ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS, 
129 
It would appear from recent researches that the 
Indian wolf is the stock from which some of the best 
breeds of dogs have been derived, for example, some 
of the shepherd-dogs and poodles. The ancient Lake- 
dwellers of Switzerland had a dog known as the peat- 
dog or Torfhund, the skull of which is identical with 
that of the jackal of India ; and it is therefore pro¬ 
bable that the ancestry of the domestic dogs of Europe may 
be traced to the east, and to the two stocks, the Indian 
jackal and the Indian wolf. The pups of a wolf, if taken 
sufficiently early, are quite capable of being tamed, 
and there are many authentic instances on record of 
this having been done. Two of a litter sent from 
Gaya to Calcutta, in December 1876, were success¬ 
fully tamed, and it was not until they had attained 
maturity and were becoming a nuisance by their nocturnal 
howlings, especially in moonlight, that they had to 
be relegated to the Gardens. Whenever they heard 
any piano being played or more especially a human 
voice taking a high note, they howled and bayed as 
street dogs do at home in front of an organ-grinder, 
or itinerant band. Both were fond of water, and like 
IT 
pariah dogs, used to lie in it on hot days. The wolf 
produces as many as four to seven pups in a litter. 
The Hyaenas, as already pointed out, belong to a dis¬ 
tinct' family of the Carnivora, the Hycenidce , represented 
by only one genus, Hycena , allied to the cats and 
civets on the one hand, and to the dogs on the other. 
The hyaena of India is known as H. striata from its 
striped coat, but it is also found in Africa where there 
are two other species, viz., the spotted hyaena and the 
brown hyaena. It frequents only hilly open areas, 
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