SPECIES OF MAMMALS OF THE PACIFIC AREA 85 



forms are found in Japan, Sakhalin, the Kurile Islands, and 

 the big Arctic wolf of the Alaskan Peninsula may stray to 

 Unimak Island. 



The Dingo or Warrigal {Cams dingo), the only wild carni- 

 vore found in Australia, is believed to have been brought there 

 by ancestors of the Australian blacks. That the dingo inhab- 

 ited the country as far back as late Pleistocene (Ice Ages) is 

 proved by the presence of its fossil remains associated with 

 bones of marsupials of that period. The dingo is about the 

 size of a setter dog. Its color is generally tawny, darker on 

 the head and back and lighter beneath. The feet and the tip 

 of the tail are often white. Other color varieties such as black 

 and white animals occur. Dingos have been domesticated and 

 used by the natives in hunting. They cross so readily with other 

 dogs that pure dingos are rare in settled districts. 



Wild dingos inhabit both open plains and forests. They hunt 

 singly, in family parties, or occasionally in large packs. Their 

 food consists of the smaller kinds of kangaroos and any other 

 game that they can catch. They are much disliked by sheep 

 herders because they kill sheep. Pure dingos do not bark but 

 emit a series of yapping notes and mournful howls. From five 

 to eight pups generally constitute a litter ; they are born in bur- 

 rows, in crevices among rocks, or in hollow logs. 



The Asiatic Wild Dog (Cuon javanicus) is reddish, some- 

 what like an Irish terrier, and is about the size of a small collie. 

 It generally hunts in packs, and may kill animals of considerable 

 size. In Java and Sumatra deer appear to be most often 

 hunted. In India wild dogs have been known to kill buffalo and 

 even are reported to have driven tigers from their dead prey. 

 The Asiatic wild dog ranges from Siberia south through eastern 

 and central Asia to the Malay Peninsula and to the islands of 

 Sumatra and Java. 



The Raccoon Dog {Nyctereutes procyonoides), a small fox- 

 like animal with short legs and tail, is colored much like the 

 raccoon, even to the dark mask across the eyes. It is found 



