AND DESERTS 125 



regions, its distribution being probably determined by 

 the double need of avoiding the proximity of its per- 

 sistent enemy, man, and of following its natural prey, 

 the larger ungulates. Of the smaller cat-Uke forms, the 

 mongooses are groiznd animals, usually haunting open 

 country, and avoiding dense forests. An allied form, 

 the meerkat (Suricata tetradactyla) haunts sandy ground 

 in Cape Colony, where the savanas pass into steppes. 

 Like most of the smaller mammalia of open country 

 this animal is a burrower, making deep holes in 

 the sandy veldt with its sharp foreclaws. Another 

 adaptation to hfe in this region is shown by the fact 

 that it feeds chiefly upon the bulbs and roots of 

 the veldt plants, which store water in their under- 

 groimd parts during the time of drought. Another 

 steppe or savana form of wider distribution is the 

 aard-wolf (Proteles cristatus), a burrowing animal, with 

 weak teeth, which seems to feed largely upon termites, 

 and inhabits open country throughout the southern 

 half of Africa, with a northern hmit apparently in 

 Somaliland, where it has been once found. The hyaenas 

 are also inhabitants of savana country, the spotted 

 hyaena of Africa being often found in the same districts 

 as the lion, upon which it is partly dependent, in that 

 it obtains the remainder of the ' kill ', when the nobler 

 animal has satisfied its hunger. 



As a rule the members of the dog alliance inhabit 

 open coimtry, as the common habit of hunting in packs 

 suggests. A considerable number occur in the tropics, 

 and may therefore be included in the fauna of deserts 

 and savanas. We may note especially the African 

 jackals, which hunt in packs and feed upon rodents, or 

 the smaller ungulates, or sick or wounded members of 

 the larger species. An interesting desert species is the 



