488 CARNIVORES. 



Needless to sa}', the sutferings of the poor brute were soon terminated by a. 

 bullet. Altliough, owing to their nocturnal habits, hyaenas are seldom seen, j-et 

 in some parts, of India, from the multitude of their tracks, they must be very common. 

 These tracks, as Mr. Blauford observes, are like those of a dog, from which they 

 may, however, be distinguished by the small size of the prints of the hind as 

 compared with those of the fore-feet. 



The Brown Hy^na {Hycena brunnea). 



The brown hyffina is far less well known than either of the other li\'ing 

 species. Although in most respects more nearlj- allied to the striped hyaena, it 

 exhibits some points of affinity with the spotted specie.?. It is characteiised by 

 the long mantle of coarse hair, depending from the neck and back, and reaching 

 below the belly, as is well shown in our illustration on p. 487. The ears are long 

 and pointed, and the tail is short ami bushy. The general colour of the long liair 

 is unifonn dark brown, with lighter brown or wliitish jjatches on the legs; while 

 the head is dark greyish-brown, and the forehead black, sprinkled with whitish 

 or reddisli-brown. The long hair of the back is whitish-grey at the root, and 

 blackish-brown above. The legs are striped. In size tliis species is about the 

 same as the striped hj'sena. 



The brown hj-iena is a South African species, ranging on the East Coast as 

 far as Kilima-njaro, wliile on the west side it may extend as far noi'th as 

 Mossamedes. It does not ever appear to be found at any great distance from the 

 coast. It is doubtless this .species, referred to by Mr. H. H. Johnston as the striped 

 hyaena, which is common on the flanks of Kilima-njaro, up which it ascends to a 

 consideraljle elevation ; the spotted hyaena being confined to the plains. In its pre- 

 ference for rocky spots in that ilistrict it, therefore, resembles the striped hy^na. 



The Spotted Hy.exa {Hyana crocuta). 



The African spotted hyajna is Iw far the largest and most powerful of 

 the three living species, dift'ering from the others not onl3- in several structural 

 features, but also by its habit of associating in packs, and of giving utterance more 

 frequently to its unearthly cry. 



Externall}' the spotted lij'wna is distinguished bj' its rounded and moderate- 

 sized ears, by the absence of a crest of long hairs along the neck and back, and the 

 sliorter and less hairj' tail. i\Ioreover, the hind feet are relatively larger in 

 proportion to the fore-feet, and the front and hind-legs are more neai'lj' equal in 

 length: the hind -limbs being less bent than in the other speciea The ground- 

 colour of the fur of the body is yellowish, and upon it are dark brown spots ; 

 the front of the face and the lower portions of the limbs being also dark. 



In addition to certain structural features of the soft parts, into the considera- 

 tion of which it would be out of place to enter here, the spotted hyaena is 

 distinguished by the characters of its teeth. As these have been ali-eady 

 partially described (p. 485), it will suffice to mention that the upper molar-tooth, 

 situated on the inner side of the exceedingly elongated flesh-tooth, has a very 



