DOG TRIBE. 
495 
deficiencies in the senses of sight and hearing, both of which are also highly 
developed. It is probably due to this habit of associating in packs that many of 
the dogs are, to a greater or smaller extent, diurnal; but the majority are also in 
part nocturnal. From the nature of their claws, no dogs are fitted for climbing 
trees; and none are especially adapted for an aquatic life, although several of the 
domestic breeds are excellent swimmers. The cry of the various species of wild 
dogs varies greatly, but may generally be termed a howl rather than a bark, 
although some utter a kind of yelping bark. Apparently, all the species can be 
tamed to a certain degree, although the extent to which this taming can be carried 
out varies in different species, and even in different individuals of the same species. 
All wild dogs are in the habit of living in burrows, in the clefts of rocks, in 
caverns, or hollow trees. Some species, like the fox, excavate burrows for 
themselves, while others take advantage of the deserted holes of other animals; 
and whereas some dogs dig solitary burrows, others excavate them close together, 
so as to form a colony, or warren. The number of young in a litter is said to vary 
from three to as many as a dozen; and it is believed that in all cases the cubs or 
“pups” are born blind. Several of the wild species, like the jackal and the wolf, 
will freely interbreed; and the hybrid offspring between either of these species and 
domestic dogs are known to be fertile. 
As regards their geographical distribution, the dogs are more widely spread 
than any family of Carnivores yet noticed; and in this respect they are only 
approached by the weasel family. This wide distribution is the more remarkable 
when the uniformity in the organisation and external appearance of the members 
of the group are taken into consideration. The great majority are to be found 
in the northern hemisphere, in which one is common to both Europe and North 
America. A single species, the dingo, is now found wild in Australia, but no wild 
dogs occur in either Ceylon or Madagascar. 
In disposition and the nature of their food many of the dogs show marked 
differences. Thus, whereas the European wolf, which hunts in packs, and is 
exceedingly fierce, will attack both human beings and cattle, the solitary South 
American maned wolf is a timid and comparatively harmless animal, except to the 
small creatures upon which it preys. Again, whereas the majority of species are 
more or less purely carnivorous, and kill their own prey, the jackal lives largely 
upon carrion; while other species will devour lizards, mice, and even snails, and 
insects. Others, again, will eat marine mollusks and crustaceans, while the Arctic 
fox subsists largely upon fish, as does the domestic Eskimo dog. 
As already mentioned, with the exception of three species, forming the types 
of as many genera, the whole of the existing members of the Dog family are 
included in the genus Canis. In all these forms there are five toes in the hind 
feet; and, with the exception of the Asiatic wild dogs, there are three molar teeth 
on each side of the lower jaw. 
The Wolf (Canis lupus)'. 
If we exclude some of the breeds of domestic dogs, the wolf is the largest 
living member of the family; and its reputation for fierceness is too well 
