146 



THE BEASTS OF PREY. 



eyes are not surrounded by hair and therefore pre- 

 sent the appearance of being even fiercer in ex- 

 pression than they really are. The fur is quite 

 peculiar. It consists of an inner woolly coat of 

 a russet yellow color, entirely covered with hairs 

 which are about two and one half inches long and 

 are alternately black and cream colored, the tip 

 being pale' yellow. The resultant general color is 

 a greenish gray which harmonizes perfectly with 

 the environment of the animal in its native home. 

 On the head and back the hue is darker and under 

 the body it is paler. The legs and the tuft of the 

 tail are black. 

 The Ichneumon's Pharaoh's Rat extends not only all 

 Home over northern Africa and part of 



and Haunts. Asia, but may be found in southern 

 Spain, northern Asia, all of Africa and Madagascar ; 

 although it may have been imported by Men to the 

 latter place. It never goes far from valleys. Its 

 favorite haunts in Egypt are the thickly-grown 

 banks of rivers and the reed thickets which often 

 surround fields in that country. Here the animal 



MANGUE OE KUSIMANSE. A small, burrowing animal of West Africa, forming by itself a distinct group 



of the Yiverrine family. It has a thick.^tout body covered with harsh fur of a chocolate brown, and its length from 



snout to root of tail is fifteen inches. The tapering tail is eight inches long 

 bare, each foot has five toes and the claws on the fore-feet are long and curved 

 It lives on mammals, insects and fruits. (Crossarchus obscurus.) 



spends the day and lays out for itself, among the 

 reeds, narrow but very carefully kept walks leading 

 to deep, but not very capacious dens. In these the 

 female gives birth to from two to four young ones 

 in spring or the beginning of summer. The mother 

 suckles her offspring for a very long time, and both 

 parents care for their young for a still longer period. 

 Habits and The name Ichneumon signifies "tracker," 

 Traits of and the animal fully justifies this desig- 

 lchneumon8. nation. He resembles the Weasels in 

 his traits and his mental endowments, for he pos- 

 sesses their disagreeable smell, their cunning, their 

 adroitness in stealing and their thirst for blood. He 

 is shy, cautious and distrustful to the highest degree. 

 He never ventures into an open field, but always 

 sneaks along under cover. He prowls around in 

 the daytime and attacks and eats every animal he 

 can overcome : mammals smaller than the Hare, 

 and birds from the Goose or Chicken downward to 

 the smallest. He also feeds on Snakes, Lizards, 



insects and worms ; and he probably eats fruit also. 

 His thievish propensities have earned him the de- 

 testation and contempt of all Egyptian peasants, 

 for he mercilessly plunders their Hen and Pigeon 

 roosts and he is very destructive to the Chickens' 

 nests, which in that country are constructed exactly 

 like those of wild birds. He is of no real use in 

 the present age, unless the extermination of Snakes 

 be counted as a particularly useful achievement. 



His gait is very peculiar, giving the animal the 

 appearance of creeping along on the ground with- 

 out moving a limb, for the short legs are entirely 

 covered by the long hair of the fur and their 

 movements are barely visible. During the summer 

 months the Ichneumon is seldom met alone, but as 

 a rule is accompanied by his family. The male 

 comes first, then the female, and the young ones 

 bring up the rear. One animal always runs close to 

 the other, in such a manner as to create the impres- 

 sion that the whole chain is composed of but a single 

 being with a shape something like that of a huge 

 Snake. From time to time the father stops, lifts his 



, head and looks around 

 : to see if danger threat- 

 ens, moving his nostrils 

 to all sides and sniffing 

 like a panting animal. If 

 he sees prey, he noise- 

 lessly slides up to it 

 through the grass, and 

 when he has approached 

 sufficiently near he will 

 make one or two bounds 

 even after a flying bird. 

 Before a Mouse-hole he 

 mounts silent guard, and 

 after a Rat or a young 

 bird he creeps with 

 amusing gravity. 



Probably he tracks as 

 well as the best Dog; 

 and it is an established 

 fact that he is guided 

 by his sense of smell in 

 the chase. If he finds 

 eggs he sucks them; and 

 as a general thing he also 

 sucks the blood out of 

 small mammals and 

 birds and eats only the 

 brain. He kills a great 

 many more than he can devour. 



His voice is only heard when he has been wounded 

 by a bullet, although the Egyptians say that he ut- 

 ters a shrill, monotonous whistle during the breeding 

 season. 



Methods of The chase of the Ichneumon is consid- 

 Hunting the ered a pious deed by all Egyptians. It 

 Ichneumon. j s on ly necessary to go into a village 

 and announce that one has come to hunt the Ichneu- 

 mon, or "Nims," and old and young will joyfully 

 render all necessary assistance in the extermination 

 of the detested rogue and pillager. The hunter 

 takes his post at some place grown with reeds, and 

 the Arabs begin to drive the animal out of it. The 

 Ichneumon fully realizes what is going on, and as 

 soon as the people begin their noise, he tries to hide. 

 His efforts are of no avail, for the Arabs poke long 

 poles into the holes and burrows of the ground, and 

 he is compelled to look for an asylum in another 

 field. With the greatest caution he glides along, 



Its walk is plantigrade, the soles are 

 The snout is long and the ears small. 



