THE GROUP OF THE WOLVES. 



141 



The Jackal, the Dib of the Arabs {C. aureus), 

 is to be seen in Plate VII., where it is repre- 

 sented in company with hyaenas, to which he 

 is said to act as guide. Since he can scent 

 carrion at great distances, the natives main- 

 tain that without his aid the hyaenas would 

 die of hunger in consequence of the dulness 

 of their senses. Is this explanation correct .-• 



I cannot say. But the fact is that when the 

 yelping of jackals is heard, one has not to 

 wait long in order to hear the laughing and 

 harsh cries of the hya;na. 



The stories told by us of the fox are told 

 by the Arabs of the jackal. Among the 

 animals of Northern Africa it is regarded as 

 the type of cunning, malice, treachery, and 



Fig. 60. — The Slender Jackal [Canis atilhus). 



shamelessness. But while our fox carries on 

 its depredations in silence, the jackal has full 

 claim to its Arabic name, which signifies 

 "howler." It is a truly diabolical music, 

 which goes on from sunset to dawn, which 

 has something melancholy and pitiful in its 

 sound, and becomes simply intolerable when 

 the band is numerous and hungry. Some- 

 times the jackals utter a distinct bark. 



The long fur, of a dirty yellow on the bacK, 

 and more copper-coloured on the sides, gives 

 the jackal somewhat of the appearance of the 

 fox, from which it is distinguished, however, 

 by its longer legs and round pupil. It extends 

 from India through Persia and Asia Minor 

 to Northern and Central Africa, and is found 

 also in Greece, and even in Dalmatia; and 



everywhere it is the same animal, universally 

 detested and universally pursued. Of a 

 variety, the Slender Jackal, which some even 

 regard as a species under the name of Canis 

 anthus, a variety recognizable by its gray fur 

 and longer and slimmer legs, an illustration 

 (fig. 60) is furnished for this reason, that the 

 greyhounds of the Arabs (the slugi) are pro- 

 bably descended from it. 



Jackals always assemble in troops, and 

 slay and ravage every creature that they are 

 a match for. Instead of the few domestic 

 fowls, with which, in spite of all their cunning 

 and wiliness, they must for the most part 

 content themselves, they would, no doubt, 

 levy tithes on the goats and sheep of the 

 natives, if it were not for the dogs, which 



