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fell upon it, and instead of continually wishing it out of your 

 sight, you would, ever and auon, just for old times' sake, feel like 

 patting it on the head, with the wish that you had the power to 

 restore it to life. 



A Jackal has always reminded me of our well-known Coyote 

 (Ganis latrcms), with a strong dash of the fox and dog in it; in- 

 deed, not a few of our naturalist friends in Europe are of the 

 opinion that several of the partly domesticated breeds of dogs 

 in northern Africa and in Asia are derived from the common 

 Jackal (Ganis aureus). Canine in anatomical structure, it is also 

 largely canine in external appearance ; and in the region they in- 

 habit there are several well-marked varieties of them. Accord- 

 ing to a good authority at hand, the Jackal resembles any of the 

 foxy types of dogs " in dentition, in the roundness of its eye 

 pupils, in its period of gestation, and to a large extent also in 

 its habits, while, like the dog, it is subject to hydrophobia. It 

 grows to a height of 15 inches at the shoulders, and to a length 

 of about two feet, exclusive of its bushy, fox-like tail. Its fur is 

 of a grayish yellow color, darker on the back and lighter colored 

 beneath. An excresence consisting of a horny cone, half an inch 

 in length, and concealed by a tuft of hair, is, according to Emer- 

 son Tennant, sometimes found on the head of the Jackal. The 

 Singhalese aver that it is only found on the leader of the pack, 

 and they esteem it as an invaluable talisman.'' 



Gregarious by nature, rapacious, cunning, and thieving, these 

 animals are a perfect pest to man throughout the country where 

 they occur. Poultry suffer especially, though the pack will not 

 hesitate to attack the larger quadrupeds or make prey of the 

 smaller varieties. They hunt chiefly at night, hiding in the 

 jungle during the daytime. A pack may consist of as many as 

 250 individuals; so when a raid is instituted upon the farmyard 

 by such a canine battalion, flock and fowl usually suffer pretty 

 severely. In the absence of fresh food a Jackal will eat carrion, 

 and so they score at least one point in their favor by becoming at 

 times useful scavengers. When carrion and live stock are both 

 absent, these fellows quickly take to grapes and other small 

 fruits, and so the vineyards and orchards suffer instead of the 

 farmyards and sheep pens. A hyama-like cry, peculiar and pierc- 

 ing, is possessed by this animal, and when a whole pack opens in 

 chorus at night the effect is more or less blood-curdling and 

 alarming. Captain "Beechey notices it as having something 



