G U L O. 



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\\hich last gives the animal its colours,as above stated. 

 The toes are large, and halfway united by membranes. 

 The tail, which is one-third the length of the body, 

 is borne horizontally. The animal conceals itself in 

 holes, and when attacked gives out a strong and most 

 offensive smell. This proceeds from a fluid like 

 honey, secreted by two glands near the anus; and the 

 possession of these is of itself perhaps enough for a 

 specific and even a generic distinction. 



It is found only in South America ; and the names 

 of different European animals have been, not very 

 judicious! v, applied to it by different authors. D'Az- 

 zara calls it the "little ferret ;" Buffon, the " Guiana 

 ]Hil( -cat ;" and Thuuberg, the " Brazilian bear ;" all 

 of which names are liable to mislead. It is exceed- 

 ingly ferocious in a state of nature, a very hearty 

 feeder withal, and as it is quick in its motions, that 

 s, on the alert and can leap well, it commits great 

 iepredations upon the smaller mammalia and the birds 

 of that country which it inhabits. Its distribution 

 throughout South America is very general, and it is 

 ar from rare iu any country. It can be tamed ; and 

 f properly fed its manners are gentle, but if it is 

 illowed to become hungry it does not hesitate to attack 

 any animal which it can master that comes within its 

 reach. One which was in the possession of M. F. 

 'uvier had been tamedat least, to a certain degree. 

 It did not appear to distinguish one person from 

 another, was very fond of play, and for that purpose 

 all comers were alike to it. It seemed to derive 

 Measure from being stroked down the back with the 

 land. When invited to play, it would turn over, 

 return with its paws the caresses addressed to it, bite 

 rently the fingers it could seize, but never so as to 

 uirt or wound them. One might almost have ima- 

 rined that it felt the degree of resistance which the 

 skin was capable of making, and proportioned the force 

 of its bite accordingly, when it meant only to express 

 ts joy. It knew the fingers of a person without seeing 

 them. Notwithstanding, this animal preserved its 

 erocity for all those living beings that could become 

 ts prey. Even when satiated with food, it testified, 

 n a lively manner, the desire of getting possession of 

 such animals. One day it broke the bars of its cage 

 to attack an animal that was within reach, which it 

 mortally wounded. When it could catch a bird it 

 cilled it directly, and kept it by for provision, as was 

 ts custom to do with the meat it received, after having 

 satisfied its appetite. 



TAIUA (G. barb(trtts). This animal inhabits the 

 same countries with the grison, which it resembles in 

 nanners but is larger in size. It is found not. only in 

 he South American continent, but also in the West 

 Indian islands, where it is called the greater weasel. 

 The general fur all over the body is black, or brownish 

 jlack ; but the head and neck are often more or less 

 grey, and there is a large patch of white on the throat 

 ' furc part of the neck. The ears are very short 

 and white ; the length, exclusive of the tail, is about 

 two feet ; and the tail, which is covered with longer 

 lair near the body, is about fifteen inches in length. 

 The feet have five toes each, and the form is rather 

 peculiar. The middle toe and the one on each side 

 of it are united together as far as the claws, while the 

 outer and inner ones, which are very short, are de- 

 tached at the articulation of the others. This animal, 

 as it is more powerful, is described as being propor- 

 tionally more predatory than the grison. Like that 

 t i. a burrowing animal; and as it lives in a state of 



still greater concealment than its congener, its man- 

 ners are not much known. From the following notice 

 in the proceedings of the Zoological Society's Scien- 

 tific Committee, May 31, it should seem that there are 

 at least several coloured varieties of this animal, if not 

 several distinct species, to be met with in South 

 America- " A living individual," says the report, 

 " apparently referable to the Gulo barbarus, Linnaeus, 

 was exhibited. It was presented to the Society bv 

 Edmonstone Hodgkinson, Esq., of Trinidad, who de- 

 scribes it as being 'playful and gentle, although easily 

 excited, and very voracious. It is exceedingly strong, 

 as is indicated by its shape, and it. has the same anti- 

 pathy to water as a cat.'" Mr. Hodgkinson suspects 

 that it is a native of Peru. He obtained it in Vene- 

 zuela, where it was presented to him by the president, 

 General Paez. The name he received with it was 

 "the Guache ;" but this appellation, it was observed 

 by Mr. Bennet, was probably erroneously applied to 

 the present animal, belonging rather to the Coati, the 

 orthography of which is variously given, as Coati, Co- 

 iiatl, Quasje, Q.uacJn, and Guachi. The latter term 

 occurs in the " Personal Narrative "of the Baron Von 

 Humboldt, where it evidently refers to a nocturnal 

 species of Nasua. 



The form and general appearance of the animal were 

 remarked to be altogether those of a Mustela,to which 

 genus it is probable that it should be referred, together 

 with the typical Gulo barbarus. A specimen of the lat- 

 ter was placed on the table, from which the living ani- 

 mal was shown to differ, by the absence of the large 

 yellow spot beneath the neck : a remarkable distinction 

 in this group, but on the occurrence of which, unless 

 confirmed by several specimens, it was considered im- 

 proper to propose regarding it as a distinct species. 



ORIENTAL GLUTTON (G. Orientalis) is a native of 

 the mountains of Java, and probably also of other parts 

 of the East. It was first noticed by Dr. Horsfield, 

 but does not appear to be by any means uncommon 

 in that country. The natives call it Ni/cntek. In size 

 it is rather smaller than the pole-cat of Europe, and 

 it is much more slender in the body than the glutton. 

 The fur is thick, consisting of long hairs, closely ar- 

 ranged, silky at the base, of a brown colour, and some- 

 what gloss}', slightly tinged with reddish brown. In 

 some lights it appears diversified with a greyish and 

 tawny colour. This fur covers almost the entire body 

 and head, and the whole of the tail and extremities. 

 The sides of the head, neck, throat, breast, and a broad 

 patch on the top of the head, which passes gradually, 

 decreasing in breadth, to the middle of the back, are 

 white, with an obscure tint of cream colour, of different 

 decrees of intensity. This colour, also, exists less 

 distinctly in a longitudinal band, along the lowest part 

 of the abdomen. The tail is almost half the length of 

 the body, is somewhat bushy, and terminated with 

 bristly hairs. 



There are several other species understood to be 

 natives of the East, of which specimens and drawings 

 have been brought to Europe ; and in some of them 

 the animals themselves have been obtained in the live 

 state. Modern naturalists are inclined to refer both 

 the Oriental and South American ones to a different 

 genera from the glutton of the Arctic regions ; but as 

 they appear not to have made up their minds exactly 

 with regard to the genera to which the different species 

 should be referred, or how many of them should be 

 made what is technically called the types of new 

 genera, those matters of arrangement cannot be ron- 

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