78 THE RATEL. 



and which exhibit a carnivorous character scarcely, if at all, in- 

 ferior to that which is evidenced by the same organs in the 

 hyaena, should subsist only on the rapine of a hive of bees, and 

 the honied produce of their comb. Still there exist such decisive 

 marks of a diminished capacity for preying on animal food in 

 the thick-set and clumsy form of its body, the shortness of its 

 limbs, its partially plantigrade walk, the structure of its claws, 

 the elongation of its muzzle, and even in the form of the teeth 

 themselves, as to induce us to pause before we determine to 

 reject the general testimony as worthy of credit, although we 

 must regard it as doubtful on some particular points, and insuf- 

 ficient and imperfect on the whole."* 



The above traveller says, on the authority of the Hottentots 

 and Dutch Colonists, that at sunset when the ratel requires 

 food, it sits upon the ground with one paw raised, so as to 

 shade its eyes from the rays of the sun, and peers cautiously 

 on either side of its paw, until it perceives several bees flying 

 in one direction. It then keeps its eye upon them, and follows 

 them to their nest, which is generally in some hole in the 

 ground. Having reached the nest, it immediately begins to 

 pillage it, using the claws of its fore-feet to remove the inter- 

 vening earth. When the bee's nest is in a hollow tree, the 

 ratel, being unable to climb, becomes enraged, and wreaks its 

 vengeance by biting round the trunk j and the Hottentots know 

 well that the marks thus produced on the lower part of the 

 tree, are sure signs of the presence of a bee's nest. It is said 

 that the ratel, like those extraordinary people, is sometimes led 

 to the discovery of a bee's nest by observing the flight of the 

 honey-cuckoo (Cuculus Indicator}. The toughness of the ratel's 

 hide protects it, no doubt, from the stings of the bees. 



In Central Africa it is reported to be so ferocious as, at 

 certain seasons, to venture singly to attack a man; but the 

 natives of those parts informed Major Denham, that one blow 

 on its nose will kill it almost instantly : which is probably owing 

 to the thinness of the skull adjoining the nasal bone. 

 * Zoological Gardens Delineated, vol. i. p. 13. 



