ASIATIC WIID DOGS. 549 



ancestral stock of any of the domestic dogs, the name " %vild dog " is to a certain 

 degree a misnomer. 

 Siberian Wild This species is an inhabitant of Northern Asia, extending from 



''•'&• the country from which it derives its name, at least as far southwards 



as the Altai mountains, and probably still further. It ma}- be distinguished from 

 the following species by the circumstance that its molar teeth, especially those of the 

 upper jaw, are of larger size. Like its southern cousin, the Siberian wild dog is 

 subject to seasonal and individual variations in the colour of its fur. In summer 

 it seems to be generally of a foxy-red colour, becoming darker on the back and 

 lighter on the under-parts and the inner .surfaces of the limbs. There are, how- 

 ever, two skins in the British Museum characterised by their long and woolly 

 hair, of which the colour iu one is white, and in the other a yellowish white ; and 

 these may be presumed to indicate the winter dress. 



Accor'ling to Rade, the Siberian wild dog is a forest-loving animal ; generally 

 frequenting mountains like those on the east bank of the Yenesei where forests 

 are abundant, but occasionally appearing on the open steppes. It is locally 

 distributed ; and while in some localities it preys largely upon deer, in others 

 it is in the habit of hunting ibex. In the Altai these dogs go in troops of from 

 ten to fifteen, or more individuals, led by an old male ; and where they hunt deer 

 it is generally hinds or young animals that they select for pursuit. So incessant 

 is their persecution of the deer that they will sometimes cause them to completely 

 desert certain localities ; this having taken place in the year 18.59 in the valley of 

 the Irkut. 



The Indian wild dog (C deccanensin) is perhaps the best known 

 member of the group, and is distinguished fi'om the preceding species 

 bj- the smaller size of its molar teeth. Like the others, its general build is more 

 jackal-like than wolf-like ; this being especially .shown by the comparative 

 shortness of the legs. It agi'ees with the Siberian species in the length of the 

 fur, and in the presence, at least in Himalayan examples, of a thick and woolly 

 under-fur. The general colour of the fur of the upper-parts is a nisty red, 

 varying iu some specimens to a rufous, or even a light brownish grej' ; the under- 

 parts being paler. GeneraUj^ the end of the tail is black, but its extreme tip may 

 occasionally be whitish. The young are of a uniform sooty-bro^vn colour. A 

 specimen measured by Hodgson had a length of 37 i inches, exclusive of the tail ; 

 the latter measuring Hh inches with the hair and 8 inches without the same. 

 This wild dog is found throughout the forest-clad portions of the Himalaya, from 

 Kashmir to Assam, and in Gilgit, Ladak, and Eastern Tibet. Southwards of 

 the Himalaya, it is found in the larger forests of India, although it is 

 unknown in Ceylon. In inhabiting alike the forest of peninsular India and the 

 forest-clad regions of the Himalaya, as well as the treeless districts of Tibet, the 

 Indian wild dog presents an instance precisely analogous to that of the lyax, 

 already noticed. Hodgson, who alludes to the animal by the Himalayan name of 

 buan.su, states that although the Indian wild dog is "not deficient in speed or 

 power of leaping, yet his motions all appear to be heavy, owing to the measured 

 uniformity of his pace. He runs in a lobbing long canter, is unapt at the double, 

 and upon the whole is somewhat less agile and speed}' than the jackal, and very 



