JACKAL. 31 



places, prowling about in the night, to feed on the re- 

 mains of dead animals, or on whatever living prey they 

 may be able to seize. They frequent burying-grounds, 

 where they dig up the graves, and feed on the half- 

 putrid carcases of mankind. On the whole, no animals 

 can be more odious than these : their aspect is savage, 

 their smell offensive, and their whole character cruel and 

 relentless. When once they seize hold of any object that 

 is presented to them, they oftentimes will not quit it but 

 with their life ; and, from this circumstance, they become 

 an easy prey to the hunters. So great is the courage 

 of these animals, that one of them is stated to have put 

 two lions to flight ; and that they are frequently known to 

 attack the ounce and the panther. They are capable 

 of being tamed, but they can never be rendered fami- 

 liar. The general gait of the Hyeenas is awkward and 

 straddling ; so much so, that a spectator, unaccustomed 

 to them, would almost fancy one of their hind legs to be 

 broken. 



Their size is nearly that of a large dog. The head is 

 broad and flat, and the ears naked. The hair on the 

 ridge of the back is erect, forming a bristly kind of 

 mane, some inches in length. The tail is bushy, and 

 somewhat short. Their general colour is a pale greyish- 

 brown, marked across the sides with several distant 

 blackish bands. 



Jackal. In the torrid regions of Africa and Asia, 

 these active and rapacious beasts supply the place which 

 is occupied, in temperate and frozen districts, by the 

 wolf. The hotter the climate, the greater are their 

 strength and vigour. They collect together, and hunt 

 their prey in packs of from forty to fifty in number, 

 and attack and devour all kinds of animals. In the 



