Otocyon.
A remarkable genus of the African fox, found
in the country of the Hottentots, in the southern portion of the Dark
Continent, and noted for the great length of its ears, which are nearly
equal to its head in length, are erect and well covered with fur. It is
sometimes called the eared dog. It is much smaller than the English
fox, being only about fifteen inches long. It is something like a
civet. Its fur is thick, tail short but bushy, its legs are long. It
has forty-six or forty-eight teeth, more than any other known
heterodent mammal. Prof. Huxley looks upon the otocyon as the most
primitive of the canis, regarding the presence of the four molar teeth
as a survival of a condition of the dentition exhibited by the common
ancestors of the existing canidę and the existing carnivorous
marsupials. There is but one species. Its habits are but little known.
Tiger.
The tiger is one of the two largest living
members of the cat tribe. It has no mane, and inhabits southern Asia
and some of the larger islands of that continent, having the same
position there that the lion holds in Africa. It attains its full
development in India, where the name Bengal tiger is used as synonymous
with those specimens which appear to be the most typical and most
powerful representatives of the species. In habit it is far more agile
and active than the lion, and exhibits a large amount of fierce
cunning. It generally selects its lair near a water course whence to
spring upon the animals which approach to drink. Its tread through the
jungle is stealthy, and it rather shuns than courts danger. Unless
brought to bay it generally does not attack man, but in some cases
shows a special liking for human prey, boldly approaching villages to
secure it, such tigers being known as man-eaters. When taken young it
can be tamed, and it is known in a domesticated state in India. Tiger
hunting is usually pursued by Europeans, these animals being shot from
the backs of elephants. Even a slight wound from a tiger has been known
to produce lock-jaw, presumably on account of some peculiar effect of
the claws on the nervous system. Captain Williamson after twenty years
in Bengal, says he never knew a person to die from the wounds of a
tiger's claws without having lock-jaw, those cases seeming to be the
least alarming proving the most fatal.
Zebra.
An African animal related to the horse and
ass, having the body more or less striped. There are at least three
well-marked species. The one represented is the true or mountain zebra.
It stands about four feet and a half high at the shoulders; the head is
light, the ears are moderately large, limbs slender, mane short, tail
tufted. The general form is light and symmetrical, like that of most
wild asses, and seems to indicate speed rather than bottom. It is one
of the most beautiful as well as one of the wildest and least tractable
of animals. It has often been kept in confinement and occasionally
tamed, but generally retains its indomitable temper. It inhabits, in
herds, the hilly and mountainous countries of South Africa, seeking the
most secluded places, so that from the nature of its haunts, as well as
its watchfulness, swiftness and acuteness of the senses, it is
difficult to capture. It is however, much hunted and seems destined to
extermination.
Spring Haas.
The spring haas, or cape gerboa, is
sometimes called the cape leaping hare. It is a native of Southern
Africa, and is found in considerable numbers upon the sides of
mountains where it inhabits burrows, which it tunnels for itself.
Sometimes, in sandy ground, the earth is completely honeycombed with
them. It is rarely seen by daylight, seldom coming out as long as the
sun is above the horizon. The natives, who hunt it for its flesh, of
which they are fond, in the day-time place a sentinel at the mouth of
the burrow and proceed to drown out the poor little fellows by pouring
in water. In an open field they can baffle almost any foe by their mere
power of jumping, which is simply astonishing, clearing as they do from
twenty to thiry feet in a single leap and keeping up these most
extraordinary bounds for a great distance. They are mischievous, making
mighty raids upon corn-fields and gardens. With the exception of
shorter ears, and larger head, they are not unlike the common hare.
Their tail is about as long as the body, and serves to keep them
balanced while shooting through the air. The fore legs have each five
toes, armed with powerful claws. They bear resemblance to kangaroos,
not only in appearance, but in habits, sitting upright in order to look
about.
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