ANIMALS WHICH SHAM DEATH 27 



serim, this tiny creature is little larger than a wild 

 rabbit. The prevailing colour of its coat is of a 

 bright rufous tint, but the under parts of the body 

 are white, and the throat is decorated with streaks 

 of brown and white. 



In the fairy stories of the Malay natives, the 

 kanchil is represented as an example of a weak, 

 defenceless but cunning creature that is able to 

 outwit its larger and stronger foes by means of its 

 superior brain power. It has even been reported 

 in all seriousness that the animal, when chased by 

 dogs, will take an upward leap towards a branch 

 of a tree, from which it will remain suspended by 

 its projecting tusks until its persecutors have de- 

 parted. We do not care, however, to vouch for 

 the veracity of this statement. 



Although the chevrotains are regarded as having 

 arisen from the same ancestral stock as the deer, 

 and were formerly grouped in zoological classifica- 

 tion with the musk-deer, owing to the males posses- 

 sing projecting tusks of a simUar nature to those 

 of the latter creature, yet further investigation has 

 revealed several peculiarities in their internal 

 structure which entitles them to rank as a distinct 

 family. 



The true chevrotains, of which there are five 

 species, are all inhabitants of Asia, their range 

 extending through India, the Malay Archipelago, 

 and the Philippines. The Indian species {Tragulus 

 memmina) is readily distinguished from aU others on 

 account of its coat being decorated with white spots, 

 while the Malay chevrotain (Tragulus napii) claims 



