MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 551 



dog of mine, who gave chase, with the result that a big greyhound followed 

 more expeditiously. I took little notice of the incident, as the country was 

 not rideable. A few minutes later I recognised the bark of my greyhound 

 followed immediately after — to my surprise— by the well-known cry of 

 the Kol-Bhalu. 



I have always been anxious to ascertain what this animal was, so lost no 

 time in running to the spot. On arrival I found a jackal "at bay" with the 

 greyhound barking; on one side and the " Brinjara " dog silent on the other. 

 On seeing me the jackal gave utterance to that weird well-known agonizing- 

 cry and tried to escape, charging both dogs alternately. 



Being now very anxious to secure the skin, I followed on foot to a "nulla," 

 100 yards off, where the jackal was knocked down by the greyhound for the 

 fourth time and brought to as tandstill. Again the brute gave vent to its cha- 

 racteristic cry. I was at this time not more-4han ten paces off. Up to this 

 point in the proceedings the " Brinjara" — a young dog — refused to tackle, but 

 seeing the greyhound, at my direct instigation, " go in," hesitated no longer, 

 with the result that a very fine full-grown male jackal, apparently in the 

 prime of life and in first rate condition, was brought to bag. There was, as 

 far as I could see, no distinguishing feature about this jackal whatever, and 

 ihis particular case does away, to a great extent, with the supposition that 

 the Kol-Bhalu is an aged, toothless, and mangy solitary rambler, and while 

 showing that he is in no hurry to escape from dogs, also does away with his 

 ■supposed invulnerability from this source of attack. 



It is a trifle mysterious therefore why one jackal out of hundreds should 

 develop quite a distinct call, unless we assume that the formation of its vocal 

 organ is different. At present, however, there are no grounds for this assump- 

 tion, and being absolutely ignorant of the anatomical structure of jackals I 

 am unable to throw further light on the matter. 



The fact remains that there is not only something very peculiar in the cry of 

 the Kol-Bhalu, but that the cry is sometimes productive of peculiar results. 



I can recall two instances in particular which indirectly tend to corroborate 

 the assertion often made by excellent native shikaris and by forest guards, that 

 the Kol-Bhalu is the forerunner of a panther and tiger. 



On one occasion near Mandvi (Surat) its cry was followed shortly after by 

 the appearance of a panther in the " kill." As this " kill " was the property of 

 the panther— inasmuch as a right had been established to it on well-known 

 sporting principles — it is of course quite possible the panther would have 

 turned up without the cry. 



On the other occasion in Baglan (Nasik) the Kol-Bhalu's cry was followed 

 by the roaring of a panther within 100 yards of my tree. This panther refused 

 to rise " to the bait." 



From the first case it looks as if the panther refused to take the warning, and 

 from the second, as if having made a mental note of the warning, he felt 



