306 CARNIVORA. 



Like the skunk, it can eject a most offensive fluid. " On the Moun- 

 tain Prahu, the natives, who were most active in supplying me with 

 specimens of the Mydaus, assured me that it could only propel it to the 

 distance of about two feet. The fetid matter itself is of a viscid nature : 

 its effects depend on its great volatility, and they spread through a great 

 extent. The entire neighborhood is infected by the odor of an irritated 

 Teledu, and in the immediate vicinity of the discharge it will produce 

 syncope. 



" The color of the Teledu is a blackish-brown, with the exception of 

 the fur upon the top of the head, a stripe along the back, and the tip of 

 the short tail, which is a yellowish-white. The under surface of the 

 body is of a lighter hue. The fur is long and of a silken texture at the 

 base, and closely set together, so as to afford to the animal the warm 

 covering which is needed in the elevated spots where it dwells. The 

 hair is especially long on the sides of the neck, and curls slightly up- 

 wards and backwards, and on the top of the head there is a small trans- 

 verse crest. The feet are large, and the claws of the fore limbs are 

 nearly twice as long as those of the hinder paws. In the whole aspect ot 

 the Teledu there is a great resemblance to the badger, and, indeed, the 

 animal looks very like a miniature badger, of rather eccentric colors." 



GENUS MELLIVORA. 



The three species of this genus inhabit tropical and South Africa and 

 India to the foot of the Himalayas. The animals contained in them have 

 short noses, short tails, and broad backs, and only thirty-two teeth. 



The Ratel, Mcllivora capcnsis (Plate XIX), loves to feed on the 

 combs and young of the honey-bee. As it is exposed to the attacks of 

 these infuriated insects, it has received from nature a thick, coarse, and 

 rough fur, which is impenetrable to their stings. It digs with great skill 

 and sinks into the ground in a few minutes. 



The color of the Ratel is black upon the muzzle, the limbs, and the 

 whole of the under portions of the body ; but upon the upper part of the 

 head, neck, back, ribs, and tail, the animal is furnished with a thick 

 covering of long hairs, which are of an ashy-gray color. A bright gray 

 stripe, about an inch in width, runs along each side, and serves as a line 

 of demarcation between the light and the dark portions of the fur. The 



