234 CARNIVORA. 



The Garaxgang, Hcrpcstis yavauinis, abounds in the teak forests of 

 Java; it attacks and kills serpents with great boldness; and it is said by 

 tiie natives that, when the snake has coiled itself round tiic Garangang, 

 the latter inflates its bodv to a considerable extent, and when the reptile 

 IS about to bite contracts again, slips from between the folds and seizes 

 the snake by the neck. It burrows in the ground, and is expert in pur- 

 suuig rats. It is easily tamed and becomes very docile, following its 

 master like a dog. 



THE MUNGUS. 



The MUNGUS or Mangouste, Hcrpcstcs griscus, is a native of the East 

 Indies ; it measures about a foot, and its tail is about the same length ; 

 but it is difficult to ascertain its exact size, as it can contract or elongate 

 its body several inches. 



Its color is a dirty-gray ; the circumference of the eye, the ear, and 

 the muzzle are naked and violaceous ; the tail is the same color as the 

 body, very thick at the root, and terminating in a yellowish point, and 

 the hairs bristle up like the cat's when the animal is irritated. 



The Nvin.A. Hcrpcstcs Xy/i/a, has its fur uKukcil in a singularly beau- 

 tiful manner, tiie pattern resembling fine basket-work ; on the back the 

 pattern is tolerably large, but it becomes smaller on the head, and on 

 the nose is microscopically fine, although as perfect and uniform as on 

 the body. The paws are dark. 



The Meloxcillo, Hcrpcstcs IViiiiiriiigtonii. deserves notice as the only 

 European Ichneumon. It was long known to Spanish sportsmen, who 

 hunted it for the hairs of its tail, which were used to form paint-brushes. 

 It is probable that it occurs also in Africa. 



It lives in river bottoms, chiefly in the provinces of Estremadura and 

 Andalusia, where the Esparto grass abmuids. It measures, including a 

 tail of twenty inches, about three feet and a half. The fur is short on the 

 bodv, the lower surface being almost bare, but becomes longer on the 

 spine and tail ; a dark-gray is the prevailing color, but the tip of the tail 

 is black. 



The Mungus proper is a clcanlv. lively, good-tempered creature, and 

 keeps the house of its owner free from rats and mice, and such creatures, 

 as well as from those horrible nuisances in all tropical countries — snakes 

 and scorpions. It is from its combats with the latter that it obtains its 

 fame. The name it bears has been given it because, according to native 



