Gituies.— Notes on some Changes in the Fauna of Otago. 823 . 
as the “ wild dog." In 1858 my brother and I took up country in the Manio- 
toto Plains, and decided upon stocking it with sheep as soon as possible. 
. We selected the Shag Valley as the route by which to approach the interior, 
and it took us several months to form a track before our bullock dray could 
reach the plains, The furthest back settler at that time was Mr. Charles 
Hopkinson, whose station was on the spot at Waihemo upon which Colonel 
Kitchener’s house is now built. Mr. Hopkinson, who had visited the plains, 
was of opinion that the wild dogs would be found to be very troublesome to 
the sheep, and he advised us to get kangaroo dogs for the purpose of keeping 
them down. These we were fortunate enough to obtain, and they proved 
of infinite service to us as hunters. In the spring of 1858 we encountered 
the first wild dog when camped at the Swinburn on the east side of the 
Maniototo Plains. He was soon brought down by the kangaroos, one of 
which had tasted dingo blood in Australia. This particular wild dog was 
yellow in colour, and so was the second we killed, but the bulk of those 
ultimately destroyed by us were black and white, showing a marked mixture 
of the collie. The yellow dogs looked like a distinct breed. They were low 
set with short prick ears, broad forehead, sharp snout, and bushy tail. 
Indeed, those acquainted with the dingo professed to see little difference 
between that animal and the New Zealand yellow wild dog. It may be 
remarked, however, that most of the other dogs we killed, although variously 
coloured, possessed nearly all the other characteristics of the yellow dog. 
The wild dog, of course, at once proved himself to be the natural enemy 
of the sheep. Fortunately, however, during the two years which marked 
their presence in the district, we sustained no very great loss from his 
ravages. This was due partly to the constant watchfulness of the shepherds 
and to the cireumstance of the flocks being depastured on comparatively 
level country. The wild dogs were generally to be met with in twos or 
threes; they fed chiefly on quail, ground larks, young ducks, and 
occasionally on pigs. On one occasion, when riding through the Ida-burn 
Valley we came across four wild dogs baiting a sow and her litter of young 
ones in a dry tussocky lagoon. To our annoyance, our own dogs joined in 
the attack upon the sow, and the wild dogs got away without our getting 
one of them. We invariably found, however, when hunting the wild dog 
on a scent that our kangaroos would leave it, if crossed by the fresh scent 
of a wild pig. 
That the yellow dog already referred to is the remnant of a breed which 
has existed in New Zealand, I think there can be no doubt. In addition to 
the evidence which has already been brought to bear in proof of this 
supposition, I may mention that, about twelve years ago, the jaw-bone of 
a dog was found in an old Maori oven, some few hundred yards from our 
