. The popular natural history . Zoology. THE TELEDU. 85 like a badger in its hole ; at night it proceeds in search of its food, which consists of insects and other larva, and of worms of every kind. It is par- ticularly fond of the common lumbrici, or earth-worms, which abound in the fertile mould. These animals, agreeably to the information of the natives, live in pairs, and the female produces two or three young at a birth. " The motions of the Mydaus are slow, and it is easily taken by the natives, who by no means fear it. During my abode on the Mountain Prahu, I engaged them to procur
. The popular natural history . Zoology. THE TELEDU. 85 like a badger in its hole ; at night it proceeds in search of its food, which consists of insects and other larva, and of worms of every kind. It is par- ticularly fond of the common lumbrici, or earth-worms, which abound in the fertile mould. These animals, agreeably to the information of the natives, live in pairs, and the female produces two or three young at a birth. " The motions of the Mydaus are slow, and it is easily taken by the natives, who by no means fear it. During my abode on the Mountain Prahu, I engaged them to procure me individuals for preparation; and as they received a desirable reward, they brought them to me daily in greater numbers than I could employ. Whenever the natives surprise them sud- denly, they prepare them for food ; the flesh is then scarcely impregnated with the offensive odour, and is described as very delicious. The animals are generally in excellent condition, as their food abounds in fertile mould. " On the Mountain Prahu, the natives, who were most active in supplying me with specimens of the Mydaus, assured me that it could only propel the fluid to the distance of about two feet. The fetid matter itself is of a viscid. TELEDU. —(Mydaus mdiceps.') nature : its effects depend on its great volatility, and they spread through a great extent. The entire neighbourhood of a village is infected by the odour of an irritated Teledu, and in the immediate vicinity of the discharge it is so violent as in some persons to produce syncope. The various species of Mephitis in America differ from the Mydaus in the capacity of projecting the fetid matter to a greater distance. " The Mydaus is not ferocious in its manners, and, taken young, like the badger, might be easily tamed. An individual which I kept some time in confinement afforded me an opportunity of observing its disposition. It soon became gentle and reconciled to its situation, and did not at any time emit the o
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1884
