CYNICTIS OGILBYII.
already mentioned. The ears are short and semicircular ; the head is broad
and bulky behind the eye, but slender and subcylindrical towards the muzzle»
which is bare and prominent. The nails are long, slender, and slightly
curved ; the curvatures most developed in those of the fore-feet. Besides the
rigid bristles which occur upon the upper-lip, there are also a few of a similar
description upon other parts of the head, such as the cheeks, forehead, commencement
of the throat, &c. For the characters of the teeth, and the configuration
of the skull, see Plate XVIII. and its letter-press description.
DIMENSIONS.
Length from the nose to the base of the
I n * . Lin.
Distance between the tip of the nose
inch. Lin.
o 1 1
of the tail ............................. • 9 3 Distance between the eye and the ears 0
of the head ............................ 2 9 Height at the shoulder ........................ 5 , 0
In ihe female the ground-colour is not quite so bright as in the male, nor is
the brindling so distinct.
The grizzly appearance of the back, and the great villosity of the tail
furnish characters by which this species is readily distinguished from the
others which occur in South Africa.
It inhabits open country, and specimens are frequently to be seen on the barren plains which
exist immediately to the northward of the Cape Colony. Over these they wander during the
greater part of the day, in search of their food, which consists of mice, small birds, insects, &c.
and they only retreat to the subterraneous burrows, in which they are accustomed to pass the
night, when alarmed by the approach of man. They delight to bask in the sun, and when
the calls of hunger are not urgent, they are to be seen, especially in the early part of the day,
seated upon their hinder legs, with their bodies erect, and so placed, as that the greatest
degree of heat shall be enjoyed. They assume the same position when their fears are excited,
by which their range of view is considerably increased. Their common^, pace is a walk; but
when retreating from real or imaginary danger, they move with great speed; their pace then is
a sort of gallop, now and then broken by bounds or springs, which they commonly take when
the surface over which they have to retreat, is either broken or coated with brushwood. Independently
of their being extremely wild and cautious, they are also very savage, and when
secured alive, they display a great desire to bite their captors, and it is not till after they have
been a long time subjected to the sufferings of hunger, that they can be brought to tolerate the
approach or even appearance o f man, near to the place where they are confined, without
evincing their savage and pugnacious propensities. When their spirits however are once
subdued, they are tolerably docile; yet they are never to be trusted, inasmuch as they continue
to manifest a treacherous disposition, and will often bite with severity, when only indications
of kindness might be expected.