WILD BOAR— JERBOA 



2 5 



Wild Boar. 



Jerboa. 



portions of the north-western corner of the African continent, more especially the 

 eastern side of Algeria. 



True swine are likewise absent from the fauna of Ethiopian 

 Africa, but the forests of Morocco and Algeria are the home of a race 

 of the European wild boar (Sus scrofa ferus), which appears to have but slight 

 claims to distinction from the typical race of this well-known species. 



Leaving the ungulates and turning to the rodents, we find a very 

 characteristic North African species in the Egyptian jerboa (Dipius 

 jacwlus, or Jaculus jaculus), whose range extends from Algeria through Egypt to 

 Algeria. All the jerboas of the same genus are characterised by having only three 

 toes to each hind-foot. In the Egyptian species the head and body measure about 

 7 inches, while the length of the tail is as much 

 as 8 inches. In colour this elegant little rodent 

 is tawny above and white below, with a broad 



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EGYPTIAN JERBOA. 



white stripe on the hind-legs ; the tail being yellowish brown above and whitish 

 beneath, and terminating in a white-tipped black tassel. This jerboa is essentially 

 a desert-animal, and feeds not only on vegetable substances, but also on insects and 

 carrion. It abounds in many districts, and affords food to fennecs, foxes, caracals, 

 and owls, which manage to discover its whereabouts despite the fact that its colour- 

 ing, like that of numerous other animals, such as the desert-lark, desert-courser, and 

 various lizards and snakes, is the same as that of the desert-sand, so that it is 

 recognisable as a living being only at a very short distance. Its extraordinary 

 shyness makes the jerboa — which leads a generally nocturnal life, although often 

 appearing before sunset or even in full sunlight in front of its burrow — disappear 

 into its hole at the slightest noise. According to Arab report, several jerboas 

 excavate their holes in company by means of their incisor teeth and small fore-feet, 

 the latter of which are scarcely visible when the animal is jumping, or walking. If 

 they have left their holes at a certain distance and are suddenly startled, they run, 



