474 



THE CARNIVORES 



to as much as twenty-six inches. This species is distinguished from all the above 

 by the under surface of the ankle being hairy, instead of nearly or quite naked, and 

 also by its bushy tail. The general color is blackish gray, the longer hairs being 

 ringed with black and white, and having the tips black. According to Mr. 

 Thomas, the white-tailed mungoose presents a remarkable individual variation in 

 the color of the fur of the tail. The hairs are of considerable length, "in some 

 cases with white bases and long shining black tips, so that the whole tail appears 

 to be black ; in others with a long white tip beyond the black, so that then the tail 

 appears to be white ; in the latter case the hairs at the extreme tip of the tail being 

 generally wholly white. ' ' This species ranges from the eastern part of Abyssinia 

 to Natal, and reappears on the West Coast in the Guinea district. 



THE INDIAN MUNGOOSE. 



(One-fifth natural size. ) 



Of the Oriental mungooses we select for especial notice the common Indian 

 mungoose (H. mungo}, which belongs to a group of several species characterized 

 by their uniform coloration, there being no stripe on the neck and no black tip to 

 the tail. It is a comparatively large species, with rather long hair, of which the 

 general color is gray or rufous ; the length of the head and body varying from 

 fifteen to eighteen inches, and that of the tail from fourteen to fifteen inches. This 

 species is found throughout peninsular India, from the Himalayas to Cape Como- 

 rin, and also occurs in Ceylon, although unknown in the countries to the eastward 

 of the Bay of Bengal. The common Indian mungoose, writes Mr. Blanford, "is 

 found in hedgerows, thickets, groves of trees, cultivated fields, banks of streams, 

 and broken bushy ground, but not commonly in dense forests. It is often found 

 about houses. It lives and breeds in holes dug by itself. Very little appears to be 



