it has been a close
prisoner in the jaws of the monster." Many years ago, when animals were
kept at the Tower of London, the den of a spotted hyæna required some
repair. "The carpenter," says Mrs. Bowdich, "nailed a thick oaken plank
upon the floor, about seven feet long, putting at least a dozen nails
into it, each longer than his middle finger. At one end of this piece of
wood there was a small projection, and not having a proper chisel with
him by which he might remove it, the man returned to his shop to fetch
one. While he was absent some persons came to see the animals, and the
hyæna was let down by the keeper into the part of the den in which the
carpenter had been at work. Directly the beast saw the projecting piece
of wood he seized it with his teeth, tore the plank up, and drew out
every nail with the utmost ease; which action will give a good idea of
the muscular strength of this creature."
A Narrow Escape.
Sparrman tells an amusing story of the daring and the fright of a hyæna,
as follows: "One night, at a feast near the Cape, a trumpeter who had
made himself drunk with liquor was carried out of doors and laid on the
grass, in order that the air might both cool and sober him. The scent of
the man soon attracted a spotted hyæna, which threw him on his back, and
carried him away towards Table Mountain. The hyæna doubtless supposed
that the senseless drunkard was a _corpse_, and consequently a fair
prize. In the meantime the musician awoke, and was at once sufficiently
sensible to know the danger of his situation, and to sound the alarm
with his trumpet, which he fortunately carried at his side. The hyæna,
as it may be imagined, was greatly frightened in its turn, and
immediately ran away, leaving the trumpeter, it is to be hoped, 'a wiser
man' for his extraordinary ride. It is remarkable that the soldier was
not seriously injured by the hyæna, for the teeth of the animal were
fortunately fastened in the coat and not in the flesh of the man."
Animals of the Dog Kind.
Animals of the dog kind, are neither so numerous, nor, in general, so
ferocious as those of the panther or cat kind. The principal species are
the wolf, the jackal, the fox, and the dog. This class may be
principally distinguished by their claws, which have no sheath like
those of the cat kind, but are placed at the point of each toe, without
the capability of being stretched forward or drawn back. The nose, as
well as the jaw, of all the dog kind, is longer than in the cat; the
body in proportion more strongly made, and covered with hair instead of
fur. They also far exceed the other kind in the sense of smell, the
olfactory nerves being diffused upon a very extensive membrane within
the skull, which accounts for their surprising acuteness in this sense.
The Wolf.
The Wolf is about three feet and a half long, and about two feet and a
half high, larger than our great breed of mastiffs, which are seldom
more than three feet by two. He bears a great resemblance to the dog,
but is much stronger, and the length of his hair contributes still more
to his robust appearance. The feature which principally distinguishes
the visage of the wolf from that of the dog, is the eye, which opens
slantingly upwards in the same direction with the nose; whereas, in the
dog, it opens more at right angles with the nose, as in man. The colour
of the eyeballs in the wolf, is a fiery green, giving his visage a
fierce and formidable air. He generally hides by day in the thickest
coverts, and only ventures out at night; when, sallying forth over the
country, he keeps peering round the villages, and carries off such
animals as are not under protection--attacks the sheep-fold, scratches
up and undermines the thresholds of doors where the sheep are housed,
enters furiously, and destroys all before he begins to fix upon and
carry off his prey. The wolf has great strength, particularly in his
foreparts, and the muscles of his neck and jaws. He carries off a sheep
in his mouth without letting it touch the ground, and runs with it much
faster than the shepherds who pursue him; so that nothing but the dogs
can overtake and oblige him to quit his prey. Notwithstanding his great
strength, cunning, and agility, the wolf being the declared enemy of
man, is often hard pressed for subsistence; he has always a gaunt and
starved appearance, and, indeed, often dies of hunger. He has been
hunted down, and is now rarely to be found in civilized countries.
The Fox.
The Fox is of a much more slender make than the wolf, and not nearly so
large, being little more than two feet long. The tail is longer and more
bushy, the nose smaller, approaching nearer to that of the greyhound,
and its hair softer. Its eyes, however, are obliquely set, like those of
the wolf. The fox has long been famous for cunning; he is patient and
prudent, and gains by address what is denied to his courage or strength.
He is most destructive to poultry. When he gets into a farm-yard, he
begins by levelling all the poultry without remorse, and carrying off a
part of the spoil, he hides it at some convenient distance. Returning,
he carries off another fowl, which he hides in like manner, but not in
the same place; and this he repeats several times, until the approach of
day, or the noise of the domestics, warns him to retire to his hole. He
often destroys a large quantity of game, seizing the partridge and quail
while sitting on their nests. He even eats rats, mice, serpents, toads,
and lizards. In vain does the hedge-hog roll itself up into a ball to
oppose him; he teases it until it is obliged to appear uncovered, and
then devours it. Besides the common Fox (_Vulpes Vulgaris_), there are
numerous varieties, of which the Tahaleb or Egyptian Fox and the Fennec
(_Feneca Zaarensis_) of North Africa, the Kit Fox, the Red, the Grey
and the Silver Fox of North America, and the Arctic Fox (_Leucocyon
lagopus_) are the best known.
The Jackal.
The Jackal, one of the most common of wild animals in the East, is about
the size of the fox, but in shape it more nearly resembles the wolf. Its
colour is a bright yellow, or sorrel. Its cry is a howl, mixed with
barking, and a lamentation resembling that of human distress. The jackal
may be considered as the vulture of the quadruped kind; the most putrid
substances that once had life, are greedily devoured. Like the hyæna,
the jackals scratch up with their feet the new-made grave, and devour
the contents, however decomposed. While at this dreary work, they make a
mournful cry, like that of children under chastisement, and having thus
dug up the body, they amicably share it. In countries, therefore, where
they abound, the people are obliged to beat the earth over the grave,
and mix it with thorns, to prevent the jackals from scraping it away.
The jackal never goes alone, but always in packs of forty or fifty
together. They watch the burying-grounds, follow armies, and keep in the
rear of caravans. The jackal, after having tired down its prey, is often
deprived of the spoil by the lion, the panther, or the tiger, whose
appetites are superior to their swiftness; these attend its call, and
devour the prey which it has run down by its unceasing perseverance; and
this circumstance has given rise to the erroneous opinion, that the
jackal is the lion's provider. The jackal is found in some parts of
Europe and abounds in most parts of Asia. Those of the warmest climates
are the largest, and their colour is rather of a reddish brown than of
that beautiful yellow by which the smaller jackals are distinguished.
Like the Fox it forms burrows in the earth and emits an offensive odour.
The Wolf's Mode of Attack.
"The Wolf," says Professor Duncan in "Cassell's Natural History",
"usually lives in solitary places in mountains; but in Spain he is said
sometimes to make his lair in corn-fields, in close proximity to
inhabited dwellings. Here he lives with his wife and family, usually
_caché_ during the day, and issuing forth at night to take his prey.
During the warmer periods of the year wolves, as a rule, hunt each one
for himself, but in winter they often unite into great packs, and pursue
their prey over the snow at a rapid pace and with indomitable
perseverance. Swift and untiring must be the animal which, on an open
plain, can escape from them; even the horse, perfectly constructed as he
is for rapid running, is almost certain to succumb, unless he can reach
a village before his pace begins to flag. They never spring upon an
animal from an ambush--the nearest approach ever made to such a mode of
attack being their practice of attacking sheepfolds by leaping into the
midst of the flock and killing right and left; when they reach their
prey, too, the first onslaught is made with their teeth, and never by a
blow of the paw. Thus, a wolfs attack--like that of all members of the
genus Canis--is entirely different from a cat's. The cat lies in ambush
all alone, springs upon the passing prey, which if he misses he scarcely
ever pursues, and kills by a blow of the paw. The dog and wolf attack
openly, sometimes alone, but oftener in company, pursue their prey with
unflagging energy until it falls a victim, and give the death-wound at
once with their teeth."
The Wolf's Cunning.
That the wolf sometimes employs cunning as well as savagery in seeking
his prey is shown by the following story from "Broke's Travels in the
North of Sweden": "I observed, on setting out from Sormjole, the last
post, that the peasant who drove my sledge was armed with a cutlass;
and, on inquiring the reason, was told that, the day preceding, while he
was passing in his sledge the part of the forest we were then in, he had
encountered a wolf, which was so daring, that it actually sprang over
the hinder part of the sledge he was driving, and attempted to carry
off a small dog which was sitting behind him. During my journey from
Tornea to Stockholm, I heard everywhere of the ravages committed by
wolves, not upon the human species or the cattle, but chiefly upon the
peasants' dogs, considerable numbers of which had been devoured. I was
told that these were the favourite prey of this animal; and that, in
order to seize upon them with the greater ease, it puts itself into a
crouching posture, and begins to play several antic tricks, to attract
the attention of the poor dog, which, caught by these seeming
demonstrations of friendship, and fancying it to be one of his own
species, from the similarity, advances towards it to join in the
gambols, and is carried off by its treacherous enemy. Several peasants
that I conversed with mentioned their having been eye-witnesses of this
circumstance."
The Wolf's Cowardice.
Mr. Lloyd in his "Field Sports in the North of Europe" gives a
remarkable illustration of the cowardice of the wolf when caught in a
trap. "A peasant near St. Petersburg," says Mr. Lloyd, "when one day in
his sledge, was pursued by eleven of these ferocious animals. At this
time he was only about two miles from home, towards which he urged his
horse at the very top of his speed. At the entrance to his residence was
a gate, which happened to be closed at the time; but the horse dashed
this open, and thus himself and his master found refuge within the
court-yard. They were followed, however, by nine out of the eleven
wolves; but, very fortunately, at the instant these had entered the
enclosure, the gate swung back on its hinges, and thus they were caught
as in a trap. From being the most voracious of animals, the nature of
these beasts--now that they found escape impossible--became completely
changed: so far, indeed, from offering molestation to any one, they
slunk into holes and corners, and allowed themselves to be slaughtered
almost without making resistance."
[Illustration: Hunted by Wolves]
Hunted by Wolves.
Many terrible stories are told of the depredations caused by packs of
wolves, especially in Russia, and of the desperate adventures
travellers have met with when attacked by them. The story of the Russian
peasant, who, to save his master's family, leaped out of the sledge and
faced the pack alone, thus delaying the wolves by his own
self-sacrifice, while the sledge proceeded on its journey, is one of
these. In contrast to this is the story of the Russian woman, given by
Mr. Lloyd in the work already quoted.
A Terrible Alternative.
A woman, accompanied by three of her children, was one day in a sledge,
when they were pursued by a number of wolves. She put the horse into a
gallop, and drove towards her home with the utmost speed. She was not
far from it; but the ferocious animals gained upon her, and were on the
point of rushing on to the sledge. For the preservation of her own life
and that of the remaining children, the poor, frantic creature cast one
of them to her bloodthirsty pursuers. This stopped their career for a
moment; but, after devouring the poor child, they renewed the pursuit,
and a second time came up with the vehicle. The mother, driven to
desperation, resorted to the same horrible expedient, and threw another
of her offspring to her ferocious assailants. The third child was also
sacrificed in the same way, and soon after the wretched being reached
her home in safety. Here she related what had happened, and endeavoured
to palliate her own conduct by describing the dreadful alternative to
which she had been, reduced. A peasant, however, who was among the
bystanders, and heard the recital, took up an axe, and with one blow
cleft her skull in two, saying at the same time, "that a mother who
could thus sacrifice her children for the preservation of her own life,
was no longer fit to live." The man was committed to prison, but the
Emperor subsequently granted him a pardon.
A Marvellous Escape.
Equally terrible and more marvellous is the story of the adventure of a
Russian family which took place as recently as the winter of 1894-5. A
peasant was riding in a sleigh in company with his wife and child, when
he became aware that they were being pursued by wolves. He urged the
horses to their utmost speed but it soon became evident that the wolves
would overtake them before they could reach a place of safety. Urged to
desperation, the peasant ordered his wife to throw the child to the
wolves, hoping thereby to gain time and thus escape. The wife refused to
part with her little one, whereupon an altercation ensued, during which
the peasant tried to drag the child from her arms with a view to
throwing it to the wolves himself. In the struggle both mother and child
fell from the vehicle, and with a lightened load the horses dashed
forward at an even greater speed. For some apparently unaccountable
reason, however, the wolves took no notice of the mother and child and
continued to pursue the sleigh, possibly anticipating the larger meal
that the horses would supply. In this they were not disappointed, for
they succeeded in overtaking the sleigh, and the peasant and the horses
fell victims to their ravage. In the meantime the mother and child found
their way to a farm house where they were sheltered until danger was
past.
Tame Wolves.
Notwithstanding his natural fierceness, the wolf becomes tame under
kindly treatment, and shows much affection for those who cherish him.
Instances are common in which wolves have remembered their benefactors,
after years of absence, and have shown every demonstration of joy on
recognition. They have even been harnessed and taught to draw carriages
and to fulfil other useful offices. With wolves, as with many other
animals, hunger and thirst are apparently the principal causes of
savagery and the struggle for existence the main cause of rapacity and
cruelty.
The Cunning of the Fox.
The cunning of the fox is proverbial and if only one half of the stories
told about him are true, there are quite sufficient to invest him with a
degree of artfulness which is apparently unique. The extraordinary way
in which he will feign himself dead, whether when hunting or being
hunted, is a proof of this, as are also the various tricks he will
resort to, to throw his pursuers off the scent. Captain Brown tells a
story of a fox who leapt a high wall and crouched under it on the
further side until the hounds had passed over, and then quietly
returned, giving them the slip. Another fox who suddenly baffled two
blood hounds who were in hot pursuit, was discovered lying full length
upon a log of wood from which at first it was difficult to distinguish
him. When feigning death he is said sometimes to hold his breath and
hang out his tongue. He will sometimes baffle his pursuers by hanging on
to a branch of a tree.
The Fox as a Hunter.