WILD ANIMALS. 433 



wooden mortar with his bludgeon,, and boils his pot be- 

 tween two stones, over a fire lighted with tinder and 

 composed of dry shrubs or camels' dung. 



SECTION IV. ZOOLOGY. 



Wild Animals The zoology of Arabia differs but little 



from that of other Eastern countries. Most of the ani- 

 mals found there being described in works which are fa- 

 miliar to the reader, it will not be necessary here to en- 

 ter into any lengthened details on their natural history. 

 Lions, leopards, panthers, lynxes, wolves, foxes, boars, 

 antelopes, and various domestic animals in a wild state, 

 iare to be met with in almost every district in the penin- 

 sula. The small panther (called fath} is more common 

 than the large one (the nemer of the Arabs) ; but it is 

 not regarded with the same terror, as it only carries away 

 cats and dogs, never venturing to attack man. It is the 

 Felis jubata or hunting-tiger of naturalists. The jack- 

 all (el vavi) abounds in the mountains; but its habits 

 and appearance are too well known to require particular 

 notice. The hyena inhabits the solitary caverns of the 

 Petraean range, and is also common round the shores 

 of the Persian Gulf. It assails men and beasts with the 

 same ferocity : stealing out at night, it seizes on the na- 

 tives who sleep in the open air, and frequently carries 

 off children from beside their parents. In the forests of 

 Yemen, and on the hills around Aden, are swarms of 

 monkeys without tails, and whose hind quarters are of 

 a bright red. They are extremely docile, and learn 

 readily any tricks that are attempted to be taught them. 

 On this account vast numbers of them are exported to 

 Egypt, Persia, and Syria, where itinerant jugglers make 

 a livelihood by exhibiting them to the people. The 

 sandy plains, and the valleys of the mountains, are 

 stocked with gazelles. So common is this beautiful crea- 

 ture, that as a beast of chase it furnishes amusement 

 and food for the Arabs of the desert, and supplies the 

 poets with many of their finest similitudes. On the 

 eastern frontier there are several places allotted for the 

 hunting of this animal, enclosed with a high wall. Gaps 

 are left, with a broad ditch on the outside, where they 

 are caught in hundreds while attempting to escape. The 

 rock-goats (Capra Ibex, the steinbok or bouquetin of the 



