226 FAMILY VIVERRID.E ; HY.ENA, PROTELES 



effluvia. They devour, too, the remains left by other beasts of 

 prey ; being specially enabled to do so by the enormous strength 

 of their jaws, and by the peculiar conformation of their teeth, 

 which are adapted rather for crushing hard substances, than for 

 dividing animal flesh ; and these, by their combined power, 

 enable them to crunch even the largest bones, so as to extract 

 from them the nutritious matter they contain. The Hyaenas will 

 seize upon living animals also ; but seldom attack Man openly, 

 except in self-defence. Their haunts by day are dens and caves, 

 gloomy rocks, and the ruins of towns and sepulchral monuments 

 of antiquity. As darkness sets in, these fierce beasts emerge 

 from their lair, and prowl in search of their prey, with menacing 

 teeth and glaring eyes. Notwithstanding the ferocity of its dis- 

 position, the Hyaena is easily tameable when young ; and shows 

 much of the attachment to its master, which is characteristic of 

 the Dog. The Hyaena is confined to Africa and Asia ; the 

 striped species is a native of northern and central Asia, and of 

 northern Africa ; the spotted species, and another that bears 

 more resemblance to the striped, are found in Southern Africa, 

 and are great pests to the colonists. The Proteles or Aard-Wolf 



FIG. 113 PROTELES LALANDF. 



(earth- wolf) of the Cape of Good Hope, is evidently the con- 

 necting link between the Hyaenas and the Civets ; resembling 

 the former in its general contour and manners, though of infe- 



