CHAPTER IV.

_THE HYÆNAS AND AARD-WOLF._

If every animal has its place in nature, we must suppose that the hyæna's business is to clear up the bones and such parts of the animal dead as the vultures and other natural "undertakers" cannot devour. Hyænas have very strong jaws, capable of crushing almost any bone. In prehistoric times they were common in England, and lived in the caves of Derbyshire and Devon. In these caves many bones were found quite smashed up, as if by some very large wild animal. It was supposed that this was done by bears--Dean Buckland said "by hyænas." He procured a hyæna, kept it at his house, and fed it on bones. The smashed fragments he laid on the table at a scientific lecture beside the fragments from the caverns. The resemblance was identical, and the Dean triumphed.

The hyænas are carnivorous animals, with the front limbs longer than the hind. The tail is short, the colour spotted or brindled, the teeth and jaws of great strength.

The BROWN HYÆNA, or STRAND-WOLF, is an African species, with very long, coarse hair, reaching a length of 10 inches on the back. It is not found north of the Zambesi; and it is nocturnal, and fond of wandering along the shore, where it picks up crabs and dead fish. Young cattle, sheep, and lambs are also killed by it, and offal of all kinds devoured.

The SPOTTED HYÆNA is a large and massive animal, the head and body being 4 feet 6 inches long without the tail. It is found all over Africa from Abyssinia and Senegal southwards. A few are left in Natal. It is believed to be the same as the cave-hyæna of Europe. By day it lives much in the holes of the aard-vark (ant-bear); by night it goes out, sometimes in small bands, to seek food. It has a loud and mournful howl, beginning low and ending high. It also utters a horrible maniacal laugh when excited, which gives it the name of Laughing-hyæna. "Its appetite," says Mr. W. L. Sclater in his "South African Mammals," "is boundless. It is entirely carnivorous, but seems to prefer putrid and decaying matter, and never kills an animal unless driven to do so by hunger. Sheep and donkeys are generally attacked at the belly, and the bowels torn out by its sharp teeth. Horses are also frequent objects of attack; but in this case shackling is useful, as the horse, unable to escape, faces the hyæna, which instantly bolts. It is an excellent scavenger, and it has been known to kill and carry off young children, though the least attempt at pursuit will cause it to drop them. Many stories are told, too, of its attacking sleeping natives; in this case it invariably goes for the man's face. Drummond states that he has seen many men who had been thus mutilated, wanting noses, or with the whole mouth and lips torn away. This is confirmed by other authors." Drummond gives an instance of seven cows being mortally injured in a single night by two hyænas, which attacked them and bit off the udders. Poisoned meat is the only means to get rid of this abominable animal.

Sir Samuel Baker says: "I can safely assert that the bone-cracking power of this animal is extraordinary. I cannot say that it exceeds the lion or tiger in the strength of its jaws; but they will leave bones unbroken which a hyæna will crack in halves. Its powers of digestion are unlimited. It will swallow and digest a knuckle-bone without giving it a crunch, and will crack the thigh-bone of a buffalo to obtain the marrow, and swallow either end immediately after.... I remember that once a hyæna came into our tent at night. But this was merely a friendly reconnaissance, to see if any delicacy, such as our shoes, or a saddle, or anything that smelt of leather, were lying about. It was bright moonlight, and the air was calm. There was nothing to disturb the stillness. I was awakened from sleep by a light touch on my sleeve, and my attention was directed by my wife to some object that had just quitted our tent. I took my rifle from beneath the mat on which I lay, and, after waiting for a few minutes sitting up in bed, saw a large form standing in the doorway preparatory to entering. Presently it walked in cautiously, and immediately fell dead, with a bullet between its eyes. It proved to be a very large hyæna, an old and experienced depredator, as it bore countless scars of encounters with other strong biters of its race."

The STRIPED HYÆNA is found in India as well as in Africa. In portions of Abyssinia these animals are so numerous that on the Nile tributaries Sir Samuel Baker used to hear them cracking the bones after supper every night just as they had been thrown by the Arabs within a few feet of the deserted table. In this way they are useful scavengers.

THE AARD-WOLF.

This small African hyæna-like creature stands in a family by itself. The animal is like a small striped hyæna, with a pointed muzzle, longer ears, and a kind of mane. It is common all through South and East Africa, where it lives on carrion, white ants, and lambs and kids. It has not the strong jaws and teeth of the dog or hyæna family. The colonists commonly hunt and kill it with fox-terriers.

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