HUNTING-DOG— LARGE-EARED FOX 



75 



get hold, and soon bring the unfortunate animal to the ground, when they com- 

 mence their feast. Should the pack surprise a herd of smaller antelopes, they kill 

 a number, and satiate themselves on the flesh, leaving the tendons and bones for the 

 vultures. These clogs lead, on the whole, a nocturnal life, although they hunt also 

 by day ; and inflict much damage on the herds of the colonists and natives, killing 

 and mangling many more sheep than they can devour. They are said to bite sleep- 

 ing oxen on the tail, and show the greatest contempt for the dogs of the owners 

 of the herds, upon which they make combined attacks. Domesticated dogs display 

 their antipathy by barking for hours when they hear the cries of their wild 



LARGE-EARED FOXE8. 



Large-Eared Fox. 



relatives in the distance. The females give birth to their pups in burrows, which 

 they do not hesitate to forsake on the approach of human beings. 



The last member of the African representatives of the dog-tribe 

 ' is the remarkable large-eared fox (Otocyon megalotis),a, species differing 

 from all others by the unusually large number of its cheek-teeth, and hence assigned 

 to a genus by itself. Its range is extensive, extending from Cape Colony and 

 German West Africa through the Transvaal, Rhodesia, and east Central Africa to 

 Somaliland. In appearance it much resembles a fennec, its ears being unusually large 

 and the tail very bushy. In colour it is not unlike the side-striped jackal, but the 

 under-fur is pale yellow instead of pale purple. In length it is about 25 inches 

 to the root of the tail, which measures another 13 inches and has its terminal third 



