THE PORCUPINE 237 



it skips over the ground with such astonishing bounds as to 

 seem to fly instead of leap. So great is its speed that it is 

 difficult for the eye to follow its movements. The Jerboa 

 feeds upon such grasses and roots as arid regions afford. 

 The animals dwell in companies, excavating burrows with 

 branching galleries, into which they retreat at the least 

 alarm, and from which in any case they seldom emerge 

 except at dusk. 



CAPE JUMPING HARE (Pedetes caffer). 



Another species of the family is the Cape Jumping Hare, 

 very similar in build to the preceding animal ; but the tail 

 is bushy, and the toes of the hind feet are provided with 

 hoof-like nails. In size and colour the animal is much like 

 the common hare. In making its kangaroo-like progress 

 the Jumping Hare will clear as much as thirty feet at a 

 leap. 



PORCUPINE-LIKE RODENTS. 



FAMILY HYSTRICID^E (PORCUPINES). 



PORCUPINE (Hystrix cristata). 



Coloured Plate XIII. Fig. 3. 



These rather large Rodents are extraordinary animals, as 

 evidenced by their French name, Porcupine, the literal 

 meaning of which is ' spiky pig.' The common species is 

 nearly three feet in length. The head and fore part of the 

 body are clothed with short spines with a crest of longer 

 ones ; the hinder part is covered with sharp pointed quills, 

 a development of the hair, even greater than that in the 

 hedgehog. 



The Common Porcupine is a native of Southern Europe 

 and Northern and Western Africa ; and there are various 

 species in other parts of Africa, in India, and in the New 

 World. At one time it was believed that the animal possessed 

 the power of flinging its dart-like quills at an antagonist, and 

 there is no doubt that leopards, and even tigers, have been 



