The Dhole, or Wild Dog 



In captivity wild dogs appear very difficult to tame, 

 if indeed they are not absolutely untameable. It is 

 true that when taken young they display a certain 

 amount of docility during the earlier months of their 

 captivity, and will even play with domesticated dogs, 

 but with advancing age their wild nature reasserts 

 itself with its original force, and they become spiteful 

 and dangerous. 



THE PANDA 



(^Mluriis fulgens) 



Native Names. — fVah^ Te, and Nigalya -ponya^ 

 Nepalese ; Thokya, Thongva^ and Sankam or 

 Saknanij Lepcha ; Wakdonka and Woker^ Bhotia. 



(Plate ix, fig. 6) 



There are several names used in natural history, of 

 which the oris^in is unknown, amonp- these beino- 

 "panda," which is the tide by which the present 

 animal was called when exhibited alive in the London 

 Zoological Gardens. It is certainly not current among 

 the native tribes in the districts where the animal dwells, 

 by some of whom it is called Wah^ or Thongwa ; and 

 were it not that panda has come into general use, one of 

 these would be a better title. The origin of a name, so 

 long as it be concise and euphonious, is not, however, 

 of much consequence, and as panda fulfils both these 

 conditions, it may continue to be employed. The 

 alternative names red cat-bear and Himalayan raccoon, 

 are both open to objection. 



The panda is one of the most beautifully coloured 

 of all mammals, and in size and shape somewhat recalls 

 a cat, although it may be distinguished by the circum- 

 stance that in walking it applies the whole sole of the 

 foot to the ground. Cat-like features are displayed by 



365 



