448 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



that, while one small dissimilarity did not lead naturalists to class 

 this animal apart from the dogs, three small dissimilarities in 

 the case of the Lycaon had this effect, while the very evident 

 likeness in the habits of the two beasts appeared to have 

 entirely escaped notice. 



Some little time after I became interested in this question 

 there arrived two species or varieties of Dholes at the Zoological 

 Gardens, Eegent's Park. I therefore took the opportunity on 

 several occasions of visiting them and comparing them with a 

 Hunting Dog that was also domiciled there. The appearance of 

 the Dholes and Hunting Dog was dissimilar, the former being 

 short-legged, foxy-looking animals and the latter of long-legged, 

 hyaena-looking type. Not being able to gain much intimate 

 knowledge of the Dholes during my short and superficial visits, 

 I felt much puzzled about them. In a letter to ' Land and 

 Water ' I drew attention to these points, and asked for informa- 

 tion likely to confirm my surmise, without, however, eliciting 

 any reply. Meeting one day, at the cages in the Gardens, a 

 well-known authority and writer on zoological matters, I was 

 pleased to get the opportunity of asking him if he thought 

 these animals related, and, if not, how he could account for 

 the close resemblance in their habits. After considering the 

 question, he informed me that he could not say. It was there- 

 fore with considerable satisfaction, as tending to show the use of 

 observations of special habits, that I have since seen that 

 certain similarities have been discovered in the skull of the 

 two animals, and that these forms, formerly considerably sepa- 

 rated in classification, are considered now to be, perhaps, closely 

 allied. And, as bearing on the importance of congeneric habits, 

 it is interesting to note that this probable kinship, which had 

 apparently escaped the notice of zoologists, had suggested 

 itself to at least one field naturalist besides myself (and maybe 

 to numbers of others), for recently, in reading an old sporting 

 book by the Old Shekari (H. A. L.),* I noticed that this writer 

 very excusably referred to the Hunting Dog as the Dhole. 



To gain a proper knowledge of the peculiarities of disposi- 

 tion and of the general idiosyncrasies of any animal in confine- 

 ment, it is important to have it in one's personal charge, 

 * H. A. Leveson, ' Sport in Many Lands.' 





