574 THE CARNIVORES 



to sink into the ground as though- it were diving into water ; and when hunted the 

 creature generally manages to escape by thus burrowing. During the day the 

 fennec reposes in its burrow, with its head curled up beneath the bushy tail, and 

 only the ears exposed. At the slightest sound or movement it is, however, on the 

 alert ; and, when thus disturbed, it utters a slight whimper, and soon endeavors to 

 dispose itself again to slumber. At sunset the fennec leaves its burrow and makes 

 for its drinking place, but instead of going straight across the sand dunes, it always 

 seeks the protection of such ravines and hollows as there may be. Around the 

 drinking places the moist earth is covered with countless impressions of its feet. 

 After having satisfied its thirst, the fennec sets about seeking its food, which may 

 be either jerboas, small birds, lizards, insects, or fruit. 



The burrows are generally made near together, so that the fennecs live in small 

 colonies or companies. According to native reports, the young are born in March > 

 the number in a litter being either three or four. 



THE CAPE HUNTING-DOG (Lycaon pictus) 



With the fennec we took leave of the last member of the family which can be 

 included in the typical genus Cants, and we now come to the first of three species 

 which represent as many distinct genera. The curious-looking animal depicted in 

 the illustration on the next page, and commonly known as the Cape hunting-dog, 

 differs from other members of the family in having but four toes to each foot, and 

 also in its peculiar irregularly -spotted coloration. The number of the teeth is the 

 same as in the wolf ; and the skull has also a considerable resemblance to that of the 

 latter, although shorter and broader ; while the form of the cheek-teeth is likewise 

 rather different. In point of size the hunting-dog may be compared with a tall 

 greyhound. Its limbs are relatively long ; the head is broad and flat with a somewhat 

 short muzzle, and rather large ears. The fur is rather thin, and is colored with a 

 mixture of black, yellowish ochre, gray and white, the disposition of the colors 

 varying greatly in different individuals, and the patches or blotches being generally 

 arranged unsymmetrically on the two sides of the body. Professor Mivart describes 

 the usual coloration as follows : ' ' The general ground color is an ochraceous 

 gray, but with black markings, so that the body and outer sides of the extremities 

 are blotched and brindled with black, intermingled here and there with white spots 

 edged with black ; the markings being very irregular. The muzzle is black, and a 

 black stripe sometimes, but not always, passes backward from between the eyes and 

 ears, and along the neck. The root of the tail is ochraceous, then more or less 

 black, with the terminal portion white or whitish ; it is rather bushy. The ears are 

 said to be more or less naked ; they are more or less black within, though with some 

 white hairs, while externally they are of an ochre color at their roots, above which 

 they may or may not be black. ' ' In some specimens, the front of the fore-limbs is 

 more or less marked with black. In the specimen here represented, the coloration 

 is very irregular, there being a large amount of white on the under surface. In 

 others, however, the ochre color is predominant, and the black consists mainly of 



