THE HY^S^A. 8l 



immensely powerful teeth with which he can crush the bones 

 of his victims, apparently eating bones and flesh with impu- 

 nity. He is nocturnal in his habits, living in caves and 

 hollows in the day time and prowling about at night in search 

 of prey. Speaking of the Barbary hygena Bruce says : " He 

 seems to be stupid or senseless in the day, or at the appear- 

 ance of strong light, unless when pursued by hunters. I have 

 locked up a goat, a kid, and a lamb, with him all day when 

 he was fasting, and found them in the evening alive and 

 unhurt." The principle varieties are the striped Hysena, and 

 the spotted Hysena. Bruce speaking of the former says, " he 

 is brutish, indolent, slovenly and impudent and seems to 

 possess much the manners of the wolf. His courage appears 

 to proceed from an insatiable appetite, and has nothing of 

 the brave or generous in it, and he dies oftener flying than fight- 

 ing." The cry of the hysena, sometimes called a laugh, 

 begins with a moan and ends with a demoniacal shriek which 

 has been variously described by travellers but which all agree 

 in calling hideous and disgusting. In size he resembles a 

 large mastiff, but the formation of his neck and jaws give 

 him a power far beyond that of other animals of his size. 

 Whatever fear he may have of man, he has none of other 

 animals and will even face the lion. Bruce speaks of his 

 special liking for the flesh of the dog and of the dog's reluc- 

 tance to face him. " My greyhounds, accustomed to fasten 

 upon the wild boar, would not venture to engage with him. 

 On the contrary, there was not a journey I made that he 

 did not kill several of my greyhounds, and once or twice 

 robbed me of my whole stock: he would seek and seize 

 them in the servants' tents where they were tied, and en- 

 deavour to carry them away before the very people that were 

 guarding them." His coat is covered with long coarse hairs 

 of a dirty grey colour, which form a mane the length of his 

 back, his sides being striped or spotted, according to the 

 species. The hysena for all his repulsiveness serves a useful 



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