MYDAUS MELTCF-PS. 
to procure me individuals for preparation ; and as they received a desirable reward, 
they brought them to me daily in greater numbers than I could employ. When- 
ever the natives surprise them suddenly, they prepare them for food ; the flesh is 
then scarcely impregnated with the offensive odour, and is described as very deli- 
cious. The animals are generally in excellent condition, as their food abounds in 
the fertile mould, 
The structure of the teeth, as appears from the generic details, affords to the 
My dans but feeble means of defence ; the front teeth in the lower jaw have nearly a 
horizontal position, and the canine teeth are comparatively small and weak. The 
animal being slow in its motions, its manner of defence is of a negative nature, and, 
as in the American Mephitis, consists in preventing the approach of an enemy by an 
intolerably offensive odour : hence these animals have received the names of Mephitis, 
Mydaus, Stifling Wesel, Bete-puante, &c. The apparatus on which this depends has 
already been described, and is in part represented on the Plate of Illustrations. 
The effort by which the fetid matter is projected, is described by the natives as a 
crepitus ventris : the muscular coat of the glands, as far as I have ascertained, serves 
only to propel the fluid into the rectum, at the pleasure of the animal : its discharge, 
as a means of annoyance to its enemies, is effected by a general effort of the 
abdominal muscles. On the Mountain Prahu, the natives who were most active in 
supplying me with specimens of the Mydaus, assured me that it could only propel 
the fluid to the distance of about two feet: — the fetid matter itself is of a viscid 
nature; its effects depend on its great volatility, and they spread through a great 
extent ; the entire neighbourhood of a village is infected by the odour of an irritated 
Teledu, and in the immediate vicinity of the discharge, it is so violent, as in some 
persons to produce syncope. The various species of Mephitis in America differ from 
the Mydaus in the capacity of projecting the fetid matter to a greater distance. A 
detailed account of the Mephitis Mapurito is given by Mr. Mutis, in the 31st 
Volume of Stockholm Transactions, for the year 1770. 
The Mydaus is not ferocious in its manners, and taken young, like the Badger, 
it might easily be tamed. An individual which I kept some time in confinement, 
afforded me an opportunity of observing its disposition ; it soon became gentle, and 
reconciled to its situation, and did not at any time emit the offensive fluid. I carried 
it with me from Mountain Prahu to Blederan, a village on the declivity of that 
mountain, where the temperature was more moderate. While a drawing was made, 
the animal was tied to a small stake; it moved about quietly, burrowing the ground 
with its snout and feet, as if in search of food, without taking notice of the bystanders, 
or making violent efforts to disengage itself : on earth-worms ( hvmhrki) being brought, 
it ate voraciously; holding one extremity of a worm with its claws, its teeth were 
employed in tearing the other: having consumed about ten or twelve, it became 
drowsy, and making a small groove in the earth, in which it placed its snout, it 
composed itself deliberately, and was soon sound asleep. 
