VIVERRID^E. MAMMALIA. VIVERRID^E. 



97 



interruptions at the transverse bands, to the thighs, 

 when they are continued by numerous large spots 

 which cover these parts. From the shoulders and 

 thighs, several obscure stripes pass to the feet, which 

 have a dusky-grey colour. Between the origin of the 

 longitudinal stripes of the body, and the transverse 

 bands of the back, two smaller stripes are placed, which 

 unite on the lower part of the neck from the opposite 

 sides." Little or nothing is known of the habits of the 

 Delungdung beyond such as may be legitimately 

 inferred from its carnivorous structure, and from the 

 circumstance of its being usually found in extensive 

 forests. 



THE MEEBKAT (Cynictls Steedmanniij.M.T. Ogilby 

 first accurately described this species in the Zoological 

 Society's Transactions. It is an inhabitant of the 

 district of Uytenhaye on the borders of Kaffraria. 

 The term meerkat is applied by the South African 

 colonists to signify almost any kind of small quad- 

 ruped having burrowing habits. The body of the 

 meerkat is about a foot and a half in length, exclusive 

 of the tail which would give another twelve inches. 

 The jaws are furnished with thirty-eight teeth, of 

 which twenty-two are molars, twelve above and ten 

 below ; the last two on either side of the upper series, 

 as well as one correspondingly opposed on each side 

 below, being tuberculated. The limbs are slender and 

 comparatively long. The feet are completely digiti- 

 grade, and provided with claws adapted to grubbing up 

 the soil. The fore-feet are five-toed ; but the hind- 

 feet are tetradactylous. The fur has a bright reddish 

 or chestnut tinge generally, being deeper coloured on 

 the back. The tail is bushy like that of a fox, and 

 shaded with dark-brown hairs, except at the tip, where 

 it is of a uniform dull white. The texture of the fur 

 is smooth, close, and fine. This animal appears to be 

 tolerably abundant in the locality above mentioned, as 

 several travellers have been careful to notice its occur- 

 rence. At a time when the meerkats were perhaps 

 totally unknown to Europeans, the African traveller, 

 Barrow, records the following little incident : " An 

 eagle," he says, " making a stoop at one of these, close 

 to where we were passing, missed his prey, and both 

 fell a sacrifice, one to the gun, the other to the dogs." 



THE EGYPTIAN ICHNEUMON (Herpestes Ichneu- 

 mon) Plate 9, fig. 32. The various members of 

 the genus Herpestes, are, amongst other things, char- 

 acterized by the possession of forty teeth, of which 

 twenty-four belong to the molar series, the last two on 

 either side above, and the ultimate tooth of each corre- 

 sponding group below, being tuberculated. The head 

 is furnished with short and rounded ears, and the 

 circumferential osseous ring of the orbital space is in 

 most cases complete. The limbs are short, the feet 

 being pentadactylous and armed with huge, com- 

 pressed, incurved, and slightly retractile claws. The 

 oval glandular pouch is remarkably capacious. The 

 fur consists of long, rigid hairs, more or less annulated 

 with alternating shades of dark and light tints. The 

 Egyptian ichneumon is the best known of all the 

 species, and is celebrated by Herodotus, Aristotle, and 

 many other ancient writers. All sorts of fabulous 

 stories, mixed with a certain degree of truth, have 

 VOL. I. 



been told respecting it ; but the sober science of 

 modern times very properly rejects such silly records 

 as totally unworthy of belief. By European residents 

 in Egypt the ichneumon is known by the name of 

 Pharaoh's rat ; but the native Arabs call it nenis or 

 nuns. The traveller Sonnini, whose observations on 

 this animal were made towards the close of the eigh- 

 teenth century, was one of the first to give an accurate 

 account of these creatures. Speaking of their habits 

 he says that " they feed upon rats, birds, and reptiles. 

 They ramble about the habitations of men ; they even 

 steal into them in order to surprise the poultry and 

 devour their eggs. It is this natural fondness for eggs 

 that prompts them frequently to scratch up the sand 

 with the intention of discovering those that the croco- 

 diles deposit there, and it is in this manner that they 

 prevent, in reality, the excessive propagation of these 

 detestable animals." The Egyptian ichneumon is 

 readily domesticated, and specimens of it are always 

 to be seen in living collections in this country. The 

 fur has a peculiar dark tawny-grey aspect, resulting 

 from the circumstance that the individual hairs are 

 coloured with alternating rings of chestnut-brown and 

 yellow. The muzzle and feet have a deep, reddish- 

 brown tinge. The tail is long, thick, and bushy at the 

 root. A full-grown ichneumon is about the size of an 

 ordinary cat. When much excited it is said to growl 

 and even bark. 



THE MOONGUS (Herpestes griseus}. This animal 

 is also known as the Indian ichneumon in contradis- 

 tinction to the above- described species ; but as there 

 are several other allied forms inhabiting the great 

 Asiatic peninsula and the adjacent islands, it is better 

 to retain the more distinctive appellation here given. 

 The moongus is celebrated for attacking venomous 

 serpents, and it is said to have recourse to the plant 

 called Hampadder-tanah or Mungo-root (Ophorhlza 

 mungos) as an antidote to their venom. The plant is 

 still employed as an antidote by the natives ; but we 

 do not place much faith in the above-mentioned state- 

 ment, which was originally recorded and concocted 

 by Rumphius. This animal's astonishing power of 

 destroying vermin, however, has been satisfactorily 

 demonstrated in our own country. Mr. Bennett, in his 

 account of a specimen kept in the tower of London, 

 relates that the beast actually destroyed, on one occa- 

 sion, no fewer than a dozen full-grown rats which were 

 loosed to it in a room sixteen feet square, accomplish- 

 ing the slaughter in a minute and a half! The 

 moongus may be readily tamed and taught to accom- 

 pany its master anywhere, both in and out of doors. 



THE GARANGAN (Herpestes Javanicus) is a native 

 of Java, and is especially abundant in the large teak 

 forests of that island. Like the last-described species, 

 it is exceedingly destructive to serpents, which it 

 attacks with great fury. Rats appear to be its favour- 

 ite food ; but it is also terribly destructive to chickens. 

 In pursuing its prey it exercises much cunning and 

 ingenuity. It is very easily domesticated; but its 

 propensities for poultry deter the Javanese from show- 

 ing it much regard. Moreover, it is said to be of a 

 capricious disposition, occasionally indulging in fits of 

 anger and violence. The fur of the garangan or 



