94 THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD 
killed nearly all the deer in the large 
forests near Omsk some years ago. 
Across the Himalaya there are several 
species, one of them as far east as 
Burma; but the most famous are the 
Rep Docs oF THE Deccan. They 
frequent both the jungles and the 
hills; but their favourite haunt is the 
uplands of the Indian Ghats. They 
are larger than a jackal, much 
stronger, and hunt in packs. They 
have only ten teeth on each side, 
instead of eleven, as in the other 
Photo by A. 8, Rudland & Sons dogs and foxes. There is no doubt 
CAPE HUNTING-DOG that these fierce hunting-dogs actually 
This animal hunts in packs, It 1s very active and most destructive to large game ; ia i 
of many kinds take prey from the tiger’s jaws, and 
probably attack the tiger itself. They 
will beset a tiger at any time, and the latter seems to have learnt from them an instinctive fear 
of dogs. Not so the leopard, which, being able to climb, has nothing to fear even from the 
«“dhole.’ A coffee-planter, inspecting his grounds, heard a curious noise in the forest bordering 
his estate. On going round the corner of a thick bush, he almost trod on the tail of a tiger 
standing with his back towards him. He silently retreated, but as he did so he saw that there 
was a pack of wild dogs a few paces in front of the tiger, yelping at him, and making the 
peculiar noise which had previously attracted his attention. Having procured a rifle, he 
returned with some of his men to the spot. The tiger was gone, but they disturbed a large 
pack of wild dogs feeding on the body of astag. This, on examination, proved to have been 
killed by the tiger, for there were the marks of the teeth in its neck. The dogs had clearly 
driven the tiger from his prey and appropriated it. The dread of the tiger for these wild dogs 
was discovered by the sportsmen ‘of the Nilgiri Hills, and put to a good use. They used to 
collect scratch packs- and hunt up tigers in the woods. The tiger, thinking they were the 
dreaded wild pack, would either leave altogether or scramble into a tree. As tigers never do 
this ordinarily, it shows how wild dogs get on their nerves. | 
Several South American wild dogs and foxes are included in the series with the wolves and 
jackals. Among these are Azara’s Doc and the Raccoon-poc. These are commonly called 
foxes, though they have wolf-like skulls. 
THe Dinco 
The only non-marsupial animal of Australia when the continent was discovered was the 
Witp Dos, or Dinco. Its origin is not known; but as soon as the settlers’ flocks and herds be- 
gan to increase its ravages were most serious, though doubtless some of the havoc with which it 
was accredited was due in a great measure to runaways from domestication. Anyhow, in the 
dingo the settlers found the most formidable enemy with which they had to contend, and vigor- 
ous measures were taken. to reduce their numbers and minimise their ravages, so that by now 
they are nearly exterminated in Van Diemen’s Land and rare on the mainland of Australia. 
It is a fine, bold dog, of considerable size, generally long-coated, of a light tan colour, and 
with pricked-up ears. It is easily tamed, and some of those kept in this country have made af- 
fectionate pets. Puppies are regularly bred and sold at the Zoological Gardens. The animal 
has an elongated, flat head which is carried high; the fur is soft, and the tail bushy. In the wild 
state it is very muscular and fierce. 
