1776. January. W*VNJ As the raters hairs are itiff and harfh, fo its hide is tough, and the animal itfelf is difficult to kill. The co- lonifts and the Hottentots both aiiert, that it is almoft im- poffible to kill this creature, without giving it a great number o f violent blows on the nofe; on which account they deftroy it by ihooting it, or plunging a knife into its body. The ihortnefs of the ratel’s legs will not permit him to make his efcape by flight, when purfued by the hounds; he is able, however, to extricate himfelf from their clutches by biting and fcratching them in a violent degree; while, on the other hand, he is perfe&ly well defended from the aflaults o f their teeth by the toughnefs of his hide: for when a hound endeavours to bite him, it can lay hold only’ 011 the ratel’s tough hide; which in this cafe inftantly fepa- rates from the creature’s body or fleih, as it is reported to lie loofe from the ikin, as though it were within a fack; lo that when any body catches hold of him by the hind' part of his neck, and that even pretty near his head, he is able to turn round, as it were, in his ikin, and bite the arm of the perlbn that feizes him. It is a remarkable cir-' cumftance, that a number of hounds, which collectively are able to tear a lion o f a moderate fize in pieces, are faid fometimes to be forced to leave the rate! only dead to appearance. This report feems to be confirmed by the cir- cumltance of M. d e l a C a i l l e ’ s blereau puanfs ftill being alive, after the hounds had dragged it away to the waggon. Thus far, however, is certain, that on the fur o f ’ the ratel I have brought home with me, there is fcafcely the mark of a bite to be feen, though it had been attaeked' and worried by a number of hounds. Is it not probable, that that nature, which has deftined the ratel for the deftruc- tion of bees, may have beftowed on it a hide fo much tougher than thofe Ihe has given to other animals of the viverra kind, merely for the purpofe of defending it from ■the flings of thefe infefls ? Or may not this creature’s food, which conlifts of wax and honey, make it fo tough and difficult to kill ? Thofe bees neffs which are built up in trees, are in nq danger whatever from the ratel. In the firft tranfports pf his rage at having fought after thefe bees in vain, he ufes to gnaw or bite the trunk o f thefe trees; and thefe bites are fure marks for the Hottentots, that a bees neft is to be found up in that tree. I ihould myfelf have harboured many doubts concerning all thefe circumftances attributed to the ratel, had I not obtained various accounts of this curious animal, entirely correfponding with each other, from many experienced farmers and Hottentots living in different parts of the country. As I was not fortunate enough to catch a ratel myfelf, I muft be contented with giving fuch a defcription pf it here, as I have been able to make from this creature’s ikin. The far* teeth, fix in each jaw, moftly o f the fame fize, flat at top, probably in confequence of being worn away ; canine teeth, two in each jaw, very ftrong and large when compared with the fize o f the animal, but obtufe, (probably likewife in confequence of their being worn away;) the grinders, about fix in number, had, as well as the others, a yellow caft, perhaps from the animal feeding upon honey. The 'tongue was iharp, and the papillae iharp and turned back, as in-catSi * 7 The 17 76. January.
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