844 Proceedings of Royal Society of Edinburgh. [sess. 
The superficial resemblance which the Lycaon is said to present 
to the spotted hyena (Hyena crocuta) is commented on by most 
authors, and it is generally regarded as affording an instance of 
mimicry. It is difficult to conceive how such borrowed plumes 
could he of any advantage to the Cape hunting dog, seeing 
that it is in every respect bolder and more self-reliant than the 
cowardly and skulking hyena. For my part I must confess that 
this resemblance, except in the shape of the head, never impressed 
me. The Lycaon holds its head erect ; its limbs are slender and 
long ; it is not so bulky ; its coloration and its action are quite 
different (fig. 2). Still, this fancied resemblance has earned for 
it the name of the “Hyena dog.” 
In captivity the Cape hunting dog is very intractable. The 
pair under consideration were in the Zoological Gardens of 
Dublin for nine years, and during the whole time they showed the 
same savage temper and never acquired any appreciable liking for 
their keeper. 
The Lycaon does not bark like a dog, but this is not remarkable, 
seeing that the “ bark ” is said to have been acquired by the latter 
through domestication ; nor does it snarl or howl like the wolf. 
When excited, as on the approach of food, it sets up a continuous 
jabbering or chattering cry something like the whinny of a horse, 
which is very distinctive hut very difficult to describe. This was 
the only sound which the Dublin specimens emitted except when 
they were separated from each other, and then, although on these 
occasions the male was placed in a remote part of the Gardens, 
they managed to keep up constant communication with each other 
by a series of loud, piercing cries. 
But the object of this paper is to put on record certain 
points which were observed in connection with their breeding. 
Between January 1896 and January 1900 no less than six litters 
were horn. It is sufficiently rare for these animals to breed in 
captivity to make this a matter of some interest. Two or three 
litters are known to have been horn on the Continent (notably in 
Amsterdam), but so far as I am aware in no case have any of the 
young survived. 
Personally I never saw the act of coitus : but Flood, the 
keeper of the lion house, and a man of large experience in 
