This is a South African species, and, as in the case of the last two forms, little or nothing is known of its habits in a state of nature. It is about the size of the Crossarchus, the body and head attaining a length of about thirteen, the tail of about six inches. The body is of a greyish-brown colour, marked along the back with yellowish-grey transverse stripes. There is a black patch round the eye, bordered by a lighter area, and the ears and the end of the tail are also black. As in the Cynogale, the head is rounded, the snout long, and the ears short. The legs are much longer than in either of the preceding genera, and the feet are distinguished by being provided with only four instead of five toes. The claws are very long and curved, and, as might be judged from this, the animal is addicted to burrowing.
SURICATE.
There are several of these pretty little animals in the Zoological Gardens, where their innocent faces and quiet ways distinguish them very favourably from their relatives, the Ichneumons, which are perpetually quarrelling in the most outrageous fashion.
WILLIAM KITCHEN PARKER.
THOMAS JEFFERY PARKER.
THE AQUATIC OR MARINE CARNIVORA.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—THE WALRUS, OR MORSE.
Pinnipedia distinctly Aquatic—The Three Families—Their Common Characteristics—Skeleton—Mobility of Figure—Feet—Dentition—Skull—Tongue—Stomach—Intestine—Peculiar Disposition of Blood-vessels of Liver—Lungs—Sense of Smell—Larynx—Brain—Sense of Hearing—[The Walrus Family]—Characteristics—THE WALRUS, OR MORSE—Geographical Distribution—Fossil Forms—Weight—Size—Appearance in Old Age—Mode of Walk—Habits—On Guard—In the Water—Attacked—Tusks—Dentition of the Young—Uses of the Tusks—Food—Long Fasts—Story of “Jamie,” a Tame Walrus—The Young—Maternal Affection—Massacre—Walrus as an Article of Diet.
THE Walrus, the Sea Lions, and the Seals, collectively termed the Pinnipedia,[203] or by some Pinnigrada,[204] constitute the second well-marked group or sub-order of the Carnivora. They are truly inhabitants of the high seas, the land being to them only an occasional resort, when procreation or other causes induce short visits, or temporary residence thereupon. In the previous chapters it has been noted that certain of the so-called Land Carnivora, the White Polar Bear, or the Common Otter (Lutra), for example, take freely to the water, and even subsist on finny and other prey derived therefrom, but nevertheless, as a rule, such Carnivora only peradventure are semi-aquatic. The one notable instance to the contrary is the Sea Otter (Enhydra), an animal seldom seen on land, though rarely met with far from rocky reefs and islets. Besides mere habit, the Polar Bears and Otters in some points of their organisation—particularly the conformation of the skull of the first, and webbed toes and abundant under-fur in the two last—show a partial gradation and tendency of structure towards their strictly marine brethren, the Seal tribe.