CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.
A CHAPTER UPON HYENAS.
Hyenas are wolves--only wolves of a particular kind.

They have the same general habits as wolves, and much of their look.

They have heavier heads, broader thicker muzzles, shorter and stouter necks, and altogether a coarser and shaggier coat.

One of the most characteristic marks of the hyena is the inequality in the development of its limbs.
The hind-legs appear weaker and shorter than the fore ones, so that the rump is far lower than the shoulders; and the line of the back, instead of being horizontal, as in most animals, droops obliquely towards the tail.
The short thick neck and strong jaws are characteristics; the former so much so, that in the days of fabulous natural history the hyena was said to be without cervical vertebrae.

Its thick neck and powerful jaw-bones have their uses.