57 8 THE CARNIVORES 



single hunting-dog. This hunter and his comrades had been for some time watch- 

 ing the antelope, when suddenly it started off full in their direction. On looking 

 round for the cause of this sudden movement, "we saw," writes Mr. Selous, " that 

 an animal was running on its track, and, although still distant, was overhauling it 

 fast, for the sable antelope, not being pressed, was not yet doing its best, so that 

 when it was about two hundred yards from us, its pursuer, which we now saw was 

 a wild dog, was not more than fifty yards behind us. The noble-looking antelope 

 must just then have seen us, for it halted, looked toward us, and then turning its 

 head glanced at its insignificant pursuer. That glance, however, at the open-mouthed 

 dog thirsting for its life-blood must have called unpleasant reminiscences, for in- 

 stead of showing fight, as I should have expected it to have done, it threw out its 

 limbs convulsively, and came dashing past us at its utmost speed. It was, how- 

 ever, to no purpose, for the wild dog lying flat to the ground as a greyhound, its 

 bushy tail stretched straight behind it, covered two yards to its one, and came up to 

 it in no time. It just gave the antelope one bite in the flank, and letting go its 

 hold instantly fell a few yards behind ; at the bite the sable antelope swerved 

 toward us, and upon receiving a second in exactly the same place, turned still more, 

 so that, taking the point on which we stood as centre, both pursuer and pursued 

 had described about half a circle round us, always within two hundred yards, since 

 the sable antelope had first halted. As the wild dog was just going up the third 

 time it got our wind, and instead of again inflicting a bite stopped dead and looked 

 toward us, whilst about a hundred yards from it the sable antelope also came to a 

 stand. The baffled hound then turned round, and made off one way, while the sable 

 antelope, delivered from its tormentor, cantered off in another." Mr. Selous adds 

 that this is the only instance known to him of a hunting-dog pursuing an animal by 

 itself. 



In the form of the last premolar tooth of the lower jaw the skull of the hunting- 

 dog presents a peculiarity by which it can be distinguished from that of the wolves ; 

 and it is remarkable that a lower jaw from a cave of Glamorganshire shows the 

 same peculiarity in the tooth in question, thus indicating that during the mammoth 

 age a hunting-dog, nearly allied to the living African species, pursued its prey on 

 the Mendips. 



THE BUSH-DOG (Icticyon venaticus) 



The bush-dog of Brazil and British Guiana is an animal of or about the size of 

 a fox, differing from all the other members of the family in external appearance, 

 although it is not on this ground that it is separated from Canis. It is a short- 

 eared, short-legged, and long-bodied animal, with a very deep and rather elongated 

 neck, and of a general dark brown color. The head, neck, and shoulders differ 

 from the general body color in being gray, while the hind-quarters, tail, and under 

 parts are nearly black. The great peculiarity of this animal is, however, the cir- 

 cumstance that it has usually but one molar tooth in the upper jaw, and only two 

 of these teeth in the lower jaw, so that it has fewer teeth than any other member of 

 the Dog family. This, however, is not all, for the lower flesh-tooth has no trace 



