CLASS I. MAMMALIA: ORDER 5. CARNIVORA. 
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like gripe that wliicli tte animal lias once seized upon. Cuvier remarks tliat its efforts in this way 
sometimes produce anchylosis of the cervical vertebrae, and that this has given rise to the asser- 
tion that hyenas have but a single bone in the neck. He also states that their name among the 
Arabs is the symbol of stubbornness. The feet have four toes each, like those of the suricates. 
The same author sums up their character by saying that they are voracious nocturnal animals, 
inhabiting caverns, living for the most part on carcasses, for which they ransack the tombs, and 
that they are the subjects of an infinity of superstitious traditions. 
Under the term Hyeninoe we include two genera, the Hyenas proper and the Proteles. 
Genus HYElSTx^ : Hycena. — Of this there are two species, though some authors regard one 
only as a variety; the Striped Hyena and the Spotted Hyena. The former, the Hycena striata, 
is the "Tacva, the hyena of the ancients ; the Ca.nis hycena of Linnseus ; U. striata of Zimmerman; 
JI. vulgaris of Desmarest; and JI. antiquorum of Temminck; H. orientalis of Tiedemann; the 
Hooandor of Buffon, Bennett, and other writers. When full grown, it is about the size of a large 
dog or wolf, but shaggy and ragged in its appearance. The hair is of a rough, wiry texture ; and 
along the dorsal line, from the head to the insertion of the tail, there runs a coarse, bristly mane, 
which gives a peculiar character to the back of the animal, to which there is scarcely any thing 
corresponding among other beasts of prey. The tail is short and bushy, sometimes plain, and 
sometimes fringed with black. Lender the tail there is an orifice, which communicates with a 
sort of sack or pouch, containing a substance resembling civet, but much more offensive to the 
smell. The head is broad and flat; the eyes are large, and exhibit a peculiar expression of wild- 
ness and sullen ferocity. The ground-color of the body is generally of a clear fawn, but there 
are many varieties of shade in the species. Some are of a deep brown tint, and others brownish 
gray ; and they are invariably brindled or striped with darker shades. The snout is black and 
remarkably full; the legs are very strong, and altogether the animal is very formidable in pro- 
portion to its size. In the carriage of its head it resembles a dog on the scent ; and when dis- 
lodged from cover, and obliged to retreat, it Hmps off at first, seemingly hunch-backed and lame ; 
but when it has measured a short distance, these apparent impediments wear off, and it steps out 
at a rapid rate. 
The striped hyena is a wild and solitary animal, and chooses for its habitation the most hidden 
dens .and caverns of the earth; and, when nature fails to provide it with a dwelling-place in its 
favorite locality, it sets to work and excavates a hole in the cleft of a rock, or some other mount- 
ainous recess, for its own accommodation. The cry it utters is very peculiar. It commences 
with a low moaning sound, not unlike that of a human being under the influence of pain, and 
gradually rises into the most loud and violent bellowing. It generally conceals itself during the 
day-time, and comes forth in the night in quest of its prey. In their roaming for this end, hyenas 
are peculiarly assiduous and daring, and do not turn aside from obstacles that would be accounted 
insurmountable by much larger animals. When put to it, they will not shrink from an encounter 
with the panther, or even the lion himself, and they frequently attack and vanquish the ounce 
and other animals much larger than themselves. In their nocturnal prowlings, when excited by 
hunger, they do not hesitate to visit the habitations of man, and the inclosures round these do not 
always prove a sufficient protection from their savage attacks on such domestic animals as they mark 
out for their victims. ISTor does the sight of man, or the report of fire-arms, always scare them from 
their prey. The most revolting of all the characteristics in the economy of the hyena, is its sac- 
rilegious violations of the repositories of the dead ; and what is scarcely less so, is its blood-thirsty 
propensity of following armies, and of feasting on the remains of those who may be slain in battle. 
Though, generally speaking, unsocial animals, hyenas have been known to unite in considerable 
numbers on occasions, such as the watching and dogging ,of the movements of contending armies, 
attacking flocks and herds, or when the live-stock of the village is marked out for plunder. This 
species seems to be common in most parts of Africa, and especially in the northern and central 
portions. It often prowls about the towns and villages, and Mebuhr tells us that in the Gaboon 
country, in the summer, when the inhabitants sleep in the open air, it will sometimes snatch away 
children from the sides of their parents. Travelers in Africa constantly speak of the hyenas that 
throng about their camps at night, and sometimes destroy their asses, and even horses. It has 
