116 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



by an anecdote recently told by Mr. F. C. Selous, to the effect that a 

 friend of his had known a pack of these brutes to bait a Spotted 

 Hyaena all night a fact he adduces as showing that Hyaenas are not 

 always the cowards they are supposed to be, since this specimen had 

 kept them at bay, and ultimately succeeded in getting off with his life. 



Hunting-Dogs breed in colonies, and display much skill in driving 

 their game towards the home of the nursing bitches, so as to kill it 

 conveniently near to them. In short, they seem to know all about 

 hunting that an animal could learn, their tactics being nearly perfect. 



They are not common in captivity, but have several times been 

 exhibited in the London Zoological Gardens, and have bred in the 

 Dublin institution. 



THE RACCOON-DOG 



(Cants procyonoides) 



As a general rule, the Dog family have a great general resemblance to 

 each other, not presenting so much variation in type even as the 

 Cats, as our illustrations plainly show ; but, in addition to the Hyaena- 

 Dog, there is another species which might be mistaken for an animal 

 outside the canine family, although typical in the number of its toes 

 and teeth. 



This is the curious little animal known as the Raccoon-Dog, an in- 

 habitant of Amoorland, China, and Japan. It is considerably smaller 

 than the common Fox, and has shorter limbs and tail ; its coat is very 

 full, and varies much in colour, being usually a grizzled mixture of black 

 and brown. The eyes are surrounded by a black patch, and this, with 

 the general build and coat of the animal and its habit of humping its back 

 as it walks, gives it a quite remarkable likeness to the American Raccoon 

 (Procyon lotor). Like the Raccoon, also, it feeds much on vegetable 

 food. 



It is not a swift animal, and does not destroy poultry, the animal part 

 of its diet being the flesh of small animals only, such as Rats and Mice. 



