168 
CARNIVORA. 
strua it does not dissolve, but impregnates the fluids 
strongly with its odour. It may, however, be made 
to unite with, or be soluble in water, by means of 
rubbing with mucilages. The animal is imported, 
and kept confined in Europe, for the sake of this 
luxury of the toilet, of which each will yield about 
a dram a week. 
The habits of the animal are very little known in 
its wild state. It is nocturnal, and has very much 
the manners of the cats. It lives by the chase of 
small animals, and more particularly birds, which it 
entraps, like the foxes. The cry is like that of a 
dog when irritated. It prefers sandy places and 
dry mountains, in Africa, more especially near 
Abyssinia, 
