508 NATURALIST'S CABINET. 



M. D'Obsonville's account of an ichneumon. 



ened in him his innate and destructive voracity ; 

 which, till then, had given way to the gentleness 

 he had acquired from his education. I had 

 about my house several curious kinds of fowls, 

 among which he had heen brought up, and 

 which, till then, he had suffered to go and come 

 unmolested ; but, a few clays after, when he found 

 himself alone, he strangled them every one, ate 

 a little, and, as appeared, drank the blood of 

 two." 



These animals are natives of Egypt, Barbary, 

 and the Cape of Good Hope; where they fre- 

 quent the banks of rivers ; and, in times of flood, 

 approach the higher grounds and inhabited 

 places in quest of prey. They are said to swim 

 and dive occasionally, in the manner of the 

 otter; and to remain beneath the water for a 

 great length of time. They sometimes glide 

 along the ground like a serpent,, and seem as if 

 without feet; and are frequently seen to sit up 

 like a squirrel. When they sleep, they fold them- 

 selves up like a ball ; and are not easily awaked. 



There is at present (1806), an ichneumon in 

 the menagerie at Exeter 'Change. It was 

 brought from Grand Cairo; and has been in 

 Mr. Pidcock's possession about two years. The 

 keeper informs me that it is fed entirely on the 

 entrails of fowls; of which about two or three^ 

 ounces suffice for its daily allowance. 



