2 3 8 



THE URVA, OR CRAB-EATING ICHNEUMON. 



in the same cage, have lost a large portion of their tails by the teeth of their comrades. 

 Still it is very playful, and sports with its companions in a curiously kitten-like man- 

 ner. 



It is extremely active with its fore-paws, armed as they are with their long claws, and 

 scratches in a very absurd and amusing manner at anything that may take its atten- 

 tion. It is a very agile climber, running over the bars of its cage and up the tree- 

 branches with great ease and rapidity, and can spring upon an object from some distance, 

 and with admirable accuracy of aim. The eye of this animal is of a light brown, and 

 very brilliant. 



THE RIGHT-HAND figure upon the same engraving represents the GARANGAN, or Jav- 

 anese Ichneumon. As is evident by the name, it is an inhabitant of Java. In size 

 it equals the last mentioned animal. Its color is nearly uniform, and consists of a 

 bright rich chestnut on the body, and a lighter fawn color on the head, throat, and 

 under parts of the body. 



This little animal is found in great numbers inhabiting the teak forests, where it 



finds ample subsistence in the snakes, birds, and small quadrupeds. The natives assert 



whether truly or not that when it attacks a snake it employs a ruse similar to that 



which is often used by a horse when it objects to being saddled. It is said to puff up its 





URVA, OR CRAB-EATING ICHNEUMON. Urva caacrlvora. 



\ 



body, and to induce the snake to twine itself round its inflated person. It then suddenly 

 contracts itself, slips from the reptile's coils, and darts upon its neck. There is some 

 foundation for this assertion in the fact that the Garangan, in common with others of the 

 same genus, does possess the power of inflating and contracting its body with great 

 rapidity ; so much so, indeed, that during life it is not easy to measure the creature. 



Although it is tolerably susceptible of education, it is rarely kept tame by the natives, 

 because it is liable to occasional fits of rage, and when thus excited can inflict very 

 painful wounds with its sharp teeth. Moreover, it is too fond of poultry to be trusted 

 near the henroosts. 



The URVA is easily distinguished from the preceding and the following animals by 

 the narrow stripe of long white hairs that runs from the angle of the mouth to the 

 shoulders, contrasting very decidedly with the grayish-brown tint of the rest of the fur. 

 Some very faintly marked darker bars are drawn on the body, and the tail is marked 

 with three or four faint transverse bars. This member is more bushy at the base than 

 towards the extremity. The feet and legs are of a uniform dark tint. 



THE ICHNEUMONS appear to be the very reptiles of the mammalian animals, in form, 

 habits, and action, irresistibly reminding the spectator of the serpent. Their sharp and 



