114 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



seen slowly worrying to death a Himalayan Bear (Ursus torquatus], 

 though poor Bruin, with desperate courage, was defending himself as 

 well as he could, and had killed more than one of them. Even the 

 Tiger himself is believed occasionally to be killed by the red pack, 

 and in any case their operations so terrify his prey that he may 

 be forced to leave the depleted district. 



When attacking, it is the custom of the Dholes to snap at the 

 belly and hind-quarters of the victim, and thus disembowel it, some of 

 the pack, when necessary, making feints at it in front to distract its 

 attention. The terrible force of their bite may be judged from a case 

 comparatively recently reported, in which a Sambur stag (Cervus 

 unicolor} had been attacked by them when drinking. Taking him at 

 a disadvantage, they had wasted no time in finesse, but had flown at 

 his throat forthwith, and nine inches of his windpipe had been 

 snatched out! Although awkwardly-made animals compared with the 

 Wolf or Fox, or even the Dingo, they spring with great energy, and 

 even in confinement no other canines give such an impression of 

 sheer ravenousness as these do. 



They have but little fear of man, but have only once as yet been 

 known to attack him in India. The Siberian Dhole, however, is said 

 to be dreaded by hunters, and if the Indian species also becomes thus 

 dangerous it will be an infinitely worse enemy to the poor natives 

 than the Wolf or even than a man-eating Tiger. There is thus every 

 reason to put a price on the head of the Dhole, a measure which has 

 long been urged by sportsmen, who are naturally disgusted by its 

 depredations on game animals. 



Unlike most of the Dog family, Dholes do not appear to eat carrion ; 

 but from the behaviour of a captive specimen in India, it has been 

 thought that they eat some vegetable food, as this individual devoured 

 leaves and grass with evident relish, not medicinally, as Dogs do. 



Dholes breed in earths which they dig out, and in some cases at all 

 events they form quite a colony. The pups are sooty brown, not red, 

 when very young, like very young Foxes. They are not so tameable 

 as Wolves and Jackals, and are very seldom seen in captivity even in 



