The sexes couple at one special period, and the
female brings forth at the beginning of the summer. There is an
account given of the parturition of the she-wolf that borders on the
fabulous, to the effect that she confines her lying-in to within
twelve particular days of the year. And they give the reason for
this in the form of a myth, viz. that when they transported Leto in so
many days from the land of the Hyperboreans to the island of Delos,
she assumed the form of a she-wolf to escape the anger of Here.
Whether the account be correct or not has not yet been verified; I
give it merely as it is currently told. There is no more of truth in
the current statement that the she-wolf bears once and only once in
her lifetime.
The cat and the ichneumon bear as many young as the dog, and
live on the same food; they live about six years. The cubs of the
panther are born blind like those of the wolf, and the female bears
four at the most at one birth. The particulars of conception are the
same for the thos, or civet, as for the dog; the cubs of the animal
are born blind, and the female bears two, or three, or four at a
birth. It is long in the body and low in stature; but not withstanding
the shortness of its legs it is exceptionally fleet of foot, owing
to the suppleness of its frame and its capacity for leaping.
Pages:
356
357
358
359
360
361
362
363
364
365
366
367
368
369
370
371
372
373
374
375
376
377
378
379
380