192 
CARNIVORA. 
ages. They greedily devour dead bodies, and filth 
of every kind. In a word, they are equally cruel 
and voracious, and are dangerous enemies even to 
man. Every thing that authors have said of the 
wolf, and even of the fox of Africa, must be under- 
stood of the jackal ; for, granting that these animals 
have a considerable resemblance to each other, it is 
nevertheless true, that there are neither wolves nor 
foxes in Egypt. 
Pennant describes as a distinct species the Barbary 
jackal, which Sonnini names thaleh. It appears not 
to be gregarious like the common jackal, but solitary 5 
and Sonnini represents it to have much the manners 
of Molina’s culpeu, not fleeing from a man, but ap- 
pearing at first too much astonished at the sight to 
move, and then retreating silently and deliberately. 
The jackal is said sometimes to satisfy its appetite 
with the refuse of the lion’s meal j and, for the pur- 
pose of doing so, is thought to follow that animal. 
It is possible, that the lion may sometimes avail him- 
self of the opportunity of seizing such animals as 
come within his reach, which have been started by 
the jackals when hunting in packs ; and this incident 
has been converted into a friendly league between 
the two animals for mutual advantage, whence the 
jackal has been called, ‘‘ the faithful spy of the king 
of beasts.” 
