76 CASSELL'S POPULAR NATURAL HISTORY. 



" gouaa," whieh they often and loudly repeat, so as to be heard at a great distance. There is no very 

 marked ditlerenee in appeai-ancc between the mule and female. 



' a-uani dogs* are a distinct race, and so are the aguara foxes, t according to Colonel Smith. 



The skull of the Abyssinian wolf J is of ex- 

 traordinary length. Several varieties or species of 

 wolf are met with in Asia. The landgah, or Indian 

 wolf, is the Canis pallipes of Sykes, and the tiaccaliw 

 Indicus of Hodgson ; it is an inhabitant of Nepaul. 

 <'unis cancrivorus of Desmarest is found in Guiana, 

 where it preys on agoutis and other feeble creatures, 

 as well as birds, but it will eat also fruits. 



The wolves of Asia Minor are fulvous, but the 

 colour is more predominant, and has more red in it 



SKTI.I, OK AliYSSlSIAN WOLF. ,, , ,1 , n , i T ,. 



than has that ot the Indian wolves. 



Of the Indian wolves, one, the Beriah, is described as being of a light fox colour, inclining to dun, 

 not larger than a greyhound, slenderly made, but bony ; the head and ears long, like those of the 

 jackal, and the tail long, but not very hairy ; the other, which is smaller, Colonel Smith adds to his 

 Lyciscan group. That zoologist refers the black derbourn of the mountains of Arabia and the south 

 of Syria to the wolf. 



THE JACKAL. 



THIS animal i.-, yellowish-gray above and whitish below; the thighs and legs are yellow, the ears are ruddy 

 the muzzle is very pointed, the tail scarcely reaches to the heel, properly so called. The colours some- 

 times vary, and the back and sides are described as of mixed gray and black, and as abruptly and 

 strikingly distinguished from the deep and uniform tawny of the shoulders, haunches, and legs. The 

 head is of nearly the same mixed shade as the upper surface of the body. The pupil of the eye is 

 round, like that of the dog and the wolf. 



The Jackal is distributed over India and many parts of Asia and Africa; but, a.s Cuvier remarks, 

 it is not certain that they are all of the same species. 



The shriek of this animal has often been said to be more terrific than the howl of the hyjena or 

 the roar of the tiger, and it is probably most alarming, from its singular dreariness, amidst the lonely 

 regions in which it is heard. Captain Beechey says, " It has something in it rather appalling, when 

 heard for the first time at night ; and, as they usually come in packs, the first shriek which is uttered 

 is always the signal for a general chorus. We hardly know a sound which partakes less of harmony 

 than that which is at present in question; and, indeed, the sudden burst of the answering long- 

 protracted scream, succeeding immediately to the opening note, is scarcely less impressive than the 

 roll of the thunder-clap immediately after a flash of lightning. The effect of this music is very much 

 increased when the first note is heard in the distance (a circumstance which often occurs), and the 

 answering yell bursts out from several points at once, within a few yards or feet of the place where the 

 auditors are sleeping." 



The jackals form burrows in the earth, assemble together in numerous troops, and have an 

 They howl almost incessantly, and their melancholy cry, which commences at sunset, 

 -vldom ceases till the morning, is a well-known nuisance in eastern lands. 



They follow the footsteps of the greater feline animals, such as the lion and the tiger, for the 



some roppcwe, Of securing the remnants of their prey; but, assuredly, so far from providing 



F beasts, it is believed that they often do all in their power to circumvent and disappoint 



rd, at least, to the tiger, it is well known in India, that, while on ordinary occasions the 



>f a jackal is responded to by all his companions around, till the leafy woods become as 



rfldenuM, there is a peculiar note of warning uttered by one of these creatures on the 



lager, which sinks the voices of all the others into the profoundest silence. 



skafo also enter into cities after dark, for the purpose of preying upon offal, or 

 Dusioyon. t Ordocyon. Smith. t CanU sinus. Rnppell. Canis aureu8. Linnaus. 



