THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE KANGAROO. 
385 
“ I have seen a good deal of this beautiful little animal. It 
appears very much like a squirrel when running on the ground, 
which it does in successive leaps, with its tail a little elevated ; 
every now and then raising its body, and resting on its hind 
feet. When alarmed, it generally takes to a dead tree lying on 
Pig. 11. 
the ground, and before entering the hollow invariably raises 
itself on its hind feet, to ascertain the reality of approaching 
danger. In this kind of retreat it is easily captured, and when 
caught is so harmless and tame as scarcely to make any resist- 
ance, and never attempts to bite. When it has no chance of 
escaping from its place of refuge, it utters a sort of half- 
PlG. 12. 
Skull of Myrmecobius. 
smothered grunt, apparently produced by a succession of hard 
breathings.” 
The other member of the family Dasyuridce , to which I wish to 
call the reader’s attention, is a very different animal from the 
Myrmecobius. I refer to the largest of the predatory members of 
the kangaroo’s order ; namely, to the Tasmanian wolf. It is about 
the size of the animal after which it is named, and it is marked 
VOL. XIV. NO. LYII. C C 
