t found in the closely
neighbouring island of Van Diemen's Land.
The wild dogs of India go under the name of Buansa, Dhole, and Kolsun,
are found in Nepal, the Nilgiris, Coromandel, the Dekkan, etc., and bear
various names, according to their locality. They prey night and day,
have an acute smell, a peculiar bark, not unlike that of a hound, and
are of a sandy or red colour. Their head is long; they have an
ill-natured look, oblique eyes; long, erect ears; powerful limbs, bushy
tail, fur varying according to climate, and all animals are afraid of
them. They kill tigers and cheetahs, and the remains of hogs and deer
are to be found in their path. An endeavour to tame one succeeded, and
he was as affectionate and intelligent as many other dogs.
In Java there is a large, wild dog, and in Beloochistan whole packs are
to be found, which pull down buffaloes with ease; their footmarks are
like those of a hound; and still further to the west a much larger
species is said to exist.
The Sheeb or Schib, of Syria, is wild, and is probably the wolf-dog of
Natolia. The Deeb of Nubia would seem to be also a primitive species,
but not resembling the packs of wild dogs which inhabit Congo and South
Africa, etc., and live in covers and burrows.
The hunters of South Africa tell us that they pull down the strongest
antelopes; they are very destructive to sheep, and mangle more than they
devour. They are extremely swift, and utter a sharp bark, or chattering
cry, which calls the pack together, and is very soft and melodious. The
hatred between them and tame dogs is unconquerable, and in their
appearance they look like a link between the wolf and the hyaena.
A large group of dogs includes all the indigenous canines of South
America, under the name of Aguaras, and resembles foxes. They are
silent, if not dumb, and appear to congregate in families rather than
packs. They have a peculiar propensity to steal and secrete, without any
apparent object for so doing.
Colonel Hamilton Smith, the able writer on dogs, does not acknowledge
some of these wild races, but thinks they are what he calls feral, or
domestic dogs which have regained their liberty, and have subsisted for
many generations on their own intelligence. To these he refers the
Natolians and Aguaras; but there can be no doubt concerning the feral
nature of the dog of St. Domingo, which descends from the hounds trained
to hunt human beings by the Spaniards, and which are suppo
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