THE GROUP OF THE FOXES. 



iSi 



head is pretty broad and almost spherical, the 

 muzzle narrow, pointed, and furnished with 

 long whiskers. The body is slender, the tail 

 bushy, the limbs short and very thin but well 

 formed, the eyes large with oval pupils. But 

 what chiefly distinguishes the fennek from 

 other animals of its kind are the very large 

 ears in the form of paper-cornets, these ears 

 being in fact longer than the head, inter- 

 nally covered with long silky hairs and 

 almost constantly in motion. 



Like all inhabitants of the desert the 

 fennek has the colour of the ground of 

 these naked wastes: it is grayish-yellow 

 on the back, rather lighter below. The 

 very thick, fine, silky fur is made still 

 thicker in winter by the addition of a 

 warm covering of down. 



The fennek is nocturnal in its habits. 

 It digs very artistic holes for itself, and 

 these it prefers to form among the tufts 

 of alfa-grass. When pursued it escapes 

 from sight by burrowing in the sand with 

 lightning-like rapidity. Its hearing and 

 its smell are alike keen; the slightest 

 noise arrests its attention, and when it 

 has once found a scent it does not easily 

 lose it. Its food consists chiefly of 

 birds, which it surprises in their roosts 

 noiselessly and with admirable skill. "^ 

 Courageous and fierce, this little crea- 

 ture attacks even the tufted fowls of the 

 desert. If it finds nothing better it tries to 

 catch even the agile and wary jerboas, and 

 despises neither lizards nor the larger beetles 

 nor locusts. The dates fallen from the palm- 

 trees are a dainty greatly relished. It appears 

 not to care about carrion, and since it keeps 

 away from settled places and the encamp- 

 ments of the nomads it is scarcely pursued 

 at all. The Arabs who come in contact with 

 Europeans are well aware of the value which 

 the latter place upon these amiable, gentle, 

 and elegant little creatures. In Biskra, for 

 example, fenneks are always offered to trav- 

 ellers for sale, and they readily become at- 



tached to their masters and eagerly respond 

 to their caresses after they have undergone 

 hard treatment and all sorts of privations at 

 the hands of the Arabs. The fennek is fed 

 just like a little dog; but it can scarcely 

 stand the climate of Central Europe, always 

 suffering from frost. Its plaintive sighing 

 voice is like that of a little child. 



Fig. 68. — The Viverra Dog or Tanuki {Nyclcieiites viverrinm). 



A member of the Canida very different 

 in form is the Viverra Dog i^Nydereutes 

 viverrinus), fig. 68, the Tanuki of the Japanese, 

 which inhabits the whole of eastern and 

 middle Asia. The thick body supported by 

 short legs, the very short rounded ears, and 

 the pointed snout give the animal a good 

 deal of resemblance to the Viverrida; while 

 the short rounded tail and the fur covered 

 with long disordered hairs remind us of the 

 badger. The general colour is dark brown, 

 the head and sides of the neck brighter, 

 yellowish, the parts round the eyes and the 

 ridge of the nose almost white. The den- 

 tition is altogether like that of the dogs; the 



