Part 6

The gentlemen of the Academy of Sciences have given a very accurate description of the Lynx, and have discussed with equal ingenuity and erudition the circumstances and names relative to this animal, which occur in the writings of the ancients. They have shewn that the lynx of Ælian is the same animal which they have dissected and described under the name of Lupus-cervarius, and justly censure those who have taken it for the Thos of Aristotle. This discussion is enriched with observations and reflections equally interesting and pertinent; it is a pity, therefore, they had not adopted its real name of lynx, instead of that which is the same that Gaza gave to the _thos_ of Aristotle. Having, like Oppian, intimated that there are two species or races of the lynx, the one large, which chaces the stag and fallow-deer, and the other smaller, which scarcely hunts any thing but the hare, they appear to have confounded the two species together, namely, the spotted lynx, which is commonly found in the northern countries; and the lynx of the Levant or Barbary, whose skin is of an uniform colour. I have seen both these animals alive, and they closely resemble each other in many particulars. They have both long stripes of black hair at the extremities of their ears. This very circumstance, by which Ælian first distinguished the lynx, belongs, in fact, to these animals only, and perhaps it was this which induced the Academy to consider them as the same species. But, independently of the difference of colour and spots upon the hair, it will appear extremely probable that they belong to two distinct species.

Klein says, that the most beautiful lynx belongs to Africa and Asia in general, and to Persia in particular; that he had seen one at Dresden, which came from Africa, which was finely spotted, and of a considerable height; that those of Europe, especially from Prussia, and other northern countries are less pleasing to the eye, that their colour is little, if at all, inclined to white, but rather of a reddish hue, with spots confused and huddled together. Without absolutely denying what M. Klein has here advanced, I must declare I could never learn from any other authority that the lynx is an inhabitant of the warm climates of Asia and Africa. Kolbe is the only writer who mentions the lynx as common at the Cape of Good Hope, and as perfectly resembling that of Brandenburg in Germany; but I have discovered so many mistakes in the writings of this author, that I never gave much credit to his testimony, unless when supported by that of others. Now all travellers mention having seen the spotted lynx in the North of Germany, in Lithuania, Muscovy, Siberia, Canada, and other northern regions of both continents; but not one, whose accounts I have read, asserts he met with this animal in the warm climates of Africa or Asia. The lynxes of the Levant, Barbary, Arabia, and other hot climates, are, as I before observed, of one uniform colour, and without spots; they cannot, therefore, be the same as that mentioned by Klein, which he says was finely spotted, nor that of Kolbe, which, according to his statement, perfectly resembled those of Brandenburgh. It would be difficult to reconcile these testimonies with the information we have from other hands. The lynx is certainly more common in cold than in temperate climates, and is at least very rare in hot ones. He was, indeed, known to the Greeks and Romans; a circumstance which does not, however, infer that he came from Africa, or the southern provinces of Asia. Pliny, on the contrary, says, that the first of them which were seen at Rome, came from Gaul in the time of Pompey. At present there are none in France, except possibly a few in the Alpine and Pyrenean mountains. But the Romans, under the name of Gaul, comprehended several of the northern countries; and, besides, France is not at this time so cold as it was in those times.

The most beautiful skins of the lynx come from Siberia, as belonging to the _Loup-cervier_, and from Canada, under the name of _chat-cervier_, because, like all other animals, they are smaller in the new than in the old world; and are therefore compared to the wolf in Europe, and to the cat in Canada. What seems to have deceived M. Klein, and might have deceived even more able writers is, first, that the ancients have said that India furnished lynxes to the god Bacchus; secondly, Pliny has placed the lynx in Ethiopia, and has said their hides and claws were prepared at Carpathos, now Scarpantho or Zerpantho, an island in the Mediterranean, between Rhodes and Candia; thirdly, Gesner has allotted a particular article to the lynx of Asia or Africa, in which there is the following extract of a letter from Baron Balicze. "You have not," says he to Gesner, "mentioned in your history of animals, the Indian or African lynx. As Pliny has mentioned it, the authority of that great man has induced me to send you a drawing of this animal, that you may include it in your list. This drawing was made at Constantinople. This animal is very different from the lynx of Germany, being much larger, has shorter and rougher hair, &c." Gesner, without making any reflections on this letter, contents himself with giving the substance of it, and intimating within a parenthesis, that the drawing never came to hand.

To prevent a continuance of these errors, let it be observed, first, that poets and painters have affixed tigers, panthers, and lynxes, to the car of Bacchus, as best pleased their fancies; or rather because all fierce and spotted animals were consecrated to that god; secondly, that it is the word _lynx_ which constitutes the whole of the ambiguity, since by comparing what Pliny says in one[M] passage with two others[N] it is plain that the Ethiopian animal which he calls lynx, is by no means the same as the chaus, or lupus-cervarius, which comes from the northern countries; and that it was from this name being improperly applied that the Baron Balicze was deceived though he considers the Indian lynx as a different animal from the German luchs, or our lynx. This Indian or African lynx, which he has described as larger and more full of spots than our lynx, was in all probability, a kind of panther. However true or erroneous this last conjecture may be, it appears that the lynx, of which we are now treating, is a stranger in the southern countries, and is found only in the northern parts of the new and old continents. Olaus says this animal is common in the forests of the North of Europe; Olearius, in speaking of Muscovy, asserts the same thing; Rosinus Lentilius observes that the lynx is common in Courland and Lithuania, and that those of Cassubia, a province of Pomerania, are very small, and not so much spotted as those of Poland and Lithuania; and lastly, Paul Jovius confirms these testimonies by adding, that the finest skins of the lynx come from Siberia, and that there is a great traffic carried on with them at Ustivaga, a town about 600 miles from Moscow.

[Footnote M: Vide Pliny, lib. VIII. cap. 19.]

[Footnote N: Ibid. VIII. c. 22, 23.]

This animal, which as we have shewn, prefers the cold to the temperate climates, is one of those which might have passed from one continent to the other through the northern regions, and this is probably the reason why we find him a tenant of the northern parts of America. Travellers have described him in such a manner as to preclude all mistake; and besides its skin forms an article of commerce between Europe and America. The lynx of Canada, as we have already remarked, is only smaller and whiter than those of Europe, and it is from this difference in size that they have been distinguished with the appellation of _chat-cervier_, and been considered by our nomenclators as animals of a different species. Without pronouncing decisively upon this question we shall only observe, that to all appearance the lynxes of Canada and of Muscovy are of the same species, first because the difference in size is not very considerable, since it is almost relatively the same as that which takes place between all animals common to both continents; the wolf, fox, &c. being smaller in America than they are in Europe, it cannot be expected to be otherwise with the lynx. Secondly, because, even in the north of Europe, these animals are found to vary in size; and authors mention two kinds, the one large and the other small. Thirdly, because they equally require the same climate, are of the same dispositions, the same figure, differing only in size, and a few trifling particulars of colour, circumstances not sufficient to authorize our pronouncing them to be two distinct species.

The lynx, of which the ancients have said his sight could penetrate opaque bodies, and whose urine possessed the properly of hardening into a precious stone, called Lapis Lyncurius, is an animal that never existed, any more than the properties attributed to him, except in fable. To the true lynx this imaginary one has no affinity but in name. We must not, therefore, following the example of most naturalists, attribute to the former, which is a real being, the properties of this imaginary one, the existence of which even Pliny himself does not seem disposed to believe, since he speaks of it as an extraordinary animal, and classes it with the sphynx, the pegasus, and other prodigies, or monsters, the produce of Ethiopia, a country with which the ancients were very little acquainted.

Our lynx, though he cannot see through stone walls, has bright eyes, a mild aspect, and an agreeable lively appearance. His urine produces not precious stones, but he covers it with earth, like the cats, to whom he has a near resemblance, and whose manners, and love of cleanliness are the same. In nothing is he like the wolf but in a kind of howl, which being heard at a considerable distance often deceives the hunters, by making them suppose they hear a real wolf. This alone, perhaps, is the cause of his having received the appellation of _loup_, and to distinguish him from the real wolf, and because he attacks the stags, the epithet of _cervarius_ might have afterwards been added. The lynx is not so big as the wolf, has shorter legs, and generally about the size of a fox. He differs from the panther and ounce in the following particulars; he has longer hair, his spots are less lively, and are badly disposed; his ears are much longer, and they have tufts of black hairs at the points; his tail is shorter, and is also black at the end; his eyes have a whitish cast, and his countenance is more agreeable, and less ferocious. The skin of the male is more spotted than that of the female. He does not run like the wolf, but walks and bounds like the cat. He lives upon other animals, and those he pursues to the tops of the highest trees, so that neither the wild-cat, pine-weasel, ermine, nor squirrel, can escape him. He also seizes birds, lies in wait for the stag, roe-buck, and hare, whom he seizes by the throat, sucks their blood, and then opens their heads to devour the brains; this done he frequently abandons them to go in search of fresh prey, and is seldom known to return to the former one; which has given rise to the remark, that of all animals the lynx has the shortest memory. His colour changes with the climate and the season. In winter his fur is much better than in summer, and his flesh, like that of all beasts of prey, is not good to eat.

SUPPLEMENT.

There is a Canadian Lynx in the Royal Cabinet in France, in fine preservation; it is only two feet three inches long, and rather more than thirteen inches high; its body is covered with long grey hair, striped with yellow, and spotted with black; its head also is grey, interspersed with white and yellow hairs, and shaded with a kind of black stripes; it has long white whiskers; its ears are more than two inches high, white on the inside, with yellow edges, the outside of a mouse colour, edged with black, and at the tip of each ear is a tuft of black hair seven lines high; it has a short tail, which is black from the end to about the middle, and the other part is of a reddish white; its belly, hind-legs, inside of the fore-legs and feet are of a dirty white, and it has long white claws. This lynx strongly resembles the one we have just described, except in the length of the tail and tuft on the ears, from which we may infer that the Canadian Lynx is a variety from that of the old continent.

Pontoppidan describes the lynx of Norway to be white with deep spots, and claws like those of a cat; he says there are four species there, some being like the wolf, others the fox, others the cat, and others with a head like that of a colt; the last of which is not only doubtful in itself, but throws a degree of suspicion on the veracity of the remainder.

The species of the lynx is very common throughout Europe, and also in the northern provinces of Asia. Their skins are very valuable, and much esteemed for muffs, &c. in Norway, Russia, and even as far as China, and notwithstanding they are very common, they sell at a high price.

THE CARACAL.

Though the Caracal[O] resembles the lynx in size, formation of the body, aspect, and the tufts of black hair at the extremities of the ears, I do not scruple from their disagreement in other respects, to treat of them as animals of a different species. The Caracal is not spotted like the lynx; his hair is rougher and shorter; his tail is longer, and of a uniform colour; his snout is longer, in aspect he is less mild, and in disposition more fierce. The lynx inhabits cold and at most temperate climates, while the caracal is to be found only in the warmest countries. It is as much from these differences of disposition and climate, that I judge them to be of different species, as from the inspection and comparison of the two animals, both of which I have examined and had designed from life.

[Footnote O: In Turkey it is called Kaarah-kula; Arabia Gat el Challah; in Persia Siyah-Gush, denoting in all three languages, _the cat with long ears_.]

The Caracal is common in Barbary, in Arabia, and in all those countries inhabited by the lion, panther, and ounce. Like them he depends on prey for subsistence, but from the inferiority of his size and strength, he has much difficulty to procure a sufficiency; frequently being obliged to be content with the leavings of the more powerful. He keeps at a distance from the panther, because that animal exercises its cruelty after being gorged with food; but he follows the lion, who, when the cravings of his appetite are satisfied, never injures any creature. From the remains left by this noble animal, the caracal not unoften enjoys a comfortable repast. Sometimes he follows, or even goes before, at no great distance, taking a refuge in the trees, when self-preservation renders it necessary, and where the lion cannot, like the panther, follow him. For all these reasons it is that the caracal has been called the Lion's Guide, or Provider; and it is said that the lion, whose smell is far from being acute, employs him to scent out his prey, and is permitted to enjoy the remains as a reward for his trouble.

The caracal[P] (_fig. 108._) is about the size of a fox, but more fierce, and much stronger. He has been known to attack, and in a few minutes, to tear in pieces a large dog, which defended himself to the utmost. He is very difficult to tame, yet if taken very young, and reared with care, he may be trained to the chace, to which he is by nature inclined, and in which he is very successful, especially if he be only let loose upon such animals as are inferior in strength, for he declines a service of danger with every expression of reluctance. In India they made use of him to catch hares, rabbits, and even large birds, whom he seizes with singular address and facility.

[Footnote P: The principal part of his body is of a reddish brown colour, the inferior parts of the neck and belly whitish; round his muzzle black, his ears of a dark shade, with a tuft of black hair from his extremities.]

SUPPLEMENT.

Mr. Bruce has informed me that he saw a caracal in Nubia, which differed from the one of barbary, just described; his face was more round, his ears black on the outside, intermixed with white hairs, and on the breast, belly, and inside of the thighs he had yellow spots. But this is a mere variety, of which there are several: for instance, in Lybia there is a caracal with white ears, and a white tail with four black rings at the end, and which is not bigger than a domestic cat; and if this were to establish a difference we might say there are two species of caracals in Barbary, the one large, with black ears and long tufts, and the other smaller, with white ears and short tufts.

THE HYÆNA.

Aristotle has left us two accounts by which alone the hyæna (_fig. 110._) might easily be distinguished from all other animals. Nevertheless, travellers and naturalists have confounded him with no less than four other species, namely, the jackall, glutton, civet, and the baboon; all of which are carnivorous and ferocious like the hyæna, and all have some few particular resemblances to him, whence these errors may have originated. The jackall inhabits the same countries, and like the hyæna resembles the wolf in form; like him also he feeds upon dead carcasses, and digs up graves to devour their contents. The glutton has the same voracity, the same appetite for corrupted flesh, the same propensity for digging the dead out of their graves; and though he belongs to a different climate, and his figure is widely different from that of the hyæna, yet from this affinity of disposition authors have thought themselves warranted in considering them as of the same species. The civet is a native of the same countries as the hyæna, and like him has a streak of long hair along the back, and also a particular opening, or glandular pouch; characteristics which belong only to a few animals, and which induced Bellon to suppose the civet was the hyæna of the ancients. As to the baboon, which has hands and feet like those of a man or a monkey, he resembles the hyæna still less than the other three, and it must be solely from their name that they have been confounded together.

The hyæna, according to Dr. Shaw, is called _dubbah_ in Barbary; and Marmol, and Leo Africanus, say, the baboon is distinguished by the name of _dabuh_; and as the baboon belongs to the same climates, scratches up the earth and is nearly of the same form with the hyæna; these circumstances first deceived travellers, and naturalists adopted their blunders without investigation; and even those who distinguished the two animals, retained the name of _dabuh_ to the hyæna, which in fact belongs to the baboon. It appears, then, that the hyæna is neither the _dabuh_ of the Arabians, the _jesef_ or _sesef_ of the Africans, nor the _deeb_ of Barbary. But to put a final stop to this confusion of names, I shall give, in a few words, the substance of the inquiries I have made with respect to those animals.

Aristotle calls it by two names, _hyæna_ and _glanus_; names which we may be assured are applied to the same animals by comparing the passages wherein they are mentioned.[Q] The ancient Latins retained the name hyæna, and never adopted that of glanus. In the writings of the modern Latins, however, we find the _ganus_, or _gannus_, and _belbus_ employed as names for the hyæna. According to Rasis, the Arabians call it _kabo_, or _zabo_, names that appear to be derived from the word _zeeb_, which, in their language denominates a wolf. In Barbary the hyæna bears the name of _dubbah_, as appears from the description given of this animal by Dr. Shaw.[R] In Turkey it is called _zirtlaat_, according to Nieremberg; in Persia _kaftaar_, as stated by Kæmpfer; and _castar_, according to Pietro della Valle. These are the only names which seem actually to refer to the hyæna; though it is nevertheless probable that the _lycaon_ and the _crocuta_ of India and Ethiopia, of which the ancients speak, are no other than the hyæna. Porphyry expressly says that the _crocuta_ of the Indies is the hyæna of the Greeks; and, indeed, all they have written, whether true or fabulous, respecting the lycaon and crocuta, bears some analogy to the nature of the hyæna. But we shall make no further conjectures on this subject until we treat of fabulous animals, and the affinities they have with real ones.

[Footnote Q: Aristotle Hist. Animal. lib. vi. c. 32. lib. viii. c. 5.]

[Footnote R: The Dubbah is nearly the size of the wolf. Its neck is so exceedingly stiff, that when it offers to look behind, or even on one side, it is obliged to turn the whole body, like the hog, the badger, and the crocodile. Its colour is somewhat inclined to a reddish brown, with a few brown streaks of a darker hue, it has very long hairs on the neck which it can occasionally erect. Its paws are large and well armed, with which it digs up plants, and sometimes dead bodies from their graves. Next to the lion and panther, the dubbah is the most fierce of all the animals of Barbary. As it is furnished with a mane, has a difficulty in turning the head, and scrapes up dead bodies from their graves, it has every appearance of being the hyæna of the ancients. _See Shaw's Travels._]

The panther of the Greeks, the _lupus canarius_ of Gaza, and the _lupus armenius_ of the modern Latins and Arabians, seem to be the same animal, that is, the jackall, which the Turks call _cical_, according to Pollux, and _thacal_ according to Spon and Wheeler; which the modern Greeks distinguish by the name of _zachalia_, the Persians _siechal_, or _schachal_, and the Moors of Barbary _deeb_; that of jackall, however, having been adopted by a number of travellers, to that we shall give the preference, and only remark at present, that he differs from the hyæna not only in size, figure, and colour, but in natural habits, for the hyæna is a solitary animal, while the jackall is seldom seen but in troops. After the example of Kæmpfer, some of our nomenclators have called the jackall _lupus aureus_, because his hair is of a lively yellow hue.

It is therefore evident, that the jackall is a very different animal from the hyæna; and no less so than the glutton, which is an animal confined to the northern regions of Lapland, Russia, and Siberia; it is a stranger even in the temperate climates, and therefore could never have inhabited Arabia, or any of the other warm countries in which the hyæna resides. It differs also in form, for the glutton bears a strong resemblance to a very large badger; his legs are so short that his belly almost reaches the ground; he has five toes on each of his feet, has no mane, and his body is covered with black hair, excepting sometimes a few reddish yellow hairs upon his sides; in short, he resembles him in nothing but in being exceedingly voracious. He was unknown to the ancients, who had made no great progress into the north of Europe. Olaus is the first author who mentions this animal and from his prodigious gluttony he called him _gulo_. In Sclavonia he afterwards obtained the name of _rosomak_, and in Germany _jerff_, or _wildfras_, and the French travellers have called him _glouton_. There are varieties in this species, as well as in that of the jackall, which we shall speak of when we come to the particular history of those animals, and shall only here observe, that those varieties, instead of assimilating them with the hyæna, render them additionally a more distinct species.