THE WOLF 499 



senses of sight and hearing, both of which are also highly developed. It is proba- 

 bly due to this habit of associating in packs that many of the dogs are, to a greater 

 or smaller extent, diurnal ; but the majority are also in part nocturnal. From the 

 nature of their claws, no dogs are fitted for climbing trees ; and none are especially 

 adapted for an aquatic life, although several of the domestic breeds are excellent 

 swimmers. The cry of the various species of wild dogs varies greatly, but may 

 generally be termed a howl rather than a bark, although some utter a kind of yelping 

 bark. Apparently, all the species can be tamed to a certain degree, although the 

 extent to which this taming can be carried out varies in different species, and even 

 in different individuals of the same species. All wild dogs are in the habit of living 

 in burrows, in the clefts of rocks, in caverns, or hollow trees. Some species, like 

 the fox, excavate burrows for themselves, while others take advantage of the 

 deserted holes of other animals ; and whereas some dogs dig solitary burrows, 

 others excavate them close together, so as to form a colony, or warren. The num- 

 ber of young in a litter is said to vary from three to as many as a dozen ; and it is 

 believed that in all cases the cubs or ' ' pups ' ' are born blind. Several of the wild 

 species, like the jackal and the wolf, will freely interbreed ; and the hybrid offspring 

 between either of these species and domestic dogs are known to be fertile. 



As regards their geographical distribution, the dogs are more widely spread 

 than any family of Carnivores yet noticed ; and in this respect they are only 

 approached by the weasel family. This wide distribution is the more remarkable 

 when the uniformity in the organization and external appearance of the members of 

 the group are taken into consideration. The great majority are to be found in the 

 Northern Hemisphere, in which one is common to both Europe and North Amer- 

 ica. A single species, the dingo, is now found wild in Australia, but no wild dogs 

 occur in either Ceylon or Madagascar. 



In disposition and the nature of their food many of the dogs show marked differ- 

 ences. Thus, whereas the European wolf, which hunts in packs, and is exceed- 

 ingly fierce, will attack both human beings and cattle, the solitary South American 

 maned wolf is a timid and comparatively harmless animal, except to the small 

 creatures upon which it preys. Again, whereas the majority of species are more or 

 less purely carnivorous, and kill their own prey, the jackal lives largely upon car- 

 rion ; while other species will devour lizards, mice, and even snails, and insects. 

 Others, again, will eat marine mollusks and crustaceans, while the Arctic fox sub- 

 sists largely upon fish, as does the domestic Eskimo dog. 



As already mentioned, with the exception of three species, forming the types of 

 as many genera, the whole of the existing members of the Dog family are included 

 in the genus Canis. In all these forms there are five toes on the hind-feet ; and, 

 with the exception of the Asiatic wild dogs, there are three molar teeth on each 

 side of the lower jaw. 



THE WOLF (Cam's lupus) 



If we exclude some of the breeds of domestic dogs, the wolf is the largest living 

 member of the family ; and its reputation for fierceness is too well known to need 



