23 6 
THE WILD DOGS OF AFRICA 
ferent to that of most of its relatives. The long-nosedness is partly, 
however, only a matter of external appearance, for the skull, although 
nothing like as short as a cat's, is yet very far from being as long as 
that of a dog or a civet, and it is still more cat-like in the immense 
width of he cheek-arches, and the great development of bony ridges 
for the attachment of muscles. 
Like some other beasts of a similarly mean nature, the spotted 
hyena, in particular, prefers not to do its own killing, but likes better 
to live as a sort of humble messmate on those better provided than 
itself with the courage requisite to good hunters. When it does cater 
for itself, instead of subsisting on the leavings of its betters, it always 
makes its attack in a cowardly way, and trusts rather to stratagem 
than to any of the higher qualities of a sportsman. 
The Wild Dog— A curious species belonging to this family is 
the wild dog. These animals, while not large, their height being under 
two feet at the shoulder, are able to run down even the larger species 
of antelope, giraffes, etc., by their untiring persistence. They hunt in 
large packs and when once on the trail of an animal rarely leave it 
until the animal falls exhausted and unable to resist their vicious 
attack. In form the wild dog is slight, and capable of great speed. 
The general color is a sandy-bay or ochre-yellow, irregularly blotched 
and brindled with black and variegated spots of exceedingly irregular 
shape. The face, nose and muzzle are black and the latter sharp 
pointed. The tail bushy like that of a fox and divided about the 
middle by a black ring, above which the color is sandy and below white. 
The Aard Wolf.— This is a remarkable animal, and inhabits the 
southern parts of Africa, where its home is almost the same as that of 
the brown variety of the hyena. It is an extremely interesting animal, 
as it forms a connecting link between the civet family and the hyenaS; 
although more nearly allied to the latter than to the former, it is found 
to be impossible to assign it to one of these groups in preference to 
the other, and it is, in consequence, placed in a family by itself. It 
has the sloping back of a hyena, owing to the fore legs being longer 
than the hind legs; but its head is quite civet-like, the snout being long 
and pointed, and altogether unlike a hyena’s. Its size is that of a 
full-grown fox, but it 'stands higher upon its legs, its ears are consid- 
