VARIETIES OF THE WOLF. 153 



heard her footsteps, he bounded into the room in an ecstasy of delight. Springing up, he placed one 

 paw on each of her shoulders, but the next moment he fell backward and instantly expired."* 



There are several varieties of the Wolf besides the common European kind, most of which have 

 been considered by different authors as distinct species, and some of which are even now so considered, 

 though the differences between them are so very slight and unimportant, that it seems hardly advisable 

 to look upon them as anything more than geographical species varieties produced by difference of 

 climate and other sui-roundings. 



" The Black Wolf is a name given to a variety which is most frequent in Southern Europe, and 

 particularly in the Pyrenees, and to the south of those mountains, where they are more common than 

 the ordinary Wolf, which the Black Wolf equals in stature, and, if anything, exceeds in strength. 

 Cuvier says it is found, but very rarely, in France." 



The Wolf found in Palestine, the subject of so many references in the Old Testament, is, according 

 to Canon Tristram, a very well-marked variety. He says of it : 



" The Wolf is the dread of the shepherd from one end of the country to the other, and a single 

 Wolf is far more destructive than a whole pack of Jackals. Again and again I have put up the 

 Syrian Wolf and fired at it without success. Near Beersheba, in the hill country, in the forests 

 of Bashan and Gilead, in the ravines of Galilee and Lebanon, and in the maritime plains, it is 

 alike distributed. I never saw two together, and I never heard of them hunting in packs. It is 

 much to be wished that some traveller may be able to secure a specimen for examination, for it may 

 possibly prove to be a distinct variety. It is of a lighter fawn colour than any European Wolf I ever 

 saw, and appears decidedly larger. I can confirm the statement of Dr. Russell, that the natives speak 

 of another larger and fiercer species called ' Sheeb,' but I could never obtain any clear definition of 

 the distinctions between the two." 



The Wolf of India, abundant in the open country, rare in the wooded districts over the whole of 

 the great peninsula, is considered, by authorities such as Mr. Blyth and Dr. Jerdon, as a distinct 

 species, and is called Canis pallipes. 



" The Wolves of the Southern Mahratta country," says Mr. Elliot, " generally hunt in packs, and I 

 have seen them in full chase after the Goat- Antelope (Gazella Bennettii). They likewise steal round a 

 herd of Antelopes, and conceal themselves on different sides, till an opportunity offers of seizing one of 

 them unawares, as they approach, whilst grazing, to one or other of their hidden assailants. On one 

 occasion three Wolves were seen to chase a herd of Gazelles across a ravine in which two others were 

 lying in wait. They succeeded in seizing a female Gazelle, which was taken from them. They have 

 frequently been seen to course and run down Hares and Foxes; and it is a common belief of the Ryots 

 that in the open plains, where there is no cover or concealment, they scrape a hole in the earth, in 

 which one of the pack lies down, and remains hid, while the others drive the herd of Antelopes over 

 him. Their chief prey, however, is Sheep ; and the shepherds say that part of the pack attack and 

 keep the Dogs in play, while others carry off their prey, and that if pursued they follow the same plan, 

 part turning and checking the Dogs, whilst the rest drag away the carcass till they evade pursuit. 

 Instances are not uncommon of their attacking man. In 1824, upwards of thirty children were 

 devoured by Wolves in one pergunnah alone. Sometimes a large Wolf is seen to seek his prey singly. 

 These are called Won-tola by the Canarese, and reckoned particularly fierce." 



This Indian Wolf has dingy reddish-white fur, some of the hairs being tipped with black ; the lower 

 parts are dingy white, the tail slightly tipped with black. 



Closely allied to the Indian Wolf is a variety from Tibet, " Canis laniger, sometimes called the 

 'White Wolf by sportsmen who cross the Himalayas. It is the Changu of Tibet, CJmnkodi, near 

 the Niti Pass from Kumaon ; and it is a larger animal than the Indian Wolf, with white face and 

 limbs, and no dark tip to the tail, which is fully brushed. The hair .is extremely woolly," this 

 peculiarity being, of coui-se brought about by the cold climate to which the animal is exposed. Tibet 

 also boasts another variety, the Red or Golden Wolf, which is fulvous, with greyish-brown head. 

 and with the lower parts pure white. A third variety, with black shaggy fur, and sometimes known as 

 Canis niger, exists in the same country. 



The North American Wolf, which extends from Greenland in the north to Mexico in the south, 



* Jesse: " History of the British Dog." 

 69 



