File:The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals; (1895) (20780889681).jpg

Title: The animals of the world. Brehm's life of animals;
Identifier: cu31924024782827 (find matches)
Year: 1895 (1890s)
Authors: Brehm, Alfred Edmund, 1829-1884; Pechuel-Loesche, Eduard, 1840-1913; Haacke, Wilhelm, 1855-1912; Schmidtlein, Richard
Subjects: Mammals
Publisher: Chicago, A. N. Marquis
Contributing Library: Cornell University Library
Digitizing Sponsor: MSN

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THE HY^NA FAMILY—HY^NA. I8r> feet are whitish. These colors are likely to show considerable variations, as they may be much darker or lighter. The length of the body is about fifty- two inches ; the height of the shoulder is nearly thirty-two inches, but much larger specimens are reported to have been killed. Spotted Hytsna's The Spotted Hyaena inhabits Haunts and southern and eastern Africa, ex- MQde of Life. tending from the Cape of Good Hope to about the seventeenth parallel of north latitude, and wherever it is plentiful it almost com- pletely crowds out the Striped Hysena. The two species live together in Abyssinia and East Soudan, but farther south the Spotted Hysena gradually becomes sole possessor of the field. It is very com- more stupid, and of a more wicked and brutal dispo- sition than its striped relative, though it may be tamed to a certain extent in a short time, with the aid of the whip. Still it seems that it never attains the degree of docility that is reached by the Striped HyjEna. The tricks performed in wandering circuses by the Hyaena do not furnish us with a standard, and it is only such peripatetic zoologists as these that find pleasure or profit in bestowing rriuch attention upon these animals, which are so ugly, clumsy and unprepossessing, in their cages. For hours they lie like logs, then they jump up, look at people with remarkably dull-witted expressions, rub themselves against the bars from time to time and then break out with their abominable laughter.
Text Appearing After Image:
STBIFES HYENAS. This species of the Hy^na family is the best known, and derives its name from the markings of its fur.as shown in the picture. This is, like the other species, a carrion eating animal, and the dispute over the possession of a bone, as here depicted, is a very common occur- rence on the African and Asiatic plains which form its habitat. The rough, coarse fur and mane, the erect ears and somewhat slender limbs which distin- guish the animal, are seen in this group. (Hyfsna striata.) mon in Abyssinia; and is found even at an elevation of twelve thousand feet above the sea. Its mode of life is similar to that of the others, but it is much more dreaded because of its large size and strength, and probably it is on this account that it is consid- ered a spirit of evil, bringing misfortune to man. A great many observers agree that it attacks human beings, especially when the latter are asleep or tired. Ruppel says that the Abyssinians declare this to be the case. Character and The Spotted Hysna is the animal Disposition of that plays the most important part SpotterfWj/cB/ios.,.in, tradition. Of all Beasts;of Prey it undoubtedly possesses the ugliest and most repul- sive shape ; and its mental endowments are such as to make the animal still more detestable. It is The Brown The Brown Hy^na or Strand-Wolf Hywna or (^HycBna brunnea) is mainly distin- Strand-Wolf. guished from its relatives by a long,, rough mane on the back and hanging down on both sides. The hair is long over the entire fur, and its. color is a general dark brown, diversified by a few spots on the legs of a mixed brown and white hue ; the head is dark brown and gray, the forehead black, sprinkled with white and reddish brown. The hair of the mane on the back is whitish gray at bottom and brownish black above. The Brown Hyaena is- considerably smaller than the Spotted Hyaena, and at tl);e most dnly-attainstlie size of,the striped species. This animal inhabits the south of Africa, but prob- ably only the desert-like western regions, and is said to exist usually near the sea-shore. It seems to be

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