57 6 THE CARNIVORES 



Although generally nocturnal, the hunting-dog may occasionally be seen dur- 

 ing the day. One of the best accounts of its habits is given by Gordon Gumming, 

 who writes as follows : " The wild dogs, or vilde honden, as they are called by the 

 Dutch boers, are still [about 1845] abundant in the precincts of the Cape Colony, 

 and are met with in great numbers throughout the interior. These animals invari- 

 ably hunt together in large organized packs, varying in number from ten to sixty, 

 and by their extraordinary powers of endurance, and mode of mutual assistance, 

 they are enabled to run into the swiftest or overcome the largest and most powerful 

 antelope. I have never heard of them attacking the buffalo, and I believe that the 

 animal pursued in the present instance [a gnu] is the largest to which they give 

 battle. Their pace is a long never-tiring gallop, and in the chase they relieve one 

 another, the leading hounds falling to the rear when fatigued, when others, who 

 have been husbanding their strength, come up and relieve them. Having suc- 

 ceeded in bringing their quarry to bay, they all surround him, and he is immediately 

 dragged to the ground, and in a few minutes torn to pieces and consumed. They 

 are of a bold and daring disposition, and do not entertain much fear of man, evinc- 

 ing less concern on his approach than any other carnivorous animal with which I 

 am acquainted. On disturbing a pack, they trot leisurely along before the intruder, 

 repeatedly halting and looking back at him. The females bring forth their young 

 in large holes, in desolate open plains. These burrows are connected with one 

 another underground. When a troop of wild dogs frequenting these holes observes 

 a man approaching they do not, as might be supposed, take shelter in the holes, but 

 rather trusting to their speed, they rush forth, even though the intruder should be 

 close upon them, and retreat across the plain, the young ones, unless very weak, 

 accompanying them. The devastation occasioned by them among the flocks of the 

 Dutch boers is inconceivable. It constantly happens that when the careless shepherds 

 leave their charge, in quest of honey or other amusement, a pack of these marauders 

 comes across the defenseless flock. A sanguinary massacre in such cases invariably 

 ensues, and incredible numbers of sheep are killed and wounded. The voracious 

 pack, not content with killing as many as they can eat, follow resolutely on, tearing 

 and mangling all that come within their reach. Their voice consists of three dif- 

 ferent kinds of cry, each being used on special occasions. One of these cries is a 

 short angry bark, usually uttered when they behold an object which they cannot 

 make out. Another resembles a number of monkeys chattering together, or men 

 conversing together when their teeth are chattering violently from cold. This cry 

 is emitted at night, when large numbers of them are together, and they are excited 

 by any particular occurrence, such as being barked at by domestic dogs. The third 

 cry resembles the second note uttered by the cuckoo which visits our islands during 

 the summer months, and, when heard in a calm morning echoing through the distant 

 woodlands, has a very pleasing effect. ' ' From later accounts it would appear that 

 the holes referred to above are inhabited by the hunting-dogs only during the breed- 

 ing season, and that they are not excavated by the animals themselves. 



The numbers in which these dogs were formerly wont to associate together is 

 illustrated by the following anecdote from the writer just quoted. Being suddenly 

 wakened from slumber one night, the great hunter states that " I heard the rushing 



