CHAPTER ELEVEN.
THE SMALLEST OF FOXES.
The object which now fixed the attention of the naturalist was aquadruped,--a very small one, not bigger than a medium-sized cat, butaltogether different in form and proportions. Unlike the cats, it had along sharp snout, and a thick bushy tail. It stood higher upon itslegs, too, than do animals of the cat kind, but the most remarkable_feature_ about it was its ears. These were remarkable for theirlength, which was out of all proportion to the size of the creature.Its whole body was barely one foot long, and yet the ears stood full sixinches above the crown of its head! They stood quite erect, broad,stiff, and pointed, and ending in an acute angle at the tips.
Its colour was a beautiful Isabella above, and cream-white underneath.No; the creature was not like a cat, nor a dog neither, though it wasmore like the latter than the former. But there is an animal related tothe canine family to which it bore a very strong resemblance, and thatis the fox, for it _was_ a fox, the very smallest in the world, the"caama" of Southern Africa. And yet, correctly speaking, it was not afox neither, but a _fennec_.
What is a "fennec?"
That is an interesting question, and one about which naturalists havebothered their brains a good deal. It is an animal of which there areseveral species existing throughout Africa; and of which the celebratedtraveller Bruce,--who, everybody thought, _lied_ so largely, but aboutwhom conceited ignorance has since changed its opinion,--first gave anaccount.
It differs from the foxes in several respects, but the most remarkabledifference is found in the form of the eye. In the true foxes the pupilis linear or elliptical, while that of the fennec is round, thus showingthe difference of habit--for the foxes are in reality _nocturnal_animals, while the fennecs are _diurnal_. Some species of foxes,however, are twilight prowlers, and one or two of the fennecs are alsocrepuscular.
It is, therefore, scarce possible to draw a line of demarcation betweenthe two. The fennecs, however, have been formed into a separate genus,termed _Megalotis_, from the extreme size of their ears. It is to behoped that the question is thus settled that has so much bothered thecloset-naturalists; who, taking their ideas from the anatomy of thefennec, have classed it according to their several fancies; one makingit a dog, another a cat, a third a fox, a fourth a civet, a fifth ahyena, and a sixth placing it among the galagos!
Let us call it a "fennec," or diurnal fox, and say farther that althoughthere are several species of _true foxes_ in Africa, and several of_jackal-foxes_, there are also several of fennecs. Three are wellknown. The fennec of Bruce, (_Megalotis zerda_), first described bythat traveller as seen by him in Abyssinia, but also indigenous to SouthAfrica; the "zabora," (_Megalotis famelicus_), a native of Nubia andKordofan, and supposed to be the animal represented on Egyptian temples,which has been taken for the figure of the jackal; and the "caamafennec," (_Megalotis caama_).
A fourth species, "Lalande's zerda," (_Megalotis Lalandii_), has been"hooked out" of this genus, and made to form one of itself,(_Agriodus_), not because its habits in anywise differ from the_Megalotides_, but because it chances to differ slightly from them inthe form and arrangement of its "ivories."
Now of all these fennecs the one which was passing before the eyes ofHans was the "caama," the smallest of the whole tribe either of fennecsor foxes.
Crouching just like a fox, now trotting nimbly a few paces, now haltingand squatting close to the ground, as though fearful of being observed,the little creature passed on.
What was it after? What prey was it in pursuit of?
On watching it for a few moments, Hans saw to his great surprise that itwas after the ostriches!
It was going the same way they had gone, its sharp snout set towards,and its eyes evidently bent upon, them. Whenever they stopped it didthe same, squatting down as it did so, as if to avoid their observation;and when they moved on, it also trotted forward, halting at intervalsbehind stones and bushes and earnestly regarding the birds in advance.Beyond a doubt it was trailing them! But what could this littlecreature want with the ostriches? Certainly not to attack them, thoughit was following after them just as a fox would a covey of partridges.
It could not be that, however; as a kick from the mighty leg of one ofthese birds would have hoisted the fennec fifty yards over the plain,like a ball from a cricket-bat.
No; it could not be following them with hostile intentions,--puny pigmythat it appeared beside the big camel-birds!
For what, then, was it trailing them? Of course it was not running onthe scent, but the view. On their track it certainly was, and ascertainly was it "dogging" them. For what purpose?
This was just what the naturalist Hans wished to know; and he remainedclosely observing the movements of this miniature "microscopic" fox.
Talking of a microscope reminds me that Hans at that moment took out ofhis pocket a telescope,--a small one, which he habitually carried. Thishe did, because, in a few minutes, the ostriches were very distant overthe plain, and their pursuer the fennec was no longer visible to thenaked eye. With the glass, however, Hans could still make it out, andcould see that it was manoeuvring just as when it passed him. All atonce the ostriches came to a stop; and, after an apparent consultationamong themselves, the cock squatted down, and his long legs were nolonger seen. He was flat down upon his breast, and even through hissmall pocket-glass Hans could tell that his body looked more spread andbulky than before. Was he covering eggs? Was there a nest? Theappearance of the ground about the sitting bird favoured that belief.There was a slight prominence around the body of the bird having thesemblance of a bird's nest; but Hans knew that the nest of the ostrichis of very simple construction,--a mere cavity scratched out in thesand, and scarce to be recognised from any great distance. Severalwhite objects lying around the spot led Hans to the conclusion thatthere _was_ a nest. These objects did not seem larger than"jack-stones," but Hans, calculating well the distance that separatedthem from his eye, believed them to be ostrich-eggs, and therefore aslarge as paving-stones. Hans knew that around the nest of the ostrichscattered eggs are usually found--said by some to be there laid as adeposit for the food of the expected progeny during their early days ofchickhood!
The two hens, after moving about awhile also squatted down, but theyappeared only to kneel with their great legs doubled under them; whereasthe cock sat low and flat upon his breast. This only more convincedHans that there was a nest, and that the cock ostrich was taking histurn of duty, while the hens were simply gone to roost in the usualmanner.
That the cock covered the eggs was nothing surprising to the youngnaturalist, who knew that it is the habit of the male of these birds todo so, and that he usually takes his turn during the night, when it iscolder, and his greater size and strength are required to keep the eggswarm, as well as to protect the nest from prowling beasts of prey. Oneor other of the hens would very likely relieve him about daybreak. Ofcourse both the hens were mothers in prospective of the future brood, asthe cock ostrich is a terrible "Mormon;" and frequently does thepolygamous on a large scale, having sometimes as many as a dozen wives.Our old fellow was rather a moderate Mormon, as he appeared to besatisfied with two--though bigamy, no doubt, is quite as sinful aspolygamy.
Hans concluded that there was a nest, and full of eggs in process ofbeing hatched. It was no evidence against this, that the birds had beenaway from it together. The day had been a very warm one, and during themiddle part of the day--particularly in hot weather--the ostrich wandersaway from its eggs, leaving the sun to do its work for it. The hotterthe country, the less does the ostrich require to "set;" and in parts ofAfrica within the torrid zone where the heat reaches a very high degree,the ostrich has very little to do with the hatching of its eggs, butburies them in the burning sand, and makes the sun its "incubator!"
But what had become of our fennec--poor little fellow?
So asked Hans of himself, as he swept the plain with his telescope.While watching the late movements of the b
irds, he had altogetherforgotten the beast.
After a time he was just able to make out its small whitish bodystretched upon the ground, under the lee of a little bush, andapparently resolved upon passing the night there. Had there been anyhole near, it would have preferred lodging in that--for the fennec is ananimal that makes its home in a "burrow."
Night had suddenly come on, and the darkness prevented Hans fromobserving farther the movements of either beast or bird; so putting uphis glass, he rejoined his companions in the camp.