BASENJI. A poised, elegant hunting dog from Africa, the Basenji is smoothly muscular and moves with ease and agility. He is lightly built and possesses a wrinkled head and a high, curled tail. The Basenji is commonly known as the "barkless dog," but when excited, he makes a noise that sounds like a yodel. Prized for its hunting prowess in its native Central Africa, the first specimens of the Basenji were brought from the source of the Nile as presents to the Pharaohs of ancient Egypt. The breed wasn’t successfully introduced in England until 1937, and the first litter of Basenji puppies raised to maturity in America was in 1941. In Africa, the natives use him for pointing, retrieving and driving game into nets.