98 Anecdotal Natural History, 



The well-known DINGO (Cants dingo] of Australia 

 must not be passed by without mention. 



This animal is hot thought to be an indigenous in- 

 habitant of the continent it inhabits, inasmuch as all 

 Australian mammals seem to be marsupials, but is 

 supposed to have been imported from some unknown 

 source many years ago. It is rather a handsome 

 animal, being of a rich reddish-brown colour, sprinkled 

 with blackish hairs over the greater part of the body ; 

 the ears are short and erect, and the tail is thick and 

 bushy, almost as much so as the well-known ' brush ' 

 of the fox. 



To the colonists and farmers of Australia the dingo 

 is an unmitigated pest, ravaging the flocks night after 

 night, and committing incalculable damage in a very 

 short space of time. As many as twelve hundred sheep 

 and lambs have been stolen from a single colony by 

 these animals in the course of three months. And the 

 cunning of the dingo, being little inferior to that 

 of the fox, renders it a very difficult matter for the 

 settlers to protect their herds from the attacks of the 

 wily foe. 



Like the dhole of India, the dingo hunts in large 

 packs, each of which has its appointed sphere of action, 

 and never trespasses into the district of another band. 

 When attacked by human foes, it shows little inclina- 

 tion to fight except when brought to bay, when it will 

 attack its pursuers with great ferocity. 



Various attempts have been made to domesticate 

 the dingo, and with partial success ; but its temper is 

 always very uncertain, and it is always apt to attack 

 any passing human being, its own master not excepted, 

 without the slightest provocation or apparent cause. 



LEAVING the dogs themselves, we come to the 

 closely allied JACKALS, which are found in many parts 

 of the African and Asiatic continents. There are 



