508 CARNIVORES. 
ever they approached. One of these tame jackals would answer to its name, 
“ Mbulu,” and was remarkable for the cleanliness of its habits, being particularly 
averse to getting its feet wetted by rain, seeking during showers the sheiter of the 
huts. As a rule, it never sat down on its haunches after the manner of a dog, 
but would lie at full length, with its nose resting between its fore-paws, and would 
generally select a sunny spot, where it lay blinking in the sunlight. 
THE DINGO (Canis dingo). 
Were it not for the fact that Australia has so few native Mammals, which do 
not belong to the Marsupial group, the dingo would unhesitatingly have been 
regarded as an aboriginal inhabitant of the country where it is found; in which 
case it would rank as what we may call a natural species. The improbability of 
Australia possessing a native placental mammal of such large size as the dingo is, 
however, so great as to induce the belief that the animal was introduced by man, 
and hence that it originated from some of the dogs of Asia. This supposed 
introduction must, however, have taken place at so early a date that there has been 
considerable hesitation among some zoologists in admitting any such origin; and 
certainly the recent arguments in favour of its being an indigenous species have 
very great weight. Be, however, its origin what it may, there can be no doubt 
that the dingo is the only true dog now found in a wild state. 
The dingo is an animal of smaller size than a wolf, with moderately tall legs, 
a long and somewhat bushy tail, a broad and short muzzle, and well-developed ears. 
In regard to colour, Prof. Mivart remarks that “the dingo varies in its coloration 
from red to black. There is a greyish under-fur, but, save in the black variety, 
the long hairs are generally yellow or whitish. The top of the head and dorsal 
region generally are of a darker reddish yellow, often intermixed with black. The 
under-parts are paler and may be whitish. The end of the tail is very often white, 
as are frequently the feet, and sometimes the muzzle, though this is also sometimes 
black. The animal may be of a uniformly light reddish or yellowish brown, save 
that it is paler beneath, on the outside of the fore-legs, below the elbow, as well as 
on the inner side of the limbs and on the cheeks.” 
The dingo is found in wooded districts throughout Australia, and in many 
such situations is extremely numerous; although the Government reward for its 
destruction has in other parts led to a considerable diminution in its numbers. 
It is a terrible foe to sheep, killmg and mangling a far greater number than it 
eats; and it is equally destructive to poultry. On account of these depredations, 
the colonists wage a war of extermination against it, large numbers being poisoned 
with strychnine. 
In mode of life and habits Brehm compares the dingo to the 
fox rather than the wolf. It is shy and retiring, rarely seen during 
the daytime, and pursuing its work of devastation during the night. It is but 
seldom found in large numbers together, parties of from five to six individuals 
—generally consisting of a mother and her cubs—being the most common. 
Occasionally, however, troops of from eighty to one hundred individuals have 
been seen. Each family is stated to have a strictly detined area, beyond which 
Habits. 
