AND DESERTS 125 
regions, its distribution being probably determined by 
the double need of avoiding the proximity of its per- 
sistent enemy, man, and of following its natural prey, 
the larger ungulates. Of the smaller cat-like forms, the 
mongooses are ground animals, usually haunting open 
country, and avoiding dense forests. An allied form, 
the meerkat (Suricata tetradactyla) haunts sandy ground. 
in Cape Colony, where the savanas pass into steppes. 
Like most of the smaller mammalia of open country 
this animal is a burrower, making deep holes in 
the sandy veldt with its sharp foreclaws. Another 
adaptation to life in this region is shown by the fact 
that it feeds chiefly upon the bulbs and roots of 
the veldt plants, which store water in their under- 
ground parts during the time of drought. Another 
steppe or savana form of wider distribution is the 
aard-wolf (Proteles cristatus), a burrowing animal, with 
weak teeth, which seems to feed largely upon termites, 
and inhabits open country throughout the southern 
half of Africa, with a northern limit apparently in 
Somaliland, where it has been once found. The hyaenas 
are also inhabitants of savana country, the spotted 
hyaena of Africa being often found in the same districts 
as the lion, upon which it is partly dependent, in that 
it obtains the remainder of the ‘ kill ’, when the nobler 
animal has satisfied its hunger. 
As a rule the members of the dog alliance inhabit 
open country, as the common habit of hunting in packs 
suggests. A considerable number occur in the tropics, 
and may therefore be included in the fauna of deserts 
and savanas. We may note especially the African 
jackals, which hunt in packs and feed upon rodents, or 
the smaller ungulates, or sick or wounded members of 
the larger species. An interesting desert species is the 
