CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 5. CARNIVORA. 285 



like gripe that which the animal has once seized upon. Cuvier remarks that its efforts in this way 

 sometimes produce anchylosis of the cervical vertebra?, and that this has given rise to the asser- 

 tion that hyenas have but a single bone in the neck. He also states that their name amono- the 

 Arabs is the symbol of stubbornness. The feet have four toes each, like those of the suricates. 

 The same author sums up their character by saying that they are voracious nocturnal animals, 

 inhabiting caverns, living for the most part on carcasses, for which they ransack the tombs, and 

 that they are the subjects of an infinity of superstitious traditions. 



Under the term Hyenince we include two genera, the Hyenas proper and the Proteles. 



Genus HYENA : Hycena. — Of this there are two species, though some authors regard one 

 only as a variety; the Striped Hyena and the Spotted Hyena. The former, the Hycena striata, 

 is the "Taiva, the hyena of the ancients ; the Cams hyarna of Linnseus ; H. striata of Zimmerman; 

 H. vulgaris of Desmarest ; and H antiquorum of Temminck; H. orientalis of Tiedemann; the 

 Hooandor of Buffon, Bennett, and other writers. When full grown, it is about the size of a large 

 dog or wolf, but shaggy and ragged in its appearance. The hair is of a rough, wiry texture ; and 

 along the dorsal line, from the head to the insertion of the tail, there runs a coarse, bristly mane, 

 which gives a peculiar character to the back of the animal, to which there is scarcely any thing 

 corresponding among other beasts of prey. The tail is short and bushy, sometimes plain, and 

 sometimes fringed with black. Under the tail there is an orifice, which communicates with a 

 sort of sack or pouch, containing a substance resembling civet, but much more offensive to the 

 smell. The head is broad and flat; the eyes are large, and exhibit a peculiar expression of wild- 

 ness and sullen ferocity. The ground-color of the body is generally of a clear fawn, but there 

 are many varieties of shade in the species. Some are of a deep brown tint, and others brownish 

 gray ; and they are invariably brindled or striped with darker shades. The snout is black and 

 remarkably full ; the legs are very strong, and altogether the animal is very formidable in pro- 

 portion to its size. In the carriage of its head it resembles a dog on the scent ; and when dis- 

 lodged from cover, and obliged to retreat, it limps off at first, seemingly hunch-backed and lame; 

 but when it has measured a short distance, these apparent impediments wear off, and it steps out 

 at a rapid rate. 



The striped hyena is a wild and solitary animal, and chooses for its habitation the most hidden 

 dens and caverns of the earth; and, when nature fails to provide it with a dwelling-place in its 

 favorite locality, it sets to work and excavates a hole in the cleft of a rock, or some other mount- 

 ainous recess, for its own accommodation. The cry it utters is very peculiar. It commences 

 with a low moaning sound, not unlike that of a human being under the influence of pain, and 

 gradually rises into the most loud and violent bellowing. It generally conceals itself during the 

 day-time, and comes forth in the night in quest of its prey. In their roaming for this end, hyenas 

 are peculiarly assiduous and daring, and do not turn aside from obstacles that would be accounted 

 insurmountable by much larger animals. When put to it, they will not shrink from an encounter 

 with the panther, or even the lion himself, and they frequently attack and vanquish the ounce 

 and other animals much larger than themselves. In their nocturnal prowlings, when excited by 

 hunger, they do not hesitate to visit the habitations of man, and the inclosures round these do not 

 always prove a sufficient protection from their savage attacks on such domestic animals as they mark 

 out for their victims. Nor does the sight of man, or the report of fire-arms, always scare them from 

 their prey. The most revolting of all the characteristics in the economy of the hyena, is its sac- 

 rilegious violations of the repositories of the dead ; and what is scarcely less so, is its blood-thirsty 

 propensity of following armies, and of feasting on the remains of those who may be slain in battle. 

 Though, generally speaking, unsocial animals, hyenas have been known to unite in considerable 

 numbers on occasions, such as the watching and dogging of the movements of contending armies, 

 attacking flocks and herds, or when the live-stock of the village is marked out for plunder. .This 

 species seems to be common in most parts of Africa, and especially in the northern and central 

 portions. It often prowls about the towns and villages, and Niebukr tells us that in the Gaboon 

 country, in the summer, when the inhabitants sleep in the open air, it will sometimes snatch away 

 children from the sides of their parents. Travelers in Africa constantly speak of the hyenas that 

 throng about their camps at night, and sometimes destroy their asses, and even horses. It has 



