DIGITIGRADE CARNIVORA—THE HYENA FAMILY.
The Hyenas are often grouped with the Cat family, as they have many points of resemblance (particularly the rough tongue) and prowl and seize their prey in much the same manner. But the Hyenas differ from all the members of the Cat family in having the fore legs longer than the hind ones, giving them a shambling gait and a strange, sneaking appearance. They have large heads, and their jaws are very powerful, and able to lift easily a prey of great weight. Their coat is very thick, and forms a kind of flowing mane along the ridge of the spine. Their claws are short and stout, and are more useful for digging than tearing their prey. Dreadful tales have been told of the Hyenas, and their unclean habits; how they rob the grave yards and devour the dead bodies, and how they prefer decaying animals, to killing their prey and eating it while fresh. But they accomplish a good work in one direction, even if it does fill us with disgust. They perform the same service among quadrupeds that the Vulture does among birds.
In the cities and villages of Africa, in which the care of the public roads is often left to chance for their cleaning, the Hyenas are in the habit of removing all the decaying substances, which would otherwise soon cause diseases by decaying in the hot burning African sun. The Hyena even eats all the bones of the carcasses on which they feed.
The Hyenas are not so fierce as is usually supposed. If they can find sufficient decaying matter to satisfy their hunger, they will seldom attack living prey, and they will never attack mankind except in cases of great necessity, but they have been known to break down the walls which the inhabitants of African villages erect around their homes and kill and drag off the cattle.