156 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



Like most other Dogs, the Jackal hunts in packs ; and then, while on an expedition for food, 

 makes night hideous by its fearful cries. In this it calls to mind the Hyaena, as well as in some other 

 particulars, as, for instance, in its love for carrion, and in the remarkably cool way in which it will 

 stare and laugh at travellers, as if holding them up to general ridicule. 



The habits of the Jackal are altogether canine. Their hunts are conducted under the guidance of 

 a leader, who is said to give the signal for every attack by a peculiar cry, and so powerful are these 

 little animals in their union, that they are quite capable of pulling down a Deer. Their chief food 

 in Ceylon seems to be Hares, the numbers of which they keep down to such an extent that those 

 palatable Rodents are quite scarce in regions infested by Jackals. 



The Jackal resembles, in one respect, the Fox, more than either the Wolf or Wild Dog. It has 

 the reputation for excessive cunning, and indeed takes the place of our old vulpine friend, in the 

 legends of the East. It is said that " when a Jackal has brought down his game and killed it, his 

 first impulse is to hide it in the nearest jungle, whence he issues, with an air of easy indifference, 



to observe whether anything more powerful than himself may be at hand from which he might 

 encounter the risk of being despoiled of his captui*e. If the coast be clear, he returns to the con- 

 cealed carcass, and carries it away, followed by his companions. But if a man be in sight, or any 

 other animal to be avoided, my informant has seen the Jackal seize a cocoa-nut husk in his mouth, or 

 any similar substance, and fly at full speed, as if eager to carry off his pretended prize, returning for 

 the real booty at some more convenient season." 



Sir Emerson Tennent states that the Jackal, like the Domestic Dog, is subject to rabies, and that 

 cattle frequently die from bites inflicted by them when in this condition. 



" An excrescence is sometimes found on the head of the Jackal, consisting of a small horny cone, 

 about half an inch in length, and concealed by a tuft of hair. This the natives call Narri comboo ; 

 and they aver that this ' Jackal's horn ' only grows on the head of the leader of the pack. Both the 

 Singhalese and the Tamils regard it as a talisman, and believe that its fortunate possessor can command, 

 by its instrumentality, the realisation of every wish, and that if stolen or lost by him, it will invariably 

 return of its own accord. Those who have jewels to conceal rest in perfect security, if along with 

 them they can deposit a Narri comboo, fully convinced that its presence is an effectual safeguard 

 against robbers. 



"One fabulous virtue ascribed to the Narri comboo by the Singhalese is absurdly characteristic of 

 their passion for litigation, as well as of their perceptions of the ' glorious uncertainty of the law.' It 



