ASIATIC WILD DOGS. 
549 
ancestral stock of any of the domestic dogs, the name “ wild dog ” is to a certain 
degree a misnomer. 
Siberian wild This species is an inhabitant of Northern Asia, extending from 
Do &- the country from which it derives its name, at least as far southwards 
as the Altai mountains, and probably still further. It may be distinguished from 
the following species by the circumstance that its molar teeth, especially those of the 
upper jaw, are of larger size. Like its southern cousin, the Siberian wild dog is 
subject to seasonal and individual variations in the colour of its fur. In summer 
it seems to be generally of a foxy-red colour, becoming darker on the back and 
lighter on the under-parts and the inner surfaces of the limbs. There are, how¬ 
ever, two skins in the British Museum characterised by their long and woolly 
hair, of which the colour in one is white, and in the other a yellowish white; and 
these may be presumed to indicate the winter dress. 
According to Rade, the Siberian wild dog is a forest-loving animal; generally 
frequenting mountains like those on the east bank of the Yenesei where forests 
are abundant, but occasionally appearing on the open steppes. It is locally 
distributed; and while in some localities it preys largely upon deer, in others 
it is in the habit of hunting ibex. In the Altai these dogs go in troops of from 
ten to fifteen, or more individuals, led by an old male; and where they hunt deer 
it is generally hinds or young animals that they select for pursuit. So incessant 
is their persecution of the deer that they will sometimes cause them to completely 
desert certain localities; this having taken place in the year 1859 in the valley of 
the Irkut. 
i d‘ Wild d The Indian wild dog ( Cdeccanensis ) is perhaps the best known 
member of the group, and is distinguished from the preceding species 
by the smaller size of its molar teeth. Like the others, its general build is more 
jackal-like than wolf-like; this being especially shown by the comparative 
shortness of the legs. It agrees with the Siberian species in the length of the 
fur, and in the presence, at least in Himalayan examples, of a thick and woolly 
under-fur. The general colour of the fur of the upper-parts is a rusty red, 
varying in some specimens to a rufous, or even a light brownish grey; the under¬ 
parts being paler. Generally the end of the tail is black, but its extreme tip may 
occasionally be whitish. The young are of a uniform sooty-brown colour. A 
specimen measured by Hodgson had a length of 374 inches, exclusive of the tail; 
the latter measuring 14| inches with the hair and 8 inches without the same. 
This wild dog is found throughout the forest-clad portions of the Himalaya, from 
Kashmir to Assam, and in Gilgit, Ladak, and Eastern Tibet. Southwards of 
the Himalaya, it is found in the larger forests of India, although it is 
unknown in Ceylon. In inhabiting alike the forest of peninsular India and the 
forest-clad regions of the Himalaya, as well as the treeless districts of Tibet, the 
Indian wild dog presents an instance precisely analogous to that of the lynx, 
already noticed. Hodgson, who alludes to the animal by the Himalayan name of 
buansu, states that although the Indian wild dog is “not deficient in speed or 
power of leaping, yet his motions all appear to be heavy, owing to the measured 
uniformity of his pace. He runs in a lobbing long canter, is unapt at the double, 
and upon the whole is somewhat less agile and speedy than the jackal, and very 
