Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon Part 45

The domestic dog is supposed to owe its origin to this species, as well as to the wolf, but all conjecture on this point can be but pure speculation. Certain it is that the pariahs about villages are strikingly like jackals, at least in many cases, and they will freely interbreed.

The writer in the _India Sporting Review_ alluded to by me in writing of the wolf, mentions some experiments made in crossing dogs with jackals. "First cross, hybrid between a female jackal and Scotch terrier dog, or half jackal and half dog; second cross, between the hybrid jackal and terrier, or quarter jackal and three-quarters dog; third cross between the quarter jackal and terrier, or seven-eighths dog and one-eighth jackal. Of the five pups comprising the litter, of which the last was one, two were fawn-coloured and very like pariahs, while three had the precise livery of the jackal; noses sharp and pointed; ears large and erect; head and muzzle like the jackal. This cross, he remarks, appears to have gone back a generation, and to have resembled the jackal much more than their mother, whose appearance, with the exception of the very sharp muzzle, although she had so much jackal blood, was that of a sleek, well-fed pariah dog, colour yellow fawn, but her gait and gallop were precisely that of the jackal."--_McMaster_.

_GENUS CUON_.

Dent.i.tion as in restricted _Canis_, but wanting the second grinder behind the flesh-tooth in the lower jaw; the nose is short; skull arched; the forehead broad, convex, and gradually shelving from the nose line; nasals long, produced behind the hinder upper edge of the maxillaries.

NO. 249. CANIS (CUON) RUTILANS.

_The Indian Wild Dog_ (_Jerdon's No. 137_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Jungli-kutta_; _Son-kutta_; _Ban-kutta_, _Ram-kutta_, Hindi; _Kolsun_, _Kolusna_, _Kolsa_ and _Kolasra_, Mahrathi; _Reza-kutta_, _Adavi-kutta_, Telegu; _Shen-nai_, Malabarese; _Eram-naiko_, Gondi; _Sakki-sarai_, at Hyderabad; _Ram-hun_ in Kashmir; _Siddaki_, Thibetan, in Ladakh; _Suhu-tum_, Lepcha; _Paoho_, Bhotea; _Bhaosa_, _Bhoonsa_, _Buansu_ in the Himalayas, generally from Simla to Nepal (_Jerdon_); _Tao-khwae_, Burmese; _a.s.soo-adjakh_, _a.s.soo-kikkee_, Javanese; _Oesoeng-esang_, Sundese; _An-jing Utan_, Malay; _Hazzee_, Thibetan.

HABITAT.--The whole of India and down the Burmese country to the Malayan archipelago, but not in Ceylon, although Jerdon a.s.serts that it is common there. I however cannot find any authority for this, and both Kellaart and Sir Emerson Tennent affirm that there are no wild dogs in Ceylon.

[Ill.u.s.tration: _Cuon rutilans_.]

DESCRIPTION.--General colour bright rusty or red, somewhat paler beneath; ears large and erect, round at the tips; large, hairy-soled feet; very bushy, straight tail, reaching half-way from the hough to the sole, with a dark tip. It stands lower in front than behind; and, though somewhat resembling a jackal, has an unmistakable canine physiognomy; the eye is fuller and better placed, and forehead broader, and the muzzle less pointed.

SIZE.--Head and body, 32 to 36 inches; tail, 16 inches; height 17 to 20 inches.

It has been supposed that there were two or three species of wild dog to be found within the limits of British India, but it is now, I think, conclusively settled that the Malayan and Indian species are one, and that those from Darjeeling and other hills, which showed variation, are the same, with slight differences caused by climate.

They are certainly not canine in disposition; the wolf and jackal are much more so, for in confinement they are as ill-conditioned brutes as it is possible to conceive. Those in the Regent's Park Gardens are active, snappy, snarly, wild-looking creatures. Hodgson writes of them: "Those I kept in confinement, when their den was approached, rushed into the remotest corner of it; huddled one upon another, with their heads concealed as much as possible. I never dared to lay hands on them, but if poked with a stick they would retreat from it as long as they could, and then crush themselves into a corner, growling low, and sometimes, but rarely, seizing the stick and biting it with vehemence. After ten months' confinement they were as wild and shy as the first hour I got them. Their eyes emitted a strong light in the dark, and their bodies had the peculiar foetid odour of the fox and jackal in all its rankness." McMaster sent one to the People's Park, at Madras, which he obtained in Burmah, and says of her: "'Evangeline,' as she is named, is certainly though an interesting and rare creature to have in a museum or wild-beast show, the most snarling, ill-mannered, and detestable beast I have ever owned." "Hawkeye," whose most interesting paper on the wild dog appeared in the _South of India Observer_, of January 7th, 1869, alludes to "Evangeline" in the following terms:--"I saw the beast at the People's Park, and a more untameable wretch I never met with; and why so fair a name for such a savage de'il, I know not." It is strange that the most dog-like of the wild canines should refuse domestication when even the savage European wolf has become so attached as to pine during the absence of his master. Jesse, in his 'History of the British Dog,' relates that a lady near Geneva had a tame wolf, which was so attached that when, on one occasion, she left home for a while he refused food and pined. On her return, when he heard her voice, he flew to meet her in an ecstasy of delight; springing up, he placed a paw on each of her shoulders, and the next moment fell backwards and expired. The wild dog, however, refuses all endearments, and keeps his savage nature to the last. I have never heard of their attacking men, but few four-footed beasts, even of large size, escape them. Fortunately they are not as common as jackals, otherwise little game would be left in the country. During my residence in the Seonee district from 1857 to 1864, I only came across them two or three times. Their mode of hunting has been described by various writers--Hodgson, Elliot, Jerdon, and others of less reliability--but one of the best descriptions, which I regret I have not s.p.a.ce for _in extenso_, is that to which I have already alluded as written by "Hawkeye," and which may be found in the paper above mentioned, and also in McMaster's notes on Jerdon; but I give a few extracts:--

"Generally speaking, however, the wild dog has not been known to be the aggressor against mankind; and, though not displaying much dread of man, has. .h.i.therto refrained from actual attack, for I have never heard of any case proving it otherwise; at the same time it is well known and an established fact that the tiger and leopard are often driven away by these dogs. It is uncertain whether they really attack with intent to kill either the one or the other, but that they have been repeatedly seen following both there is no question. The wild dog in appearance bears much similitude to the English fox; he is however larger, and stands some inches higher, and has no white tip to his tail, which, with his muzzle, is perfectly black. The muscular development all over the body is extraordinary. One that I shot, when skinned, was a most perfect specimen of thews and sinews I ever beheld." He describes various hunts by packs of these dogs, in one of which, witnessed by a brother sportsman, the dogs, five in number, in pressing a Sambar stag, spread themselves out like a fan, which he considers a matter of instinct, so that in case of a flank movement the outer dogs would have a chance; in this case however the stag kept straight on, and, the ground being precipitous, he managed to escape. The evidence produced tends to confirm the opinion that the wild dog endeavours to seize the quarry by the flanks and tear out the entrails. According to Hodgson the _buansu_, as it is called in Nepal, runs in a long, lobbing canter, unapt at the double, and considers it inferior in speed to the jackal and fox. It hunts chiefly by day. Six or eight, or more, unite to hunt down their victim, maintaining the chase more by power of smell than by the eye, and usually overcome by force and perseverance, though occasionally mixing stratagem with direct violence. He a.s.serts that in hunting they bark like hounds, but their barking is in such a voice as no language can express. "Hawkeye," however, states that the wild dog does not throw his tongue when in chase; he has heard them make a kind of tremulous whimper.

The stories of their attacking and killing tigers must be received with caution, though it is certain they will hara.s.s both tigers and leopards. I wrote some time back, in 'Seonee': "The natives in all parts of India declare that even tigers are attacked by them; and we once heard a very circ.u.mstantial account given of a fight, which took place near the station of Seonee, between a tiger and a pack of these dogs, in which the latter were victors. They followed him about cautiously, avoiding too close a contact, and worried him for three successive days--a statement which should be received with caution. We have, however, heard of them annoying a tiger to such an extent as to make him surrender to them the prey which he had killed for himself."

I agree with Jerdon in disbelieving the native superst.i.tion that the wild dog sheds a pungent secretion on his tail, and whisks it in the eyes of the animals it attacks, or covers the leaves of the bushes through which the victim graze, and then takes advantage of the temporary blindness thus caused; but it is a curious fact that the idea is prevalent in all parts of India, north and south, and has been accepted by many writers on Indian sports.

The wild dog dwells and breeds in holes and caves in rocks. The breeding season is from January to March, and about six whelps are born at a time. The mammae are more numerous than in any other canine--from twelve to fourteen. Jerdon notices that Mr. Wilson at Simla discovered a breeding-place in holes under some rocks, where evidently several females were breeding together. At such times they endeavour to hunt their game towards their den, and kill it as near to it as possible.

_GENUS VULPES_.

The foxes form a distinct group of the Canidae; their bodies are long, with short legs, the muzzle more lengthened in comparison and much sharper, and the pupil of the eye contracts vertically instead of circularly; the tail is very bushy, with a gland at the base secreting a strong odorous substance. The female has six mammae. There are two types in India--the desert fox or fox of the plains, _Cynalopex_ of Hamilton Smith; and the hill fox, which approximates to the European species. The former has longer ears and longer and more slender limbs.

NO. 250. VULPES BENGALENSIS.

_The Indian Fox_ (_Jerdon's No. 138_).

NATIVE NAMES.--_Lomri_, _Lokri_, _Lokeria_, Hindi; _Kokri_, Mahrathi; _Khekar_ and _Khikir_ in Behar; _Khek-sial_, Bengali; _Konk_, _Kemp-nari_, _Chanaak-nari_, Canarese; _Konka-nakka_ or _Gunta-nakka_, _Poti-nara_, Telegu.--_Jerdon_.

HABITAT.--Throughout India; probably Ceylon, as Kellaart mentions having heard of a fox there, but I cannot trace it, or any other, in Burmah.

DESCRIPTION.--"Reddish-grey; rufous on the legs and muzzle; reddish white beneath; ears long dark brown externally; tail long bushy, with a broad black tip; muzzle very acute; chin and throat whitish."--_Jerdon_.

Here is Colonel Sykes's description of it in Southern India:--

"It is a very pretty animal, but smaller than the European fox; head short; muzzle very sharp; eyes oblique; irides nut-brown; legs very slender; tail trailing on the ground, very bushy; along the back and on the forehead fawn colour, with hair having a white ring to its tip; back, neck, between the eyes, along the sides, and half way down the tail reddish-grey; each hair banded black and reddish-white; all the legs reddish outside, reddish-white inside; chin and throat dirty white; along the belly reddish-white; ears externally dark brown, and with the fur so short as to be scarcely discoverable; edges of eyelids black; muzzle red brown."

The colour however varies a good deal, according to season and locality. It becomes more grey in the cold season. McMaster writes that he once killed one silvery grey, almost white.

SIZE.--Head and body, 20 to 21 inches; tail, 12 to 14 inches; weight, 5-1/2 lbs.

This fox is common, not only in open country, but even in cantonments and suburbs of cities. Hardly a night pa.s.ses without its familiar little chattering bark in the Dalhousie Square gardens, or on the Maidan, being heard; and few pa.s.sengers running up and down our railway lines, who are on the look-out for birds and animals as the train whirls along, fail to see in the early morning our little grey friend sneaking home with his brush trailing behind him.

Jerdon says of the manner in which he carries this that he trails it when going slowly or hunting for food; holds it out horizontal when running; and raises it almost erect when making a sudden turn.

It also, like the jackal; will eat fruit, such as melons, ber, &c., and herbs. It breeds in the spring, from February to April, and has four cubs. Jerdon says the cubs are seldom to be seen outside their earth till nearly full grown. It is much coursed with greyhounds, and gives most amusing sport, doubling constantly till it gets near an earth; but it has little or no smell, so its scent does not lie.

Sir Walter Elliot wrote of it in the Madras _Journal of Literature and Science_ (vol. x. p. 102): "Its princ.i.p.al food is rats, land-crabs, gra.s.shoppers, beetles, &c. On one occasion a half-devoured mango was found in the stomach. It always burrows in open plains, runs with great speed, doubling like a hare; but instead of stretching out at first like that animal, and trusting to its turns as a last resource, the fox turns more at first; and, if it can fatigue the dogs, it then goes straight away."

It is easily tamed if taken young, and is very playful, but Jerdon, in repeating the a.s.sertion that tame foxes sooner or later go mad, says he has known one or two instances where they have done so; but McMaster throws doubt on this, and puts the supposed madness down to excitement at the amorous season. He gives an interesting account of a pair kept by a friend, which lived on amicable terms with his greyhounds. The owner writes: "I sometimes took them on to the parade ground, and slipped a couple of greyhounds after them. They never ran far, as when tired they lay down on their backs, and were at once recognised by the dogs. On one occasion one fox was tired before the other, and after he had made friends with the dogs he joined them in the chase after the other."

NO. 251. VULPES LEUCOPUS.

_The Desert Fox_ (_Jerdon's No. 139_).

HABITAT.--Northern India, and also on the Western Coast about Cutch.

DESCRIPTION.--"Light fulvous on the face, middle of back and upper part of tail; cheeks, sides of neck and body, inner side, and most of the fore parts of the limbs, white; shoulder and haunch, and outside of the limbs nearly to the middle joint, mixed black and white; tail darker at the base above, largely tipped with white; lower parts nigrescent; ears black posteriorly; fur soft and fine as in _V. monta.n.u.s_, altogether dissimilar from that of _V.

Bengalensis_. The skull with the muzzle distinctly narrower, and the lower jaw weaker. One I killed at Hissar had the upper parts fulvous, the hair black-tipped; sides paler; whole lower parts from the chin, including the inside of the arm and thigh, blackish; feet white on the inner side anteriorly, with a blackish border on the anterior limbs; legs fulvous externally; all feet white; tail always with a white tip."--_Jerdon_.

SIZE.--Head and body, 20 inches; tail, 14 inches; weight, 5-1/2 lbs.

According to Mountstuart Elphinstone the backs of the foxes in Hurriana are of the same colour as the common fox, but in one part of the desert their legs and belly, up to a certain height, are black, and in another white--the one seems to have been wading up to the belly in ink, and the other in whitewash.

This fox lives chiefly on the jerboa-rat (_Gerbillus Indicus_) common on sandy plains. Jerdon thinks it more speedy than the common Indian fox.

NO. 252. VULPES FERRILATUS.

_The Thibetan Grey Fox_.

NATIVE NAME.--_Iger_, Thibetan.

HABITAT.--Thibet.

DESCRIPTION.--Pale fulvous, with grizzled white or iron-grey sides; shorter ears than in the Indian fox.

We now come to the true foxes, with shorter legs and moderate ears.

NO. 253. VULPES MONTa.n.u.s.

_The Hill Fox_ (_Jerdon's No. 140_).