There seems to be little known about 

 the brown hyena. It is found in a com- 

 paratively small region and is in some 

 respects like the spotted hyena though it 

 is smaller, being about the size of the 

 Striped Hyena. 



The spotted hyena is the largest of the 

 three, the most ferocious, stupid and 

 cruel. Owing to the legs being nearly 

 of the same length it is less awkward 

 than the striped species. 



There are no animals about whom there 

 are so many superstitions. Even Pliny, 

 writing in the first century, tells us that 

 it "imitates the human voice among the 

 stalls of the shepherds; and while there 

 learns the name of some one of them, 

 and then calls him away and devours 

 him." It is also said that coming in con- 

 tact with its shadow, dogs will lose their 

 voice, and that, by certain magical influ- 

 ence ''it can render any animal immova- 

 ble round which it has walked three 

 times." The Arabs ''beHeve that people 

 who partake of the brain of the hyena be- 

 come insane, and the head of a hyena 

 is always buried lest it should be used 

 by wicked sorcerers for their diabolical 

 charms." 



They also believe that the hyena ''are 

 sorcerers in disguise, who assume human 

 shape by day and prowl around as hyenas 

 by night, working destruction upon good 

 people." 



The stories of the body snatching pro- 

 pensities of the Striped Hyena are much 

 exaggerated. If this occurs at all it is 

 when the body is very lightly covered 

 with sand and when other food is lack- 

 ing. 



The dislike for the hyena seems to 

 exist wherever the animal is found. In 

 many parts of India, when killed, the 

 body is treated with every mark of in- 

 dignity and then burned. 



And yet the striped species is capable 

 of great attachment. Colonel Sykes 

 states that "in certain districts in central 

 India it is as susceptible of domestica- 

 tion as ordinary dogs." And Dr. Brehm, 

 who found every created animal inter- 

 esting, once had two young hyenas for 

 pets; but I will give the narration in his 

 own words. "A few days after our first 



arrival in Khartoum we purchased two 

 young hyenas for a price equal to twenty- 

 five cents in American money. The ani- 

 mals were about the size of a half-grown 

 terrier, clothed in a very soft, fine woolly 

 fur of dark gray hue and they were very 

 spiteful, notwithstanding they had en- 

 joyed human society for some time. We 

 put them in a stable and I visited them 

 daily. At first they were addicted to 

 vicious biting, but repeated sound blows 

 overawed their resistance, and three 

 months after the day of purchase I could 

 play with them as I would with a dog, 

 without having to fear any mischief on 

 their part. Their affection for me in- 

 creased every day and they were over- 

 joyed when I visited them. When they 

 were more than half grown they signified 

 their pleasure in a very strange manner. 

 As soon as I entered the room they 

 rushed at me with a joyous howl, put 

 their fore paws on my shoulder and 

 sniffed my face. 



"Later on I led them by a single string 

 through the streets of Cairo, to the horror 

 of all good citizens. 



"They were so affectionate that they 

 often paid me a call without being invited 

 and it made a surprising as well as un- 

 canny impression on strangers to see us 

 at the tea table. Each of us had a hyena 

 at his side and the animal sat on his 

 liaunches as quietly and sensibly as a well 

 behaved dog who pleads for a few scraps 

 at the table. The hyena did that also, 

 and their gentle request consisted of a 

 low but very hoarse cry. They expressed 

 their gratitude either by the same sounds 

 and actions they used in greeting me as 

 above described, or by sniffing my hands. 

 "They were passionately fond of sugar, 

 but also had a great liking for bread, 

 especially if it was soaked in tea. Their 

 usual food was Pariah dogs, which we 

 shot for the purpose. My pets were on 

 good terms with each other. If one were 

 absent for any considerable length of 

 time there was great joy when the two 

 met again ; in shorty they proved to me 

 quite conclusively that even hyenas are 

 capable of warm attachment." 



John Ainslte. 



180 



