98 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



sport, and a good proof of this was once furnished by an old Arab 

 Horse, who happened to lose his rider during a chase after a Hyaena. 

 He took up the pursuit on his own account, and got near enough to 

 attempt to bite the beast and strike it with his forefoot, the miserable 

 Hyaena only responding by tucking his tail between his legs. 



The cry of this Hyaena is loud and peculiar, and native tradition 

 asserts that it beguiles Dogs away by its vocalisations in order to 

 devour them. 



The cubs are said to be three or four in number, but little is known 

 about the breeding habits of this otherwise familiar beast. 



In captivity the Striped Hyaena, like all Hyaenas, does well ; it is 

 the commonest kind seen in menageries, but does not often breed there 

 at any rate it has seldom done so in the London Zoological Gardens. 

 The idea that these animals are untameable is a mistake ; they do not 

 appear to be worse to manage than any other carnivora. 



THE BROWN HYAENA 



{Hycena brunnea) 



IN the Striped Hyaena a noteworthy point is the mane of long dark 

 hair running down the back ; in the present species this long hair is 

 continued over the sides, and the body of the animal is self-coloured. 

 In other respects, however, the Brown Hyaena is very much like the 

 Striped species, and its legs are short-haired and marked with stripes 

 in a similar manner. 



The Brown Hyaena was the characteristic species of South Africa 

 I say " was," for it is now a very scarce animal, and is believed to be 

 approaching extinction. It was known to the early settlers as a sea- 

 shore beast, whence it received the name of Strandwolf. True Wolves, 

 by the way, are not found south of the Sahara, and any references to 

 them in South Africa really concern Hyaenas. Later on it was found 

 that the Strandwolf also occurred inland, and in the early days of South 

 African colonisation it seems to have been a ferocious and dangerous 



