100 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD 



hunt for food by day, as it is recorded to be in the habit of discovering 

 carrion by watching and following the flight of its fellow scavengers 

 the Vultures, which are strictly diurnal birds. It shamelessly poaches 

 on the " kill " of the Lion, and sometimes pays with its life for its 

 audacity, if the outraged monarch takes it by surprise. 



When I was in East Africa in 1892, the laugh of the beast might then 

 be heard quite close to bungalows on the little island of Mombasa, then 

 mostly covered with bush, and even harbouring Lions occasionally. 



In captivity this Hyaena seems rather more tameable than the 

 striped species ; owing to its laughing note it is a popular exhibit, and 

 it has bred both on the Continent and in our Zoological Gardens. 



THE AARD-WOLF 



(Proteles cristatus) 



The curious South-African animal known by this name and sometimes 

 as " Maanhaar Jackal" (Maned Jackal) is a near ally of the Hyaenas, 

 though usually placed in a separate family (Proteleidez). In general 

 appearance it is like an under-sized striped Hyaena, but is bigger than 

 a Fox, and has a narrow muzzle and a rather long bushy tail. Its 

 grinding teeth are very unlike the great bone-crushers of the Hyaenas, 

 being remarkably small, weak, and set far apart. Its food is chiefly 

 insects and carrion, but of late years it has developed the habit of 

 attacking lambs, and is hence in great disfavour with Cape farmers. 

 Like Hyaenas, it lives in burrows or dens underground. One very 

 curious point it has in common with the Hyaenas is its habit of going 

 down on its fore-knees when fighting, Hyaenas doing this with a view 

 to saving their paws from the terrible teeth of their assailant. 



In internal characters the Aard-Wolf somewhat approaches the 

 Civets, and forms a link between them and the Hyaenas proper ; it is 

 interesting to note that some of the oldest naturalists described the 

 common scent-producing Civet as the " Odoriferous Hyaena." The 

 Aard-Wolf bears captivity well, and, although not common in that 

 condition, has several times been exhibited at our Zoological Gardens. 



