JACKALS 89

largest are the wolves, of which but one species—
that peculiar to the Falkland Islands—is known
south of the equator. The typical wolf (C. lupus)
is yellowish grey, but there are red wolves, and
black wolves, and white wolves, and, in Tibet, a
shaggy black-and-white variety. The coyote (C.
_latrans) is much smaller than the common wolf, and
his coat varies with the season from reddish brown to
whitish grey. He is a North American, heard of in
late years as far south as Costa Rica, driven south, so
the theory goes, by constant persecution. Between
his present southerly limit and his Falkland cousin
(C. antarcticus) there is the whole length of South
America. Another wolf, with a species to himself,
is the Abyssinian one (C. szmensis), but he is half a
jackal.

The jackals are smaller than the wolves. They
have a wide distribution in the Old World, being
found in South Eastern Europe, in Southern Asia,
and, at odd intervals, all the way down East
Africa from Egypt to the Cape, and even in the
Gaboon country on the other coast. No jackal is
particular in his diet, but, besides acting as scavenger,
he enjoys fresh meat occasionally, and will bring
down young or weakly goats and sheep when he has
a chance; he is as fond of poultry as a fox, and
varies his meals with maize, sugar-cane, and fruits.
That he is not as truly carnivorous as the wolf might
be guessed from his flesh-teeth, which are much
smaller in proportion to the molars adjoining them.

Next to the wolves and jackals come the dogs,
of which the chief wild species are the Australian