CYNICTIS OGILBYII. 
already mentioned. The ears are short and semicircular ; the head is broad 
and bulky behind the eye, but slender and subcylindrical towards the muzzle> 
which is bare and prominent. The nails are long, slender, and slightly 
curved ; the curvatures most developed in those of the fore-feet. Besides the 
rigid bristles which occur upon the upper-lip, there are also a few of a similar 
description upon other parts of the head, such as the cheeks, forehead, com- 
mencement of the throat, &c. For the characters of the teeth, and the con- 
figuration of the skull, see Plate XVIII. and its letter-press description. 
DIMENSIONS. 
Inch. Lin. 
Length from the nose to the base of the 
tail 15 0 
of the tail 9 3 
of the head 2 9 
Inch. Lin. 
Distance between the tip of the nose 
and the eye 1 1 
Distance between the eye and the ears 0 7 ^ 
Height at the shoulder 5 0 
In the female the ground-colour is not quite so bright as in the male, nor is 
the brindling so distinct. 
The grizzly appearance of the back, and the great villosity of the tail 
furnish characters by which this species is readily distinguished from the 
others which occur in South Africa. 
It inhabits open country, and specimens are frequently to be seen on the barren plains which 
exist immediately to the northward of the Cape Colony. Over these they wander during the 
greater part of the day, in search of their food, which consists of mice, small birds, insects, &c. 
and they only retreat to the subterraneous burrows, in which they are accustomed to pass the 
night, when alarmed by the approach of man. They delight to bask in the sun, and when 
the calls of hunger are not urgent, they are to be seen, especially in the early part of the day, 
seated upon their hinder legs, with their bodies erect, and so placed, as that the greatest 
degree of heat shall be enjoyed. They assume the same position when their fears are excited, 
by which their range of view is considerably increased. Their common pace is a walk ; but 
when retreating from real or imaginary danger, they move with great speed ; their pace then is 
a sort of gallop, now and then broken by bounds or springs, which they commonly take when 
the surface over which they have to retreat, is either broken or coated with brushwood. Inde- 
pendently of their being extremely wild and cautious, they are also very savage, and when 
secured alive, they display a great desire to bite their captors, and it is not till after they have 
been a long time subjected to the sufferings of hunger, that they can be brought to tolerate the 
approach or even appearance of man, near to the place where they are confined, without 
evincing their savage and pugnacious propensities. When their spirits however are once 
subdued, they are tolerably docile ; yet they are never to be trusted, inasmuch as they continue 
to manifest a treacherous disposition, and will often bite with severity, when only indications 
of kindness might be expected. 
