138 CANID.E. 



Habits. Very similar to those of C. lupus, except that the Indian 

 wolf, although somewhat gregarious, is not known to associate 

 in large packs (I have never heard of more than six to eight 

 together). It is also rather a silent animal, but sometimes, 

 Jerdon says, it barks like a pariah dog. It is rarely, if ever, heard 

 to howl. , 



Indian wolves prey on all mammals or birds they can kill, but 

 especially on sheep, goats, and antelopes. Instances are not rare 

 of their attacking man, two or more combining for the purpose; 

 and they, in some parts of India, carry away a large number of 

 children yearly, usually taking them from villages. They course 

 and run down hares and foxes, and occasionally attack cattle. 

 They not unfrequently kill dogs. 



Like all wild canines, these animals are very intelligent and 

 cunning, and many of the stories told of the stratagems they em- 

 ploy to secure their prey appear to be well authenticated. One 

 plan, vouched for by several observers, is that of part of the pack 

 driving antelopes or gazelles across a spot where others of the 

 pack are lying in ambush, either in ravines or in hollows scratched 

 by themselves in the ground. Some wolves, too, are said to lie in 

 wait hidden until antelopes approach them while feeding. A re- 

 markable stcry is related by a writer in the ' Asian,' w ho states 

 that he saw a wolf rolling on its back with its legs in the air, whilst 

 some antelopes that were attracted to approach by curiosity advanced 

 to within sixty or seventy yards ; then they were accidentally dis- 

 turbed, and two other wolves, that had been lying in ambush 

 100 yards apart in advance of the third, jumped up. It is also 

 said that when wolves attack sheep, part of the pack attack and 

 keep the dogs in check, whilst others carry off the prey. 



A somewhat similar story is related by Forsyth, except that the 

 victims were children. In the Dumoh district of the Central 

 Provinces an old she-wolf and a full-grown cub haunted a patch 

 of bushes and grass near a village standing on the slope of a hill, 

 down which ran the main street, where children were always at 

 play. The smaller wolf hid amongst bushes between the village 

 and the bottom of the hill, whilst the larger animal went round 

 to the top, and, watching its opportunity, ran down the street, 

 carrying off a child on the way. At first the people used to pur- 

 sue, and sometimes made the marauder drop bis prey ; but in that 

 case the companion wolf usually succeeded in carrying off another 

 of the children in the confusion, whilst the child first seized was 

 generally so injured as to be beyond recovery. In this, as in many 

 other similar cases, a very wide-spread superstition prevented the 

 villagers from hunting down and killing the animals; and Forsyth 

 actually found it difficult to get men to assist him in shooting the 

 brutes, in which he fortunately succeeded. 



The story illustrates both the cunning and the boldness of the 

 Indian wolf. I myself saw one run out of a village in the middle 

 of the day with a young goat and escape with it in spite of the 

 villagers' pursuit. 



