DOG TRIBE. 495 



deficiencies in the senses of sight and hearing, both of which are also highly 

 developed. It is probably due to this habit of associating in packs that many of 

 the dogs are, to a greater or smaller extent, diurnal; but the majority are also in 

 part nocturnal. From the nature of their claws, no dogs are fitted for climbing 

 trees ; and none are especially adapted for an aquatic life, although several of the 

 domestic breeds are excellent swimmers. The cry of the various species of wild 

 dogs varies greatly, but may generally be termed a howl rather than a bark, 

 although some utter a kind of yelping bark. Apparently, all the species can be 

 tamed to a certain degree, although the extent to which this taming can be carried 

 out varies in different species, and even in different individuals of the same species. 

 All wild dogs are in the habit of living in burrows, in the clefts of rocks, in 

 caverns, or hollow trees. Some species, like the fox, excavate burrows for 

 themselves, while others take advantage of the deserted holes of other animals ; 

 and whereas some dogs dig solitary burrows, others excavate them close together, 

 so as to form a colony, or warren. The number of young in a litter is said to vary 

 from three to as many as a dozen ; and it is believed that in all cases the cubs or 

 " pups " are born blind. Several of the wild species, like the jackal and the wolf, 

 will freely interbreed ; and the hybrid offspring between either of these species and 

 domestic dogs are known to be fertile. 



As regards their geographical distribution, the dogs are more widely spread 

 than any family of Carnivores yet noticed; and in this respect they are only 

 approached by the weasel family. This wide distribution is the more remarkable 

 when the uniformity in the organisation and external appearance of the members 

 of the group are taken into consideration. The great majority are to be found 

 in the northern hemisphere, in which one is common to both Europe and North 

 America. A single species, the dingo, is now found wild in Australia, but no wild 

 dogs occur in either Ceylon or Madagascar. 



In disposition and the nature of their food many of the dogs show marked 

 differences. Thus, whereas the European wolf, which hunts in packs, and is 

 exceedingly fierce, will attack both human beings and cattle, the solitary South 

 American maned wolf is a timid and comparatively harmless animal, except to the 

 small creatures upon which it preys. Again, whereas the majority of species are 

 more or less purely carnivorous, and kill their own prey, the jackal lives largely 

 upon carrion ; while other species will devour lizards, mice, and even snails, and 

 insects. Others, again, will eat marine mollusks and crustaceans, while the Arctic 

 fox subsists largely upon fish, as does the domestic Eskimo dog. 



As already mentioned, with the exception of three species, forming the types 

 of as many genera, the whole of the existing members of the Dog family are 

 included in the genus Canis. In all these forms there are five toes in the hind 

 feet ; and, with the exception of the Asiatic wild dogs, there are three molar teeth 

 on each side of the lower jaw. 



THE WOLF (Canis lupus). 



If we exclude some of the breeds of domestic dogs, the wolf is the largest 

 living member of the family; and its reputation for fierceness is too well 



