70 



THE SPOTTED HYAENA. 



by the peculiar streaks from which it derives its name. The general 

 color of the fur is a grayish brown, diversified with blackish stripes, 

 which run along the ribs and upon the limbs. A large singular black 

 patch extends over the front of the throat, and single black hairs are 

 profusely scattered among the fur. When young, the stripes are more 

 apparent than in the adult age, and the little animal has something of 

 a tigrine aspect about its face. 



In proportion to its size, the Hyaena possesses teeth and jaws of 

 extraordinary strength, and between their tremendous fangs the thigh- 

 bones of an ox fly in splinters with a savage crash that makes the 

 spectator shudder. 



The muzzle is but short, and the rough thorn-studded tongue is used, 

 like that of the feline groups, for rasping every vestige of flesh from 

 the bones of the prey. 



The Spotted Hy^na — or Tiger Wolf, as it is generally called — is, 

 for a Hysena, a fierce and dangerous animal, invading the sheeplblds 



The Spotted Hy^na {Crocuta maculata). 

 and cattlepens under the cover of darkness, and doing in one night 

 more mischief than can be remedied in the course of years. 



The spots, or rather the blotches, with which its fur is marked, are 

 rather scanty upon the back and sides, but upon the legs are much 

 more clearly marked, and are set closer together. The paws are nearly 

 black. ^ -^ 



