114 WILD ANIMALS. 



At one time — in fact the idea lias hardly died out yet — the 

 hyaena was considered to be a perfectly untamable animal, 

 being of so cruel and fierce a disposition that kindness of treat- 

 ment was entirely lost upon it ; but this is entirely an error, for 

 no wild animal submits to man's control more readily. In India 

 it is frequently domesticated and trained to perform the duties 

 of a watch- dog. In Africa, at the Cape, the spotted hyaena 

 is also very easily tamed, and the colonists treat it exactly as 

 they would a dog. It is also a much more, agreeable companion 

 than the Indian's friend, for it does not possess the subcaudal 

 gland, and, as a consequence, is not so offensive to the olfactory 

 nerves. Barrow^ states that the cadaverous crocuta had lately 

 been domesticated in the Snewberg, South Africa, and that it 

 was considered to be a splendid hunter after game, and as 

 faithful and diligent as any of the common sort of domestic dog. 



These tame hyenas exhibit one feature in a very marked 

 manner : they require complete liberty of action, which, strange 

 to say, they show no signs of abusing ; but if confined or couped 

 up in dens or cages they become surly at once and get dangerous 

 from irritation. Hence, probably, the general idea respecting 

 their untamableness, for the animals seen in menageries are fre- ' 

 quently madly ferocious in consequence of their cruel confinement 

 in the limited space usually allotted to them. 



" A hygena at Exeter change some years ago was so tame 

 as to be allowed to walk about the exhibition-room. He was 

 afterwards sold to a person who permitted him to go out with him 

 into the. fields, led by a string. After these indulgences, he 

 became the property of a travelling showman, who kept him con- 

 stantly in a cage. From that time his ferocity became quite 

 alarming ; he would allow no stranger to approach him, and he 

 gradually pined away and died." ^ 



' " An account of Travels in South Africa," 1801. 2 " The Menagerie." 



