692 



G U L O. 



dered very interesting to the general reader. That 

 there are many carnivorous animals in the tropical 

 forests belonging to the plantigrade division of which 

 we have no good account, and of many of which we 

 have yet no account at all, there seems little reason to 

 doubt ; and from the extent of those forests and their 

 tangled nature, interlaced as they are with climbing 

 plants, and crowded with prickly ones, the exploring 

 of even a portion of them is attended with much diffi- 

 culty, and no little danger. But the vast quantity of 

 food for such animals which those forests afford, and 

 the general law of nature that there is always some 

 proportion between the quantity of prey and the 

 numbers of the preyers, necessarily leads to the con- 

 clusion which we have stated. It is probable that 

 these animals do not exactly take up the character 

 of our badgers and continue it to the character of our 

 martens, as the title of glutton is supposed to do in 

 the north ; because we must no more suppose that the 

 succession of beings in a tropical climate must follow 

 the gradation which it does in ours, than we must con- 

 sider the tropical animal as having an individual type 

 in our climates. From all that we know in the mean- 

 time, it is not improbable but that the animals in ques- 

 tion may form a sort of gradation from the AILURUS 

 (see that article), which has the claws partially retrac- 

 tile, to the Paradoxurw, of which some account will 

 be found in its place in the alphabet. Indeed, there 

 is a disposition to refer those Oriental animals which 

 have hitherto been regarded as gluttons to the genus 

 Jast mentioned ; but much more information is required 

 before this portion of the animal kingdom can be so 

 well known as that we shall be warranted in speaking 

 positively concerning it. One of the animals, once 

 referred to the genus Gulo, and now to Paradoxurus,\$, 

 THE MASKED GLUTTON (G. larvatus). This one 

 is from the east, but. what particular locality is not 

 exactly known, although it is somewhere either in 

 India or the eastern islands. It is larger and stronger 

 than the European polecat ; olive brown and grey in 

 the general colour, but with the tip of the tail and 

 the extremities of the feet black. The general colour 

 of the head is black, but there is a large white streak 

 from the forehead to the nose, some mottlings on the 

 cheeks, and a paler band round the throat from the 

 one ear to the other. The head of this one resembles 

 not a little the dasyurus of Australia, and the body 

 and tail have some resemblance to those of a cat. 

 The essential characters are, however, different from 

 either of these animals. 



THE RATEL (G. mellivora) is found in Southern 

 Africa, but it is also a native of India, It is about 

 two feet in length from the nose to the tail, and the 

 tail is about eiglit inches long. The body is marked by 

 a broad ash-coloured stripe, which extends from the 

 forehead the whole way to the tail, and at each side 

 of this there is a grey stripe which separates the ash 

 colour from the black on the under part of the body. 

 According to the accounts, this animal does not live 

 so much upon other animals as upon honey, which il 

 obtains by attacking the nests of the wild bees, and 

 in this, it "is said, they make use of another animal 

 which acts as a guide. Towards sunset it is particu- 

 larly attentive in watching the motions of these 

 industrious insects, following with great care the 

 direction in which they fly. In its predatory range 

 it is not unt'requently assisted by the Cuculus indicator 

 a bird which excites its attention by a loud grating 

 cry, flying at the same time slowly forward to the 



>lace where a swarm of bees have taken up their 

 ibode. The ratel follows the sound with great attcn- 

 ion, and, having plundered the nest, leaves enough, 

 jehind as a reward for the services of its guide. 

 Owing to the toughness of its skin, it has little to 

 dread from the stings of the insulted bees. The 

 tests, however, which are built on trees, are beyond 

 Is reach. In the first transports of its rage it gnaws 

 and bites the trunk, and these bites are sure marks . 

 Y>r the inhabitants that a bees' nest is to be found 

 ;here. Such is the account given of this animal in 

 Southern Africa; and we shall add that given of it 

 DV General Hardwicke as a native of India. " The 

 claws," says the General, " are unequal, those of the 

 fore feet very long and awl-shaped, the three middle 

 ones much longer than the two lateral ; the interior 

 toe very remote from the rest ; the claws of the hind 

 toes remarkably short, nearly equal, and bearing no 

 comparison to the strength of the fore feet. 



" This animal is found in several parts of India 

 along the courses of the Ganges and the Jumna, in 

 the high banks, which in many parts border thc^e 

 rivers. It is rarely seen by day, but at night visits the 

 neighbouring towns and villages inhabited by Moham- 

 medans, and scratches up the recently buried bodies 

 of the dead, unless they are quickly covered with 

 thorny bushes. 



" The natives, when encouraged by the expectation 

 of purchasers, dig the animals out of their subter- 

 raneous retreats, and take them alive. The full- 

 grown ones are with difficulty secured, and seldom 

 bear confinement long, but roll and beat themselves 

 about till they die. When taken young, they are very 

 manageable, docile, and playful. It is a bold animal, 

 its hide remarkably thick, and its strength too much 

 for most dogs of common size. Its general food is 

 flesh in any state, but it is remarkably eager after 

 birds, and living rats seem almost equally acceptable. 

 It has an inclination to climb upon walls, hedges, and 

 trees. This, however, it seems to execute clumsily, 

 but seldom falls, and will ramble securely upon every 

 arm of a branching tree that proves strong enough to 

 bear its weight without much motion. This species 

 burrows with great facility, scratching the earth like 

 a dog with the fore feet, and expelling the loosened 

 soil to the distance of two or three yards backward. 

 In ten minutes it will work itself under cover, even 

 in the hardest ground, and is restless till it can form 

 such a retreat to sleep in. It sleeps much by day, 

 is watchful during the night, discovering inquietude 

 by a hoarse call or bark proceeding from the throat. 

 The hair is short and wiry, nor has it any of the soft- 

 ness of fur. It is known to the natives of Hindostan 

 by the name Bcejoo." 



Other species of smaller dimensions, and found in 

 various tropical climates, have been mentioned by 

 different authors. The illustrious Humboldt, for in- 

 stance, mentions one which he observed in the 

 Andes, and to which he gave the name of Gnlo 

 Quitensis. It is of small size, black in the colour, 

 with a white band along each side, and the tail 

 marked with white and black. There are also several 

 other species, among which we may mention one of 

 very peculiar shape, and of a chestnut colour, which 

 was preserved in the late Bullock's Museum. This 

 one measured about two feet three inches in the 

 length of the head and body, and a foot and a half in 

 the tail, which was very bushy. The body was long 

 i and lanky, but the legs were very stout, and the 



