CYON JAVANICUS. 181 



of killing large animals." They have been seen to snap at the flank 

 of a running deer. 



Although they are thus ferocious and predatory, there is no 

 evidence of their attacking man ; and they appear sometimes to feed 

 not only upon carrion but on vegetable food also. McMaster found 

 that an animal of this species kept in confinement would greedily 

 devour herbs, grass, and leaves of various kinds, " not as dogs do when 

 ill, but with a keen relish." 



They appear to be very untamable animals. Hodgson, after keeping 

 some ten months in confinement, found them as wild * and shy at the 

 end of that time as at its commencement. They had a peculiarly rank 

 and fetid odour, and were very silent animals, never uttering a sound 

 except when they would snarl at each other in a subdued tone, though 

 they never fought. 



One young specimen he found more amenable to kindness, as it 

 would allow itself to be caressed by its master and would play with 

 dogs. In a wild state these animals will howl at night ; but it appears 

 they remain quite silent while hunting their prey. 



They breed during the winter, producing two, four, six, or even 

 more in a litter between the beginning of January and the end of 

 March. The female makes her nest in caves or hollow spaces amongst 

 rocks; and several females are saidf to have been found, near Simla, 

 apparently breeding together. 



The colour of this animal is, as we have said, always more or less 

 red, with the lower parts whitish. Part of the tail, generally the 

 terminal portion, is black, though occasionally the extreme end is 

 whitish. There may or may not be underfur. The variety which has 

 been named rutilans has no woolly underfur, with hair short and harsh, 

 and a small brush. It may also have much black on the back, as we 

 have seen in a specimen from Moulmein. Our Plate XL. repre- 

 sents a specimen obtained from Sumatra. The type (preserved in the 

 British Museum) of the variety named dukhunensis (Plate XLI.) is 

 very red, with longish hair and some underfur. Specimens from 



* See Jerdon, op. at. p. 148. f Blanford, op. cit. p. 146. 



