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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Living Animals of the World, Volume 1
-(of 2), by C. J. Cornish and F. C. Selous and Harry Johnston and Louis Wain and and others
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most
-other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions
-whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of
-the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at
-www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have
-to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook.
-
-Title: The Living Animals of the World, Volume 1 (of 2)
- A Popular Natural History
-
-Author: C. J. Cornish
- F. C. Selous
- Harry Johnston
- Louis Wain
- and others
-
-Release Date: July 28, 2019 [EBook #60000]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD, VOL 1 ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Chris Curnow, Keith Edkins and the Online
-Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This
-file was produced from images generously made available
-by The Internet Archive)
-
-
-
-
-
-Transcriber's note: Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
-
-
- * * * * *
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz, Berlin._
-
-OCELOT FROM CENTRAL AMERICA.
-
-This is one of the most beautifully marked of all Mammals. The ornamental
-colouring is seldom quite the same in any two specimens.]
-
-
-
-
-THE . .
-
-LIVING ANIMALS
-
-OF THE WORLD
-
-A POPULAR NATURAL HISTORY
-
-AN INTERESTING DESCRIPTION OF BEASTS, BIRDS, FISHES
-REPTILES, INSECTS, ETC., WITH AUTHENTIC ANECDOTES
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz. Berlin_]
-
-VOL. I.
-
-MAMMALS
-
-BY
-
- C. J. CORNISH, M.A., F.Z.S. (_Editor._)
- F. C. SELOUS
- SIR HARRY JOHNSTON, G.C.M.G., K.C.B.
- C. H. LANE, F.Z.S.
- LOUIS WAIN
- W. P. PYCRAFT, A.L.S., F.Z.S.
- H. A. BRYDEN
- F. G. AFLALO, F.Z.S.
- W. SAVILLE-KENT, F.L.S., F.Z.S.
-
-WITH
-
-567 ILLUSTRATIONS
-
-(INCLUDING 13 COLOURED PLATES)
-
-FROM PHOTOGRAPHS
-
-LONDON: HUTCHINSON & CO., PATERNOSTER ROW
-
-
-
-
-PRINTED BY
-HAZELL, WATSON AND VINEY, LD.,
-LONDON AND AYLESBURY.
-
-
-
-
-VOL. I.
-
-CONTENTS.
-
-
- CHAP. PAGE
-
- INTRODUCTION i
-
- _BOOK I. MAMMALS._
-
- I. APES, MONKEYS, AND LEMURS 1
-
- II. THE CAT TRIBE 33
-
- III. THE FOSSA, CIVETS, AND ICHNEUMONS 74
-
- IV. THE HYÆNAS AND AARD-WOLF 80
-
- V. THE DOG FAMILY 84
-
- VI. THE BEARS 114
-
- VII. THE SMALLER CARNIVORA 125
-
- VIII. MARINE CARNIVORA: THE SEALS,
- SEA-LIONS, AND WALRUS 136
-
- IX. THE RODENTS, OR GNAWING ANIMALS 146
-
- X. THE BATS AND INSECT-EATING
- MAMMALS 165
-
- XI. THE ELEPHANT, TAPIR, HYRAX, AND
- RHINOCEROS 172
-
- XII. THE HORSE TRIBE 189
-
- XIII. THE HOLLOW-HORNED RUMINANTS:
- OXEN, BISON, BUFFALOES, AND
- MUSK-OX 207
-
- XIV. THE SHEEP AND GOATS 221
-
- XV. THE ANTELOPES 239
-
- XVI. THE GIRAFFE AND OKAPI 264
-
- XVII. THE DEER TRIBE 271
-
- XVIII. THE CAMEL TRIBE AND THE
- CHEVROTAINS 302
-
- XIX. THE PIG AND HIPPOPOTAMUS 310
-
- XX. THE DUGONG, MANATEES, WHALES,
- PORPOISES, AND DOLPHINS 327
-
- XXI. THE SLOTHS, ANT-EATERS, AND
- ARMADILLOS 336
-
- XXII. MARSUPIALS AND MONOTREMES 344
-
-COLOURED PLATES.
-
- Ocelot from Central America _Facing page_ i
- The largest Gorilla ever captured " " 8
- African Lion and Lioness " " 33
- Wolf from Central Europe " " 65
- Himalayan Black Bear " " 97
- Raccoon " " 129
- Chapman's Zebras " " 161
- Highland Cattle " " 193
- Female Kudu " " 225
- Northern Giraffe " " 257
- Fallow Deer " " 289
- A Hippopotamus gaping " " 321
- The Great Kangaroo " " 353
-
-
-
-
-ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT.
-
-
-
- PAGE
-
- Pekin Deer in summer dress i
- Negro Boy and Apes i
- Skeletons of Man and Gorilla ii
- Sea-swallows iii
- African Leopard iv
- East African Giraffe iv
- Flying-fox v
- Dolphins v
- A Happy Family vi
- Elephants vi
- Giant Tortoise vii
- A group of Crocodilians vii
- Somali Zebras viii
- Sun-fish viii
- A young Chimpanzee (Anger,
- Pleasure, Fear) 1
- Arabian Baboon 1
- "Jenny," the well-known
- Chimpanzee at the Zoo 2
- A young Chimpanzee 3
- Head of male Gorilla 4
- A male Gorilla 5
- Young Orang-utans 6
- Baby Orang-utans at play 7
- Two baby Orang-utans. The
- tug-of-war 8
- White-handed Gibbon 9
- Hoolock Gibbon 9
- Head of Proboscis Monkey 10
- Cross-bearing Langur and young 11
- Male Himalayan Langur 12
- Gelada Baboons at home 13
- Mantled Guereza 14
- Diana Monkey 15
- Barbary Ape 15
- Rhesus Monkey 16
- Rhesus Monkey and Sooty Mangabey 16
- Grey-cheeked Mangabey 17
- Chinese Macaque 17
- Grivet Monkey 17
- Bonnet Monkey and Arabian Baboon 17
- Rhesus Monkeys 18
- Orange Snub-nosed Monkey 18
- Pig-tailed Monkey 19
- Chacma Baboon 20
- A young male Chacma Baboon 21
- Head of male Mandrill 22
- Brown Capuchin 22
- Drill 22
- Red Howler Monkey 23
- A Spider Monkey 23
- Patas Monkey 24
- Wanderoo Monkey 24
- Common Squirrel Monkey 25
- Black-eared Marmoset 26
- Humboldt's Woolly Monkey 26
- Pig-tailed Monkey catching a fly 27
- Ringed-tailed Lemur 28
- A Dwarf Lemur 28
- Black Lemur 29
- Coquerel's Lemur 29
- Ruffed Lemur 29
- Garnett's Galago 30
- Maholi Galago 30
- Slender Loris 31
- Slow Loris 31
- Tarsier 32
- Head of Aye-aye 32
- African Lion 33
- An Unwilling Pupil 33
- Lioness aroused 34
- Algerian Lioness 35
- A Foster-mother 36
- A performing Lion 36
- Lioness and Cub 36
- A young Lioness 37
- A Happy Family 38
- A cross between Lion and Tigress 38
- A hungry Lion 39
- Lioness and Tiger 40
- Tigress 41
- Tiger Cub 42
- A Royal Tiger 42
- A Tiger before sleeping 43
- A half-grown Tiger Cub 44
- Tigers in Italy 45
- A Leopard-puma Hybrid 46
- Leopards 46
- A young Leopard 47
- Snow-leopard, or Ounce 48
- Cheeta 49
- Jaguar 50
- Puma 50
- Female Puma 51
- Ocelot 52
- Ocelot from Central America 53
- Clouded Leopard 54
- Fishing-cat 54
- Marbled Cat 54
- Golden Cat 55
- Pampas-cat 56
- Eyra Cat 56
- Bay Cat 56
- Kaffir Cat 57
- African Chaus, or Jungle-cat 57
- Serval 58
- Male Serval 59
- Serval climbing 60
- European Wild Cat 61
- Scotch Wild Cats 62
- Lynx 63
- European Lynx 64
- Canadian Lynx 64
- Cheetas 65
- A Cheeta hooded 66
- A Cheeta on the look-out 67
- Domestic Cats:
- White Short-haired 68
- Long-haired White 68
- Mackerel-marked Tabby 69
- Cat carrying Kitten 69
- Blue Long-haired, or Persian 69
- Smoke and Blue Long-haired 69
- Orange Tabby 69
- Long-haired Tabby 69
- Silver Persian 69
- Smoke Long-haired, or Persian 69
- Short-haired Blue 70
- Silver Tabby 70
- Short-haired Tabby 71
- Long-haired Orange 71
- Manx 72
- Siamese 72
- Blue Long-haired, or Persian 72
- Silver Persians 72
- Long-haired Chinchilla 73
- The "Bun" or "Ticked" Short-haired Cat 73
- Fossa 74
- Large Indian Civet 74
- African Civet 75
- African Civet 76
- Sumatran Civet 76
- Genet 77
- Two-spotted Palm-civet 78
- Masked Palm-civet 78
- Binturong 79
- Mongoose 79
- Meercat 80
- Spotted Hyæna 81
- Spotted Hyæna 81
- Striped Hyæna 82
- Aard-wolf 82
- Young Grey Wolf 83
- A growing Cub 84
- Wolf Cubs 85
- White Wolf 86
- Prairie-wolf, or Coyote 86
- The Wolf with privy paw 87
- Russian Wolf 88
- A Wolf of the Carpathians 89
- Indian Wolf 90
- Wolf's head 90
- Russian Wolf 91
- North African Jackal 92
- Indian Jackal 92
- Maned Wolf 93
- Turkish Jackal 93
- Wild Dog 94
- Dingo 94
- Dingoes 95
- Cape Hunting-dog 96
- Fox Cubs 97
- Mountain-fox 98
- Leicestershire Fox 98
- Too difficult! 99
- Arctic Fox (In summer; Changing
- his coat; In winter) 100
- Fennec-fox 100
- Domestic Dogs:
- Stag-hound Puppies 101
- Greyhound 102
- Retriever 103
- Blood-hound 104
- English Setter 104
- Smooth-coated Saint Bernard 104
- Great Dane 105
- Dachshund 105
- Dalmatians 106
- Newfoundland 106
- Bull-dogs 107
- Old English Sheep-dog 108
- Mastiff 108
- Deer-hound 109
- Pointer 109
- Skye Terrier 109
- Corded Poodle 109
- Pomeranian 109
- Scottish Terrier 109
- Maltese Toy Terrier 109
- Butterfly-dog 109
- Her Majesty Queen Alexandra, with
- Chow and Japanese Spaniels 110
- Sand-dog 110
- Pug and Pekinese Spaniel 111
- Fox-terrier 111
- Blenheim and Prince Charles
- Spaniels 112
- Pariah Puppies 112
- Common Brown Bear 113
- An inviting attitude 114
- Three performing Bears 114
- European Brown Bear 115
- Syrian Bear 116
- Large Russian Brown Bear 116
- American Black Bear 117
- Young Syrian Bear from the Caucasus 118
- A Brown Bear in search of insects 119
- Polar Bears 120
- Two Polar Bears and a Brown Bear 121
- Polar Bear 122
- Half-grown Polar Bears 123
- The Ice-bear's couch 124
- Common Raccoon 125
- Raccoon 125
- Great Panda 126
- Kinkajou 127
- Young Otters 127
- Two tame Otters 128
- Sea-otter 128
- A Skunk 129
- A Badger in the water 129
- European Badger 130
- Ratel 131
- Pine-marten 132
- Polecat 133
- Himalayan Weasel 133
- Common Stoat (In summer and
- winter coats) 134
- Glutton 134
- Californian Sea-lions, or Eared Seals 135
- Steller's Sea-lion 136
- Sea-lion 137
- Sea-lion 138
- Female Walrus 139
- Male Walrus 140
- Walrus and Sea-lion 141
- Grey Seal 142
- Grey Seal 143
- Harp-seal 144
- Sea-elephant 145
- Capybara 146
- Flying-squirrel 146
- Flying-squirrel 147
- Dorsal Squirrel from Central America 148
- Asiatic Chipmunks 148
- Red-footed Ground-squirrel 149
- Black Fox-squirrel 149
- Long-tailed Marmot 150
- Prairie-dogs, or Marmots 151
- American Beaver 152
- Beaver 153
- Beaver 154
- Musk-rat 154
- Gambian Pouched Rat 155
- Pocket-gopher 156
- Long-eared Jerboa 157
- Cape Jumping-hare 157
- Octodont 158
- Coypu 158
- Short-tailed Hutia 159
- Porcupine 159
- Porcupine 160
- Viscacha 160
- Chinchilla 161
- Agutis 161
- Paca, or Spotted Cavy 162
- Pacas, or Spotted Cavies 162
- Patagonian Cavy 163
- Wood-hare 163
- Wild Rabbits 164
- Australian Fruit-bat, or "Flying-fox" 165
- Australian Fruit-bat 166
- Tube-nosed Fruit-bat 166
- Pipistrelle Bat 167
- Leaf-nosed Bat 167
- Cobego 168
- Cobego 169
- Cobego asleep 170
- Three baby Hedgehogs 170
- Common Mole 171
- Golden Mole 171
- A fine Tusker 172
- A young Indian Elephant 173
- The Chief of Chiengmai's Carriage 174
- Timber-elephants 175
- Female Indian Elephant dragging teak 176
- Indian Elephants bathing 177
- African Elephant 178
- Male African Elephant drinking 179
- Malayan Tapir 180
- Common American Tapir 181
- Hairy-eared Sumatran Rhinoceros 182
- Great Indian Rhinoceros 183
- Great Indian Rhinoceros 184
- Black African Rhinoceroses 185
- One of the same Rhinoceroses dead 185
- Rhinoceros bathing 186
- Black African Rhinoceros 187
- Sumatran Rhinoceros 188
- Mountain-zebra 189
- Grevy's Zebra 190
- Burchell's Zebra at home 191
- The Hon. Walter Rothschild's
- team of Zebras 192
- Burchell's Zebra, Chapman's variety 193
- Mare and Foal of Burchell's Zebra 194
- Burchell's Zebra 194
- Zebras on Table Mountain 195
- Quagga 195
- Baluchi Wild Ass 196
- Male Kiang 197
- Yearling Arab Colts 198
- Arab Mare 199
- Arab Mares and Foals 200
- Percheron Horse 201
- Hackney and Foal 201
- Ladas 202
- Florizel II. 202
- Shetland Pony and Foal 203
- Champion Shire Stallion 203
- Shire Mare and Foal 204
- Welsh Pony 204
- Polo-pony 205
- Donkey 205
- Egyptian Donkeys 206
- Mules 206
- English Park-cattle 207
- English Park Bull 208
- Calf of English Park-cattle 208
- Jersey Cow 209
- Spanish Cattle 209
- Young Gaur 210
- Cow Gayal 211
- Indian Humped Bull 212
- Indian Humped Cattle 213
- Domesticated Yak 214
- American bull Bison 215
- European Bison 216
- American Bison 217
- Cape Buffalo 218
- Domesticated Indian Buffalo 218
- A pair of Anoas 219
- Young bull Musk-ox 220
- Young Barbary Sheep 221
- Siberian Argali 222
- Barbary Sheep 223
- Barbary Sheep 223
- Burhal Wild Sheep 224
- Punjab Sheep 225
- Fat-tailed Sheep 225
- Four-horned Sheep 226
- South Down Sheep 226
- Merino Rams 227
- Black-faced Mountain-sheep 228
- Leicester Ewe 228
- Cross-bred Sheep 229
- Lonk Ram 230
- Welsh Ewes 230
- Female Angora Goat 231
- Angora Ram 231
- British Goat 232
- Female Toggenburg Goat 233
- Stud Toggenburg Goat 233
- Schwartzals Goat 234
- Male Alpine Ibex 235
- Young male Alpine Ibex 235
- Nubian Goat 236
- Italian Goat 237
- Rocky Mountain Goat 238
- Himalayan Tahr and young 238
- Bubalino Hartebeest 239
- Biesbok 240
- White-tailed Gnu and Calf 240
- A cow Brindled Gnu 241
- Red-flanked Duiker 241
- Klipspringer 242
- Sing-sing Waterbuck 243
- Mountain Reedbuck 244
- Male Impala, or Palla 244
- Male Saiga Antelopes 245
- Arabian Gazelle 246
- Goitred Gazelles from Mesopotamia 247
- Speke's Gazelle 248
- Gazelles from Egypt 248
- Red-fronted Gazelle 249
- Red-fronted Gazelle (another view) 249
- Male Springbuck 250
- Sable Antelope 251
- Roan Antelope 252
- Male of Grant's Gazelle 252
- Group of Beisa Oryx 253
- White Oryx 254
- Beisa Oryx 254
- Gerenuk 255
- Female Nilgai 256
- Addax 256
- A pair of young Prongbucks 257
- Female Goral 258
- Harnessed Antelope 258
- Male Kudu 259
- Eland 260
- Eland Cows 261
- Bull Eland 262
- The Southern Giraffe 263
- Southern Giraffe lying down 264
- Male Southern Giraffe 265
- A Giraffe grazing 266
- A Giraffe browsing 267
- Male and female Giraffes 268
- The Okapi of the Congo Forest 269
- Head of Okapi 270
- Scandinavian Reindeer 271
- Woodland Caribou 272
- Immature Scandinavian Elk 273
- Female American Elk, or Moose 274
- Park Red Deer 275
- An Asiatic Wapiti 276
- American Wapiti 277
- American Wapiti 278
- American Wapiti 279
- Altai Wapiti 280
- Manchurian Wapiti calling 281
- An Axis Hind 282
- A stag Axis, or Indian Spotted Deer 283
- A Spotted Oriental Deer 284
- A young Fallow Buck of the Brown Breed 285
- A Sambar Stag 286
- Formosan Sika Stag 287
- Javan Rusa Stag 287
- Hog-deer 288
- Young male Swamp-deer 289
- Indian Muntjac 290
- Young male Chinese Water-deer 290
- Male Siberian Roe 291
- Female Siberian Roe 291
- Siberian Roebuck 292
- Female European Roe Deer 293
- Père David's Deer 294
- Group of Virginian Deer (two
- bucks, four does) 295
- A Mule-deer Fawn 296
- Virginian Deer 297
- Mule-deer Stag 298
- Young Marsh-deer 299
- Young Himalayan Musk-deer 300
- The Camel-plough, used in Algiers 301
- A White Camel 302
- Arabian Camel 302
- A Camel 303
- A string of Camels near Port Said 303
- Head of Bactrian Camel 304
- An old male Bactrian Camel 305
- Bactrian Camel 306
- Young Bactrian Camel 306
- Guanaco 307
- Llamas 308
- Llama 309
- Alpaca 309
- A Domesticated Sow and her Progeny 310
- Wild Boar 311
- Diving-pigs 312
- Javan Wild Pig 313
- Male and female Babirusa 313
- Wart-hog 314
- Ælian's Wart-hog 314
- Head of male Wart-hog 315
- Collared Peccary 316
- A young Collared Peccary 317
- A three-year-old Hippopotamus 318
- Hippopotamus drinking 319
- Hippopotamus bathing 320
- Baby Hippopotamus, aged six months 321
- Dental operations on a Hippopotamus 322, 323
- Female Hippopotamuses 324
- A Hippopotamus Family--father,
- mother, and young 324
- Hippopotamus 325
- Male and female Hippopotamuses 326
- Dugong 327
- American Manatee 328
- Narwhal 329
- Grampus, or Killer 330
- Short-beaked River-dolphin 331
- Sowerby's Beaked Whale 332
- Common Porpoise 333
- Elliott's Dolphin 334
- Risso's Dolphin 334
- Bottle-nosed Dolphin 335
- Heavyside's Dolphin 335
- Northern Two-toed Sloth 336
- Three-toed Sloth 337
- The Great Ant-eater 338
- Tamandua Ant-eater 339
- Two-toed Ant-eater 340
- Weasel-headed Armadillo 341
- Hairy-rumped Armadillo 341
- Peba Armadillo 341
- Kapplers' Armadillo 341
- Cape Aard-vark 342
- The Great Grey Kangaroo 343
- Silver-grey Kangaroo 344
- Black-striped Wallaby 345
- Bennett's Wallaby and the
- Great Grey Kangaroo 345
- Albino Red Kangaroos 346
- Tasmanian Wallaby 347
- Albino Red-bellied Wallaby 348
- Rock-wallaby 349
- Parry's Wallaby 350
- Parry's Wallaby 350
- Foot of Tree-kangaroo 351
- Brown Tree-kangaroo 352
- Tree-kangaroos 353
- Gaimard's Rat-kangaroo 354
- Rat-kangaroo from New South Wales 354
- Koala, or Australian Native
- Bear, and Cub 355
- Koala, or Australian Native Bear 356
- Koala, or Australian Native Bear 357
- Squirrel-like Flying-phalanger
- of Victoria 358
- Larger Flying-phalanger 359
- Lesser Flying-phalanger 360
- Pygmy Flying-phalanger 361
- Common Grey Opossum, or Phalanger 362
- Australian Grey Opossum, or Phalanger 363
- Front view of Grey Opossum,
- or Phalanger 364
- Profile view of Grey Opossum,
- or Phalanger 364
- Ring-tailed Opossum, or Phalanger,
- and nest 365
- Spotted Cuscus 366
- Common Wombat 367
- Hairy-nosed Wombat 368
- Common Wombat 369
- Long-nosed Australian Bandicoot 370
- Rabbit-bandicoot 371
- Pouched Mole 372
- Under surface of Pouched Mole 372
- Tasmanian Wolf 373
- Tasmanian Wolf 373
- Tasmanian Devil 374
- Spotted Dasyures, or Australian
- Native Cats 375
- Brush-tailed Pouched Mouse, or
- Phascogale 376
- Banded Ant-eater 377
- Yapock, or Water-opossum 378
- Young Opossum (natural size) 379
- Woolly American Opossum 380
- Common or Virginian Opossum 381
- Echidna, or Ant-eating Porcupine 382
- Tasmanian Echidna, or Porcupine
- Ant-eater 383
- Duck-billed Platypus 384
-
-
-
-_N.B.--The photograph of dolphins on page v was inadvertently attributed to
-Mr. F. G. Aflalo. The name of the photographer should have been Mr. T.
-Limberg, who kindly gave permission for his capital snap-shot to be
-reproduced in these pages._
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn._
-
-PEKIN DEER IN SUMMER DRESS.
-
-An example of the white-spotted type of coloration so common among
-herbivorous mammals.]
-
-
-INTRODUCTION.
-
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Carl Hagenbeck_] [_Hamburg._
-
-NEGRO BOY AND APES.
-
-An interesting picture of a Negro boy, with a young Chimpanzee (left side
-of figure) and young Orang-utan (right side of figure).]
-
-The welcome accorded to "The Living Races of Mankind," of which the present
-work is the natural extension, would be a practical encouragement, if such
-were needed, to treat of the Living Races of Animals in like fashion. But
-the interest now taken in Natural History is of a kind and calibre never
-previously known, and any work which presents the wonders of the Animal
-World in a new or clearer form may make some claim to the approval of the
-public. The means at the disposal of those responsible for the following
-pages are, by mere lapse of time, greater than those of their predecessors.
-Every year not only adds to the stock of knowledge of the denizens of earth
-and ocean, but increases the facilities for presenting their forms and
-surroundings pictorially. Photography applied to the illustration of the
-life of beasts, birds, fishes, insects, corals, and plants is at once the
-most attractive and the most correct form of illustration. In the following
-pages it will be used on a scale never equalled in any previous
-publication. Without straining words, it may be said that the subjects
-photographed have been obtained from every part of the world, many of them
-from the most distant islands of the Southern Ocean, the great barrier reef
-of Australia, the New Zealand hills, the Indian jungle, the South African
-veldt, and the rivers of British Columbia. Photographs of swimming fish,
-the flying bird, and of the leaping salmon will be reproduced as accurately
-as those of the large carnivora or the giant ungulates. In accordance with
-the example now being set by the Museum of Natural History, the living
-breeds of domesticated animals will also find a place.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Umlauff_] [_Hamburg._
-
-SKELETONS OF MAN AND GORILLA.
-
-This photograph shows the remarkable similarity in the structure of the
-human frame (left) and that of the gorilla (right). This gorilla happened
-to be a particularly large specimen; the man was of ordinary height.]
-
-The time and expenditure employed in illustration will be equalled by the
-attention given to the descriptive portion of the work. The Editor will
-have the assistance of specialists, eminent alike in the world of science
-and practical discovery. Mr. F. C. Selous, for example, will deal with the
-African Lion and the Elephants, and other sportsmen with the big game of
-the Dark Continent. Mr. W. Saville-Kent, the author of "The Great Barrier
-Reef of Australia," will treat of the Marsupials of Australia and the
-Reptilia; Sir Herbert Maxwell will write on the Salmonidæ, and Mr. F. G.
-Aflalo on the Whales and other Cetacea of the deep seas; while Mr. R.
-Lydekker, Dr. Bowdler Sharpe, Mr. W. F. Kirby, and other specialists have
-kindly agreed to supervise the work. Where possible the illustrations will
-show the creatures in their natural surroundings, and in all cases the
-photographic portraits of the animals will, by the nature of things,
-present true and living pictures, in place of the often curiously incorrect
-and distorted objects, the product of illustrators' fancy rather than the
-record of facts, not infrequently seen in previous illustrated natural
-histories.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. Watmough Webster & Son_] [_Chester._
-
-SEA-SWALLOWS.
-
-From their long wings, forked tail, and flight, the Terns are popularly
-called Sea-swallows.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-AFRICAN LEOPARD.
-
-An example of the black-spotted type of coloration so prevalent in
-Carnivora.]
-
-It is possible that while these pages are in the press discoveries of new
-animals may be made, or living representatives of creatures supposed to be
-extinct may be discovered.[1] One band of explorers is engaged in seeking
-on the plains of South America for recent remains and possible survivors of
-the giant ground-sloths. Another expedition is engaged, in the island of
-Java, in an even more interesting quest. Great as is the difference between
-even the lowest human intelligence and the mind of the man-like apes, the
-likeness both in form and action of the latter to man has never failed to
-suggest that there may have existed, or may even still exist, a higher
-anthropoid ape nearer to the human being than those now known. The idea has
-taken shape in the term "the missing link." The phrase is misleading in
-itself. Such a creature would be no more a link in the descent of man than
-one imperfectly developed limb of a tree is a link between the other
-branches and the stem. But it was always possible that we might find
-another branch which had attained a higher type than those terminating in
-the gorilla or chimpanzee. Recent search seems to have discovered the
-remains of such a creature.
-
-[Illustration: EAST AFRICAN GIRAFFE.
-
-This photograph was taken in the wilds of Africa by Lord Delamere, and
-shows the animal at home. The tree is a mimosa, on the top shoots of which
-the giraffe habitually feeds.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Croydon._
-
-FLYING-FOX.
-
-This bat, which is a native of Australia (where it was photographed), is
-commonly called the Flying-fox. Great flocks set out at sunset from the
-forest to feed upon the indigenous fruits, such as that of the native fig.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by F. G. Aflalo, F.Z.S._
-
-DOLPHINS.
-
-This photograph was taken in mid-ocean, and shows a couple of dolphins
-following a ship across the Atlantic.]
-
-In the island of Java, near one of the homes of the man-like apes of
-to-day, a naturalist, M. Dubois, employed by the Dutch Government,
-excavated some fossil-bearing gravels on a river called the Solo. These
-gravels belong to a period when civilised man, at any rate, did not exist.
-In them he found a great quantity of bones of mammals and of prehistoric
-crocodiles. There were no perfect skeletons, and it was fairly plain that
-the bodies of the creatures had been floated down the river, and there
-pulled to pieces by the crocodiles, just as they are in India to-day. In
-this place, lying within a distance of about fifteen yards from each other,
-he made an extraordinary discovery of animal remains. This was no less than
-the top of the skull of a creature much higher in development than the
-chimpanzee or gorilla, but lower than the lowest type of human skull. Near
-it were also found two of the teeth and one of the bones of the thigh. The
-thigh bone resembles very nearly that of a man, though Dr. Virchow, whom
-Englishmen remember in connection with the fatal illness of the German
-Emperor Frederick, considered it did not differ from that of one of the
-gibbons. The inference is that the creature _walked upright_; and this fact
-is recorded in its scientific name.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Fratelli Alinari_] [_Florence._
-
-A HAPPY FAMILY.
-
-Hyæna, tiger, and lions living in amity--a remarkable proof of their
-tamer's power. In the same park at Hamburg, belonging to Herr Hagenbeck,
-are also bears, dogs, leopards, and pumas, all loose together.]
-
-As regards the skull, some specialists in anthropology said that it was
-that of a large ape, of a kind of gibbon (a long-armed, upright-walking
-ape, described later), of a "higher anthropoid ape," and of a low type of
-man. Finally, Dr. Cunningham, the able secretary of the Royal Irish
-Zoological Society, said it resembled that of a "microcephalous idiot." It
-is rather strange if the remains of the first and only man found in the
-Lower Pleistocene should happen to be those of a microcephalous idiot, for
-out of many millions of men born there are perhaps only one or two of this
-type. Compared with the head of any of the living apes, it is very large.
-Its brain-holding power is about five to three compared with the skull of a
-gorilla, and two to one compared with that of a chimpanzee.
-
-[Illustration: ELEPHANTS.
-
-This is another of Lord Delamere's East African photographs, and shows a
-couple of wild elephants in the open.]
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild_] [_Tring._
-
-GIANT TORTOISE.
-
-This photograph of Mr. Walter Rothschild riding on one of his huge
-tortoises gives a good idea of the relative sizes of one of the "giant
-tortoises" and a human being.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Fratelli Alinari_] [_Florence._
-
-A GROUP OF CROCODILIANS.
-
-A wonder of modern animal-training. The photograph shows a number of living
-crocodilians with their trainer. They have been on exhibition in Florence
-for some years past, and are still to be seen there.]
-
-There is a tradition in Sumatra that man-like apes exist, of a higher
-character than the orang-utan. Pending the discovery of more remains, the
-following extract is worth quoting, as giving shape to current ideas about
-such creatures both here and among the Malays. They take form in a very
-curious and interesting book, called "The Prison of Weltevreden," written
-by Walter M. Gibson in the middle of the last century. His story is that he
-was kept in prison at Weltevreden, in Java, by the Dutch, after leading a
-life of adventure and enquiry among the islands of the South Atlantic and
-Indian Ocean; that he came in his own small vessel to the Malay
-Archipelago, and spent some time in the interior of Sumatra, _where he saw
-apparent evidences of semi-human beings_. He saw the orang-utans in their
-native forest, and noted that they were covered with red hair, and was
-surprised at the slowness of their movements. Among some men engaged in
-building a stable for the raja, he saw "a dark form, tall as a middle-sized
-man, covered with hair, that looked soft and flowing; the arms, hands,
-legs, and feet seemed well formed, like the Malays'; the body was straight,
-and easily bore, on the right shoulder, the yoke of two heavy panniers
-filled with material for the building which was going on." Gibson says that
-"the eyes were clearer, the nose fuller, and the lips thinner than those of
-the common Malay, but the mouth was wide, the lips protruding, and a chin
-formed no part of its hairy face; yet it was pleasantly human in
-expression," much more so than the dirty, mottle-faced coolies and lascars
-he had seen. We quote the account, as showing, if true, that Gibson saw an
-anthropoid ape _taught to work_.
-
-[Illustration: SOMALI ZEBRAS.
-
-This is a photograph of a group of zebras taken in Africa by Lord Delamere,
-and gives some idea of the surrounding country, where they live in happy
-freedom.]
-
-It may be a mere coincidence, but it is nevertheless somewhat remarkable
-that the two great black man-like apes, the chimpanzee and the gorilla,
-inhabit the same continent as some of the blackest races of mankind, while
-the red orang-utan is found in countries where the yellow-skinned Malay
-races of man are indigenous.
-
-----
-
- _The special thanks of the Editor and Publishers are due to a great many
- naturalists and zoologists for the valuable help they have given to, and
- the interest they have taken in, this work while it has been in
- preparation. No doubt, before the complete work is published, a great
- many more names will be added to the list, but meanwhile grateful
- acknowledgment should be made to the following:--Her Grace the Duchess of
- Bedford, who has kindly allowed many of her fine photographs to be
- reproduced in these pages; the Hon. Walter Rothschild, M.P., for the
- splendid collection of photographs taken especially for him in all parts
- of the world; Lord Delamere, for several unique photographs taken with a
- telephoto lens during his celebrated expedition to Africa; Major Nott,
- F.Z.S., for the use of his scientific series of animal photographs; Dr.
- R. W. Shufeldt, of Washington, for many photographs of fish and other
- animals in their natural surroundings; Mr. W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.,
- F.L.S., for the photographs taken by him while in Australia; Mr. Lewis
- Medland, F.Z.S., for the use of his singularly complete set of animal
- photographs; Herr Carl Hagenbeck, of Hamburg, for permission to use his
- photographs of some extremely rare specimens of animals which from time
- to time have found a temporary home at his wonderful Thierpark; the
- Trustees of the British Museum, for permission to photograph some of
- their animals; Professor E. Ray Lankester, Director of the Natural
- History Branch of the British Museum; and the Zoological Society, for
- permission to photograph some of the animals. And also to Herr Ottomar
- Anschütz, of Berlin; Messrs. Bond & Grover, of the Scholastic
- Photographic Co.; Signor Alinari, of Florence; Messrs. Kerry & Co. and
- Mr. Henry King, of Sydney; Mr. Charles Knight; Mr. J. W. McLellan;
- Messrs. Charles and William Reid; Messrs. A. S. Rudland & Sons; and
- Messrs. York & Sons, for permission to reproduce their photographs._
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt_] [_Washington._
-
-SUN-FISH.
-
-This photograph was taken through the water by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, who has
-made a speciality of this kind of photography.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photos by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-A YOUNG CHIMPANZEE.
-
-_Anger._ _Pleasure._ _Fear._]
-
-
-
-
-THE LIVING ANIMALS OF THE WORLD.
-
-
-
-
-_BOOK I. MAMMALS._
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER I.
-
-_APES, MONKEYS, AND LEMURS._
-
-----
-
-THE MAN-LIKE APES.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Fratelli Alinari, Florence._
-
-ARABIAN BABOON.]
-
-THE CHIMPANZEE.
-
-Of all the great apes the CHIMPANZEE most closely approaches man in bodily
-structure and appearance, although in height it is less near the human
-standard than the gorilla, 5 feet being probably that of an adult male.
-
-Several races of this ape are known, among them the TRUE CHIMPANZEE and the
-BALD CHIMPANZEE. The varieties also include the Kulo-kamba, described by Du
-Chaillu, and the Soko, discovered by Livingstone, who confounded it with
-the gorilla. But the variations in neither of these are sufficiently
-important to justify their being ranked as species.
-
-The first authentic mention of the chimpanzee is found in "The Strange
-Adventures of Andrew Battell." an English sailor taken prisoner by the
-Portuguese in 1590, who lived eighteen years near Angola. He speaks of two
-apes, the Pongo and the Enjocko, of which the former is the gorilla, the
-latter the chimpanzee. The animal was first seen in Europe in 1641, and
-described scientifically fifty-eight years later, but we are indebted to
-Dr. Savage, a missionary, for our first account of its habits, in 1847.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co._] [_Parson's Green._
-
-"JENNY," THE WELL-KNOWN CHIMPANZEE AT THE ZOO.
-A VERY CHARACTERISTIC POSE.
-
-In this picture the rounded ear, human-like wrinkles on the forehead, and
-length of the toes should be noted.]
-
-The chimpanzee, like the gorilla, is found only in Africa. The range
-includes West and Central Equatorial Africa, from the Gambia in the north
-to near Angola in the south, while it occurs in the Niam-Niam country to
-the north-west of the great lakes, and has been discovered recently in
-Uganda. The new Uganda Railway, which will open out the great lakes to the
-east, will bring English travellers well within reach of the nearest haunt
-of these great apes. It is on the likeness and difference of their form and
-shape to those of man that the attention of the world has been mainly
-fixed.
-
-The chimpanzee is a heavily built animal, with chest and arms of great
-power. The male is slightly taller than the female. The crown is depressed,
-the chin receding, the ridges which overhang the eye-sockets more prominent
-than in man, less so than in the gorilla. The nose has a short bridge, and
-a flat extremity. The ear is large, and less human than that of the
-gorilla. The hands and feet are comparatively long; the digits are, except
-the thumb and great toe, joined by a web. The arms are short for an ape,
-reaching only to the knees. The teeth are similar to those of man, and the
-canines of only moderate size. The chimpanzee has thirteen pairs of ribs,
-and, like man, has a suggestion at the end of the vertebræ of a rudimentary
-tail. It walks on all-fours, with the backs of its closed fingers on the
-ground, and can only stand upright by clasping its hands above its head.
-The skin is of a reddish or brown flesh-colour, the hair black, with white
-patches on the lower part of the face. The bald chimpanzee has the top
-front, and sides of the face bare, exceedingly large ears, thick lips, and
-black or brown hands and feet.
-
-The chimpanzee's natural home is the thick forest, where tropical
-vegetation ensures almost total gloom. But near Loango it frequents the
-mountains near the coast. It is a fruit-feeding animal, said to do much
-damage to plantations, but the bald race, at all events in captivity, takes
-readily to flesh, and the famous "Sally" which lived in the Zoo for over
-six years used to kill and eat pigeons, and caught and killed rats. The
-male chimpanzee builds a nest in a tree for his family, and sleeps under
-its shelter; when food becomes scarce in the vicinity, a move is made, and
-a new nest built. This ape lives either in separate families or communities
-not exceeding ten in number, and is monogamous.
-
-As to the animal's courage, it is difficult to get accurate information, as
-the sins of the gorilla and baboon have often been laid on its shoulders,
-and information derived from natives is usually untrustworthy. Apparently
-the chimpanzee avoids coming into collision with man, although, when
-attacked, it is a formidable antagonist. Tales of chimpanzees kidnapping
-women and children need stronger evidence than they have yet obtained. The
-natives kill this ape by spearing it in the back, or by driving it into
-nets, where it is entangled and easily dispatched. According to
-Livingstone, the soko, as the chimpanzee is called in East Central Africa,
-kills the leopard by biting its paws, but falls an easy prey to the lion.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-A YOUNG CHIMPANZEE.
-
-This excellent photograph, by Major Nott, F.Z.S., is particularly good, as
-showing the manner in which these animals use their hands and feet.]
-
-In captivity it is docile and intelligent, but usually fails to stand a
-northern climate for more than a few months. It is easily taught to wear
-clothes, to eat and drink in civilised fashion, to understand what is said
-to it, and reply with a limited vocabulary of grunts. Sally learnt to count
-perfectly up to six, and less perfectly to ten; she could also distinguish
-white from any colour, but if other colours were presented her she failed,
-apparently from colour-blindness. Of this ape the late Dr. G. J. Romanes
-wrote with something more than the enthusiasm of a clever man pursuing a
-favourite theme: "Her intelligence was conspicuously displayed by the
-remarkable degree in which she was able to understand the meaning of spoken
-language--a degree fully equal to that presented by an infant a few months
-before emerging from infancy, and therefore higher than that which is
-presented by any brute, so far at least as I have evidence to show."
-Romanes here speaks _only_, be it noticed, of ability to understand human
-speech--not to think and act. But this is in itself a great mark of
-intelligence _on human lines_. "Having enlisted the co-operation of the
-keepers, I requested them to ask the ape repeatedly for one straw, two
-straws, three straws. These she was to pick up and hand out from among the
-litter of her cage. No constant order was to be observed in making these
-requests; but whenever she handed a number not asked for her offer was to
-be refused, while if she gave the proper number her offer was to be
-accepted, and she was to receive a piece of fruit in payment. In this way
-the ape had learnt to associate these three numbers with the names. As soon
-as the animal understood what was required, she never failed to give the
-number of straws asked for. Her education was then completed in a similar
-manner from three to four, and from four to five straws. Sally rarely made
-mistakes up to that number; but above five, and up to ten, to which one of
-the keepers endeavoured to advance her education, the result is uncertain.
-It is evident that she understands the words seven, eight, nine, and ten to
-betoken numbers higher than those below them. When she was asked for any
-number above six, she always gave some number over six and under ten. She
-sometimes doubled over a straw to make it present two ends, and was
-supposed (thus) to hasten the attainment of her task." By no means all the
-chimpanzees are so patient as Sally. One kept in the Zoological Gardens for
-some time made an incessant noise by stamping on the back of the box in
-which it was confined. It struck this with the flat of its foot while
-hanging to the cross-bar or perch, and made a prodigious din. This seems to
-bear out the stories of chimpanzees assembling and drumming on logs in the
-Central African forests.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-HEAD OF MALE GORILLA.
-
-This is a photograph of one of the first gorillas ever brought to England.
-It was sent by the famous M. du Chaillu.]
-
-
-THE GORILLA.
-
-The name of this enormous ape has been known since 450 B.C. Hanno the
-Carthaginian, when off Sierra Leone, met with wild men and women whom the
-interpreter called GORILLAS. The males escaped and flung stones from the
-rocks, but several females were captured. These animals could not have been
-gorillas, but were probably baboons. Andrew Battell, already mentioned,
-described the gorilla under the name of Pongo. He says it is like a man,
-but without understanding even to put a log on a fire; it kills Negroes,
-and drives off the elephant with clubs; it is never taken alive, but its
-young are killed with poisoned arrows; it covers its dead with boughs. Dr.
-Savage described it in 1847. Later Du Chaillu visited its haunts, and his
-well-known book relates how he met and killed several specimens. But Mr.
-Winwood Reade, who also went in quest of it, declared that Du Chaillu, like
-himself, never saw a live gorilla. Von Koppenfels, however, saw a family of
-four feeding, besides shooting others. The late Miss Kingsley met several,
-one of which was killed by her elephant-men.
-
-The gorilla has a limited range, extending from 2° north to 5° south
-latitude in West Africa, a moist overgrown region including the mouth of
-the Gaboon River. How far east it is found is uncertain, but it is known in
-the Sierra del Cristal. In 1851-52 it was seen in considerable numbers on
-the coast.
-
-The gorilla is the largest, strongest, and most formidable of the Primates.
-An adult male is from 5 feet 8 inches to 6 feet high, heavily built, with
-arms and chest of extraordinary power. The arms reach to the middle of the
-legs. The hands are clumsy, the thumb short, and the fingers joined by a
-web. The neck scarcely exists. The leg has a slight calf. The toes are
-stumpy and thick; the great toe moves like a thumb. The head is large and
-receding, with enormous ridges above the eyes, which give it a diabolical
-appearance. The canine teeth are developed into huge tusks. The nose has a
-long bridge, and the nostrils look downwards. The ear is small and
-man-like.
-
-In colour the gorilla varies from deep black to iron-grey, with a reddish
-tinge on the head; old animals become grizzled. The outer hair is ringed
-grey and brown; beneath it is a woolly growth. The female is smaller--not
-exceeding 4 feet 6 inches--and less hideous, as the canines are much
-smaller, and the ridges above the eyes are not noticeable, a feature common
-also to the young.
-
-Timid, superstitious natives and credulous or untrustworthy travellers have
-left still wrapped in mystery many of the habits of this mighty ape, whose
-fever-stricken, forest-clad haunts render investigation always difficult,
-often impossible. Many tales of its ferocity and strength are obviously
-untrue, but we think that too much has been disbelieved. That a huge arm
-descends from a tree, draws up and chokes the wayfarer, must be false, for
-intelligent natives have confessed to knowing no instance of the gorilla
-attacking man. That it vanquishes the leopard is probable; that it has
-driven the lion from its haunts requires proof. Nor can we accept tales of
-the carrying-off of Negro women; and the defeat of the elephants, too, must
-be considered a fiction.
-
-But we must believe that this ape, if provoked or wounded, is a terrible
-foe, capable of ripping open a man with one stroke of its paw, or of
-cracking the skull of a hunter as easily as a squirrel cracks a nut. There
-is a tale of a tribe that kept an enormous gorilla as executioner, which
-tore its victims to pieces, until an Englishman, doomed to meet it,
-noticing a large swelling near its ribs, killed it with a heavy blow or two
-on the weak spot.
-
-Gorillas live mainly in the trees on whose fruit they subsist; they
-construct a shelter in the lower boughs for the family, and as a lying-in
-place for the female. The male is said to sleep below, with his back
-against the tree--a favourite attitude with both sexes--to keep off
-leopards. On the ground it moves on all-fours, with a curious swinging
-action, caused by putting its hands with fingers extended on the ground,
-and bringing its body forward by a half-jump. Having a heel, it can stand
-better than other apes; but this attitude is not common, and Du Chaillu
-appears to have been mistaken when he describes the gorilla as attacking
-upright.
-
-In captivity only immature specimens have been seen--Barnum's great ape
-being one of the larger forms of chimpanzee. Accounts vary as to the temper
-of the gorilla, some describing it as untamable, while others say it is
-docile and playful when young. There is an American tale that a gorilla
-over 6 feet high was captured near Tanganyika, but nothing more has reached
-us about it.
-
-When enraged, a gorilla beats its breast, as the writer was informed by a
-keeper, who thus confirmed Du Chaillu's account. Its usual voice is a
-grunt, which, when the animal is excited, becomes a roar.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Umlauff_] [_Hamburg._
-
-A MALE GORILLA.
-
-This photograph of the largest gorilla known was taken immediately after
-death by Herr Paschen at Yaunde, and gives an excellent idea of the size of
-these animals as compared with Negroes. The animal weighed 400 lbs.]
-
-
-THE ORANG-UTAN.
-
-This great red ape was mentioned by Linnæus in 1766, and at the beginning
-of the last century a specimen living in the Prince of Orange's collection
-was described by Vosmaer.
-
-There are three varieties of the ORANG, called by the Dyaks MIAS-PAPPAN,
-MIAS-RAMBI, and MIAS-KASSU, the third of which is smaller, has no
-cheek-excrescences, and very large teeth. Some naturalists recognise a pale
-and a dark race.
-
-Most of our information is due to Raja Brooke and Dr. Wallace. The species
-is confined to Borneo and Sumatra, but fossils have been found in India of
-this genus, as well as of a chimpanzee. The orang is less man-like than the
-chimpanzee and gorilla. In height the male varies from 3 feet 10 inches to
-4 feet 6 inches, the female being a few inches shorter. It is a heavy
-creature, with large head--often a foot in breadth--thick neck, powerful
-arms, which reach nearly to the ankles, and protuberant abdomen. Its legs
-are short and bowed. The forehead is high, the nose fairly large, the ears
-very human. The throat is ornamented with large pouches, and there are
-often callosities on the cheeks. The fingers are webbed, the thumb small,
-the foot long and narrow, the great toe small and often without a nail. The
-brain is man-like, and the ribs agree in number with those of man; but
-there are nine bones in the wrist, whereas man, the gorilla, and the
-chimpanzee have but eight. The canine teeth are enormous in the male. The
-hair, a foot or more long on the shoulders and thighs, is yellowish red:
-there is a slight beard. The skin is grey or brown, and often, in adults,
-black.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-YOUNG ORANG-UTANS.
-
-It will be seen here, from the profile, that the young anthropoid ape has
-only the upper part of the head at all approaching the human type.]
-
-The orang is entirely a tree-living animal, and is only found in moist
-districts where there is much virgin forest. On the ground it progresses
-clumsily on all-fours, using its arms as crutches, and with the side only
-of its feet on the ground. In trees it travels deliberately but with
-perfect ease, swinging along underneath the branches, although it also
-walks along them semi-erect. It lives alone with mate and young, and builds
-a sleeping-place sufficiently low to avoid the wind. Its food is leaves and
-fruit, especially the durian; its feeding-time, midday.
-
-No animal molests the mias save--so say the Dyaks--the python and
-crocodile, both of which it kills by tearing with its hands. It never
-attacks man, but has been known to bite savagely when brought to bay, and
-it is very tenacious of life, one being found by Mr. Wallace still alive
-after a fall from a tree, when "both legs had been broken, its hip-joint
-and the root of the spine shattered, and two bullets flattened in neck and
-jaws."
-
-In captivity young orangs are playful and docile, but passionate. Less
-intelligent than chimpanzees, they may be taught to eat and drink nicely,
-and to obey simple commands. One in the Zoo at present has acquired the
-rudiments of drill. They will eat meat and eggs, and drink wine, beer,
-spirits, and tea. An orang described years ago by Dr. Clarke Abel was
-allowed the run of the ship on the voyage to England, and would play with
-the sailors in the rigging. When refused food he pretended to commit
-suicide, and rushed over the side, only to be found under the chains.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-BABY ORANG-UTANS AT PLAY.]
-
-The orang is the least interesting of the three great apes; he lacks the
-power and brutality of the gorilla and the intelligence of the chimpanzee.
-"The orang," said its keeper to the writer, "is a buffoon; the chimpanzee,
-a gentleman."
-
-It is worth remark that, although all these apes soon die in our
-menageries, in Calcutta, where they are kept in the open, orangs thrive
-well.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-TWO BABY ORANG-UTANS. THE TUG-OF-WAR.]
-
-
-THE GIBBONS.
-
-Next after the great apes in man-like characters come a few long-armed,
-tailless apes, known as the GIBBONS. Like the orang-utan, they live in the
-great tropical forests of Asia, especially the Indian Archipelago; like the
-latter, they are gentle, affectionate creatures; and they have also a
-natural affection for man. But it is in mind and temperament, rather than
-in skeleton, that the links and differences between men and monkeys must be
-sought. It will be found that these forest apes differ from other animals
-and from the true monkeys mainly in this--that they are predisposed to be
-friendly to man and to obey him, and that they have no bias towards
-mischief, or "monkey tricks." They are thoughtful, well behaved, and
-sedate.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Umlauff._
-
-THE LARGEST GORILLA EVER CAPTURED.
-
-This huge ape, 5 feet 5 inches high, measures a distance of over 8 feet
-from finger to finger.]
-
-The SIAMANG, one of the largest of the long-armed, tailless gibbons, lives
-in the Malay Archipelago. The arms of a specimen only 3 feet high measured
-5 feet 6 inches across. This, like all the gibbons, makes its way from tree
-to tree mainly by swinging itself by its arms. But the siamang can _walk_
-upright and run. One kept on board ship would walk down the cabin
-breakfast-table without upsetting the china. The WHITE-HANDED GIBBON is
-found in Tenasserim, south-west of Burma. This ape has a musical howl,
-which the whole flock utters in the early mornings on the tree-tops. In
-Northern India, in the hills beyond the Brahmaputra, lives another gibbon,
-the HULOCK. One of these kept in captivity soon learnt to eat properly at
-meals, and to drink out of a cup instead of dipping his fingers in the tea
-and milk and then sucking them. The SILVERY GIBBON kept at the Zoological
-Gardens was a most amiable pet, and had all the agility of the other
-gibbons. It is very seldom seen in this country, being a native of Java,
-where it is said to show the most astonishing activity among the tall
-cane-groves. One of the first ever brought to England belonged to the great
-Lord Clive. The AGILE GIBBON is another and darker ape of this group.
-
-The list of the man-like apes closes with this group. All the gibbons are
-highly specialised for tree-climbing and an entirely arboreal life; but it
-is undeniable that, apart from the modifications necessary for this, such
-as the abnormal length of the arms, the skeleton closely resembles that of
-a human being. In their habits, when wild, none of these apes show any
-remarkable degree of intelligence; but their living is gained in so simple
-a way, by plucking fruits and leaves, that there is nothing in their
-surroundings to stimulate thought. They do not need even to think of a time
-of famine or winter, or to lay up a stock of food for such a season,
-because they live in the forests under the Equator.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-WHITE-HANDED GIBBON.
-
-This gibbon is found in the forests of the Malay Archipelago.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-HULOCK GIBBON.
-
-The great length of arm in comparison with the body and head should here be
-noted.]
-
-
-MONKEYS.
-
-THE DOG-SHAPED MONKEYS.
-
-After the gibbons come a vast number of monkeys of every conceivable size,
-shape, and variety, which naturalists have arranged in consecutive order
-with fair success. Until we reach the Baboons, and go on to the South
-American Monkeys and the Lemurs, it is not easy to give any idea of what
-these monkeys do or look like merely by referring to their scientific
-groups. The usual order of natural histories will here be followed, and the
-descriptions will, so far as possible, present the habits and appearance of
-the monkeys specially noticed.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-HEAD OF PROBOSCIS MONKEY.
-
-A native of Borneo. Next to the orang-utan, the most striking monkey in the
-Malay Archipelago.]
-
-This great family of true monkeys contains the Sacred Monkeys, or Langurs,
-of India, the Guerezas and Guenons of Africa, the Mangabeys, Macaques, and
-Baboons. Most of them have naked, hard patches of skin on the hindquarters,
-and the partition between the nostrils is narrow. Some have tails, some
-none, and they exhibit the most astonishing differences of size and shape.
-Perhaps the most grotesque and astonishing of them all is the PROBOSCIS
-MONKEY. It is allied to the langurs, and is a native of the island of
-Borneo, to which it is confined; its home is the west bank of the Sarawak
-River. It is an arboreal creature, living in small companies. Mr. Hose, who
-saw them in their native haunts, says that the proboscis monkeys kept in
-the trees overhanging the river, and were most difficult to shoot. "I saw
-altogether about 150 of these monkeys, and without a single exception all
-were in trees over the water, either lake, river, or in submerged forest.
-As long as they are in sight, they are very conspicuous objects, choosing
-the most commanding positions on open tree-tops. Once I saw thirteen in one
-tree, sitting lazily on the branches, as is their habit, sunning
-themselves, and enjoying the scenery." They are very striking animals in
-colour, as well as in form. The face is cinnamon-brown, the sides marked
-with reddish brown and white, the belly white, the back red-brown and dark
-brown. Next to the orang-utan, these are the most striking monkeys in the
-Malay Archipelago.
-
-The greater number of the species intermediate between the gibbons and the
-New World species are called "DOG-SHAPED" MONKEYS. We wonder why? Only the
-baboon and a few others are in the least like dogs. The various SACRED
-MONKEYS of India are often seen in this country, and are quite
-representative of the "miscellaneous" monkeys in general. Most of them have
-cheek-pouches, a useful monkey-pocket. They poke food into their pouches,
-which unfold to be filled, or lie flat when not wanted; and with a
-pocketful of nuts or rice on either side of their faces, they can scream,
-eat, bite, or scold quite comfortably, which they could not do with their
-mouths full. The pouchless monkeys have only their big stomachs to rely on.
-
-The ENTELLUS MONKEY is the most sacred of all in India. It is grey above
-and nutty brown below, long-legged and active, a thief and an impudent
-robber. In one of the Indian cities they became such a nuisance that the
-faithful determined to catch and send away some hundreds. This was done,
-and the holy monkeys were deported in covered carts, and released many
-miles off. But the monkeys were too clever. Having thoroughly enjoyed their
-ride, they all refused to part with the carts, and, hopping and grimacing,
-came leaping all the way back beside them to the city, grateful for their
-outing. One city obtained leave to kill the monkeys; but the next city then
-sued them for "killing their deceased ancestors." In these monkey-infested
-cities, if one man wishes to spite another, he throws a few handfuls of
-rice on to the roof of his house about the rainy season. The monkeys come,
-find the rice, and quietly lift off many of the tiles and throw them away,
-seeking more rice in the interstices.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-CROSS-BEARING LANGUR AND YOUNG.
-
-A forest monkey of Borneo.]
-
-This is not the monkey commonly seen in the hills and at Simla. The large
-long-tailed monkey there is the HIMALAYAN LANGUR, one of the common animals
-of the hills. "The langur," says Mr. Lockwood Kipling in his "Beast and Man
-in India," "is, in his way, a king of the jungle, nor is he often met with
-in captivity. In some parts of India troops of langurs come bounding with a
-mighty air of interest and curiosity to look at passing trains, their long
-tails lifted like notes of interrogation; but frequently, when fairly
-perched on a wall or tree alongside, they seem to forget all about it, and
-avert their heads with an affectation of languid indifference."
-
-In India no distinction is made between monkeys. It is an abominable act of
-sacrilege to kill one of any kind. In the streets holy bulls, calves,
-parrakeets, sparrows, and monkeys all rob the shops. One monkey-ridden
-municipality sent off its inconvenient but holy guests by rail, advising
-the stationmaster to let them loose at the place to which they were
-consigned. The station, Saharanpur, was a kind of Indian Crewe, and the
-monkeys got into the engine-sheds and workshops among the driving-wheels
-and bands. One got in the double roof of an inspection-car, and thence
-stole mutton, corkscrews, camp-glasses, and dusters. Among many other
-interesting and correct monkey stories of Mr. Kipling's is the following:
-"The chief confectioner of Simla had prepared a most splendid bride-cake,
-which was safely put by in a locked room, that, like most back rooms in
-Simla, looked out on the mountain-side. It is little use locking the door
-when the window is left open. When they came to fetch the bride-cake, the
-last piece of it was being handed out of the window by a chain of monkeys,
-who whitened the hill-side with its fragments."
-
-From India to Ceylon is no great way, yet in the latter island different
-monkeys are found. The two best known are the WHITE-BEARDED WANDEROO MONKEY
-and the GREAT WANDEROO. Both are grave, well-behaved monkeys. The former
-has white whiskers and a white beard, and looks so wise he is called in
-Latin _Nestor_, after the ancient counsellor of the Greeks. Nice, clean
-little monkeys are these, and pretty pets. The great wanderoo is rarer. It
-lives in the hills. "A flock of them," says Mr. Dallas, "will take
-possession of a palm-grove, and so well can they conceal themselves in the
-leaves that the whole party become invisible. The presence of a dog excites
-their irresistible curiosity, and in order to watch his movements they
-never fail to betray themselves. They may be seen congregated on the roof
-of a native hut. Some years ago the child of a European clergyman, having
-been left on the ground by a nurse, was bitten and teased to death by them.
-These monkeys have only one wife." Near relatives of the langurs are the
-two species of SNUB-NOSED MONKEYS, one of which (see figure on page 18)
-inhabits Eastern Tibet and North-western China, and the other the valley of
-the Mekong.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-MALE HIMALAYAN LANGUR.
-
-A king of the Jungle, not often met with in captivity.]
-
-
-THE GUEREZAS AND GUENONS.
-
-[Illustration: GELADA BABOONS AT HOME
-
-This photograph is probably unique, as a gelada baboon has been rarely
-seen. It shows them at home looking for food on the ground under the
-bamboos and palms. It was taken by Lord Delamere in the East African
-jungle.]
-
-Among the ordinary monkeys of the Old World are some with very striking
-hair and colours. The GUEREZA of Abyssinia has bright white-and-black fur,
-with long white fringes on the sides. This is the black-and-white skin
-fastened by the Abyssinians to their shields, and, if we are not wrong, by
-the Kaffirs also. Among the GUENONS, a large tribe of monkeys living in the
-African forests, many of which find their way here as "organ monkeys," is
-the DIANA, a most beautiful creature, living on the Guinea Coast. It has a
-white crescent on its forehead, bluish-grey fur, a white beard, and a patch
-of brilliant chestnut on the back, the belly white and orange. A lady, Mrs.
-Bowditch, gives the following account of a Diana monkey on board ship. It
-jumped on to her shoulder, stared into her face, and then made friends,
-seated itself on her knees, and carefully examined her hands. "He then
-tried to pull off my rings, when I gave him some biscuits, and making a bed
-for him with my handkerchief he then settled himself comfortably to sleep;
-and from that moment we were sworn allies. When mischievous, he was often
-banished to a hen-coop. Much more effect was produced by taking him in
-sight of the panther, who always seemed most willing to devour him. On
-these occasions I held him by the tail before the cage; but long before I
-reached it, knowing where he was going, he pretended to be dead. His eyes
-were closed quite fast, and every limb was as stiff as though there were no
-life in him. When taken away, he would open one eye a little, to see
-whereabouts he might be; but if he caught sight of the panther's cage it
-was instantly closed, and he became as stiff as before." This monkey stole
-the men's knives, tools, and handkerchiefs, and even their caps, which he
-threw into the sea. He would carefully feed the parrots, chewing up biscuit
-and presenting them the bits; and he caught another small monkey and
-painted it black! Altogether, he must have enlivened the voyage. The GRIVET
-MONKEY, the GREEN MONKEY, the MONA MONKEY, and the MANGABEY are other
-commonly seen African species.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-MANTLED GUEREZA.
-
-This group of monkeys supplies the "monkey muffs" once very fashionable.
-The species with white plumes is used to decorate the Kaffir shields.]
-
-
-THE MACAQUES.
-
-The MACAQUES, of which there are many kinds, from the Rock of Gibraltar to
-far Japan, occupy the catalogue between the guenon and the baboon. The
-COMMON MACAQUE and many others have tails. Those of Japan, and some of
-those of China, notably the TCHELI MONKEY, kept outside the monkey-house at
-the Zoo, and the JAPANESE MACAQUE, at the other entrance, are tailless, and
-much more like anthropoid apes. The Tcheli monkey is large and powerful,
-but other macaques are of all sizes down to little creatures no bigger than
-a kitten. Some live in the hottest plains, others in the mountains. The
-COMMON MACAQUE, found in the Malay Archipelago, is a strong, medium-sized
-monkey. The FORMOSAN MACAQUE is a rock-living creature; those of Japan
-inhabit the pine-groves, and are fond of pelting any one who passes with
-stones and fir-cones. The BONNET MACAQUE is an amusing little beast, very
-fond of hugging and nursing others in captivity. The BANDAR or RHESUS
-MONKEY, a common species, also belongs to this group. But the most
-interesting to Europeans is the MAGOT, or BARBARY APE. It is the last
-monkey left in Europe. There it only lives on the Rock of Gibraltar. It was
-the monkey which Galen is said to have dissected, because he was not
-permitted to dissect a human body. These monkeys are carefully preserved
-upon the Rock. Formerly, when they were more common, they were very
-mischievous. The following story was told by Mr. Bidcup: "The apes of the
-Rock, led by one particular monkey, were always stealing from the kit of a
-certain regiment encamped there. At last the soldiers caught the leader,
-shaved his head and face, and turned him loose. His friends, who had been
-watching, received him with a shower of sticks and stones. In these
-desperate circumstances the ape sneaked back to his old enemies, the
-soldiers, with whom he remained." Lord Heathfield, a former Governor of the
-Rock, would never let them be hurt; and on one occasion, when the Spaniards
-were attempting a surprise, the noise made by the apes gave notice of their
-attempt.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-DIANA MONKEY.
-
-One of the most gaily coloured monkeys of Africa.]
-
-
-THE BABOONS.
-
-Far the most interesting of the apes in the wild state are the BABOONS.
-Their dog-like heads (which in some are so large and hideous that they look
-like a cross between an ill-tempered dog and a pig), short bodies,
-enormously strong arms, and loud barking cry distinguish them from all
-other creatures. The greater number--for there are many kinds--live in the
-hot, dry, stony parts of Africa. They are familiar figures from the cliffs
-of Abyssinia to the Cape, where their bold and predatory bands still occupy
-Table Mountain. They are almost the only animals which the high-contracting
-Powers of Africa have resolved not to protect at any season, so mischievous
-are they to crops, and recently to the flocks. They kill the suckling
-lambs, and tear them to pieces for the sake of the milk contained in their
-bodies.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-BARBARY APE.
-
-The last of the European monkeys; on this side of the Mediterranean it is
-only found on the Rock of Gibraltar.]
-
-One of the best-known baboons is the CHACMA of South Africa. The old males
-grow to a great size, and are most formidable creatures. Naturally, they
-are very seldom caught; but one very large one is in the Zoological
-Gardens, Regent's Park, at the time of writing. The keeper declares he
-would rather go into a lion's cage than into the den of this beast when
-angry. Its head is nearly one-third of its total length from nose to the
-root of the tail. Its jaw-power is immense, and its forearm looks as strong
-as Sandow's. Like all monkeys, this creature has the power of springing
-instantaneously from a sitting position; and its bite would cripple
-anything from a man to a leopard. The chacmas live in companies in the
-kopjes, whence they descend to forage the mealie-grounds, river-beds, and
-bush. Thence they come down to steal fruit and pumpkins or corn, turn over
-the stones and catch beetles, or eat locusts. Their robbing expeditions are
-organised. Scouts keep a look-out, the females and young are put in the
-centre, and the retreat is protected by the old males. Children in the Cape
-Colony are always warned not to go out when the baboons are near. When
-irritated--and they are very touchy in their tempers--the whole of the
-males will sometimes charge and attack. The possibility of this is very
-unpleasant, and renders people cautious.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-RHESUS MONKEY.
-
-A young specimen of the common Bengal monkey.]
-
-Not many years ago a well-known sportsman was shooting in Somaliland. On
-the other side of a rocky ravine was a troop of baboons of a species of
-which no examples were in the British Museum. Though he knew the danger, he
-was tempted to shoot and to secure a skin. At 200 yards he killed one dead,
-which the rest did not notice. Then he hit another and wounded it. The
-baboon screamed, and instantly the others sat up, saw the malefactor, and
-charged straight for him. Most fortunately, they had to scramble down the
-ravine and up again, by which time the sportsman and his servant had put
-such a distance between them, making "very good time over the flat," that
-the baboons contented themselves by barking defiance at them when they
-reached the level ground.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-RHESUS MONKEY AND SOOTY MANGABEY.
-
-The sooty mangabey (to the right of the picture) is gentle and
-companionable, but petulant and active.]
-
-They are the only mammals which _thoroughly_ understand combination for
-defence as well as attack. But Brehm, the German traveller, gives a
-charming story of genuine courage and self-sacrifice shown by one. His
-hunting dogs gave chase to a troop which was retreating to some cliffs, and
-cut off a very young one, which ran up on to a rock, only just out of reach
-of the dogs. An old male baboon saw this, and came alone to the rescue.
-Slowly and deliberately he descended, crossed the open space, and stamping
-his hands on the ground, showing his teeth, and backed by the furious barks
-of the rest of the baboons, he disconcerted and cowed these savage dogs,
-climbed on to the rock, picked up the baby, and carried him back safely. If
-the dogs had attacked the old patriarch, his tribe would probably have
-helped him. Burchell, the naturalist after whom Burchell's zebra is named,
-let his dogs chase a troop. The baboons turned on them, killed one on the
-spot by biting through the great blood-vessels of the neck, and laid bare
-the ribs of another. The Cape Dutch in the Old Colony would rather let
-their dogs bait a lion than a troop of baboons. The rescue of the infant
-chacma which Brehm saw himself is a remarkable, and indeed the most
-incontestable, instance of the exhibition of courage and self-sacrifice by
-a _male_ animal.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S., North Finchley._
-
-GREY-CHEEKED MANGABEY.
-
-One of the small African monkeys.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-CHINESE MACAQUE.
-
-This monkey lives in a climate as cold as that of England.]
-
-If the baboons were not generally liable to become bad-tempered when they
-grow old, they could probably be trained to be among the most useful of
-animal helpers and servers; but they are so formidable, and so uncertain in
-temper, that they are almost too dangerous for attempts at
-semi-domestication. When experiments have been made, they have had
-remarkable results. Le Vaillant, one of the early explorers in South
-Africa, had a chacma baboon which was a better watch than any of his dogs.
-It gave warning of any creature approaching the camp at night long before
-the dogs could hear or smell it. He took it out with him when he was
-shooting, and used to let it collect edible roots for him. The latest
-example of a trained baboon only died a few years ago. It belonged to a
-railway signalman at Uitenhage station, about 200 miles up-country from
-Port Elizabeth, in Cape Colony. The man had the misfortune to undergo an
-operation in which both his feet were amputated, after being crushed by the
-wheels of a train. Being an ingenious fellow, he taught his baboon, which
-was a full-grown one, to pull him along the line on a trolly to the
-"distant" signal. There the baboon stopped at the word of command, and the
-man would work the lever himself. But in time he taught the baboon to do
-it, while he sat on the trolly, ready to help if any mistake were made.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son, Notting Hill._
-
-GRIVET MONKEY.
-
-This is the small monkey commonly taken about with street-organs.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-BONNET MONKEY, AND ARABIAN BABOON (ON THE RIGHT).]
-
-The chacmas have for relations a number of other baboons in the rocky parts
-of the African Continent, most of which have almost the same habits, and
-are not very different in appearance. Among them is the GELADA BABOON, a
-species very common in the rocky highlands of Abyssinia; another is the
-ANUBIS BABOON of the West Coast of Africa. The latter is numerous round the
-Portuguese settlement of Angola. Whether the so-called COMMON BABOON of the
-menageries is a separate species or only the young of some one of the
-above-mentioned is not very clear. But about another variety there can be
-no doubt. It has been separated from the rest since the days of the
-Pharaohs. It does not differ in habits from the other baboons, but inhabits
-the rocky parts of the Nile Valley. It appears in Egyptian mythology under
-the name of Thoth, and is constantly seen in the sculptures and
-hieroglyphs.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-RHESUS MONKEYS.
-
-This photograph is particularly interesting. It was actually taken by
-another monkey, which pressed the button of Mr. Medland's camera.]
-
-Equally strong and far more repulsive are the two baboons of West
-Africa--the DRILL and the MANDRILL. As young specimens of these beasts are
-the only ones at all easily caught, and these nearly always die when
-cutting their second teeth when in captivity, large adult mandrills are
-seldom seen in Europe. They grow to a great size, and are probably the most
-hideous of all beasts. The frightful nose, high cheekbones, and pig-like
-eyes are the basis of the horrible heads of devils and goblins which Albert
-Dürer and other German or Dutch mediæval painters sometimes put on canvas.
-Add to the figure the misplaced bright colours--cobalt-blue on the cheeks,
-which are scarred, as if by a rake, with scarlet furrows, and scarlet on
-the buttocks--and it will be admitted that nature has invested this
-massive, powerful, and ferocious baboon with a repulsiveness equalling in
-completeness the extremes of grace and beauty manifested in the roe-deer or
-the bird of paradise.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-ORANGE SNUB-NOSED MONKEY.
-
-This should be contrasted with the Proboscis Monkey.]
-
-The natives of Guinea and other parts of West Africa have consistent
-accounts that the mandrills have tried to carry off females and children.
-They live in troops like the chacmas, plunder the fields, and, like all
-baboons, spend much time on the ground walking on all-fours. When doing
-this, they are quite unlike any other creatures. They walk slowly, with the
-head bent downwards, like a person walking on hands and knees looking for a
-pin. With the right hand (usually) they turn over every stick and stone,
-looking for insects, scorpions, or snails, and these they seize and eat.
-The writer has seen baboons picking up sand, and straining it through their
-fingers, to see if there were ants in it. He has also seen one hold up sand
-in the palm of its hand, and blow the dust away with its breath, and then
-look again to see if anything edible were left. Mandrills kept in captivity
-until adult become very savage. One in Wombwell's menagerie killed another
-monkey and a beagle. Mr. Cross owned one which would sit in an armchair,
-smoke, and drink porter; but these convivial accomplishments were
-accompanied by a most ferocious temper.
-
-One of the earliest accounts of the habits of the Abyssinian baboons was
-given by Ludolf in his "History of Ethiopia." It was translated into
-quaint, but excellent old English: "Of Apes," he says, "there are infinite
-flocks up and down in the mountains, a thousand and more together, and they
-leave no stone unturned. If they meet with one that two or three cannot
-lift they call for more aid, and all for the sake of the Worms that lye
-under, a sort of dyet which they relish exceedingly. They are very greedy
-after Emmets. So that having found an emmet hill, they presently surround
-it, and laying their fore paws with the hollow downward upon the ant heap,
-as soon as the Emmets creep into their treacherous palms they lick 'em off,
-with great comfort to their stomachs. And there they will lye till there is
-not an Emmet left. They are also pernicious to fruits and apples, and will
-destroy whole fields and gardens unless they be looked after. For they are
-very cunning, and will never venture in till the return of their spies,
-which they send always before, who, giving all information that it is safe,
-in they rush with their whole body and make a quick despatch. Therefore
-they go very quiet and silent to their prey; and if their young ones chance
-to make a noise, they chastise them with their fists; but if the coast is
-clear, then every one has a different noise to express his joy." Ludolf
-clearly means the baboons by this description.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin_
-
-PIG-TAILED MONKEY.
-
-"Footing the line." Note how the monkey uses its feet as hands when walking
-on a branch.]
-
-A more ancient story deals with Alexander's campaigns. He encamped on a
-mountain on which were numerous bands of monkeys (probably baboons). On the
-following morning the sentries saw what looked like troops coming to offer
-them battle. As they had just won a victory, they were at a loss to guess
-who these new foes might he. The alarm was given, and the Macedonian troops
-set out in battle-array. Then through the morning mists they saw that the
-enemy was an immense troop of monkeys. Their prisoners, who knew what the
-alarm was caused by, made no small sport of the Macedonians.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-CHACMA BABOON.
-
-This photograph shows his attitude when about to make an attack.]
-
-
-THE SPEECH OF MONKEYS.
-
-Something should be said of the alleged "speech of monkeys" which Professor
-Garner believed himself to have discovered. He rightly excluded mere sounds
-showing joy, desire, or sorrow from the faculty of speech, but claimed to
-have detected special words, one meaning "food," another "drink," another
-"give me that," another meaning "monkey," or an identification of a second
-animal or monkey. He used a phonograph to keep permanent record of the
-sounds, and made an expedition to the West African forests in the hope that
-he might induce the large anthropoid apes to answer the sounds which are so
-often uttered by their kind in our menageries. The enterprise ended, as
-might have been expected, in failure. Nor was it in the least necessary to
-go and sit in a cage in an African forest in the hope of striking up an
-acquaintance with the native chimpanzees. The little Capuchin monkeys,
-whose voices and sounds he had ample opportunity of observing here, give
-sufficient material for trying experiments in the meaning of monkey sounds.
-The writer believes that it is highly probable that the cleverer monkeys
-have a great many notes or sounds which the others do understand, if only
-because they make the same under similar circumstances, otherwise they
-would not utter them. They are like the sounds which an intelligent but
-nearly dumb person might make. Also they have very sharp ears, and some of
-them can understand musical sounds, so far as to show a very marked
-attention to them. The following account of an experiment of this kind,
-when a violin was being played, is related in "Life at the Zoo": "The
-Capuchin monkeys, the species selected by Professor Garner for his
-experiments in monkey language, showed the strangest and most amusing
-excitement. These pretty little creatures have very expressive and
-intelligent faces, and the play and mobility of their faces and voices
-while listening to the music were extraordinarily rapid. The three in the
-first cage at once rushed up into their box, and then all peeped out,
-chattering and excited. One by one they came down, and listened to the
-music with intense curiosity, shrieking and making faces at a crescendo,
-shaking the wires angrily at a discord, and putting their heads almost
-upside-down in efforts at acute criticism at low and musical passages.
-Every change of note was marked by some alteration of expression in the
-faces of the excited little monkeys, and a series of discordant notes
-roused them to a passion of rage." At the same time a big baboon, chained
-up near, evidently disliked it. He walked off in the opposite direction to
-the farthest limits of his chain.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-A YOUNG MALE CHACMA BABOON.
-
-Note the protruding tusk in the upper jaw. A baboon sitting in this
-position of rest can instantly leap six or seven feet, and inflict a
-dangerous bite.]
-
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-HEAD OF MALE MANDRILL.
-
-This is one of the most hideous of living animals. The natives of West
-Africa hold it in greater dislike even than the large carnivora, from the
-mischief which it does to their crops.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S., North Finchley._
-
-BROWN CAPUCHIN.
-
-The most intelligent of the common monkeys of the New World. It uses many
-sounds to express emotions, and perhaps desires.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S., North Finchley._
-
-DRILL.
-
-Only less ugly than the Mandrill. Its habits are the same.]
-
-
-THE NEW WORLD MONKEYS.
-
-Mention of the Capuchins takes us to the whole group of the New World
-Monkeys. Nearly all of these live in the tropical forests of Brazil,
-Guiana, Venezuela, and Mexico. They are all different from the Old World
-monkeys, and many are far more beautiful. The most attractive of the
-hardier kinds are the Capuchins; but there are many kinds of rare and
-delicate little monkeys more beautiful than any squirrel, which would make
-the most delightful pets in the world, if they were not so delicate. To try
-to describe the Old World monkeys in separate groups from end to end is
-rather a hopeless task. But the American monkeys are more manageable by the
-puzzled amateur. Most of them have a broad and marked division between the
-nostrils, which are not mere slits close together, but like the nostrils of
-men. They also have human-looking rounded heads. Their noses are of the
-"cogitative" order, instead of being snouts or snubs with narrow openings
-in them; and the whole face is in many ways human and intelligent. The
-HOWLER MONKEYS, which utter the most hideous sounds ever heard in the
-forests, and the SPIDER MONKEYS are the largest. The latter have the most
-wonderfully developed limbs and tails for catching and climbing of any
-living animals. As highly specialised creatures are always interesting,
-visitors to any zoological garden will find it worth while to watch a
-spider monkey climbing, just as it is always worth while to watch a great
-snake on the move. The tail is used as a fifth hand: the Indians of Brazil
-say they catch fish with it, which is not true. But if you watch a spider
-monkey moving from tree to tree, his limbs and tail move like the five
-fingers of a star-fish. Each of the extremities is as sensitive as a hand,
-far longer in proportion than an ordinary man's arm, and apparently able to
-work independently of joints. The monkey can do so many things at once that
-no juggler can equal it. It will hold fruit in one hand, pick more with one
-foot, place food to the mouth with another hand, and walk and swing from
-branch to branch with the other foot and tail, all simultaneously. These
-monkeys have no visible thumb, though dissection shows that they have a
-rudimentary one; but the limbs are so flexible that they can put one arm
-round behind their heads over on to the opposite shoulder, and brush the
-fur on their upper arm. The end of the tail seems always "feeling" the air
-or surroundings, and has hairs, thin and long, at the end, which aid it in
-knowing when it is near a leaf or branch. It is almost like the tentacle of
-some sea zoophyte. Gentle creatures, all of them, are these spider monkeys.
-One of them, of the species called Waita, when kept in captivity, wore the
-fur off its forehead by rubbing its long gaunt arms continually over its
-brow whenever it was scolded. The spider monkeys differ only in the degree
-of spidery slenderness in their limbs. In disposition they are always
-amiable, and in habits tree-climbers and fruit-eaters.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons_]
-
-RED HOWLER MONKEY.
-
-The males possess a most extraordinary voice.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-A SPIDER MONKEY
-
-This monkey is specially adapted for arboreal life. The tail acts as a
-fifth hand.]
-
-The CAPUCHINS are, in the writer's opinion, the nicest of all monkeys. Many
-species are known, but all have the same round merry faces, bright eyes,
-pretty fur, and long tails. There is always a fair number at the Zoological
-Gardens. They are merry, but full of fads. One hates children and loves
-ladies; another adores one or two other monkeys, and screams at the rest.
-All are fond of insects as well as of fruit. A friend of the writer kept
-one in a large house in Leicestershire. It was not very good-tempered, but
-most amusing, climbing up the blind-cord first, and catching and eating the
-flies on the window-panes most dexterously, always avoiding the wasps. This
-monkey was taught to put out a lighted paper (a useful accomplishment) by
-dashing its hands on to the burning part, or, if the paper were twisted up,
-by taking the unlighted end and beating the burning part on the ground; and
-it was very fond of turning the leaves of any large book. This it did not
-only by vigorous use of both arms and hands, but by putting its head under
-too, and "heaving" the leaves over.
-
-In the private room behind the monkey-house at the Zoo there are always a
-number of the rare and delicate monkeys from the New World, which cannot
-stand the draughts of the outer house, like the Capuchins and spider
-monkeys. The greater number of these come from tropical America. There, in
-the mighty forests, so lofty that no man can climb the trees, so dense that
-there is a kind of upper storey on the interlaced tree-tops, where nearly
-all the birds and many mammals live without descending to earth, forests in
-which there is neither summer nor winter, but only the changes from hour to
-hour of the equatorial day, the exquisite MARMOSETS, whose fur looks like
-the plumage and whose twittering voices imitate the notes of birds, live
-and have their being. They are all much alike in shape, except that the
-LION MARMOSET'S mane is like that of a little lion clad in floss silk; and
-they all have sharp little claws, and feed on insects. The PINCHÉ MARMOSET
-from the Guiana forests has a face like a black Indian chief, with white
-plumes over his head and neck like those worn by a "brave" in full
-war-paint. Merchants who do business with Brazil very frequently import
-marmosets and the closely allied tamarins as presents for friends in
-England; the Brazilians themselves like to have them as pets also; so there
-is to some extent a trade demand for them.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co._] [_Parson's Green._
-
-PATAS MONKEY.
-
-Found in West Africa. A large and brilliantly coloured species.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-WANDEROO MONKEY.
-
-The number of monkeys which have leonine manes is large. The manes act as
-capes to keep the dew and wet from their chests and shoulders.]
-
-Among the most delicate of American monkeys are the OUKARIS, which have
-somewhat human faces, exquisite soft fur, and are as gentle as most of
-these forest creatures. They seldom live long in captivity, a few months
-being as much as they will generally endure, even in Brazil. Perhaps the
-rarest of all is the white-haired SCARLET-FACED OUKARI. This monkey has
-long white hair from neck to tail, sandy whiskers, and a bright scarlet
-face. It lives in a district of partly flooded forest, and is only obtained
-by the Indians using blow-pipes and arrows dipped in very diluted urari
-poison. The WHITE-HEADED SAKI is a rare and very pretty little monkey of
-Brazil; and there are a very large number of other species of this group
-whose names it would be mere weariness to mention. All these small monkeys
-are very quick and intelligent, while the rapidity of their movements,
-their ever-changing expression, and sharp, eager cries heighten the idea of
-cleverness given by their general appearance. Other little imps of these
-forests are the SQUIRREL MONKEYS. In the common species the face is like a
-little furry man's, its arms brilliant yellow (as if dipped in gamboge
-dye), the cheeks pink, and eyes black. In habits it is a quick-tempered,
-imperious little creature, carnivorous, and a great devourer of butterflies
-and beetles.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-COMMON SQUIRREL MONKEY.
-
-The squirrel monkeys have soft, bright-coloured fur, and long, hairy tails.
-They are found from Mexico to Paraguay.]
-
-The most beautiful and entertaining of all monkeys are these New World
-species. No person clever at interpreting the ways of animals would fail to
-consider them far more clever and sympathetic than the melancholy
-anthropoid apes, while for appearance they have no equals. Probably the
-most attractive monkey in Europe is a South American one now in the London
-Zoological Gardens. It was first mentioned to Europeans by Baron von
-Humboldt, who saw it in the cabin of an Indian on the Orinoco. These forest
-Indians of South America are gentle creatures themselves. Among other
-amiable qualities, they have a passion for keeping pets. One who worked for
-a friend of the writer, with others of his tribe, was asked what he would
-take in payment, which was given in kind. The others chose cloth, axes,
-etc. This Indian said that he did not care for any of these things. He said
-he wanted a "poosa." No one knew what he meant. He signed that he wished to
-go to the house and would show them. Arrived there, he pointed to the cat!
-"Pussy," to the Arawak Indian, was a "poosa," and that was what he wanted
-as a month's wages. Humboldt's Indian had something better than a "poosa."
-It was a monkey, as black as coal, with a round head, long thickly furred
-tail, and bright vivacious eyes. The explorer called it the LAGOTHRIX,
-which means Hare-skin Monkey. The fur is not the least like a hare's, but
-much resembles that of an opossum. The more suitable name is the WOOLLY
-MONKEY. The one kept at the Gardens is a most friendly and vivacious
-creature, ready to embrace, play and make friends with any well-dressed
-person. It dislikes people in working-clothes which are dirty or soiled--a
-not uncommon aversion of clever animals.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-BLACK-EARED MARMOSET.
-
-These are among the prettiest of small tropical monkeys from the New World.
-They are insect-feeders, and very delicate.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-HUMBOLDT'S WOOLLY MONKEY.
-
-This is the most popular monkey in England. He looks for all the world like
-a Negro, and has a most beautiful, soft, woolly coat. He is very tame, and
-loves nothing better than being petted.]
-
-In spite of all the varieties of _temperament_ in the monkey tribe, from
-the genial little Capuchins to the morose old baboon, they nearly all have
-one thing in common--that is, the monkey brain. The same curious
-restlessness, levity, and want of concentration mark them all, except the
-large anthropoid apes. Some of these have without doubt power of reflection
-and concentration which the other monkeys do not possess. But in all the
-rest, though the capacity for understanding exists, the wish to please, as
-a dog does, and the desire to remember and to retain what it has learnt,
-seem almost entirely wanting. Egoism, which is a sign of human dementia, is
-a very leading characteristic of all monkeys. There is no doubt that the
-baboons might be trained to be useful animals if they always served one
-master. Le Vaillant and many other travellers have noted this. But they are
-_too clever_, and at the bottom too ill-tempered ever to be trustworthy,
-even regarded as "watches," or to help in minor manual labour. Baboons
-would make an excellent substitute for dogs as used in Belgium for light
-draught; but no one could ever rely on their behaving themselves when their
-master's eye was elsewhere.
-
-Taken as a family, the monkeys are a feeble and by no means likeable race.
-They are "undeveloped" as a class, full of promise, but with no
-performance.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-PIG-TAILED MONKEY CATCHING A FLY.
-
-Most of the smaller monkeys, as well as the baboons, are fond of eating
-insects. Beetles, white ants, and flies are eagerly sought and devoured.]
-
-
-THE LEMURS.
-
-The South American monkeys, with their squirrel-like forms and fur, are
-followed by a beautiful and interesting group of creatures, called the
-LEMURS, with their cousins the Lorises, Maholis, and Pottos. Their
-resemblance to monkeys is mainly in their hands and feet. These are real
-and very highly developed hands, with proper thumbs. The second toe on the
-hind foot nearly always terminates in a long, sharp claw. "Elia," the
-Indian naturalist, who kept them as pets, noticed that they used this to
-scratch themselves with. Some of them have the finger-tips expanded into a
-sensitive disk, full of extra nerves. Lemur means "ghost." Unlike the
-lively squirrels and monkeys, they do not leave their hiding-places till
-the tropical darkness has fallen on the forest, when they seek their food,
-not by descending to the ground, but by ascending to the upper surface of
-the ocean of trees, and again, at the first approach of dawn, seek refuge
-from the light in the recesses of some dark and hollow trunk. The
-RING-TAILED LEMUR is as lively by day as night; but most of the race are so
-entirely creatures of darkness that the light seems to stupefy them. When
-wakened, they turn over like sleeping children, with the same inarticulate
-cries and deep, uneasy sighs. But at night most are astonishingly active;
-they fly from tree to tree, heard, but invisible; so that the natives of
-Madagascar doubt whether they are not true _lemures_, the unquiet ghosts of
-their departed dead.
-
-Though the lemurs are here treated apart from the other animals of
-Madagascar, it will be obvious that they are a curious and abnormal tribe.
-This is true of most of the animals of that great island, which has a fauna
-differing both from that of the adjacent coast of Africa and from that of
-India or Australia. In the FOSSA, a large representative of the Civets, it
-possesses a species absolutely unlike any other. The Aye-aye is also an
-abnormal creature. Nor must it be forgotten that Madagascar was until
-recently the home of some of the gigantic ground-living birds. But, after
-all, none of its inhabitants are more remarkable than its hosts of lemurs,
-some of which are to be met with in almost every coppice in the island.
-There are also many extinct kinds.
-
-Exquisite fur, soft and beautifully tinted, eyes of extraordinary size and
-colour (for the pupil shuts up to a mere black line by day, and the rest of
-the eye shows like a polished stone of rich brown or yellow or
-marble-grey), are the marks of most of the lemurs. But there are other
-lemur-like creatures, or "lemuroids," which, though endowed with the same
-lovely fur, like softest moss, have no tails. The strangest of all are two
-creatures called the SLENDER LORIS and the SLOW LORIS. The slender loris,
-which has the ordinary furry coat of the lemurs, and no tail, moves on the
-branches exactly as does a chameleon. Each hand or foot is slowly raised,
-brought forward, and set down again. The fingers then as slowly close on
-the branch till its grasp is secure. It is like a slow-working mechanical
-toy. Probably this is a habit, now instinctive, gained by ages of
-cautiously approaching insects. But the result is to give the impression
-that the creature is almost an automaton.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-RING-TAILED LEMUR.
-
-This lemur is often kept as a domestic animal, and allowed to run about the
-house like a cat.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S., North Finchley._
-
-A DWARF LEMUR.
-
-These tiny animals take the place of the dormouse in Madagascar.]
-
-Madagascar is the main home of the lemurs, though some of the related
-animals are also found in Africa and in the East Indies. But the dense
-forests of the great island are full of these curious nocturnal beasts, of
-which there are so many varieties presenting very slight differences of
-form and habit, that naturalists have some difficulty in giving even a
-complete list of their species. Add to this that nearly all of them are
-intensely and entirely nocturnal, and the scarcity of data as to their
-habits is easily accounted for. When seen by us, their faces all lack
-expression--that is to say, the eyes, which mainly give expression, seem
-entirely vacant and meaningless. But this is due to their special
-adaptation to seeing in the dark tropical night. By day the pupil of the
-eye almost disappears. If only we could also see in the dark, the eyes of
-the lemur might have as much expression as those of a faithful dog. The
-change which night makes in their general demeanour is simply miraculous.
-By day many of them are like hibernating animals, almost incapable of
-movement. When once the curtain of night has fallen, they are as active as
-squirrels, and as full of play as a family of kittens. The RING-TAILED
-LEMUR is often kept as a pet, both in Madagascar and in the Mauritius. It
-is one of the very few which are diurnal in their habits. When in a hurry
-it jumps along, standing on its hind feet, like a little kangaroo, but
-holding its tail upright behind its back. It will follow people upstairs in
-this way, jumping from step to step, with its front paws outstretched, as
-if it were addressing an audience. The French call these day lemurs MAKIS.
-The ring-tailed lemur lives largely among rocks and precipices. Most of
-these creatures live upon fruit, the shoots and leaves of trees, and other
-vegetable food. But, like the squirrel, they have no objection to eggs and
-nestlings, and also kill and eat any small birds and insects. Some of the
-smaller kinds are almost entirely insect-feeders. The largest kind of lemur
-belongs to the group known as the INDRIS. The BLACK-AND-WHITE INDRI
-measures about 2 feet in length. It has only a rudimentary tail, large
-ears, and a sharp-pointed nose. The amount of white colouring varies much
-in different individuals. This variation in colouring--a very rare feature
-among wild mammalia, though one of the first changes shown when animals are
-domesticated--is also found in the next three species, called SIFAKAS. The
-DIADEMED SIFAKA, the WOOLLY INDRI, and the BLACK INDRI all belong to this
-group. The SIFAKAS, as some of these and the allied forms are called, are
-venerated by the Malagasys, who never kill one intentionally. Mr. Foster
-observes that "they live in companies of six or eight, and are very gentle
-and inoffensive animals, wearing a very melancholy expression, and being as
-a rule morose, inactive, and more silent than the other lemurs. They rarely
-live long in captivity. In their native state they are most alert in the
-morning and evening, as during the day they conceal themselves under the
-foliage of trees. When asleep or in repose, the head is dropped on the
-chest and buried between the arms, the tail rolled up on itself and
-disposed between the hind legs. The sifakas live exclusively on vegetable
-substances, fruits, leaves, and flowers, their diet not being varied, as in
-the other lemurs, by small birds, eggs, or insects. Their life is almost
-entirely arboreal, for which the muscles of their hands and feet, as well
-as the parachute-like folds between their arms and bodies, and their
-peculiar hooked fingers, are well fitted. The young one is carried by the
-mother on its back, its hands grasping her armpits tightly."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-BLACK LEMUR.
-
-Found on the coast of Madagascar.]
-
-This is not the universal way of carrying the young among lemurs. The
-CROWNED LEMUR, a beautiful grey-and-white species, often breeds at the Zoo.
-The female carries its young one partly on its side. The infant clings
-tightly with arms and tail round the very slender waist of the lemur, and
-pushes out its sharp little face just above the thigh of the mother. The
-WOOLLY INDRI has more woolly fur than the others of its tribe, a shorter
-nose, and a longer tail.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S., North Finchley._
-
-COQUEREL'S LEMUR.
-
-A lemur which strongly objects to being awakened in the daytime.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-RUFFED LEMUR.
-
-Another of the nocturnal lemurs. It lives mainly on fruit and insects.]
-
-
-THE TRUE LEMURS
-
-Of these there are several species, all confined to Madagascar and the
-Comoro Islands. One of the best known is the RING-TAILED LEMUR, mentioned
-above. It is called LEMUR CATTA, the Cat Lemur, from being so often kept in
-domestication. The WEASEL LEMUR, the GREY LEMUR, the MOUSE LEMUR, the
-GENTLE LEMUR, the SPORTIVE LEMUR, the CROWNED LEMUR, and COQUEREL'S LEMUR,
-all represent various small, pretty, and interesting varieties of the
-group. The BLACK-AND-WHITE LEMUR, one of the larger kinds, is capable of
-domestication. A specimen kept in a London house, where the present writer
-saw it, was always called "Pussy" by the children. The other small kinds
-are very like squirrels, mice, weasels, and other creatures, with which
-they have no connection. It seems as though the curiously limited and
-primitive fauna of Madagascar tried to make up for its want of variety by
-mimicking the forms of other animals, and something of the same kind is
-seen in Australia, where the marsupials take the place of all kinds of
-ordinary mammals. There are marsupial rats, marsupial wolves, marsupial
-squirrels, and even marsupial moles. The small squirrel and rat-like lemurs
-are called CHIROGALES. COQUEREL'S LEMUR is really a chirogale. It is a
-quaint and by no means amiable little animal, sleeping obstinately all day,
-and always ready to growl and bite if disturbed. Its colour is brownish
-grey and cream-colour. A pair of these, rolled up tightly into balls in a
-box of hay, will absolutely refuse to move, even when handled. They only
-feed by night.
-
-
-THE GALAGOS.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-GARNETT'S GALAGO.
-
-One of the squirrel-like lemuroids.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-MAHOLI GALAGO
-
-This little animal is a native of East Africa. It has very large eyes, and
-fur as soft as the chinchilla's.]
-
-An allied group, confined to tropical Africa, is that of the GALAGOS. They
-are most beautiful little creatures, whose nearest relatives are the
-Malagasy lemurs. Generally speaking, they have even more exquisite fur than
-the lemurs. It is almost as soft as floss silk, and so close that the hand
-sinks into it as into a bed of moss. The colour of the fur is rich and
-pleasing, generally some shade of brown. The head is small, the nose
-pointed, and the ears thin, hairless, and capable of being folded up, like
-the wings of a beetle. But the most beautiful feature of the galagos is
-their eyes. These are of immense size, compared with the head. The eye is
-of the richest and most beautiful brown, like a cairngorm stone, but not
-glassy or clear. Though quite translucent, the eye is marked with minute
-dividing-lines, like the grain in an agate--a truly exquisite object. When
-handled or taken in the arms, the little galago clasps the fingers or
-sleeve tightly, as if it thought it was holding a tree, and shows no
-disposition to escape. A family of three or four young ones, no larger than
-mice, with their large-eyed mother attending to them, forms an exquisitely
-dainty little group. The galagos vary from the size of a squirrel to that
-of a small cat. The kind most often seen in England is the Maholi GALAGO
-from East Africa. Another species comes from Senegal, and others from
-Calabar and the forests of the Gold Coast. GARNETT'S GALAGO, another
-species, is shown above. They may be regarded as nocturnal tropical
-lemuroids, analogous to the chirogales of Madagascar. It has been
-suggested, with great probability, that the intensely drowsy sleep of many
-of the lemuroid animals corresponds to the hibernation of many northern
-mammals. Tropical animals often become torpid to avoid the famine caused by
-the hot season, just as creatures in cold countries hibernate to avoid the
-hunger which would otherwise come with winter.
-
-
-THE SLOW LEMURS OR LORISES, AND TARSIERS.
-
-Another group of lemuroids is distinguished from the foregoing by having
-the second finger of the fore paws either very short or rudimentary. The
-thumb and great toe are also set very widely apart from the other fingers
-and toes. A far more striking distinction to the non-scientific eye is
-their astonishingly deliberate and slow movements. They have no tails,
-enormous eyes, and very long, slender legs.
-
-The SLOW LORIS is found in Eastern India and the Malay countries, where it
-is fairly common in the forests. The Bengali natives call it _sharmindi
-billi_ ("bashful cat"), from its slow, solemn, hesitating movements when in
-pursuit of insects. Of a slow loris kept by him, Sir William Jones, in the
-"Asiatic Researches," wrote: "At all times he seemed pleased at being
-stroked on the head and throat, and he frequently allowed me to touch his
-extremely sharp teeth. But his temper was always quick, and when he was
-unseasonably disturbed he expressed a little resentment, by an obscure
-murmur, like that of a squirrel.... When a grasshopper or any insect
-alighted within his reach, his eyes, as he fixed them on his prey, glowed
-with uncommon fire; and having drawn himself back to spring on his prey
-with greater force, he seized it with both his fore paws, and held it till
-he had devoured it. He never could have enough grasshoppers, and spent the
-whole night in prowling for them."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-SLENDER LORIS.
-
-This extraordinary creature has the habits of a chameleon when seeking
-insects for food. The photograph is unique.]
-
-The SLENDER LORIS, an equally curious creature, is only found in Southern
-India and Ceylon. Its food consists entirely of insects, which it captures
-by gradual, almost paralysed approach. It has been described as a
-"furry-coated chameleon." A group of slow lemurs, living in Western Africa,
-are known as Pottos. They are odd little quadrupeds, in which the
-"forefinger" never grows to be more than a stump. The tail is also either
-sharp or rudimentary. They are as slow as the lorises in their movements.
-
-In the Malay islands a distant relative, even more curiously formed, is
-found in the TARSIER. It has the huge eyes, pointed ears, and beautiful fur
-of the galagos, but the tail is long, thin, and tufted. The fingers are
-flattened out into disks, like a tree-frog's. These creatures hop from
-bough to bough in a frog-like manner in search of insects. They are not so
-large as a good-sized rat. Our photograph does not give an adequate idea of
-the size of the eyes.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-SLOW LORIS.
-
-Another of the slow-moving loris group. These animals are not shown to the
-general public at the Zoo, but kept in a specially warmed room.]
-
-
-THE AYE-AYE.
-
-Last, and most remarkable of all these weird lemuroids, is the AYE-AYE. It
-is placed in a group by itself, and has teeth like those of the Rodents, a
-large bushy tail, and most extraordinarily long, slender fingers, which it
-probably uses for picking caterpillars and grubs out of rotten wood. It is
-nearly as large as an Arctic fox, but its habits are those of a lemur. In
-Madagascar it haunts the bamboo forests, feeding on the juice of
-sugar-cane, grubs, and insects. The fingers of its hands are of different
-sizes and lengths, though all are abnormally long and slender. The second
-finger seems to have "wasted," but is said to be of the utmost value to its
-owner in extracting grubs and insects from the burrows in which they dwell,
-or the crannies in which they may have taken refuge. Very seldom is this
-animal seen alive in captivity. Although commonly called Aye-aye in this
-country, it is doubtful if this is really its native name. The aye-aye was
-long a puzzle to naturalists, but is now classed as a lemuroid.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-TARSIER.
-
-These little animals hop about in the trees like frogs. They are nocturnal,
-and seldom seen.]
-
-
-
-THE living races of animals have thus far been reviewed along the completed
-list of the first great order--the Primates. Even in that circumscribed
-group how great is the tendency to depart from the main type, and how
-wonderful the adaptation to meet the various needs of the creatures'
-environment! The skeletons, the frames on which these various beings are
-built up, remain the same in character; but the differences of proportion
-in the limbs, of the muscles with which they are equipped, and of the
-weight of the bodies to be moved are astonishing. Compare, for instance,
-the head of the male Gorilla, with its great ridges of bone, to which are
-attached the muscles which enable it to devour hard tropical fruits and
-bite off young saplings and bamboos, with the rounded and delicate head of
-the Insect-eating Monkeys of South Africa; or set side by side the hand of
-the Chimpanzee with that of the Aye-aye, with its delicate, slender
-fingers, like those of a skeleton hand. What could be more diverse than the
-movements of these creatures, whose structure is nevertheless so much
-alike? Some of the lemuroids are as active as squirrels, flying lightly
-from branch to branch; in others, as the Slow Lorises, the power of rapid
-movement has disappeared, and been replaced by a creeping gait which cannot
-be accelerated. Already, in a single order, we see the rich diversity of
-nature, and its steady tendency to make all existing things serviceable by
-adapting other parts of creation to their use or enjoyment.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S., N. Finchley._
-
-HEAD OF AYE-AYE.
-
-The aye-aye lives mainly in the wild sugar-cane groves, and feeds on
-insects and grubs, as well as on the Juice of the sugar-cane.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Charles Knight, Aldershot._
-
-AFRICAN LION AND LIONESS.
-
-These animals are so numerous in the new British Protectorate of East
-Africa that they are exempted from protection.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Fratelli Alinari_] [_Florence._
-
-AFRICAN LION.
-
-This lion is almost in the attitude of those sculptured by Sir Edwin
-Landseer for the Nelson Monument, but the feet are turned in, and not lying
-flat.]
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER II.
-
-_THE CAT TRIBE._
-
-Though only one species is entirely domesticated, and none of the Cats have
-flesh edible by man, except perhaps the puma, no group of animals has
-attracted more interest than this. Containing more than forty species,
-ranging in size from the ox-devouring tiger or lion to the small wild cats,
-they are so alike in habit and structure that no one could possibly mistake
-the type or go far wrong in guessing at the habits of any one of them. They
-are all flesh-eaters and destroyers of living animals. All have rounded
-heads, and an extraordinary equipment of teeth and of claws, and of muscles
-to use them. The blow of the forearm of a lion or tiger is inconceivably
-powerful, in proportion to its size. A stroke from a tiger's paw has been
-known to strike off a native's arm from the shoulder and leave it hanging
-by a piece of skin, and a similar blow from a lion to crush the skull of an
-ox. The true cats are known by the power to draw back, or "retract," their
-claws into sheaths of horn, rendering their footsteps noiseless, and
-keeping these weapons always sharp. The hunting-leopard has only a partial
-capacity for doing this.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Carl Hagenbeck, Hamburg._
-
-AN UNWILLING PUPIL.
-
-This is one of Herr Hagenbeck s famous performing tigers.]
-
-The characteristics of the Cats and their allies are too well known to need
-description. We will therefore only mention the chief types of the group,
-and proceed to give, in the fullest detail which space allows, authentic
-anecdotes of their life and habits. The tribe includes Lions, Tigers,
-Leopards, Pumas, Jaguars, a large number of so-called Tiger-cats (spotted
-and striped), Wild Cats, Domestic Cats, and Lynxes. The Hunting-leopard, or
-Cheeta, stands in a sub-group by itself, as does the Fossa, the only large
-carnivore of Madagascar. This closes the list of the most cat-like animals.
-The next links in the chain are formed by the Civets and Genets, creatures
-with more or less retractile claws, and long, bushy tails; the still less
-cat-like Binturong, a creature with a prehensile tail; and the Mongooses
-and Ichneumons, more and more nearly resembling the weasel tribe.
-
-
-THE LION.
-
-Recent intrusions for railways, sport, discovery, and war into Central and
-East Africa have opened up new lion countries, and confirmed, in the most
-striking manner, the stories of the power, the prowess, and the dreadful
-destructiveness to man and beast of this king of the Carnivora. At present
-it is found in Persia, on the same rivers where Nimrod and the Assyrian
-kings made its pursuit their royal sport; in Gujerat, where it is nearly
-extinct, though in General Price's work on Indian game written before the
-middle of the last century it is stated that a cavalry officer killed
-eighty lions in three years; and in Africa, from Algeria to the Bechuana
-country. It is especially common in Somaliland, where the modern
-lion-hunter mainly seeks his sport. On the Uganda Railway, from Mombasa to
-Lake Victoria, lions are very numerous and dangerous. In Rhodesia and the
-Northern Transvaal they have killed hunters, railway officials, and even
-our soldiers near Komati Poort. It has been found that whole tracts of
-country are still often deserted by their inhabitants from fear of lions,
-and that the accounts of their ravages contained in the Old Testament,
-telling how Samaria was almost deserted a second time from this cause,
-might be paralleled to-day.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-LIONESS AROUSED.
-
-The pose of the animal here shows attention, but not anger or fear.]
-
-
-THE AFRICAN LION.
-
-BY F. C. SELOUS.
-
-When, in the latter half of the seventeenth century, Europeans first
-settled at the Cape of Good Hope, the lion's roar was probably to be heard
-almost nightly on the slopes of Table Mountain, since a quaint entry in the
-Diary of Van Riebeck, the first Dutch governor of the Cape, runs thus:
-"This night the lions roared as if they would take the fort by storm"--the
-said fort being situated on the site of the city now known as Cape Town.
-
-At that date there can be little doubt that, excepting in the waterless
-deserts and the dense equatorial forests, lions roamed over the whole of
-the vast continent of Africa from Cape Agulhas to the very shore of the
-Mediterranean Sea; nor was their range very seriously curtailed until the
-spread of European settlements in North and South Africa, and the
-acquisition of firearms by the aboriginal inhabitants of many parts of the
-country, during the latter half of the nineteenth century, steadily denuded
-large areas of all wild game.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by M. Geiser_] [_Algiers._
-
-ALGERIAN LIONESS.
-
-This lioness, sitting under an olive-tree, was actually photographed in the
-Soudan by the intrepid M. Geiser.]
-
-As the game vanished, the lions disappeared too; for although at first they
-preyed to a large extent on the domestic flocks and herds which gradually
-replaced the wild denizens of the once-uninhabited plains, this practice
-brought them into conflict with the white colonists or native herdsmen
-armed with weapons of precision, before whom they rapidly succumbed.
-
-[Illustration: A FOSTER-MOTHER. This is a remarkable photograph of a setter
-suckling three lion cubs which had lost their mother. It is reproduced here
-by permission of the Editor of the Irish Field.]
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Carl Hagenbeck_] [_Hamburg._
-
-A PERFORMING LION.
-
-Lions, it would seem, are capable of being taught almost anything, even
-tricycle-riding.]
-
-To-day lions are still to be found wherever game exists in any quantity,
-and their numbers will be in proportion to those of the wild animals on
-which they prey.
-
-The indefinite increase of lions must be checked by some unknown law of
-nature, otherwise they would have become so numerous in the sparsely
-inhabited or altogether uninhabited parts of Africa, that they would first
-have exterminated all the game on which they had been wont to prey, and
-would then have had to starve or to have eaten one another. But such a
-state of things has never been known to occur; and whenever Europeans have
-entered a previously unexplored and uninhabited tract of country in Africa,
-and have found it teeming with buffaloes, zebras, and antelopes, they have
-always found lions in such districts very plentiful indeed, but never in
-such numbers as to seriously diminish the abundance of the game upon which
-they depended for food.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-LIONESS AND CUB.
-
-Lion cubs thrive both in Dublin and Amsterdam, but not so well at the
-London Zoo.]
-
-It is easy to understand that the increase of a herd of herbivorous animals
-would be regulated by the amount of the food-supply available, as well as
-constantly checked by the attacks of the large carnivora, such as lions,
-leopards, cheetas, hyænas, and wild dogs; but I have never been able to
-comprehend what has kept within bounds the inordinate increase of lions and
-other carnivorous animals in countries where for ages past they have had an
-abundant food-supply, and at the same time, having been almost entirely
-unmolested by human beings, have had no enemies. Perhaps such a state of
-things does not exist at the present day, but there are many parts of
-Africa where such conditions have existed from time immemorial up to within
-quite recent years.
-
-Since lions were once to be found over the greater portion of the vast
-continent of Africa, it is self-evident that these animals are able to
-accommodate themselves to great variations of climate and surroundings; and
-I myself have met with them, close to the sea, in the hot and sultry
-coastlands of South-east Africa; on the high plateau of Mashonaland, where
-at an altitude of 6,000 feet above sea-level the winter nights are cold and
-frosty; amongst the stony hills to the east of the Victoria Falls of the
-Zambesi; and in the swamps of the Chobi. In the great reed-beds of the
-latter river a certain number of lions appeared to live constantly, preying
-on buffaloes and lechwe antelopes. I often heard them roaring at nights in
-these swamps, and I once saw two big male lions wading slowly across an
-open space between two beds of reeds in water nearly a foot in depth.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Fratelli Alinari_] [_Florence._
-
-A YOUNG LIONESS.
-
-The sole of the hind foot shows the soft pads on which the Cats noiselessly
-approach their prey.]
-
-Although there are great individual differences in lions as regards size,
-general colour of coat, and more particularly in the length, colour, and
-profuseness of the mane with which the males are adorned, yet as these
-differences occur in every part of Africa where lions are met with, and
-since constant varieties with one fixed type of mane living by themselves
-and not interbreeding with other varieties do not exist anywhere, modern
-zoologists are, I think, now agreed that there is only one species of lion,
-since in any large series of wild lion skins, made in any particular
-district of Africa or Asia, every gradation will be found between the
-finest-maned specimens and those which are destitute of any mane at all.
-Several local races have, however, been recently described by German
-writers.
-
-In the hot and steamy coastlands of tropical Africa lions usually have
-short manes, and never, I believe, attain the long silky black manes
-sometimes met with on the high plateaux of the interior. However, there is,
-I believe, no part of Africa where all or even the majority of male lions
-carry heavy manes, the long hair of which does not as a rule cover more
-than the neck and chest, with a tag of varying length and thickness
-extending from the back of the neck to between the shoulder-blades. Lions
-with very full black manes, covering the whole shoulders, are rare
-anywhere, but more likely to be encountered on the high plateaux, where the
-winter nights are extremely cold, than anywhere else. In such cases, in
-addition to the tufts of hair always found on the elbows and in the armpits
-of lions with fair-sized manes, there will probably be large tufts of hair
-in each flank just where the thighs join the belly; but I have never yet
-seen the skin of a lion shot within the last thirty years with the whole
-belly covered with long, thick hair, as may constantly be observed in lions
-kept in captivity in the menageries of Europe. There is, however, some
-evidence to show that, when lions existed on the high plains of the Cape
-Colony and the Orange River Colony, where the winter nights are much colder
-than in the countries farther north where lions may still be encountered,
-certain individuals of the species developed a growth of long hair all over
-the belly, as well as an extraordinary luxuriance of mane on the neck and
-shoulders.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Carl Hagenbeck_] [_Hamburg._
-
-A HAPPY FAMILY.
-
-Here is a group of animals and their keeper from Herr Hagenbeck's
-Thierpark. The animal in front is a cross between a lion and a tigress; he
-lives on quite friendly terms with his keeper, and also with lions, tigers,
-and leopards, as seen in the photograph.]
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Carl Hagenbeck_] [_Hamburg._
-
-A CROSS BETWEEN LION AND TIGRESS.
-
-This unique photograph shows a remarkable hybrid and its proud parents. The
-father (on the right) is a lion, and the mother (on the left) a tigress.
-The offspring (in the centre) is a fine, large male, now four years old; it
-is bigger than an average-sized lion or tiger.]
-
-From the foregoing remarks it will be seen that wild lions, having as a
-rule much less luxuriant manes than many examples of their kind to be seen
-in European menageries, are ordinarily not so majestic and dignified in
-appearance as many of their caged relatives. On the other hand, the wild
-lion is a much more alert and active animal than a menagerie specimen, and
-when in good condition is far better built and more powerful-looking, being
-free from all appearance of lankiness and weakness in the legs, and having
-strong, well-formed hindquarters. The eyes of the menagerie lion, too, look
-brown and usually sleepy, whilst those of the wild animal are yellow, and
-extraordinarily luminous even after death. When wounded and standing at
-bay, with head held low between his shoulders, growling hoarsely, and with
-twitching tail, even if he is not near enough to be observed very closely,
-a lion looks a very savage and dangerous animal; but should he be wounded
-in such a way as to admit of a near approach--perhaps by a shot that has
-paralysed his hindquarters--his flaming eyes will seem to throw out sparks
-of living fire.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-A HUNGRY LION.
-
-Notice that the mane, as in most wild lions, is very scanty.]
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Carl Hagenbeck_] [_Hamburg._
-
-LIONESS AND TIGER.
-
-The straightness of the lioness's tail is here shown. It is not in the
-least like that of the tiger or of the cat.]
-
-Speaking generally, there is little or no danger in meeting a lion or lions
-in the daytime. Even in parts of the country where firearms are unknown,
-and where the natives seldom or never interfere with them, these animals
-seem to have an instinctive fear of man, and even when encountered at the
-carcase of an animal freshly killed, and at a time when they may be
-supposed to be hungry, they will almost invariably retreat before the
-unwelcome presence, sometimes slowly and sulkily, but in districts where
-much hunting with firearms has been going on at a very rapid pace. However,
-I have known of two cases of Europeans mounted on horseback having been
-attacked by lions in broad daylight, and Dr. Livingstone mentions a third.
-In one of the instances which came within my own knowledge, a lion sprang
-at a Boer hunter as he was riding slowly along, carrying an elephant-gun in
-his right hand and followed by a string of natives on foot. The lion
-attacked from the left side, and with its right paw seized my friend from
-behind by the right side of his face and neck, inflicting deep gashes with
-its sharp claws, one of which cut right through his cheek and tore out one
-of his teeth. My friend was pulled from his horse, but, clutching the
-loosely girthed saddle tightly with his knees, it twisted round under the
-horse's belly before he fell to the ground. Instead of following up its
-success, the lion, probably scared by the shouting of the Kaffirs, trotted
-away for a short distance, and then turned and stood looking at the
-dismounted hunter, who, never having lost his presence of mind, immediately
-shot it dead with his heavy old muzzle-loading elephant-gun. Besides these
-three instances of Europeans having been attacked in the daytime by lions,
-I have known of a certain number of natives having been killed in broad
-daylight. Such incidents are, however, by no means every-day occurrences,
-and, speaking generally, it may be said that the risk of molestation by
-lions in Africa during daylight is very small. It is by night that lions
-roam abroad with stealthy step in search of prey; and at such times they
-are often, when hungry, incredibly bold and daring. I have known them upon
-several occasions to enter a hunter's camp, and, regardless of fires, to
-seize oxen and horses and human beings.
-
-During the year following the first occupation of Mashonaland in 1890, a
-great deal of damage was done by lions, which could not resist the
-attractions of the settlers' live stock. For the first few months I kept as
-accurate an account as I could of the number of horses, donkeys, oxen,
-sheep, goats, and pigs which were killed by lions, and it soon mounted up
-to over 200 head. During the same time several white men were also mauled
-by lions, and one unfortunate man named Teale was dragged from beneath the
-cart, where he was sleeping by the side of a native driver, and at once
-killed and eaten. Several of the horses were killed inside rough shelters
-serving as stables. In the following year (1891) over 100 pigs were killed
-in one night by a single lioness. These pigs were in a series of pens,
-separated one from another, but all under one low thatched roof. The
-lioness forced her way in between two poles, and apparently was unable,
-after having satisfied her hunger, to find her way out again, and, becoming
-angry and frightened, wandered backwards and forwards through the pens,
-killing almost all the pigs, each one with a bite at the back of the head
-or neck. This lioness, which had only eaten portions of two young pigs,
-made her escape before daylight, but was killed with a set gun the next
-night by the owner of the pigs.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-TIGRESS.
-
-Were the grass seen here the normal height of that in the Indian jungles,
-the upright lines would harmonize with the stripes, and render the tiger
-almost invisible.]
-
-When lions grow old, they are always liable to become man-eaters. Finding
-their strength failing them, and being no longer able to hunt and pull down
-large antelopes or zebras, they are driven by hunger to killing small
-animals, such as porcupines, and even tortoises, or they may visit a native
-village and catch a goat, or kill a child or woman going for water; and
-finding a human being a very easy animal to catch and kill, an old lion
-which has once tasted human flesh will in all probability continue to be a
-man-eater until he is killed. On this subject, in his "Missionary Travels,"
-Dr. Livingstone says: "A man-eater is invariably an old lion; and when he
-overcomes his fear of man so far as to come to villages for goats, the
-people remark, 'His teeth are worn; he will soon kill men.' They at once
-acknowledge the necessity of instant action, and turn out to kill him." It
-is the promptness with which measures are taken by the greater part of the
-natives of Southern Africa to put an end to any lion which may take to
-eating men that prevents these animals as a rule from becoming the
-formidable pests which man-eating tigers appear to be in parts of India.
-But man-eating lions in Africa are not invariably old animals. One which
-killed thirty-seven human beings in 1887, on the Majili River, to the
-north-west of the Victoria Falls of the Zambesi, was, when at last he was
-killed, found to be an animal in the prime of life; whilst the celebrated
-man-eaters of the Tsavo River, in East Africa, were also apparently strong,
-healthy animals. These two man-eating lions caused such consternation
-amongst the Indian workmen on the Uganda Railway that the work of
-construction was considerably retarded, the helpless coolies refusing to
-remain any longer in a country where they were liable to be eaten on any
-night by a man-eating lion. Both these lions were at last shot by one of
-the engineers on the railway (Mr. J. H. Patterson), but not before they had
-killed and devoured twenty-eight Indian coolies and an unknown number of
-native Africans.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S., North Finchley._
-
-TIGER CUB.
-
-Note the great development of the legs and paws.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Valentine & Sons, Ltd._] [_Dundee._
-
-A ROYAL TIGER.
-
-This is an old Bengal Tiger, with the smooth, short coat grown in that hot
-climate.]
-
-
-THE TIGER.
-
-TIGERS are the "type animal" of Asia. They are found nowhere else. Lions
-were inhabitants, even in historic times, of Europe, and are still common
-on the Euphrates and in parts of Persia, just as they were when the
-Assyrian kings shot them with arrows from their hunting-chariots. They
-survived in Greece far later than the days when story says that Hercules
-slew the Nemean lion in the Peloponnesus, for the baggage-animals of
-Xerxes' army of invasion were attacked by lions near Mount Athos. But the
-tiger never comes, and never did come in historic times, nearer to Europe
-than the Caucasian side of the Caspian Sea. On the other hand, they range
-very far north. All our tiger-lore is Indian. There is scarcely a story of
-tigers to be found in English books of sport which deals with the animal
-north of the line of the Himalaya. These Chinese northern tigers and the
-Siberian tigers are far larger than those of India. They have long woolly
-coats, in order to resist the cold. Their skins are brought to London in
-hundreds every year to the great fur-sales. But the animals themselves we
-never see. The present writer was informed by a friend that in the Amur
-Valley he shot three of these tigers in a day, putting them up in thick
-bush-scrub by the aid of dogs.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Fratelli Alinari_] [_Florence._
-
-A TIGER BEFORE SLEEPING.
-
-Tigers, when about to sleep, sit in this position; when more drowsy, they
-lie down or roll over on their backs.]
-
-The ROYAL BENGAL TIGER, so called, and very properly called in the old
-books of natural history, is a different and far more savage beast. It is
-almost _invariably_ a ferocious savage, fierce by nature, never wishing to
-be otherwise than a destroyer--of beasts mainly, but often of men. Compared
-with the lion, it is far longer, but rather lighter, for the lion is more
-massive and compact. "A well-grown tigress," says Sir Samuel Baker, "may
-weigh on an average 240 lbs. live weight. A very fine tiger may weigh 440
-lbs., but if fat the same tiger would weigh 500 lbs. There may be tigers
-which weigh 50 lbs. more than this; but I speak according to my experience.
-I have found that a tiger of 9 feet 8 inches is about 2 inches above the
-average. The same skin may be _stretched_ to measure 10 feet. A tiger in
-the Zoological Gardens is a long, lithe creature with little flesh. Such a
-specimen affords a poor example of this grand animal in its native jungles,
-with muscles in their full, ponderous development from continual exertion
-in nightly travels over long distances, and in mortal struggles when
-wrestling with its prey. A well-fed tiger is by no means a slim figure. On
-the contrary, it is exceedingly bulky, broad in the shoulders, back, and
-loins, and with an extraordinary girth of limbs, especially in the forearms
-and wrists."
-
-This ponderous, active, and formidably armed creature is, as might be
-expected, able to hold its own wherever Europeans do not form part of the
-regular population. In India the peasants are quite helpless even against a
-cattle-killing tiger in a populous part of the country. In the large
-jungles, and on the islands at the mouths of the great rivers, the tigers
-have things all their own way. Things are no better in the Far East. A
-large peninsula near Singapore is said to have been almost abandoned by its
-cultivators lately, owing to the loss of life caused by the tigers. In the
-populous parts of India the tiger is far more stealthy than in the
-out-of-the-way districts. It only hunts by night; and after eating a part
-of the animal killed, moves off to a distance, and does not return.
-Otherwise the regular habit is to return to the kill just at or after dusk,
-and finish the remainder. Its suspicions seem quite lulled to sleep after
-dark. Quite recently a sportsman sat up to watch for a tiger at a
-water-hole. It was in the height of the Indian hot season, when very little
-water was left. All the creatures of that particular neighbourhood were in
-the habit of coming to drink at one good pool still left in the rocky bed
-of the river. There the tigers came too. The first night they did not come
-until all the other creatures--hog, deer, peacocks, and monkeys--had been
-down to drink. They then came so softly over the sand that the gunner in
-waiting did not hear them pass. His first knowledge that they were there
-was due to the splashing they made as they entered the water. It was quite
-dark, and he felt not a little nervous, for the bush on which he was seated
-on a small platform was only some 10 feet high. He heard the two tigers
-pass him, not by their footsteps, but by the dripping of the water as it
-ran off their bodies on to the sand. Next night they came again. This time,
-though it was dark, he shot one in a very ingenious manner. The two tigers
-walked into the water, and apparently lay down or sat down in it, with
-their heads out. They only moved occasionally, lapping the water, but did
-not greatly disturb the surface. On this was reflected a bright star from
-the sky above. The sportsman put the sight of the rifle on the star, and
-kept it up to his shoulder. Something obliterated the star, and he
-instantly fired. The "something" was the tiger's head, which the bullet
-duly hit.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co._] [_Parson's Green._
-
-A HALF-GROWN TIGER CUB.
-
-Tigers "grow to their head," like children. The head of a half-grown cub is
-as long, though not so broad, as that of the adult.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Fratelli Alinari_] [_Florence._
-
-TIGERS IN ITALY.
-
-These tigers were photographed in Turin. Italy was the first European
-country to which these animals were brought from the East.]
-
-The hill-tigers of India are, or were, much more given to hunting by day
-than the jungle-tigers. In the Nilgiri Hills of Southern India the late
-General Douglas Hamilton said that before night the tigers were already
-about hunting, and that in the shade of evening it was dangerous to ride on
-a pony--not because the tigers wished to kill the rider, but because they
-might mistake the pony and its rider for a sambar deer. He was stalked like
-this more than once. Often, when stalking sambar deer and ibex by day, he
-saw the tigers doing the same, or after other prey. "My brother Richard,"
-he writes, "was out after a tiger which the hillmen reported had killed a
-buffalo about an hour before. He saw the tiger on first getting to the
-ground, and the tiger had seen him. It was lying out in the open watching
-the buffalo, and shuffled into the wood, and would not come out again. Next
-morning, when we got to the ground, the tiger was moving from rock to rock,
-and had dragged the body into a nullah.... We were upon the point of
-starting home when we observed a number of vultures coming down to the
-carcase. The vultures began to collect in large numbers on the opposite
-hill. I soon counted fifty; but they would not go near the buffalo. Then
-some crows, bolder than the rest, flew down, and made a great row over
-their meal. All of a sudden they all flew up, and I made certain it was the
-tiger. Then my brother fired, and there he was, shot right through the
-brain, lying just above the buffalo. He had been brought down by the noise
-the crows were making. Upon driving the _sholas_ (small woods on these
-hills), tigers were often put out. Sometimes they availed themselves of the
-drive to secure food for themselves. A wood was being driven, when a
-tremendous grunting was heard, and out rushed an old boar, bristling and
-savage. B---- was about to raise his rifle, when a growl like thunder
-stopped him, and a great tiger with one spring cleared the nullah, and
-alighted on the back of the old boar. Such a battle then took place that,
-what with the growls of the tiger and the squeals of the boar, one might
-believe oneself in another world. I thought of nothing but of how to kill
-one or the other, or both; so, as they were rolling down over and over,
-about fifty yards from me on the open hillside, I let fly both barrels. For
-a second or two the noise went on; then the tiger jumped off, and the boar
-struggled into the nullah close by. The tiger pulled up, and coolly stared
-at us without moving; but his courage seemed to fail him, and he sprang
-into the nullah and disappeared."
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Carl Hagenbeck_] [_Hamburg._
-
-A LEOPARD-PUMA HYBRID.
-
-This is a photograph from life of a very rare hybrid. The animals' father
-was a puma, its mother a leopard. It is now dead, and may be seen stuffed
-in Mr. Rothschild's Museum at Tring.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-LEOPARDS.
-
-A pair of leopards, one spotted, the other black. Black leopards may be the
-offspring of the ordinary spotted form; they are generally much more
-savage.]
-
-In most parts of India tigers are now scarce and shy, except in the
-preserves of the great rajas, and the dominions of some mighty and pious
-Hindu potentates, such as the Maharaja of Jeypur, who, being supposed to be
-descended from a Hindu god, allows no wild animals to be killed. There the
-deer and pig are so numerous that tigers are welcome to keep them down. But
-the Sunderbunds, unwholesome islands at the Ganges mouth, still swarm with
-them. So does the Malay Peninsula.
-
-Mr. J. D. Cobbold shot a tiger in Central Asia in a swamp so deep in snow
-and so deadly cold that he dared not stay for fear of being frozen to
-death. Tigers sometimes wander as far west as the Caucasus near the
-Caspian. The farther north, the larger your tiger, is the rule. The biggest
-ever seen in Europe was a Siberian tiger owned by Herr Carl Hagenbeck, of
-Hamburg, and the largest known skin and skull is from the Far North. The
-skin is 13 feet 6 inches from the nose to the end of the tail. The largest
-Indian tiger-skin, from one killed by the Maharaja of Cuch Behar, measures
-11 feet 7 inches.
-
-
-LEOPARDS.
-
-Less in size, but even more ferocious, the LEOPARD has a worse character
-than the tiger. Living mainly in trees, and very nocturnal, this fierce and
-dangerous beast is less often seen than far rarer animals. It is widely
-spread over the world, from the Cape of Good Hope to the Atlas Mountains,
-and from Southern China to the Black Sea, where it is sometimes met with in
-the Caucasus. There seems to be no legend of its presence in Greece, Italy,
-or Spain; but it was quite common in Asia Minor; and Cicero, when governor
-of Cilicia, was plagued by an aristocratic young friend in Rome to send him
-leopards to exhibit in a fête he was giving.
-
-Any one who has frequented the Zoo for any time must have noticed the
-difference in size and colour between leopards from different parts of the
-world. On some the ground-colour is almost white, in others a clear
-nut-brown. Others are jet-black. Wherever they live, they are cattle
-thieves, sheep thieves, and dog thieves. Though not formidable in
-appearance, they are immensely strong. Sometimes one will turn man-eater.
-Both in India and lately in Africa cases have been known where they have
-"set up" in this line as deliberately as any tiger. They have four or five
-young at a birth, which may often be kept tame for some time and are
-amusing pets. But the following plain story shows the danger of such
-experiments. At Hong-kong an English merchant had a tame leopard, which was
-brought into the room by a coolie for the guests to see at a dinner party.
-Excited by the smell of food, it refused to go out when one of the ladies,
-who did not like its looks, wished for it to be removed. The man took hold
-of its collar and began to haul it out. It seized him by the neck, bit it
-through, and in a minute the coolie was dying, covered with blood, on the
-dining-room floor!
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-A YOUNG LEOPARD
-
-The leopard cub is far more cat-like in appearance than the young tiger or
-lion.]
-
-The Chinese leopard ranges as far north as the Siberian tiger, and, like
-the latter, seems to grow larger the farther north it is found. The colour
-of these northern leopards is very pale, the spots large, and the fur very
-long. At the March fur-sales of the present year, held at the stores of Sir
-Charles Lampson, there were Siberian leopard-skins as large as those of a
-small tiger.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. W. McLellan]_ [_Highbury._
-
-SNOW-LEOPARD, OR OUNCE.
-
-This is a striking portrait of a very beautiful animal. Note the long bushy
-tail, thick coat, and large eyes.]
-
-Leopards are essentially tree-living and nocturnal animals. Sleeping in
-trees or caves by day, they are seldom disturbed. They do an incredible
-amount of mischief among cattle, calves, sheep, and dogs, being especially
-fond of killing and eating the latter. They seize their prey by the throat,
-and cling with their claws until they succeed in breaking the spine or in
-strangling the victim. The largest leopards are popularly called PANTHERS.
-In India they sometimes become man-eaters, and are always very dangerous.
-They have a habit of feeding on putrid flesh; this makes wounds inflicted
-by their teeth or claws liable to blood-poisoning. Nothing in the way of
-prey comes amiss to them, from a cow in the pasture to a fowl up at roost.
-"In every country," says Sir Samuel Baker, "the natives are unanimous in
-saying that the leopard is more dangerous than the lion or tiger. Wherever
-I have been in Africa, the natives have declared that they had no fear of a
-lion, provided they were not hunting, for it would not attack unprovoked,
-but that a leopard was never to be trusted. I remember when a native boy,
-accompanied by his grown-up brother, was busily employed with others in
-firing the reeds on the opposite bank of a small stream. Being thirsty and
-hot, the boy stooped down to drink, when he was immediately seized by a
-leopard. His brother, with admirable aim, hurled his spear at the leopard
-while the boy was in his jaws. The point separated the vertebræ of the
-neck, and the leopard fell stone-dead. The boy was carried to my hut, but
-there was no chance of recovery. The fangs had torn open the chest and
-injured the lungs. These were exposed to view through the cavity of the
-ribs. He died the same night."
-
-In the great mountain-ranges of Central Asia the beautiful SNOW-LEOPARD is
-found. It is a large creature, with thick, woolly coat, and a long tail
-like a fur boa. The colour is white, clouded with beautiful grey, like that
-of an Angora cat. The edges of the cloudings and spots are marked with
-black or darker grey. The eyes are very large, bluish grey or
-smoke-coloured. It lives on the wild sheep, ibex, and other mountain
-animals. In captivity it is far the tamest and gentlest of the large
-carnivora, not excepting the puma. Unlike the latter, it is a sleepy, quiet
-animal, like a domestic cat. The specimen shown here belonged to a lady in
-India, who kept it for some time as a pet. It was then brought to the
-Zoological Gardens, where it was more amiable and friendly than most cats.
-The writer has entered its cage with the keeper, stroked it, and patted its
-head, without in the least ruffling its good-temper. The heat of the
-lion-house did not suit it, and it died of consumption.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-CHEETA.
-
-A cheeta is a hunting-leopard; this one is a particularly large specimen.
-The cheetas are dealt with later on in this chapter.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G.W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-JAGUAR.
-
-The largest and strongest of the Cats of the New World. A South American
-species.]
-
-
-THE NEW WORLD CATS.
-
-The cats, great and small, of the New World resemble those of the Old,
-though not quite so closely as the caribou, wapiti deer, and moose of the
-northern forests resemble the reindeer, red deer, and elk of Europe. They
-are like, but with a difference. The Jaguar and the Ocelot are respectively
-larger and far more beautiful than their counterparts, the leopard and
-serval cats. But the Puma, the one medium-sized feline animal which is
-unspotted, is something unique. The jaguar and puma are found very far
-south in South America; and though the jaguar is really a forest animal, it
-seems to have wandered out on to the Pampas of Argentina, perhaps attracted
-by the immense numbers of cattle, sheep, and horses on these plains.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co., Parson's Green._
-
-PUMA.
-
-A puma in the act of lying down, like a domestic cat.]
-
-
-THE JAGUAR.
-
-The JAGUAR is as savage as it is formidable, but does not often attack men.
-Its headquarters are the immense forests running from Central America to
-Southern Brazil; and as all great forests are little inhabited, the jaguar
-is seldom encountered by white men. By the banks of the great rivers it is
-semi-aquatic; it swims and climbs with equal ease, and will attack animals
-on board boats anchored in the rivers. As there are few animals of great
-size in these forests, its great strength is not often seen exercised, as
-is that of the lion; but it is the personification of concentrated force,
-and its appearance is well worth studying from that point of view. The
-spots are larger and squarer than in the leopard, the head ponderous, the
-forearms and feet one mass of muscle, knotted under the velvet skin. On the
-Amazons it draws its food alike from the highest tree-tops and the
-river-bed; in the former it catches monkeys in the branches, fish in the
-shallows of the rivers, and scoops out turtles' eggs from the sandbanks.
-Humboldt, who visited these regions when the white population was scarce,
-declared that 4,000 jaguars were killed annually, and 2,000 skins exported
-from Buenos Ayres alone. It was clearly common on the Pampas in his day,
-and made as great havoc among the cattle and horses as it does to-day.
-
-
-THE PUMA.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-FEMALE PUMA.
-
-This shows a puma alert and vigilant, with ears pricked forward.]
-
-The PUMA is a far more interesting creature. It is found from the mountains
-in Montana, next the Canadian boundary, to the south of Patagonia. Yankee
-stories of its ferocity may have some foundation; but the writer believes
-there is no recorded instance of the northern puma attacking man
-unprovoked, though in the few places where it now survives it kills
-cattle-calves and colts. It is relentlessly hunted with dogs, treed, and
-shot. As to the puma of the southern plains and central forests, the
-natives, whether Indians or Gauchos, agree with the belief, steadily handed
-down from the days of the first Spanish conquest, that the puma is the one
-wild cat which is naturally friendly to man. The old Spaniards called it
-_amigo del Cristiano_ (the Christian's friend); and Mr. Hudson, in "The
-Naturalist in La Plata," gives much evidence of this most curious and
-interesting tendency: "It is notorious that where the puma is the only
-large beast of prey it is perfectly safe for a small child to go out and
-sleep on the plain.... The puma is always at heart a kitten, taking
-unmeasured delight in its frolics; and when, as often happens, one lives
-alone in the desert, it will amuse itself for hours fighting mock battles
-or playing hide-and-seek with imaginary companions, or lying in wait and
-putting all its wonderful strategy in practice to capture a passing
-butterfly." From Azara downwards these stories have been told too often not
-to be largely true; and in old natural histories, whose writers believed
-the puma was a terrible man-eater, they also appear as "wonderful escapes."
-One tells how a man put his _poncho_, or cloak, over his back when crawling
-up to get a shot at some duck, and felt something heavy on the end of it.
-He crept from under it, and there was a puma sitting on it, which did not
-offer to hurt him.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-OCELOT.
-
-Note the elongated spots, and their arrangement in chains.]
-
-As space forbids further quotation from Mr. Hudson's experiences, which
-should be read, the writer will only add one anecdote which was told him by
-Mr. Everard im Thurn, C.B., formerly an official in British Guiana. He was
-going up one of the big rivers in his steam-launch, and gave a passage to
-an elderly and respectable Cornish miner, who wanted to go up to a
-gold-mine. The visitor had his meals on the boat, but at night went ashore
-with the men and slung his hammock between two trees, leaving the cabin to
-his host. One morning two of the Indian crew brought the miner's hammock on
-board with a good deal of laughing and talking. Their master asked what the
-joke was, whereupon, pointing to the trees whence they had unslung the
-hammock, one said, "Tiger sleep with old man last night." They were quite
-in earnest, and pointed out a hollow and marks on the leaves, which showed
-that a puma had been lying _just under the man's hammock_. When asked if he
-had noticed anything in the night, he said, "Only the frogs croaking
-wakened me up." The croaking of the frogs was probably the hoarse purring
-of the friendly puma enjoying his proximity to a sleeping man. Mr. Hudson
-quotes a case in which four pumas played round and leapt over a person
-camping out on the Pampas. He watched them for some time, and then went to
-sleep! Many of those brought to this country come with their tempers ruined
-by ill-treatment and hardship; but a large proportion are as tame as cats.
-Captain Marshall had one at Marlow which used to follow him on a chain and
-watch the boats full of pleasure-seekers at the lock.
-
-The puma is always a beautiful creature,--the fur cinnamon-coloured, tinged
-with gold; the belly and chest white; the tail long, full, and round.
-Though friendly to man, it is a desperate cattle-killer, and particularly
-fond of horse-flesh, so much so that it has been suggested that the
-indigenous wild horses of America were destroyed by the puma.
-
-There are two other cats of the Pampas--the GRASS-CAT, not unlike our wild
-cat in appearance and habits, and the WOOD-CAT, or Geoffroy's Cat. It is a
-tabby, and a most elegant creature, of which there is a specimen, at the
-time of writing, in the London Zoo.
-
-
-THE OCELOT.
-
-In the forest region is also found the most beautiful of the medium-sized
-cats. This is the OCELOT, which corresponds somewhat to the servals, but is
-not the least like a lynx, as the servals are. It is entirely a tree-cat,
-and lives on birds and monkeys. The following detailed description of its
-coloration appeared in "Life at the Zoo":--
-
-"Its coat, with the exception perhaps of that of the clouded leopard of
-Sumatra, marks the highest development of ornament among four-footed
-animals. The Argus pheasant alone seems to offer a parallel to the beauties
-of the ocelot's fur, especially in the development of the wonderful ocelli,
-which, though never reaching in the beast the perfect cup-and-ball ornament
-seen on the wings of the bird, can be traced in all the early stages of
-spots and wavy lines, so far as the irregular shell-shaped rim and dot on
-the feet, sides, and back, just as in the subsidiary ornament of the Argus
-pheasant's feathers. Most of the ground-tint of the fur is smoky-pearl
-colour, on which the spots develop from mere dots on the legs and speckles
-on the feet and toes to large egg-shaped ocelli on the flanks. There are
-also two beautiful pearl-coloured spots on the back of each ear, like those
-which form the common ornaments of the wings of many moths."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-OCELOT FROM CENTRAL AMERICA.
-
-The ocelot can be tamed and almost domesticated if taken young, and is
-occasionally kept as a pet by the forest Indians.]
-
-The nose is pink; the eye large, convex, and translucent.
-
-A tame ocelot described by Wilson, the American naturalist, was most
-playful and affectionate, but when fed with flesh was less tractable. It
-jumped on to the back of a horse in the stable, and tried to curl up on its
-hindquarters. The horse threw the ocelot off and kicked it, curing it of
-any disposition to ride. On seeing a horse, the ocelot always ran off to
-its kennel afterwards. When sent to England, it caught hold of and threw
-down a child of four years old, whom it rolled about with its paws without
-hurting it.
-
-
-OTHER WILD CATS.
-
-A handsome leopard-like animal is the CLOUDED LEOPARD. It is the size of a
-small common leopard, but far gentler in disposition. Its fur is not
-spotted, but marked with clouded patches, outlined in grey and olive-brown.
-Its skin is among the most beautiful of the Cats. It is found in the Malay
-Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, Formosa, and along the foot of the Himalaya
-from Nepal to Assam. Writing of two which he kept, Sir Stamford Raffles
-said: "No kitten could be more good-tempered. They were always courting
-intercourse with persons passing by, and in the expression of their
-countenance showed the greatest delight when noticed, throwing themselves
-on their backs, and delighting in being tickled and rubbed. On board ship
-there was a small dog, which used to play around the cage with the animal.
-It was amusing to watch the tenderness and playfulness with which the
-latter came in contact with its smaller-sized companion." Both specimens
-were procured from the banks of the Bencoolin River, in Sumatra. They are
-generally found near villages, and are not dreaded by the natives, except
-in so far that they destroy their poultry.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-CLOUDED LEOPARD.
-
-It shares with the ocelot the first place among the highly ornamented
-cats.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-FISHING-CAT.
-
-This wild cat haunts the sides of rivers, and is an expert at catching
-fish.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-MARBLED CAT.
-
-Another beautifully marked cat. The tail is spotted and very long, the
-marbled markings being on the body only.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-GOLDEN CAT.
-
-Sumatra is the home of this very beautifully coloured cat. The general tint
-is that of gold-stone. Sometimes the belly is pure white.]
-
-The number of smaller leopard-cats and tiger-cats is very great. They fall,
-roughly, into three groups: those which are yellow and spotted, those which
-are grey and spotted, and those which are grey and striped, or
-"whole-coloured." There is no wholly grey wild cat, but several
-sandy-coloured species. All live on birds and small mammals, and probably
-most share the tame cat's liking for fish. Among the grey-and-spotted cats
-are the MOTTLED CAT of the Eastern Himalaya and Straits Settlements and
-islands; the TIBETIAN TIGER-CAT; the FISHING-CAT of India and Ceylon, which
-is large enough to kill lambs, but lives much on fish and large
-marsh-snails; GEOFFROY'S CAT, an American species; the LEOPARD-CAT of Java
-and Japan, which seems to have grey fur in Japan and a fulvous leopard-like
-skin in India, where it is also called the TIGER-CAT; and the smallest of
-all wild cats, the little RUSTY-SPOTTED CAT of India. This has rusty spots
-on a grey ground. "I had a kitten brought to me," says Dr. Jerdon of the
-species, "when very young. It became quite tame, and was the delight and
-admiration of all who saw it. When it was about eight months old, I
-introduced the fawn of a gazelle into the room where it was. The little
-creature flew at it the moment it saw it, seized it by the nape of the
-neck, and was with difficulty taken off." Of the whole-coloured wild
-cats--which include the BAY CAT, the American PAMPAS-CAT, PALLAS' CAT of
-Tibet and India--the most beautiful is the GOLDEN CAT of Sumatra, one of
-which is now in the Zoological Gardens. It has a coat the colour of
-gold-stone. The nose is pink, the eyes large and topaz-coloured, the cheeks
-striped with white, and the under-parts and lower part of the tail pure
-white.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-PAMPAS-CAT.
-
-Note the likeness of the thick tail and barred legs to our English wild
-cat. "Inexpressibly savage in disposition" (Hudson).]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-EYRA CAT.
-
-The lowest and longest of the cats, shaped more like a civet; it is readily
-tamed, and makes a charming pet.]
-
-Four kinds of wild cats are known in South Africa, of which the largest is
-the SERVAL, a short-tailed, spotted animal, with rather more woolly fur
-than the leopard's. The length is about 4 feet 2 inches, of which the tail
-is only 12 inches. It is found from Algeria to the Cape; but its favourite
-haunts, like those of all the wild cats of hot countries, are in the reeds
-by rivers. It kills hares, rats, birds, and small mammals generally.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-BAY CAT.
-
-This is an example of the completely tawny small cats.]
-
-The BLACK-FOOTED WILD CAT is another African species. It is a beautiful
-spotted-and-lined tabby, the size of a small domestic cat, and as likely as
-any other to be the origin of our tabby variety, if tame cats came to
-Europe from Africa. At present it is only found south in the Kalahari
-Desert and Bechuanaland.
-
-The KAFFIR CAT is the common wild cat of the Cape Colony, and a very
-interesting animal. It is a whole-coloured tawny, upstanding animal, with
-all the indifference to man and generally independent character of the
-domestic tom-cat. It is, however, much stronger than the tame cats, with
-which it interbreeds freely. In the Colony it is often difficult to keep
-male tame cats, for the wild Kaffir cats come down and fight them in the
-breeding-season. The Egyptian cat is really the same animal, slightly
-modified by climate. A very distinct species is the JUNGLE-CAT, ranging
-from India, through Baluchistan, Syria, and East Africa, and called in
-Hindustani the CHAUS. The European striped wild cat extends to the
-Himalaya, where the range of the lion-coloured, yellow-eyed chaus begins.
-The chaus has a few black bars inside the legs, which vary in different
-regions. The Indian chaus has only one distinctly marked; the Kaffir cat
-has four or five. The EGYPTIAN FETTERED CAT has been said to be the origin
-of the domestic and sacred cats of Egypt. A male chaus is most formidable
-when "cornered." General Hamilton chased one, which had prowled into the
-cantonments on the look-out for fowls, into a fence. "After a long time I
-spied the cat squatting in a hedge," he writes, "and called for the dogs.
-When they came, I knelt down and began clapping my hands and cheering them
-on. The cat suddenly made a clean spring at my face. I had just time to
-catch it as one would a cricket-ball, and, giving its ribs a strong
-squeeze, threw it to the dogs; but not before it had made its teeth meet in
-my arm just above the wrist. For some weeks I had to carry my arm in a
-sling, and I shall carry the marks of the bite to my grave."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-KAFFIR CAT.
-
-The common wild cat of South Africa. It will interbreed with domestic
-cats.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-AFRICAN CHAUS, OR JUNGLE-CAT.
-
-The chaus is the Indian and African equivalent of our wild cat. It is
-equally strong and savage.]
-
-The chaus, as will be seen from the above, wanders boldly down into the
-outskirts of large towns, cantonments, and bungalows, on the look-out for
-chickens and pigeons. Its favourite plan is to lie up at dawn in some piece
-of thick cover near to where the poultry wander out to scratch, feed, and
-bask. It then pounces on the nearest unhappy hen and rushes off with it
-into cover. An acquaintance of the writer once had a number of fine Indian
-game fowl, of which he was not a little proud. He noticed that one was
-missing every morning for three days, and, not being able to discover the
-robber, shut them up in a hen-house. Next morning he heard a great
-commotion outside, and one of his bearers came running in to say that a
-leopard was in the hen-house. As this was only built of bamboo or some such
-light material, it did not seem probable that a leopard would stay there.
-Getting his rifle, he went out into the compound, and cautiously approached
-the hen-house, in which the fowls were still making loud protests and cries
-of alarm. The door was shut; but some creature--certainly not a
-leopard--might have squeezed in through the small entrance used by the
-hens. He opened the door, and saw at the back of the hen-house a chaus
-sitting, with all its fur on end, looking almost as large as a small
-leopard. On the floor was one dead fowl. The impudent jungle-cat rushed for
-the door, but had the coolness to seize the hen as it passed, and with this
-in its mouth rushed past the owner of the hens, his servants and retainers,
-and reached a piece of thick scrub near with its prize.
-
-As the chaus is common both in India and Africa, a comparison of its habits
-in both continents is somewhat interesting. Jerdon, the Indian naturalist,
-writes: "It is the common wild cat from the Himalaya to Cape Comorin, and
-from the level of the sea to 7,000 or 8,000 feet elevation. It frequents
-alike the jungles and the open country, and is very partial to long reeds,
-and grass, sugarcane-fields, and corn-fields. It does much damage to all
-game, especially to hares and partridges. Quite recently I shot a pea-fowl
-at the edge of a sugarcane-field. One of these cats sprang out, seized the
-pea-fowl, and after a short struggle--for the bird was not quite
-dead--carried it off before my astonished eyes, and, in spite of my running
-up, made his escape with his booty. It must have been stalking these very
-birds, so closely did its spring follow my shot. It is said to breed twice
-a year, and to have three or four young at a birth. I have very often had
-the young brought to me, but always failed in rearing them; and they always
-showed a savage and untamable disposition. I have seen numbers of cats
-about villages in various parts of the country that must have been hybrids
-between this cat and the tame ones."
-
-The late Sir Oliver St. John was more fortunate with his jungle-cat
-kittens. He obtained three in Persia. These he reared till they were three
-months old, by which time they became so tame that they would climb on to
-his knees at breakfast-time, and behave like ordinary kittens. One was
-killed by a greyhound, and another by a scorpion--a curious fate for a
-kitten to meet. The survivor then became morose and ill-tempered, but grew
-to be a large and strong animal. "Two English bull-terriers of mine, which
-would make short work of the largest domestic cat, could do nothing against
-my wild cat," says the same writer. "In their almost daily battles the dogs
-always got the worst of it."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-SERVAL.
-
-This is a spotted cat, with long ears, but no tufts on them, as in the true
-lynxes.]
-
-In Africa the chaus haunts the thick cover bordering the rivers. There it
-catches not only water-fowl, but also fish. According to Messrs. Nicolls
-and Eglington, "its spoor may constantly be seen imprinted on the mud
-surrounding such pools in the periodical watercourses as are constantly
-being dried up, and in which fish may probably be imprisoned without chance
-of escape." The chaus has for neighbour in Africa the beautiful SERVAL, a
-larger wild cat. This species is reddish in colour, spotted on the body,
-and striped on the legs. The ears are long, but not tufted, like those of
-the lynx. The serval is more common in North and Central Africa than in the
-South. But it is also found south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Messrs.
-Nicolls and Eglington say of it: "Northward through South Central Africa it
-is fairly common. It frequents the thick bush in the vicinity of rivers.
-The _karosses_, or mantles, made from its skins are only worn by the chiefs
-and very high dignitaries amongst the native tribes, and are in consequence
-eagerly sought after, on which account the species runs a risk of rapid
-extermination. Its usual prey consists of the young of the smaller
-antelopes, francolins, and wild guinea-fowls, to the latter of which it is
-a most destructive enemy in the breeding-season. When obtained young, the
-serval can be tamed with little trouble; but it is difficult to rear, and
-always shows a singular and almost unaccountable aversion to black men. Its
-otherwise even temper is always aroused at the sight of a native. When in
-anger, it is by no means a despicable antagonist, and very few dogs would
-like to engage in a combat with one single-handed."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-MALE SERVAL.
-
-The serval is a link between the leopards and tiger-cats, quite large
-enough to kill the young of the smaller antelopes.]
-
-
-THE COMMON WILD CAT.
-
-The WILD CAT was once fairly common all over England. A curious story,
-obviously exaggerated, shows that traditions of its ferocity were common at
-a very early date. The tale is told of the church of Barnborough, in
-Yorkshire, between Doncaster and Barnsley. It is said that a man and a wild
-cat met in a wood near and began to fight; that the cat drove the man out
-of the wood as far as the church, where he took refuge in the porch; and
-that both the man and cat were so injured that they died. According to Dr.
-Pearce, the event was formerly commemorated by a rude painting in the
-church.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-SERVAL CLIMBING.
-
-Note the active, cat-like method of climbing.]
-
-Mr. Charles St. John had an experience with a Scotch wild cat very like
-that which General Douglas Hamilton tells of the jungle-cat. He heard many
-stories of their attacking and wounding men when trapped or when their
-escape was cut off, and before long found out that these were true. "I was
-fishing in a river in Sutherland," he wrote, "and in passing from one pool
-to another had to climb over some rocky ground. In doing so, I sank almost
-up to my knees in some rotten heather and moss, almost upon a wild cat
-which was concealed under it. I was quite as much startled as the cat
-itself could be, when I saw the wild-looking beast rush so unexpectedly
-from between my feet, with every hair on her body on end, making her look
-twice as large as she really was. I had three small Skye terriers with me,
-which immediately gave chase, and pursued her till she took refuge in a
-corner of the rocks, where, perched in a kind of recess out of reach of her
-enemies, she stood with her hair bristled out, spitting and growling like a
-common cat. Having no weapon with me, I laid down my rod, cut a good-sized
-stick, and proceeded to dislodge her. As soon as I was within six or seven
-feet of the place, she sprang straight at my face over the dogs' heads. Had
-I not struck her in mid-air as she leaped at me, I should probably have
-received a severe wound. As it was, she fell with her back half broken
-among the dogs, who with my assistance dispatched her. I never saw an
-animal fight so desperately, or one which was so difficult to kill. If a
-tame cat has nine lives, a wild cat must have a dozen. Sometimes one of
-these animals will take up its residence at no great distance from a house,
-and, entering the hen-roosts and outbuildings, will carry off fowls in the
-most audacious manner, or even lambs. Like other vermin, the wild cat
-haunts the shores of lakes and rivers, and it is therefore easy to know
-where to set a trap for them. Having caught and killed one of the colony,
-the rest of them are sure to be taken if the body of their slain relative
-is left in the same place not far from their usual hunting-ground and
-surrounded with traps, as every wild cat passing that way will to a
-certainty come to it."
-
-The wild cat ranges from the far north of Scotland, across Europe and
-Northern Asia, to the northern slopes of the Himalaya. It has always been
-known as one of the fiercest and wildest of the cats, large or small. The
-continual ill-temper of these creatures is remarkable. In the experience of
-the keepers of menageries there is no other so intractably savage. One
-presented to the Zoological Gardens by Lord Lilford some eight years ago
-still snarls and spits at any one who comes near it, even the keeper.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Percy Leigh Pemberton, Esq._
-
-EUROPEAN WILD CAT.
-
-The British representative of this species is rapidly becoming extinct. The
-specimen whose portrait is given here was caught in Argyllshire.]
-
-The food of the wild cat is grouse, mountain-hares, rabbits, small birds,
-and probably fish caught in the shallow waters when chance offers. It is
-wholly nocturnal; consequently no one ever sees it hunting for prey. Though
-it has long been confined to the north and north-west of Scotland, it is by
-no means on the verge of extinction. The deer-forests are saving it to some
-extent, as they did the golden eagle. Grouse and hares are rather in the
-way when deer are being stalked; consequently the wild cat and the eagle
-are not trapped or shot. The limits of its present fastnesses were recently
-fixed by careful Scotch naturalists at the line of the Caledonian Canal.
-Mr. Harvie Brown, in 1880, said that it only survived in Scotland north of
-a line running from Oban to the junction of the three counties of Perth,
-Forfar, and Aberdeen, and thence through Banffshire to Inverness. But the
-conclusion of a writer in the _Edinburgh Review_ of July, 1898, in a very
-interesting article on the survival of British mammals, has been happily
-contradicted. He believed that it only survived in the deer-forests of
-Inverness and Sutherlandshire. The wild cats shown in the illustrations of
-these pages were caught a year later as far south as Argyllshire. The
-father and two kittens were all secured, practically unhurt, and purchased
-by Mr. Percy Leigh Pemberton for his collection of British mammals at
-Ashford, in Kent. This gentleman has had great success in preserving his
-wild cats. They, as well as others--martens, polecats, and other small
-carnivora--are fed on fresh wild rabbits killed in a warren near;
-consequently they are in splendid condition. The old "tom" wild cat,
-snarling with characteristic ill-humour, was well supported by the wild and
-savage little kittens, which exhibited all the family temper. Shortly
-before the capture of these wild cats another family were trapped in
-Aberdeenshire and brought to the Zoological Gardens. Four kittens,
-beautiful little savages, with bright green eyes, and uninjured, were
-safely taken to Regent's Park. But the quarters given them were very small
-and cold, and they all died. Two other full-grown wild cats brought there a
-few years earlier were so dreadfully injured by the abominable steel traps
-in which they were caught that they both died of blood-poisoning.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Percy Leigh Pemberton, Esq._
-
-SCOTCH WILD CATS.
-
-These wild cats, the property of Mr. P. Leigh Pemberton, though regularly
-fed and well treated, show their natural bad-temper in their faces.]
-
-The real wild cats differ in their markings on the body, some being more
-clearly striped, while others are only brindled. But they are all alike in
-the squareness and thickness of head and body, and in the short tail,
-ringed with black, and growing larger at the tip, which ends off like a
-shaving-brush.
-
-It may well be asked, Which of the many species of wild cats mentioned
-above is the ancestor of our domestic cats? Probably different species in
-different countries. The African Kaffir cat, the Indian leopard-cat, the
-rusty-spotted cat of India, and the European wild cat all breed with tame
-cats. It is therefore probable that the spotted, striped, and brindled
-varieties of tame cats are descended from wild species which had those
-markings. The so-called red tame cats are doubtless descended from the
-tiger-coloured wild cats. But it is a curious fact that, though the spotted
-grey-tabby wild varieties are the least common, that colour is most
-frequent in the tame species.
-
-
-THE LYNXES.
-
-In the LYNXES we seem to have a less specially cat-like form. They are
-short-tailed, high in the leg, and broad-faced. Less active than the
-leopards and tiger-cats, and able to live either in very hot or very cold
-countries, they are found from the Persian deserts to the far north of
-Siberia and Canada.
-
-The CARACAL is a southern, hot-country lynx. It has a longer tail than the
-others, but the same tufted ears. It seems a link between the lynxes and
-the jungle-cats. It is found in India, Palestine, Persia, and Mesopotamia.
-In India it was trained, like the cheeta, to catch birds, gazelles, and
-hares. The COMMON LYNX is probably the same animal, whether found in
-Norway, Russia, the Carpathians, Turkestan, China, or Tibet. The CANADIAN
-LYNX is also very probably the same, with local differences of colour. The
-NORTHERN LYNX is the largest feline animal left in Europe, and kills sheep
-and goats equally with hares and squirrels. The beautiful fur, of pale
-cinnamon and light grey, is much admired. In some southern districts of
-America we have the RED LYNX, or so-called "wild cat," which is distinct
-from the lynx of Canada. The MEDITERRANEAN or SPANISH LYNX seems likewise
-entitled to rank as a distinct species.
-
-Of the lynxes the CARACALS are perhaps the most interesting, from their
-capacity for domestication. They are found in Africa in the open desert
-country, whereas the SERVAL is found in the thick bush. In Africa it is
-believed to be the most savage and untamable of the Cats. That is probably
-because the Negro and the Kaffir never possessed the art of training
-animals, from the elephant downwards. In India the caracal's natural prey
-are the fawns of deer and antelope, pea-fowl, hares, and floricans. The
-caracal is the quickest with its feet of any of the Cats. One of its
-best-known feats is to spring up and catch birds passing over on the wing
-at a height of six or eight feet from the ground. A writer, in the
-Naturalist's Library, notes that, besides being tamed to catch deer,
-pea-fowl, and cranes, the caracal was used in "pigeon matches." Two
-caracals were backed one against the other to kill pigeons. The birds were
-fed on the ground, and the caracals suddenly let loose among them, to
-strike down as many as each could before the birds escaped. Each would
-sometimes strike down with its fore paws ten or a dozen pigeons. "Caracal"
-means in Turkish "Black Ear," in allusion to the colour of the animal's
-organ of hearing.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-LYNX.
-
-This animal is a uniformly coloured specie common to India and Africa.]
-
-The COMMON LYNX is a thick-set animal, high in the leg, with a square head
-and very strong paws and forearms. It is found across the whole northern
-region of Europe and Asia. Although never known in Britain in historic
-times, it is still occasionally seen in parts of the Alps and in the
-Carpathians; it is also common in the Caucasus. It is mainly a forest
-animal, and very largely nocturnal; therefore it is seldom seen, and not
-often hunted. If any enemy approaches, the lynx lies perfectly still on
-some branch or rock, and generally succeeds in avoiding notice. The lynx is
-extremely active; it can leap great distances, and makes its attack usually
-in that way. When travelling, it trots or gallops in a very dog-like
-fashion. Where sheep graze at large on mountains, as in the Balkans and in
-Greece, the lynx is a great enemy of the flocks. In Norway, where the
-animal is now very rare, there is a tradition that it is more mischievous
-than the wolf, and a high price is set on its head.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-EUROPEAN LYNX.
-
-The largest of the cat tribe left in Europe.]
-
-In Siberia and North Russia most of the lynx-skins taken are sold to the
-Chinese. The lynx-skins brought to London are mainly those of the Canadian
-species. The fur is dyed, and used for the busbies of the officers in our
-hussar regiments. These skins vary much in colour, and in length and
-quality of fur. The price varies correspondingly. The Canadian lynx lives
-mainly on the wood-hares and on the wood-grouse of the North American
-forests. The flesh of the lynx is said to be good and tender.
-
-Brehm says of the Siberian lynx: "It is a forest animal in the strictest
-sense of the word. But in Siberia it occurs only singly, and is rarely
-captured. Its true home is in the thickest parts in the interior of the
-woods, and these it probably never leaves except when scarcity of food or
-the calls of love tempt it to wander to the outskirts. Both immigrants and
-natives hold the hunting of the lynx in high esteem. This proud cat's
-activity, caution and agility, and powers of defence arouse the enthusiasm
-of every sportsman, and both skin and flesh are valued, the latter not only
-by the Mongolian tribes, but also by the Russian hunters. The lynx is
-seldom captured in fall-traps; he often renders them useless by walking
-along the beam and stepping on the lever, and he usually leaps over the
-spring-traps in his path. So only the rifle and dogs are left."
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Mr. S. B. Gundy_] [_Toronto._
-
-CANADIAN LYNX.
-
-Great numbers of these are trapped every year for the sake of their fur.]
-
-The RED LYNX is a small American variety, the coat of which turns tawny in
-summer, when it much resembles a large cat. It is called in some parts of
-the United States the Mountain-cat. This lynx is 30 inches long in the
-body, with a tail 6 inches long. It is found on the eastern or Atlantic
-side of the continent, and by no means shuns the neighbourhood of
-settlements.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz, Berlin._
-
-WOLF FROM CENTRAL EUROPE.
-
-The last persons recorded as killed by these animals were an artist and his
-wife travelling in Hungary.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-CHEETAS.
-
-Cheetas can be distinguished at a glance from ordinary leopards by the
-solid black spots on the back instead of the "rosettes."]
-
-
-THE CHEETA.
-
-THE NON-RETRACTILE-CLAWED CAT.
-
-The CHEETA, or Hunting-leopard, is the only example of this particular
-group, though there was an extinct form, whose remains are found in the
-Siwalik Hills, in the north of India. It is a very widely dispersed animal,
-found in Persia, Turkestan, and the countries east of the Caspian, and in
-India so far as the lower part of the centre of the peninsula. It is also
-common in Africa, where until recent years it was found in Cape Colony and
-Natal. Now it is banished to the Kalahari Desert, the Northern Transvaal,
-and Bechuanaland.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-A CHEETA HOODED.
-
-The cheeta is not unhooded until fairly near his quarry, when he is given a
-sight of the game, and a splendid race ensues.]
-
-The cheeta is more dog-like than any other cat. It stands high on the leg,
-and has a short, rounded head. Its fur is short and rather woolly, its feet
-rounded, and its claws, instead of slipping back into sheaths like a
-lion's, are only partly retractile.
-
-Mr. Lockwood Kipling gives the following account of the cheeta and its
-keepers: "The only point where real skill comes into play in dealing with
-the hunting-leopard is in catching the adult animal when it has already
-learnt the swift, bounding onset, its one accomplishment. The young cheeta
-is not worth catching, for it has not yet learnt its trade, nor can it be
-taught in captivity.... There are certain trees where these great dog-cats
-(for they have some oddly canine characteristics) come to play and whet
-their claws. The hunters find such a tree, and arrange nooses of deer-sinew
-round it, and wait the event. The animal comes and is caught by the leg,
-and it is at this point that the trouble begins. It is no small achievement
-for two or three naked, ill-fed men to secure so fierce a capture and carry
-it home tied on a cart. Then his training begins. He is tied in all
-directions, principally from a thick rope round his loins, while a hood
-fitted over his head effectually blinds him. He is fastened on a strong
-cot-bedstead, and the keepers and their wives and families reduce him to
-submission by starving him and keeping him awake. His head is made to face
-the village street, and for an hour at a time, several times a day, his
-keepers make pretended rushes at him, and wave clothes, staves, and other
-articles in his face. He is talked to continually, and the women's tongues
-are believed to be the most effective of things to keep him awake. No
-created being could withstand the effects of hunger, want of sleep, and
-feminine scolding; and the poor cheeta becomes piteously, abjectly tame. He
-is taken out for a walk occasionally--if a slow crawl between four
-attendants, all holding hard, can be called a walk--and his promenades are
-always through the crowded streets and bazaars, where the keepers' friends
-are to be found; but the people are rather pleased than otherwise to see
-the raja's cheetas amongst them." Later, when the creature is tamed, "the
-cheeta's bedstead is like that of the keeper, and leopard and man are often
-curled up under the same blanket! When his bedfellow is restless, the
-keeper lazily stretches out an arm from his end of the cot and dangles a
-tassel over the animal's head, which seems to soothe him. In the early
-morning I have seen a cheeta sitting up on his couch, a red blanket half
-covering him, and his tasselled red hood awry, looking exactly like an
-elderly gentleman in a nightcap, as he yawns with the irresolute air of one
-who is in doubt whether to rise or to turn in for another nap."
-
-This charming and accurate description shows the cheeta at home. In the
-field he is quite another creature. He is driven as near as possible to the
-game, and then unhooded and given a sight of them. Sir Samuel Baker thus
-describes a hunt in which a cheeta was used: "The chase began after the
-right-hand buck, which had a start of about 110 yards. It was a magnificent
-sight to see the extraordinary speed of pursuer and pursued. The buck flew
-over the level surface, followed by the cheeta, which was laying out at
-full stretch, with its long, thick tail brandishing in the air. They had
-run 200 yards, when the keeper gave the word, and away we went as fast as
-our horses could carry us. The horses could go over this clear ground,
-where no danger of a fall seemed possible. I never saw anything to equal
-the speed of the buck and the cheeta; we were literally nowhere, although
-we were going as hard as horseflesh could carry us; but we had a glorious
-view. The cheeta was gaining in the course, while the buck was exerting
-every muscle for life or death in its last race. Presently, after a course
-of about a quarter of a mile, the buck doubled like a hare, and the cheeta
-lost ground as it shot ahead, instead of turning quickly, being only about
-thirty yards in rear of the buck. Recovering itself, it turned on extra
-steam, and the race appeared to recommence at increased speed. The cheeta
-was determined to win, and at this moment the buck made another double in
-the hope of shaking off its terrible pursuer; but this time the cheeta ran
-cunning, and was aware of the former game. It turned as sharply as the
-buck. Gathering itself together for a final effort, it shot forward like an
-arrow, picked up the distance which remained between them, and in a cloud
-of dust we could for one moment distinguish two forms. The next instant the
-buck was on its back, and the cheeta's fangs were fixed like an iron vice
-in its throat. The course run was about 600 yards, and it was worth a
-special voyage to India to see that hunt."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-A CHEETA ON THE LOOK-OUT.
-
-Cheetas are common to Africa and India. By the native princes of the latter
-country they are much used for taking antelope and other game.]
-
-
-THE DOMESTIC CAT.
-
-BY LOUIS WAIN.
-
-Of the domestication of the cat we know very little, but it is recorded
-that a tribe of cats was trained to retrieve--_i.e._ to fetch and carry
-game. In our own time I have seen many cats fetch and carry corks and
-newspapers, and on one occasion pounce upon a small roach at the end of a
-line and place it at its owner's feet. Gamekeepers whom I have known agree
-that, for cunning, craftiness, and tenacity in attaining an object, the
-semi-wild cat of the woods shows far superior intelligence to the rest of
-the woodland denizens. It is quite a usual thing to hear of farm cats
-entering upon a snake-hunting expedition with the greatest glee, and
-showing remarkable readiness in pitching upon their quarry and pinning it
-down until secured. These farm cats are quite a race by themselves. Of
-decided sporting proclivities, they roam the countryside with considerable
-fierceness, and yet revert to the domesticity of the farmhouse fireside as
-though innocent of roving instincts. They are spasmodic to a degree in
-their mode of life, and apparently work out one mood before entering upon
-another. It will be remembered that this spasmodic tendency--the true
-feline independence, by-the-bye--is and has been characteristic of the cat
-throughout its history, and any one who has tried to overcome it has met
-with failure.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-WHITE SHORT-HAIRED.
-
-Most white cats are not albinoes--that is to say, they have ordinarily
-coloured and not red eyes.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-LONG-HAIRED WHITE.
-
-White cats with blue eyes are generally deaf, or at all events hard of
-hearing.]
-
-Watch your own cat, and you will see that he will change his
-sleeping-quarters periodically; and if he can find a newspaper conveniently
-placed, he will prefer it to lie upon, before anything perhaps, except a
-cane-bottomed chair, to which all cats are very partial. If you keep a
-number of cats, as I do, you will find that they are very imitative, and
-what one gets in the habit of doing they will all do in time: for instance,
-one of my cats took to sitting with his front paws inside my tall hat and
-his body outside, and this has become a catty fashion in the family,
-whether the object be a hat, cap, bonnet, small basket, box, or tin. If by
-chance one of the cats is attacked by a dog, a peculiar cry from the
-aggrieved animal will immediately awaken the others out of their lethargy
-or sleep, and bring them fiercely to the rescue. They are, too,
-particularly kind and nice to the old cat, and are tolerant only of strange
-baby kittens and very old cats in the garden as long as they do not
-interfere with the "catty" subject. The same quality obtains in Spain or
-Portugal, where a race of scavenging cats exists, which go about in droves
-or families, and are equal to climbing straight walls, big trees, chimneys,
-and mountain-sides. Long, lanky, and thin, they are built more on the lines
-of a greyhound than the ordinary cat, and are more easily trained in tricks
-than home cats.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Fratelli Alinari, Florence._
-
-MACKEREL-MARKED TABBY.
-
-Tabbies are probably the best known and the commonest cats in England.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S., North Finchley._
-
-CAT CARRYING KITTEN.
-
-A unique photograph, showing the way in which the cat carries its young.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor, Ealing._
-
-BLUE LONG-HAIRED, OR PERSIAN.
-
-Persian or long-haired cats are of various colours; this is one of the
-least common.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor, Ealing._
-
-SMOKE AND BLUE LONG-HAIRED.
-
-Two pretty and valuable Persian kittens.]
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Lady Alexander._
-
-ORANGE TABBY.
-
-A champion winner of 90 first prizes.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor, Ealing._
-
-LONG-HAIRED TABBY.
-
-A pretty pose.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor, Ealing._
-
-SILVER PERSIAN.
-
-A handsome specimen.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor, Ealing._
-
-SMOKE LONG-HAIRED, OR PERSIAN.
-
-A new breed.]
-
-The TORTOISESHELL has long been looked upon as the national cat of Spain,
-and in fact that country is overrun with the breed, ranging from a dense
-black and brown to lighter shades of orange-brown and white. The pure
-tortoiseshell might be called a black and tan, with no white, streaked like
-a tortoiseshell comb if possible, and with wonderful amber eyes. It is
-characteristic of their intelligence that they will invariably find their
-way home, and will even bring that mysterious instinct to bear which guides
-them back long distances to the place of their birth; and, with regard to
-this cat, the stories of almost impossible journeys made are not one bit
-exaggerated. The tom-cats of this breed are very rare in England; I myself
-have only known of the existence of six in fifteen years, and of these but
-three are recorded in the catalogues of our cat shows.
-
-[Illustration: SHORT-HAIRED BLUE.
-
-This champion cat belongs to Lady Alexander, by whose kind permission it is
-here reproduced.]
-
-The BLACK CAT has many of the characteristics of the tortoiseshell, but is
-essentially a town cat, and is wont to dream his life away in shady
-corners, in underground cellars, in theatres, and in all places where he
-can, in fact, retire to monastic quiet. The black cat of St. Clement Danes
-Church was one of the remarkable cats of London. It was his wont to climb
-on to the top of the organ-pipes and enjoy an occasional musical concert
-alone. A christening or a wedding was his pride; and many people can vouch
-for a lucky wedding who had the good-fortune to be patronised by the black
-cat of St. Clement Danes, which walked solemnly down the aisle of the
-church in front of the happy couples.
-
-My old pet Peter was a black-and-white cat, and, like most of his kind, was
-one of the most remarkable cats for intelligence I have ever known. A
-recital of his accomplishments would, however, have very few believers--a
-fact I find existing in regard to all really intelligent cats. There are so
-many cats of an opposite character, and people will rarely take more than a
-momentary trouble to win the finer nature of an animal into existence.
-Suffice it to say, that Peter would lie and die, sit up with spectacles on
-his nose and with a post-card between his paws--a trick I have taught many
-people's cats to do. He would also mew silent meows when bid, and wait at
-the door for my home-coming. For a long time, too, it was customary to hear
-weird footfalls at night outside the bedroom doors, and visitors to the
-house were a little more superstitious as to their cause than we were
-ourselves. We set a watch upon the supposed ghost, but sudden opening of
-the doors discovered only the mystic form of Peter sitting purring on the
-stairs. He was, however, ultimately caught in the act of lifting the corner
-of the door-rug and letting it fall back in its place, and he had grown
-quite expert in his method of raising and dropping it at regular intervals
-until he heard that his signals had produced the required effect, and the
-door was opened to admit him.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-SILVER TABBY.
-
-A beautiful variety of the typical British cat.]
-
-WHITE CATS I might call musical cats, for it is quite characteristic of the
-albinoes that noises rarely startle them out of their simpering, loving
-moods. The scraping of a violin, which will scare an ordinary cat out of
-its senses, or the thumping of a piano, which would terrorise even
-strong-nerved cats, would only incite a white cat to a happier mood.
-Certainly all white cats are somewhat deaf, or lack acute quality of
-senses; but this failing rather softens the feline nature than becomes
-dominant as a weakness.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor_] [_Ealing._
-
-SHORT-HAIRED TABBY.
-
-This is perhaps the most famous cat now living. It has won no less than 200
-prizes. Lady Decies is its owner.]
-
-The nearest to perfection perhaps, and yet at the same time extremely soft
-and finely made, is the BLUE CAT, rare in England as an English cat, but
-common in most other countries, and called in America the Maltese Cat--for
-fashion's sake probably, since it is too widely distributed there to be
-localised as of foreign origin. It is out in the mining districts and
-agricultural quarters, right away from the beaten tracks of humanity, where
-the most wonderful breeds of cats develop in America; and caravan showmen
-have told me that at one time it was quite a business for them to carry
-cats into these wildernesses, and sell them to rough, hardy miners, who
-dealt out death to each other without hesitation in a quarrel, but who
-softened to the appeal of an animal which reminded them of homelier times.
-
-One man told me that upon one occasion he sold eight cats at an isolated
-mining township in Colorado, and some six days' journey farther on he was
-caught up by a man on horseback from the township, who had ridden hard to
-overtake the menagerie caravan, with the news that one of the cats had
-climbed a monster pine-tree, and that all the other cats had followed in
-his wake; food and drink had been placed in plenty at the foot of the tree,
-but that the cats had been starving, frightened out of their senses, for
-three days, and despite all attempts to reach them they had only climbed
-higher and higher out of reach into the uppermost and most dangerous
-branches of the pine. The showman hastened with his guide across country to
-the township, only to find that in the interval one bright specimen of a
-man belonging to the village had suggested felling the tree, and so
-rescuing the cats from the pangs of absolute starvation, should they
-survive the ordeal. A dynamite cartridge had been used to blast the roots
-of the pine, and a rope attached to its trunk had done the rest and brought
-the monster tree to earth, only, however, at the expense of all the cats,
-for not one survived the tremendous fall and shaking. A sad and tearful
-procession followed the remains of the cats to their hastily dug grave, and
-thereafter a bull mastiff took the place of the cats in the township, an
-animal more in character with the lives of its inhabitants.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor_] [_Ealing._
-
-LONG-HAIRED ORANGE.
-
-A good specimen of this variety is always large and finely furred.]
-
-Analogous to this case of the travelling menageries, we have the great
-variety of blues, silvers, and whites which are characteristic of Russia.
-There is a vast tableland of many thousands of miles in extent, intersected
-by caravan routes to all the old countries of the ancients, and it is not
-astonishing to hear of attempts being made to steal the wonderful cats of
-Persia, China, and Northern India, as well as those of the many dependent
-and independent tribes which bound the Russian kingdom. But it is a
-remarkable fact that none but the blues can live in the attenuated
-atmosphere of the higher mountainous districts through which they are taken
-before arriving in Russian territory. It is no uncommon thing to find a
-wonderful complexity of blue cats shading to silver and white in most
-Russian villages, or blue cats of remarkable beauty, but with a dash of
-tabby-marking running through their coats. Their life, too, is lived at the
-two extremes. In the short Russian summer they roam the woodlands, pestered
-by a hundred poisonous insects; in the winter they are imprisoned within
-the four walls of a snow-covered cottage, and are bound down prisoners to
-domesticity till the thaw sets in again. Many of the beautiful furs which
-come to us from Russia are really the skins of these cats, the preparation
-of which for market has grown into a large and thriving industry. The
-country about Kronstadt, in the Southern Carpathian Mountains of Austria,
-is famous for its finely developed animals; and here, too, has grown up a
-colony of sable-coloured cats, said to be of Turkish origin, where the
-pariahs take the place of cats.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-MANX.
-
-These tailless cats are well known; they were formerly called "Cornwall
-cats." Note the length of the hind legs, which is one of the
-characteristics of this variety of the domestic cat.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor_] [_Ealing._
-
-SIAMESE.
-
-These strikingly coloured cats are now fairly numerous in England, but
-command high prices. They have white kittens, which subsequently become
-coloured.]
-
-[Illustration: BLUE LONG-HAIRED, OR PERSIAN.
-
-This cat belonged to Queen Victoria.]
-
-[Illustration: SILVER PERSIANS.
-
-Three of Mrs. Champion's celebrated cats.]
-
-The TABBY is remarkable to us in that it is characteristic of our own
-country, and no other colour seems to have been popular until our own
-times. If you ask any one which breed of cat is the real domestic cat, you
-will be told the tabby, probably because it is so well known to all. The
-complexity of the tabby is really remarkable, and for shape and variety of
-colouring it has no equal in any other tribe of cat. It has comprised in
-its nature all the really great qualities of the feline, and all its worst
-attributes. You can truthfully say of one of its specimens that it attaches
-itself to the individual, while of another in the same litter you will get
-an element of wildness. A third of the same parents will sober down to the
-house, but take only a passing notice of people. You can teach it anything
-if it is tractable, make it follow like a dog, come to whistle, but it will
-have its independence.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor_] [_Ealing._
-
-LONG-HAIRED CHINCHILLA.
-
-Note the beautiful "fluffiness" of this cat's fur.]
-
-The SAND-COLOURED CAT, with a whole-coloured coat like the rabbit, which we
-know as the ABYSSINIAN or BUNNY CAT, is a strong African type. On the Gold
-Coast it comes down from the inland country with its ears all bitten and
-torn away in its fights with rivals. It has been acclimatised in England,
-and Devonshire and Cornwall have both established a new and distinct tribe
-out of its parentage. The MANX CAT is nearly allied to it, and a hundred
-years ago the tailless cat was called the Cornwall Cat, not the Manx.
-
-Siam sends us a regal animal in the SIAMESE ROYAL CAT; it has a brown face,
-legs, and tail, a cream-coloured body, and mauve or blue eyes. The Siamese
-take great care of their cats, for it is believed that the souls of the
-departed are transmitted into the bodies of animals, and the cat is a
-favourite of their creed; consequently the cats are highly cultivated and
-intelligent, and can think out ways and means to attain an end.
-
-I have tried for years to trace the origin of the LONG-HAIRED or PERSIAN
-CATS, but I cannot find that they were known to antiquity, and even the
-records of later times only mention the SHORT-HAIRED. European literature
-does not give us an insight into the subject; and unless Chinese history
-holds some hidden lights in its records, we are thrown back upon the myths
-of Persia to account for the wonderful modern distribution of the
-long-haired cat, which is gradually breeding out into as many varieties as
-the short-haired, with this difference--that greater care and trouble are
-taken over the long-haired, and they will, as a breed, probably soon
-surpass the short-haired for intelligence and culture.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by H. Trevor Jessop._
-
-THE "BUN" OR "TICKED" SHORT-HAIRED CAT.
-
-This is one of the rarest cats in England. It belongs to Miss K. Maud
-Bennett who has kindly had it photographed for this work.]
-
-One variety is quite new and distinctive--the SMOKE LONG-HAIRED, whose dark
-brown or black surface-coat, blown aside, shows an under-coat of blue and
-silver, with a light brown frill round its neck. All the other long-haired
-cats can pair with the short-haired for colouring and marking, but I have
-not yet seen a BUNNY LONG-HAIRED.
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER III.
-
-_THE FOSSA, CIVETS, AND ICHNEUMONS._
-
-----
-
-THE FOSSA.
-
-In the FOSSA Madagascar possesses an altogether peculiar animal. It is a
-very slender, active creature, with all its proportions much elongated. It
-is of a bright bay uniform colour, with thick fur, and has sharp retractile
-claws. It has been described as the natural connecting-link between the
-Civets and the Cats, anatomically speaking. Thus it has retractile claws,
-but does not walk on its toes, like cats, but on the soles of its feet (the
-hind pair of which is quite naked), like a civet. Very few have been
-brought to England; indeed, the first time that one was exhibited in our
-Zoological Gardens was only ten years ago. Formerly stories were told of
-its ferocity, which was compared to that of the tiger. These tales were
-naturally the subject of ridicule. The fossa usually attains a length of
-about 5 feet from snout to tail, and is the largest of the carnivora of
-Madagascar. A fine young specimen lately brought to London, and in the
-Zoological Gardens at the time of writing, is now probably full grown. It
-is about the same length and height as a large ocelot, but with a far
-longer tail, and is more slenderly built. The extreme activity of the fossa
-no doubt renders it a very formidable foe to other and weaker creatures. It
-has been described by a recent writer as being entirely nocturnal, and
-preying mainly on the lemurs and birds which haunt the forests of
-Madagascar. The animal kept at the Zoological Gardens has become fairly
-tame. It is fed mainly on chickens' heads and other refuse from poulterers'
-shops. Apparently it has no voice of any kind. It neither growls, roars,
-nor mews, though, when irritated or frightened, it gives a kind of hiss
-like a cat.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-FOSSA.
-
-The only feline animal of Madagascar.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-LARGE INDIAN CIVET.
-
-Civets are nocturnal in their habits. That shown here has just awakened in
-broad daylight.]
-
-
-THE CIVETS AND GENETS.
-
-The CIVETS are the first marked deviation from the Cat Family. Their bodies
-are elongated, their legs short, their claws only partially retractile.
-Some of them have glands holding a strong scent, much esteemed in old days
-in Europe, when "The Civet Cat" was a common inn-sign even in England. The
-civets are generally beautifully marked with black stripes and bands on
-grey. But none of them grow to any large size, and the family has never had
-the importance of those which contain the large carnivora, like the true
-cats or bears. Many of the tribe and its connections are domesticated. Some
-scholars have maintained that the cat of the ancient Greeks was one of
-them--the common genet. The fact is that both this and the domestic cat
-were kept by the ancients; and the genet is still used as a cat by the
-peasants of Greece and Southern Italy.
-
-The AFRICAN CIVET and INDIAN CIVET are large species. The former is common
-almost throughout Africa. Neither of them seems to climb trees, but they
-find abundance of food by catching small ground-dwelling animals and birds.
-They are good swimmers. The Indian civet has a handsome skin, of a
-beautiful grey ground-colour, with black collar and markings. It is from
-these civets that the civet-scent is obtained. They are kept in cages for
-this purpose, and the secretion is scooped from the glands with a wooden
-spoon. They produce three or four kittens in May or June. Several other
-species very little differing from these are known as the MALABAR, JAVAN,
-and BURMESE CIVETS.
-
-The RASSE is smaller, has no erectile crest, and its geographical
-distribution extends from Africa to the Far East. It is commonly kept as a
-domestic pet. Like all the civets, it will eat fruit and vegetables.
-
-The GENETS, though resembling the civets, have no scent-pouch. They are
-African creatures, but are found in Italy, Spain, and Greece, and in
-Palestine, and even in the south of France. Beautifully spotted or striped,
-they are even longer and lower than the civet-cats, and steal through the
-grass like weasels.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-AFRICAN CIVET.
-
-This is one of the largest of the Civet Tribe. The perfume known as "civet"
-is obtained from it.]
-
-The COMMON GENET is black and grey, the latter being the ground-colour. The
-tail is very long, the length being about 15 inches, while that of the body
-and head is only 19 inches. Small rodents, snakes, eggs, and birds are its
-principal food. It is kept in Southern Europe for killing rats. Several
-other very similar forms are found in Africa. The presence of such a very
-Oriental-looking animal in Europe is something of a surprise, though many
-persons forget that our South European animals are very like those of
-Africa and the East. The porcupine, which is common in Italy and Spain, and
-the lynx and Barbary ape are instances. A tame genet kept by an
-acquaintance of the writer in Italy was absolutely domesticated like a tame
-mongoose. It had very pretty fur, grey, marbled and spotted with black, and
-no disagreeable odour, except a scent of musk. It was a most active little
-creature, full of curiosity, and always anxious to explore not only every
-room, but every cupboard and drawer in the house. Perhaps this was due to
-its keenness in hunting mice, a sport of which it never tired. It did not
-play with the mice when caught as a cat does, but ate them at once.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co._] [_Parson's Green._
-
-AFRICAN CIVET.
-
-This photograph shows the finely marked fur of the species and the front
-view of the head.]
-
-The LINSANGS, an allied group, are met with in the East, from India to
-Borneo and Java. They are more slender than the genets, and more arboreal.
-Of the NEPALESE LINSANG Hodgson writes: "This animal is equally at home on
-trees and on the ground. It breeds and dwells in the hollows of decaying
-trees. It is not gregarious, and preys mainly on living animals." A tame
-female owned by him is stated to have been wonderfully docile and
-tractable, very sensitive to cold, and very fond of being petted. There is
-an allied West African species.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-SUMATRAN CIVET.
-
-A small and very beautiful member of the Civet Family. It feeds largely on
-fish.]
-
-The PALM-CIVETS and HEMIGALES still further increase this numerous tribe.
-Slight differences of skull, of the markings on the tail, which may only
-have rings on the base, and of the foot and tail, are the naturalist's
-guide to their separation from the other civets; HARDWICKE'S HEMIGALE has
-more zebra-like markings. Borneo, Africa, India, and the Himalaya all
-produce these active little carnivora; but the typical palm-civets are
-Oriental. They are sometimes known as Toddy-cats, because they drink the
-toddy from the jars fastened to catch the juice. The groves of
-cocoanut-palm are their favourite haunts; but they will make a home in
-holes in the thatched roofs of houses, and even in the midst of cities.
-There are many species in the group.
-
-The BINTURONG is another omnivorous, tree-haunting animal allied to the
-civets; but it has a prehensile tail, which few other mammals of the Old
-World possess. It is a blunt-nosed, heavy animal, sometimes called the
-Bear-cat. Very little is known of its habits. It is found from the Eastern
-Himalaya to Java.
-
-The last of the Civet Family is BENNETT'S CIVET, the only instance of a
-cat-like animal with partly webbed feet. Found in the Malay Peninsula and
-in Sumatra and Borneo, it is very rare, but is known to feed on fish and
-crustacea, and to be semi-aquatic. The author of the chapter on the civets
-in the Naturalist's Library says, "It may be likened to a climbing otter."
-
-
-THE MONGOOSE AND ICHNEUMON FAMILY.
-
-These are a numerous and useful race of small mammals, feeding mainly on
-the creatures most annoying to man within tropical countries. Snakes, the
-eggs of the crocodile, large lizards, rats, mice, and other creatures known
-generally as "vermin," are their favourite food. It must be added that,
-though they are most useful in destroying these, they also kill all kinds
-of birds, and that their introduction into some of the West India Islands,
-for the purpose of killing rats, has been fatal to the indigenous bird
-life.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-GENET.
-
-The genets are smaller than some civets, but allied to them. One was
-anciently domesticated like a cat.]
-
-
-THE INDIAN MONGOOSE.
-
-This universal favourite is one of the largest, the head and body being
-from 15 to 18 inches long, and the tail 14 inches. The fur is loose and
-long, and capable of being erected. As in all the tribe, the tint is a
-"pepper and salt," the "pepper" colour being sometimes blackish and
-sometimes red, but a speckled appearance characterises the whole group.
-This is the animal supposed to be immune from snake-bite. It is possibly so
-to some extent, for it kills and eats the poisonous snakes, and it is now
-known that the _eating_ of snake-poison tends to give the same protection
-as inoculation does against certain diseases. But it is certain that in
-most cases the mongoose, by its activity, and by setting up the hair on its
-body, which makes the snake "strike short," saves itself from being bitten.
-
-Many descriptions of the encounters between these brave little animals and
-the cobra have been written. Here is one of the less known: "One of our
-officers had a tame mongoose, a charming little pet. Whenever we could
-procure a cobra--and we had many opportunities--we used to turn it out in
-an empty storeroom, which had a window at some height from the ground, so
-that it was perfectly safe to stand there and look on. The cobra, when
-dropped from the bag or basket, would wriggle into one of the corners of
-the room and there coil himself up. The mongoose showed the greatest
-excitement on being brought to the window, and the moment he was let loose
-would eagerly jump down into the room, when his behaviour became very
-curious and interesting. He would instantly see where the snake was, and
-rounding his back, and making every hair on his body stand out at right
-angles, which made his body appear twice as large as it really was, he
-would approach the cobra on tip-toe, making a peculiar humming noise. The
-snake, in the meantime, would show signs of great anxiety, and I fancy of
-fear, erecting his head and hood ready to strike when his enemy came near
-enough. The mongoose kept running backwards and forwards in front of the
-snake, gradually getting to within what appeared to us to be striking
-distance. The snake would strike at him repeatedly, and _appeared_ to hit
-him, but the mongoose continued his comic dance, apparently unconcerned.
-Suddenly, and with a movement so rapid that the eye could not follow it, he
-would pin the cobra by the back of the head. One could hear the sharp teeth
-crunch into the skull, and, when all was over, see the mongoose eating the
-snake's head and part of his body with great gusto. Our little favourite
-killed a great many cobras, and, so far as I could see, never was bitten."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-TWO-SPOTTED PALM-CIVET.
-
-This is a West African species, which, with an allied form from East
-Africa, represents the palm-civets in the Dark Continent.]
-
-The EGYPTIAN MONGOOSE, or ICHNEUMON, has an equally great reputation for
-eating the eggs of the crocodile; and the KAFFIR MONGOOSE, a rather larger
-South African species, is kept as a domestic animal to kill rats, mice, and
-snakes, of which, like the Indian kind, it is a deadly foe. There are more
-than twenty other species, most of much the same appearance and habits.
-
-The smooth-nosed mongoose tribe are closely allied creatures in South
-Africa, mainly burrowing animals, feeding both on flesh and fruit. The
-CUSIMANSES of Abyssinia and West Africa are also allied to them. Their
-habits are identical with the above.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-MASKED PALM-CIVET.
-
-A whole-coloured species of the group.]
-
-
-THE MEERKATS, OR SURICATES.
-
-Most people who have read Frank Buckland's Life will remember the suricate
-which was his chief pet in Albany Street. The SURICATES, or MEERKATS,
-burrow all over the South African veldt, especially in the sandy parts,
-where they sit up outside their holes like prairie-dogs, and are seen by
-day. They are sociable animals, and make most amusing pets. A full-grown
-one is not much larger than a hedgehog, but more slender. It barks like a
-prairie-dog, and has many other noises of pleasure or anger. A lady, the
-owner of one, writes in _Country Life_: "It gets on well with the dogs and
-cats, especially the latter, as they are more friendly to her, and allow
-her to sleep by their side and on the top of them. One old cat brings small
-birds to her (her favourite is a sparrow), and makes her usual cry, and
-Janet runs to her and carries off the bird, which she eats, feathers and
-all, in a very few minutes, if she is hungry." When near a farm, the
-meerkats will devour eggs and young chickens. They are also said to eat the
-eggs of the large leopard-tortoise. The commonest is the SLENDER-TAILED
-MEERKAT. It is found all over South Africa, and is very common in the
-Karroo. It eats insects and grubs as well as small animals, and is commonly
-kept as a pet throughout the Colony.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Robert D. Carson_] [_Philadelphia._
-
-BINTURONG.
-
-The binturong is placed with the civets. It has a prehensile tail like the
-kinkajou (see page 127).]
-
-
-
-We have now traced the long line of the Carnivora from the lordly Lion, the
-slayer of man and his flocks and herds, and the Tiger, equally formidable
-and no less specially developed for a life of rapine on a great scale, to
-creatures as small and insignificant as the Meerkat, which is at least as
-much an insect-feeder as a devourer of flesh, and the Ichneumons and
-Civets. The highest form of specialisation in the group is the delicate
-mechanism by which the chief weapons of offence, the claws, are enabled to
-keep their razor edge by being drawn up into sheaths when the animal walks,
-but can be instantly thrust out at pleasure, rigid and sharp as
-sword-blades. The gradual process by which this equipment deteriorates in
-the Civets and disappears in the Mongoose should be noted. There are many
-other carnivora, but none so formidable as those possessing the retractile
-claws. Thus the Bears, though often larger in bulk than the Lion, are far
-inferior in the power of inflicting violent injury. At the same time such
-delicate mechanism is clearly not necessary for the well-being of a
-species. The members of the Weasel Tribe are quite as well able to take
-care of themselves as the small cats, though they have non-retractile and
-not very formidable claws.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-MONGOOSE.
-
-The Indian mongoose is the great enemy of snakes. Another species eats the
-eggs of the crocodile.]
-
-Such a very abnormal animal as the BINTURONG--of which we are able to give
-an excellent photograph--is doubtless rightly assigned to the place in
-which modern science has placed it. But it will be found that there are
-several very anomalous forms quite as detached from any general type as is
-the binturong. Nature does not make species on any strictly graduated
-scale. Many of these nondescript animals are so unlike any other group or
-family that they seem almost freaks of nature. The binturong is certainly
-one of these.
-
-The next group with which we deal is that of the Hyænas. In these the
-equipment for catching living prey is very weak. Speed and pursuit are not
-their _métier_, but the eating of dead and decaying animal matter, and the
-consumption of bones. Hence the jaws and teeth are highly developed, while
-the rest of the body is degenerate.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-MEERKAT.
-
-A small, mainly insectivorous animal, found in South Africa; also called
-the Suricate.]
-
-The question of the comparative intelligence of the Apes and Monkeys, and
-the carnivorous animals subsequently described in these pages, is an
-interesting one. It would seem at first as if the Cat Tribe and their
-relations, which have to obtain their prey by constant hunting, and often
-to make use of considerable reflection and thought to bring their
-enterprises against other animals to a successful issue, would be more
-likely to develop intelligence and to improve in brain-power than the great
-Apes, which find an easy living in the tropical forests, and only seek
-fruits and vegetables for their food. Yet it is quite certain that this is
-not the case. The Cat Tribe, with the exception of the domesticated cats,
-does not show high intelligence. Even the latter are seldom trained to obey
-man, though they learn to accommodate themselves to his ways of life. There
-is no evidence that cats have any sense of number, or that any of them in a
-wild state make any effort to provide shelter for themselves or construct a
-refuge from their enemies, though the Leopard will make use of a cave as a
-lair. In matters requiring intelligence and co-operation, such rodents as
-the Beaver, or even the Squirrel, are far beyond the feline carnivora in
-sagacity and acquired or inherited ingenuity. Except the Stoat, which
-sometimes hunts in packs, no species of the carnivora yet dealt with in
-this work combines to hunt its prey, or for defence against enemies. Each
-for itself is the rule, and even among the less-specialised flesh-eating
-animals of the other groups it is only the Dog Tribe which seems to
-understand the principles of association for a common object.
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IV.
-
-_THE HYÆNAS AND AARD-WOLF._
-
-If every animal has its place in nature, we must suppose that the hyæna's
-business is to clear up the bones and such parts of the animal dead as the
-vultures and other natural "undertakers" cannot devour. Hyænas have very
-strong jaws, capable of crushing almost any bone. In prehistoric times they
-were common in England, and lived in the caves of Derbyshire and Devon. In
-these caves many bones were found quite smashed up, as if by some very
-large wild animal. It was supposed that this was done by bears--Dean
-Buckland said "by hyænas." He procured a hyæna, kept it at his house, and
-fed it on bones. The smashed fragments he laid on the table at a scientific
-lecture beside the fragments from the caverns. The resemblance was
-identical, and the Dean triumphed.
-
-The hyænas are carnivorous animals, with the front limbs longer than the
-hind. The tail is short, the colour spotted or brindled, the teeth and jaws
-of great strength.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-SPOTTED HYÆNA.
-
-The largest of the carrion-feeding animals. A South African species.]
-
-The BROWN HYÆNA, or STRAND-WOLF, is an African species, with very long,
-coarse hair, reaching a length of 10 inches on the back. It is not found
-north of the Zambesi; and it is nocturnal, and fond of wandering along the
-shore, where it picks up crabs and dead fish. Young cattle, sheep, and
-lambs are also killed by it, and offal of all kinds devoured.
-
-The SPOTTED HYÆNA is a large and massive animal, the head and body being 4
-feet 6 inches long without the tail. It is found all over Africa from
-Abyssinia and Senegal southwards. A few are left in Natal. It is believed
-to be the same as the cave-hyæna of Europe. By day it lives much in the
-holes of the aard-vark (ant-bear); by night it goes out, sometimes in small
-bands, to seek food. It has a loud and mournful howl, beginning low and
-ending high. It also utters a horrible maniacal laugh when excited, which
-gives it the name of Laughing-hyæna. "Its appetite," says Mr. W. L. Sclater
-in his "South African Mammals," "is boundless. It is entirely carnivorous,
-but seems to prefer putrid and decaying matter, and never kills an animal
-unless driven to do so by hunger. Sheep and donkeys are generally attacked
-at the belly, and the bowels torn out by its sharp teeth. Horses are also
-frequent objects of attack; but in this case shackling is useful, as the
-horse, unable to escape, faces the hyæna, which instantly bolts. It is an
-excellent scavenger, and it has been known to kill and carry off young
-children, though the least attempt at pursuit will cause it to drop them.
-Many stories are told, too, of its attacking sleeping natives; in this case
-it invariably goes for the man's face. Drummond states that he has seen
-many men who had been thus mutilated, wanting noses, or with the whole
-mouth and lips torn away. This is confirmed by other authors." Drummond
-gives an instance of seven cows being mortally injured in a single night by
-two hyænas, which attacked them and bit off the udders. Poisoned meat is
-the only means to get rid of this abominable animal.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-SPOTTED HYÆNA.
-
-The jaws of the hyæna are specially made for cracking hones. They will
-smash the thigh-bone of a buffalo.]
-
-Sir Samuel Baker says: "I can safely assert that the bone-cracking power of
-this animal is extraordinary. I cannot say that it exceeds the lion or
-tiger in the strength of its jaws; but they will leave bones unbroken which
-a hyæna will crack in halves. Its powers of digestion are unlimited. It
-will swallow and digest a knuckle-bone without giving it a crunch, and will
-crack the thigh-bone of a buffalo to obtain the marrow, and swallow either
-end immediately after.... I remember that once a hyæna came into our tent
-at night. But this was merely a friendly reconnaissance, to see if any
-delicacy, such as our shoes, or a saddle, or anything that smelt of
-leather, were lying about. It was bright moonlight, and the air was calm.
-There was nothing to disturb the stillness. I was awakened from sleep by a
-light touch on my sleeve, and my attention was directed by my wife to some
-object that had just quitted our tent. I took my rifle from beneath the mat
-on which I lay, and, after waiting for a few minutes sitting up in bed, saw
-a large form standing in the doorway preparatory to entering. Presently it
-walked in cautiously, and immediately fell dead, with a bullet between its
-eyes. It proved to be a very large hyæna, an old and experienced
-depredator, as it bore countless scars of encounters with other strong
-biters of its race."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-STRIPED HYÆNA.
-
-This is the Hyæna of Northern Africa, Palestine, and India.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-AARD-WOLF.
-
-The aard-wolf stands in a family by itself. It is allied to the hyænas, but
-is a far feebler animal.]
-
-The STRIPED HYÆNA is found in India as well as in Africa. In portions of
-Abyssinia these animals are so numerous that on the Nile tributaries Sir
-Samuel Baker used to hear them cracking the bones after supper every night
-just as they had been thrown by the Arabs within a few feet of the deserted
-table. In this way they are useful scavengers.
-
-
-THE AARD-WOLF.
-
-This small African hyæna-like creature stands in a family by itself. The
-animal is like a small striped hyæna, with a pointed muzzle, longer ears,
-and a kind of mane. It is common all through South and East Africa, where
-it lives on carrion, white ants, and lambs and kids. It has not the strong
-jaws and teeth of the dog or hyæna family. The colonists commonly hunt and
-kill it with fox-terriers.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by New York Zoological Society._
-
-YOUNG GREY WOLF.
-
-The grey wolf of North America, which once preyed mainly on young bison
-calves, is now a formidable enemy to the increasing flocks of sheep and
-herds of cattle in the north and west.]
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER V.
-
-_THE DOG FAMILY._
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co., Parson's Green._
-
-A GROWING CUB.
-
-Note how the wolf cub develops the long pasterns, large feet, and long jaw
-before its body grows in proportion]
-
-The tribe now treated is called the Dog Family, and rightly so, for our
-domestic dogs are included in the group, which comprises the Wolves, Dogs,
-Jackals, Wild Dogs, and Foxes. Their general characters are too familiar to
-need description, but it should be noted that the foxes differ from the
-dogs in having contracting pupils to the eye (which in bright sun closes
-like a cat's to a mere slit) and some power of climbing. The origin of the
-domestic dog is still unsettled.
-
-
-THE WOLF.
-
-This great enemy of man and his dependants--the creature against the
-ravages of which almost all the early races of Europe had to combine,
-either in tribes, villages, or principalities, to protect their children,
-themselves, and their cattle--was formerly found all over the northern
-hemisphere, both in the Old and New Worlds. In India it is rather smaller,
-but equally fierce and cunning, though, as there are no long winters, it
-does not gather in packs. It is still so common in parts of the Rocky
-Mountains that the cattle and sheep of the ranch-holders and wild game of
-the National Yellowstone Park suffer severely. In Switzerland the ancient
-organisations of wolf clubs in the cantons are still maintained. In
-Brittany the Grand Louvetier is a government official. Every very hard
-winter wolves from the Carpathians and Russia move across the frozen rivers
-of Europe even to the forests of the Ardennes and of Fontainebleau. In
-Norway they ravage the reindeer herds of the Lapps. Only a few years ago an
-artist, his wife, and servant were all attacked on their way to Budapest,
-in Hungary, and the man and his wife killed. The last British wolf was
-killed in 1680 by Cameron of Lochiel. Wolves are common in Palestine,
-Persia, and India.
-
-Without going back over the well-known history of the species, we will give
-some anecdotes of the less commonly known exploits of these fierce and
-dangerous brutes. Mr. Kipling's "Jungle Book" has given us an "heroic"
-picture of the life of the Indian wolves. There is a great deal of truth in
-it. Even the child-stealing by wolves is very probably a fact, for native
-opinion is unanimous in crediting it. Babies laid down by their mothers
-when working in the fields are constantly carried off and devoured by them,
-and stories of their being spared and suckled by the she-wolves are very
-numerous.
-
-Indian wolves hunt in combination, without assembling in large packs. The
-following is a remarkable instance, recorded by General Douglas Hamilton:
-"When returning with a friend from a trip to the mountain caves of Ellora,
-we saw a herd of antelope near a range of low rocky hills; and as there was
-a dry nullah, or watercourse, we decided on having a stalk. While creeping
-up the nullah, we noticed two animals coming across the plain on our left.
-We took them at first for leopards, but then saw that they were wolves.
-When they were about 500 yards from the antelope, they lay down quietly.
-After about ten minutes or so, the smaller of the two got up and trotted
-off to the rocky hills, and suddenly appeared on the ridge, running
-backwards and forwards like a Scotch collie dog. The larger wolf, as soon
-as he saw that the antelope were fully occupied in watching his companion,
-got up and came as hard as he could gallop to the nullah. Unfortunately he
-saw us and bolted; and his companion, seeing there was something wrong, did
-the same. Now, it is evident that these wolves had regularly planned this
-attack. One was to occupy the attention of the antelope, the other to steal
-up the watercourse and dash into the midst of them. At another time a
-brother-officer of mine was stalking a herd of antelope which were feeding
-down a grassy valley, when suddenly a wolf got up before him, and then
-another and then another, until fourteen wolves rose out of the grass. They
-were extended right across the valley in the shape of a fishing-net or
-jelly-bag, so that as soon as the herd had got well into the jelly-bag they
-would have rushed on the antelope, and some must have fallen victims to
-their attack." They have been known to join in the chase of antelopes by
-dogs. Captain Jackson, of the Nizam's service, let his dogs course an
-antelope fawn. A wolf jumped up, joined the dogs, and all three seized the
-fawn together. He then came up, whipped off the dogs and the wolf, and
-secured the fawn, which did not seem hurt. The wolf immediately sat down
-and began to howl at the loss of his prey, and in a few moments made a dash
-at the officer, but when within a few yards thought better of it, and
-recommenced howling. This brought another wolf to his assistance. Both
-howled and looked very savage, and seemed inclined to make another dash at
-the antelope. But the horse-keepers came up, and the wolves retired.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co._] [_Parson's Green._
-
-WOLF CUBS.
-
-These are evidently the foster-brothers of Romulus and Remus.]
-
-The Indian wolf, if a male, stands about 26 inches high at the shoulder.
-The length of head and body is 37 inches; tail, 17 inches.
-
-The same species practically haunts the whole of the world north of the
-Himalaya. It varies in colour from almost black to nearly pure white. In
-the Hudson Bay fur-sales every variety of colour between these may be seen,
-but most are of a tawny brindle. The male grows to a very great size. One
-of the largest ever seen in Europe was for years at the London Zoo. It
-stood 6 feet high when on its hind legs, and its immense head and jaws
-seemed to occupy one-third of the space from nose to tail. Horses are the
-main prey of the Northern Wolf. It will kill any living creature, but
-horseflesh is irresistible. It either attacks by seizing the flank and
-throwing the animal, or bites the hocks. The biting power is immense. It
-will tear a solid mass of flesh at one grip from the buttock of a cow or
-horse. In the early days of the United States, when Audubon was making his
-first trip up the head-waters of the Missouri, flesh of all kinds was
-astonishingly abundant on the prairies. Buffalo swarmed, and the Indians
-had any quantity of buffalo-meat for the killing. Wolves of very large size
-used to haunt the forts and villages, and were almost tame, being well fed
-and comfortable. Far different was the case even near St. Petersburg at the
-same period. A traveller in 1840 was chased by a pack of wolves so closely
-that when the sledge-horses reached the post-house and rushed into the
-stable, the doors of which were open, seven of the wolves rushed in after
-them. The driver and traveller leaped from the sledge just as it reached
-the building, and horses and wolves rushed past them into it. The men then
-ran up and closed the doors. Having obtained guns, they opened the roof,
-expecting to see that the horses had been killed. Instead all seven wolves
-were slinking about beside the terrified horses. All were killed without
-resistance.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Midland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-WHITE WOLF.
-
-White wolves are quite common in North America. Recently two white wolves
-were brought to the Zoological Gardens from Russia.]
-
-In Siberia and Russia the wolves in winter are literally starving.
-Gathering in packs, they haunt the roads, and chase the sledges with their
-unfaltering gallop. Seldom in these days does a human life fall victim; but
-in very hard winters sledge-horses are often killed, and now and then a
-peasant. Rabies is very common among wolves. They then enter the villages,
-biting and snapping at every one. Numbers of patients are sent yearly from
-Russia and Hungary to the Pasteur Institutes, after being bitten by rabid
-wolves. In Livonia, in 1823, it was stated that the following animals had
-been killed by wolves: 15,182 sheep, 1,807 oxen, 1,841 horses, 3,270 goats,
-4,190 pigs, 703 dogs, and numbers of geese and fowls. They followed the
-Grand Army from Russia to Germany in 1812, and restocked the forests of
-Europe with particularly savage wolves. It is said that in the retreat from
-Moscow twenty-four French soldiers, with their arms in their hands, were
-attacked, killed, and eaten by a pack of wolves.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co._] [_Parson's Green._
-
-PRAIRIE-WOLF, OR COYOTE.
-
-This is the small, grey, thickly furred species found on the prairies.]
-
-From very early times special breeds of dogs have been trained to guard
-sheep against the attacks of wolves. Some of these were intended to defend
-the flock on the spot, others to run down the wolves in the open. The
-former are naturally bred to be very large and heavy; the latter, though
-they must be strong, are light and speedy. Of the dogs which guard the
-flocks several races still survive. Among the most celebrated are those of
-Albania and the mountainous parts of Turkey, and the wolf-dogs of Tibet,
-generally called Tibetan Bloodhounds. The Tartar shepherds on the steppes
-near the Caucasus also keep a very large and ferocious breed of dog. All
-these are of the mastiff type, but have long, thick hair. When the
-shepherds of Albania or Mount Rhodope are driving their flocks along the
-mountains to the summer pastures, they sometimes travel a distance of 200
-miles. During this march the dogs act as flankers and scouts by day and
-night, and do battle with the wolves, which know quite well the routes
-along which the sheep usually pass, and are on the look-out to pick up
-stragglers or raid the flock. The Spanish shepherds employ a large white
-shaggy breed of dog as guards against wolves. These dogs both lead the
-sheep and bring up the rear in the annual migration of the flocks to and
-from the summer pastures. In the west of America, now that sheep-ranching
-on a large scale has been introduced, wolf-dogs are bred to live entirely
-with the sheep. They are suckled when puppies by the ewes instead of by
-their own mothers, and become as it were a part of the flock.
-
-Colonel Theodore Roosevelt gives an interesting account of wolf-coursing in
-Russia, in an article contributed to "The Encyclopædia of Sport" (Lawrence
-& Bullen). "In Russia the sport is a science," he writes. "The princes and
-great landowners who take part in it have their hunting-equipages equipped
-perfectly to the smallest detail. Not only do they follow wolves in the
-open, but they capture them and let them out before dogs, like hares in a
-closed coursing-meeting. The huntsman follows his hounds on horseback.
-(These hounds are the Borzoi, white giant greyhounds, now often seen in
-England.) Those in Russia show signs of reversion to the type of the Irish
-wolf-hound, dogs weighing something like 100 lbs., of remarkable power, and
-of reckless and savage temper. Now three or four dogs are run together.
-They are not expected to kill the wolf, but merely to hold him.... The
-Borzois can readily overtake and master partly grown wolves, but a
-full-grown dog-wolf, in good trim, will usually gallop away from them."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-"THE WOLF WITH PRIVY PAW."
-
-The photograph shows admirably the slinking gait and long stride of the
-wolf.]
-
-A number of these Borzoi dogs have been imported into America, and are used
-to course wolves in the Western States. But there professional wolf-hunters
-are employed to kill off the creatures near the ranches. One such hunter
-lives near Colonel Roosevelt's ranche on the Little Missouri. His pack of
-large dogs will tear in pieces the biggest wolf without aid from the
-hunter. Of his own efforts in wolf-coursing he writes: "We generally
-started for the hunting-ground very early, riding across the open country
-in a widely spread line of dogs and men. If we put up a wolf, we simply
-went at him as hard as we knew how. Young wolves, or those which had not
-attained their full strength, were readily overtaken, and the pack would
-handle a she-wolf quite readily. A big dog-wolf, or even a full-grown and
-powerful she-wolf, offered an altogether different problem. Frequently we
-came upon one after it had gorged itself on a colt or a calf. Under such
-conditions, if the dogs had a good start, they ran into the wolf and held
-him.... Packs composed of nothing but specially bred and trained greyhounds
-of great size and power made a better showing. Under favourable
-circumstances three or four of these dogs readily overtook and killed the
-largest wolf.... Their dashing courage and ferocious fighting capacity were
-marvellous, and in this respect I was never able to see much difference
-between the smooth and rough--the Scotch deerhound or the greyhound type."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. W. McLellan_] [_Highbury._
-
-RUSSIAN WOLF.
-
-This is a most characteristic photograph of one of the so-called "greyhound
-wolves" of the Russian forests.]
-
-Wolf cubs are born in April or May. The litter is from four to nine. There
-was one of six a few years ago at the Zoological Gardens at the Hague,
-pretty little creatures like collie puppies, but quarrelsome and rough even
-in their play. When born, they were covered with reddish-white down; later
-the coat became woolly and dark.
-
-The European wolf's method of hunting when in chase of deer is by steady
-pursuit. Its speed is such and its endurance so great that it can overtake
-any animal. But there is no doubt that the favourite food of the wolf is
-mutton, which it can always obtain without risk on the wild mountains of
-the Near East, if once the guardian dogs are avoided. M. Tschudi, the
-naturalist of the Alps, gives a curious account of the assemblage of wolves
-in Switzerland in 1799. They had, as is mentioned above, followed the
-armies from Russia. Having tasted human flesh, they preferred it to all
-other, and even dug up the corpses. The Austrian, French, and Russian
-troops penetrated in 1799 into the highest mountain valleys of Switzerland,
-and fought sanguinary battles there. Hundreds of corpses were left on the
-mountains and in the forests, which acted as bait to the wolves, which were
-not destroyed for some years.
-
-Wolves will interbreed with dogs readily, which the red fox will not. The
-progeny do not bark, but howl. The Eskimo cross their dogs with wolves to
-give them strength.
-
-
-THE COYOTE, OR PRAIRIE-WOLF.
-
-Besides the large grey wolf, a smaller and less formidable animal is common
-on the prairies and mountains of the northern half of the continent of
-America. This is the Coyote. It takes the place of the hyæna as a
-scavenger, but has some of the habits of the fox. It catches birds and
-buck-rabbits, and feeds on insects, as well as small rodents like
-prairie-dogs and mice. Its melancholy howls make night hideous on the
-northern prairies, and it is the steady foe of all young creatures, such as
-the fawns of prong-horned antelope and deer. Its skin, like that of most
-northern carnivora, is thick and valuable for fur wraps. The coyotes
-assemble in packs like jackals.
-
-In the National Park in the Yellowstone Valley grey wolves and coyotes are
-the only animals which it is absolutely necessary to destroy. As the deer
-and antelope and other game increased under State protection, the wolves
-and coyotes drew towards a quarter where there were no hunters and a good
-supply of food. It was soon found that the increase of the game was
-checked. The coyotes used to watch the hinds when about to drop their
-calves, and usually succeeded in killing them. The large grey wolves killed
-the hinds themselves, and generally made life most unpleasant for the
-dwellers in this paradise. Orders were issued to kill off all the wolves by
-any means. Poison was found to be the best remedy; but in the winter, when
-all the game descended into the valleys, the wolves found so much fresh
-food in the carcases of the animals they killed for themselves that they
-would not eat very eagerly of the poisoned baits. The coyotes were killed
-off fairly closely, as they are less able to obtain living prey; but the
-grey wolves are constantly reinforced from the mountains, and are a
-permanent enemy to be coped with.
-
-A curious instance of change of habit in wolves on the American prairies
-was recently noted in the _Spectator_. Formerly they followed the caravans;
-now they come down to the great transcontinental railways, and haunt the
-line to obtain food. Each train which crosses the prairie is, like a ship,
-full of provisions. Three meals a day take place regularly, and these are
-not stinted. The black cooks throw all the waste portions--beef-bones,
-other bones, stale bread, and trimmings--overboard. The wolves have learnt
-that the passing of a train means food, and when they hear one they gallop
-down to the line, and wait like expectant dogs in the hope of picking up a
-trifle. The coyotes come close to the metals, and sit like terriers, with
-their sharp noses pricked up. The big grey wolves also appear in the early
-morning, standing on the snow, over which the chill wind of winter blows,
-gaunt and hungry images of winter and famine.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-A WOLF OF THE CARPATHIANS.
-
-This wolf is a shorter and more heavily built specimen than the Russian
-wolf on the previous page.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-INDIAN WOLF.
-
-This photograph shows the Indian wolf alarmed. It has a reputation for
-stealing children as well as killing cattle.]
-
-Some years ago experiments were made at the Regent's Park Zoological
-Gardens to ascertain if there were any foundation for the old legends that
-wolves feared the sound of stringed instruments such as the violin. Every
-one will remember the story of the fiddler pursued by wolves. It is said
-that as the pack overtook him he broke a string of his instrument, and that
-the sudden noise of the parting cord caused the pack to stand still for a
-minute, and so enabled him to reach a tree, which he climbed. Further, that
-when he improved on the hint so given, and played his fiddle, the wolves
-all sat still; when he left off, they leapt up and tried to reach him.
-Experiments with the Zoo wolves showed that there was no doubt whatever
-that the low minor chords played on a violin cause the greatest fear and
-agitation in wolves, both European and Indian. The instrument was first
-played behind the den of an Indian wolf, and out of sight. At the first
-sound the wolf began to tremble, erected its fur, dropped its tail between
-its legs, and crept uneasily across its den. As the sounds grew louder and
-more intense, the wolf trembled so violently, and showed such physical
-evidence of being dominated by excessive fright, that the keeper begged
-that the experiment might be discontinued, or the creature would have a
-fit. A large European wolf is described in "Life at the Zoo" as having
-exhibited its dislike of the music in a different way. It set up all its
-fur till it looked much larger than its ordinary size, and drew back its
-lips until all the white teeth protruding from the red gums were shown. It
-kept silent till the violin-player approached it; then it flew at him with
-a ferocious growl, and tried to seize him.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-WOLF'S HEAD.
-
-A very fine study of the head, jaws, and teeth of a female wolf. The head
-of the male is much larger.]
-
-There are instances of wolves having been quite successfully tamed, and
-developing great affection for their owners. They are certainly more
-dog-like than any fox; yet even the fox has been tamed so far as to become
-a domesticated animal for the lifetime of one particular individual. An
-extraordinary instance of this was lately given in _Country Life_, with a
-photograph of the fox. It was taken when a cub, and brought up at a large
-country house with a number of dogs. Among these were three terriers, with
-which it made friends. There were plenty of wild foxes near, some of which
-occasionally laid up in the laurels in a shrubbery not far from the house.
-These laurels were, in fact, a fairly safe find for a fox. It was the
-particular sport of the terriers to be taken to "draw" this bit of cover,
-and to chase out any fox in it. On these expeditions the tame fox
-invariably accompanied them, and took an active part in the chase, pursuing
-the wild fox as far as the terriers were able to maintain the hunt.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co._] [_Parson's Green._
-
-RUSSIAN WOLF.
-
-Note the expression of fear and ferocity on the face of this wolf; also the
-enormously powerful jaws.]
-
-In Central Asia the wolves lie out singly on the steppes during the summer,
-and feed on the young antelopes and the lambs and kids of the Tartars'
-flocks. The Kirghiz organise wolf-killing parties, to which as many mounted
-men and dogs come as can be brought together. In order to aid the dogs, the
-Tartars often employ eagles trained to act like falcons, which sit on the
-arm of the owner. As the eagle is too heavy to be carried for any time in
-this way, a crutch is fastened to the left side of the saddle, on which the
-bearer of the falcon rests his arm. When a wolf is sighted, the eagle is
-loosed, and at once flies after the wolf, and overtakes it in a short time,
-striking at its head and eyes with its talons, and buffeting it with its
-wings. This attack so disconcerts the wolf that it gives time for the dogs
-to come up and seize it.
-
-The habits of the Siberian wolf are rather different from those in West
-Russia, and the settlers and nomad Tartars of Siberia are far more
-adventurous and energetic in defending themselves against its ravages than
-the peasants of European Russia. Being mounted, they also have a great
-advantage in the pursuit. The result is that Siberian wolves seldom appear
-in large packs, and very rarely venture to attack man. Yet the damage they
-do to the flocks and herds which constitute almost the only property of the
-nomad tribes is very severe.
-
-Both the Russians and Siberians believe that when a she-wolf is suckling
-her young she carefully avoids attacking flocks in the neighbourhood of the
-place where the cubs lie, but that if she be robbed of her whelps she
-revenges herself by attacking the nearest flock. On this account the
-Siberian peasants rarely destroy a litter, but hamstring the young wolves
-and then catch them when partly grown, and kill them for the sake of their
-fur. Among the ingenious methods used for shooting wolves in Siberia is
-that of killing them from sledges. A steady horse is harnessed to a sledge,
-and the driver takes his seat in front as usual. Behind sit two men armed
-with guns, and provided with a small pig, which is induced to squeak often
-and loudly. In the rear of the sledge a bag of hay is trailed on a long
-rope. Any wolf in the forest near which hears the pig concludes that it is
-a young wild one separated from its mother. Seeing the hay-bag trailing
-behind the sledge in the dusk, it leaps out to seize it, and is shot by the
-passengers sitting on the back seat of the sledge.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-NORTH AFRICAN JACKAL.
-
-This is the common jackal of Cairo and Lower Egypt.]
-
-
-THE JACKAL.
-
-Of the Wild Canine Family, the JACKAL is the next in numbers and importance
-to the wolves. Probably in the East it is the most numerous of any. In
-India, Egypt, and Syria it regularly haunts the outskirts of cities, and
-lives on refuse. In the Indian plains wounded animals are also killed by
-the jackals. At night the creatures assemble in packs, and scour the
-outskirts of the cities. Horrible are the howlings and weird the cries of
-these hungry packs. In Ceylon they live in the hills and open country like
-foxes, and kill the hares. When taken young jackals can be tamed, and have
-all the manners of a dog. They wag their tails, fawn on their master, roll
-over and stick up their paws, and could probably be domesticated in a few
-generations, were it worth while. They eat fruits and vegetables, such as
-melons and pumpkins, eagerly.
-
-In Africa two species are found--the BLACK-BACKED JACKAL and the STRIPED
-JACKAL; the former is the size of a large English fox. The young jackals
-are born in holes or earths; six seems to be the usual number of puppies.
-They have nearly always a back door by which they can escape; this is just
-large enough for the puppies to squeeze through, whatever their size. When
-fox-terriers are put into the earth, the jackal puppies fly out of their
-back doors, through which, as a rule, the terriers are unable to follow
-them. Should there be no one outside, the puppies race out on to the veldt
-as hard as they can go. This jackal is terribly destructive to sheep and
-lambs in the Colony. A reward of 7s. 6d. per tail is paid to the Kaffirs
-for killing them. The SIDE-STRIPED JACKAL is a Central African species,
-said to hunt in packs, to interbreed with domestic dogs, and to be most
-easily tamed.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-INDIAN JACKAL.
-
-This Indian Jackal might be sitting for his portrait in Mr. Rudyard
-Kipling's tale of the "undertakers"--the jackal, alligator, and adjutant.]
-
-Both in India and South Africa the jackal has been found to be of some
-service to the white man by providing him with a substitute for the fox to
-hunt. It has quite as remarkable powers of endurance as the fox, though it
-does not fight in the same determined way when the hounds overtake it. But
-it is not easy to estimate the courage of a fox when in difficulties. The
-writer has known one, when coursed by two large greyhounds, to disable both
-almost instantaneously. One was bitten across the muzzle, the other through
-the foot. The fox escaped without a bite from either. In India the hounds
-used are drafts from English packs. The hot weather does not suit them, and
-they are seldom long-lived; but while they are in health they will run a
-jackal across the Indian plains as gaily as they would a fox over the
-Hampshire Downs. The meet is very early in the morning, as the scent then
-lies, and riding is not too great an exertion. The ground drawn is not the
-familiar English covert, but fields, watercourses, and old buildings. A
-strong dog-jackal goes away at a great pace, and as the ground is open the
-animal is often in view for the greater part of the run; but it keeps well
-ahead of the hounds often for three or four miles, and if it does not
-escape into a hole or ruin is usually pulled down by them. Major-General R.
-S. S. Baden-Powell has written and illustrated an amusing account of his
-days with the fox-hounds of South Africa hunting jackals. The local Boer
-farmers, rough, unkempt, and in ragged trousers, used to turn up smoking
-their pipes to enjoy the sport with the smartly got-up English officers.
-When once the game was found, they were just as excited as the Englishmen,
-and on their Boer ponies rode just as hard, and with perhaps more judgment.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-MANED WOLF.
-
-A South American animal; its coat is a chestnut-red.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-TURKISH JACKAL.
-
-This jackal is common in both Turkey in Europe and in Asia. Near
-Constantinople it feeds largely on the bodies buried in the cemeteries at
-Scutari.]
-
-Jackals are said to be much increasing in South Africa since the outbreak
-of the war. The fighting has so far arrested farming operations that the
-war usually maintained on all beasts which destroy cattle or sheep has been
-allowed to drop. In parts of the more hilly districts both the jackal and
-the leopard are reappearing where they have not been common for years, and
-it will take some time before these enemies of the farmer are destroyed.
-
-
-THE MANED WOLF.
-
-This is by far the largest of several peculiar South American species of
-the Dog Family which we have not room to mention. It occurs in Paraguay and
-adjoining regions, and is easily distinguishable by its long limbs and
-large ears. It is chestnut-red in colour, with the lower part of the legs
-black, and is solitary in its habits.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-WILD DOG.
-
-These animals range from the plains of India and Burma to the Tibetan
-Plateau and Siberia. They hunt in small packs, usually by day, and are very
-destructive to game, but seldom attack domestic animals.]
-
-
-THE WILD DOG OF AFRICA, OR CAPE HUNTING-DOG.
-
-This is a most interesting creature, differing from the true dogs in having
-only four toes on both fore and hind feet, and in being spotted like a
-hyæna. These dogs are the scourge of African game, hunting in packs. Long
-of limb and swift of foot, incessantly restless, with an overpowering
-desire to snap and bite from mere animal spirits, the Cape wild dog, even
-when in captivity and attached to its master, is an intractable beast. In
-its native state it kills the farmers' cattle and sheep and the largest
-antelopes. A pack has been seen to kill and devour to the last morsel a
-large buck in fifteen minutes. Drummond says: "It is a marvellous sight to
-see a pack of them hunting, drawing cover after cover, their sharp
-bell-like note ringing through the air, while a few of the fastest of their
-number take up their places along the expected line of the run, the wind,
-the nature of the ground, and the habits of the game being all taken into
-consideration with wonderful skill." The same writer says that he has seen
-them dash into a herd of cattle feeding not a hundred yards from the house,
-drive out a beast, disappear over a rising ground, kill it, and pick its
-bones before a horse could be saddled and ridden to the place.
-
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co._] [_Parson's Green._
-
-DINGO.
-
-The wild dog of Australia. It was found there by the first discoverers, but
-was probably introduced from elsewhere.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Kerry & Co._] [_Sydney._
-
-DINGOES.
-
-The destruction done to the flocks of the settlers by the dingoes caused
-the latter to combine and almost to destroy these wild dogs.]
-
-
-THE INDIAN WILD DOGS.
-
-Mr. Rudyard Kipling's stories of the "Dhole," the red dogs of the Indian
-jungle, have made the world familiar with these ferocious and wonderfully
-bold wild dogs. There is very little doubt that they were found in historic
-times in Asia Minor. Possibly the surviving stories of the "Gabriel hounds"
-and other ghostly packs driving deer alone in the German and Russian
-forests, tales which remain even in remote parts of England, are a survival
-of the days when the wild dogs lived in Europe. At present there is one
-species of long-haired wild dog in West Central Siberia. These dogs killed
-nearly all the deer in the large forests near Omsk some years ago. Across
-the Himalaya there are several species, one of them as far east as Burma;
-but the most famous are the RED DOGS OF THE DECCAN. They frequent both the
-jungles and the hills; but their favourite haunt is the uplands of the
-Indian Ghats. They are larger than a jackal, much stronger, and hunt in
-packs. They have only ten teeth on each side, instead of eleven, as in the
-other dogs and foxes. There is no doubt that these fierce hunting-dogs
-actually take prey from the tiger's jaws, and probably attack the tiger
-itself. They will beset a tiger at any time, and the latter seems to have
-learnt from them an instinctive fear of dogs. Not so the leopard, which,
-being able to climb, has nothing to fear even from the "dhole." A
-coffee-planter, inspecting his grounds, heard a curious noise in the forest
-bordering his estate. On going round the corner of a thick bush, he almost
-trod on the tail of a tiger standing with his back towards him. He silently
-retreated, but as he did so he saw that there was a pack of wild dogs a few
-paces in front of the tiger, yelping at him, and making the peculiar noise
-which had previously attracted his attention. Having procured a rifle, he
-returned with some of his men to the spot. The tiger was gone, but they
-disturbed a large pack of wild dogs feeding on the body of a stag. This, on
-examination, proved to have been killed by the tiger, for there were the
-marks of the teeth in its neck. The dogs had clearly driven the tiger from
-his prey and appropriated it. The dread of the tiger for these wild dogs
-was discovered by the sportsmen of the Nilgiri Hills, and put to a good
-use. They used to collect scratch packs and hunt up tigers in the woods.
-The tiger, thinking they were the dreaded wild pack, would either leave
-altogether or scramble into a tree. As tigers never do this ordinarily, it
-shows how wild dogs get on their nerves.
-
-Several South American wild dogs and foxes are included in the series with
-the wolves and jackals. Among these are AZARA'S DOG and the RACCOON-DOG.
-These are commonly called foxes, though they have wolf-like skulls.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-CAPE HUNTING-DOG.
-
-This animal hunts in packs. It is very active and most destructive to large
-game of many kinds.]
-
-
-THE DINGO.
-
-The only non-marsupial animal of Australia when the continent was
-discovered was the WILD DOG, or DINGO. Its origin is not known; but as soon
-as the settlers' flocks and herds began to increase its ravages were most
-serious, though doubtless some of the havoc with which it was accredited
-was due in a great measure to runaways from domestication. Anyhow, in the
-dingo the settlers found the most formidable enemy with which they had to
-contend, and vigorous measures were taken to reduce their numbers and
-minimise their ravages, so that by now they are nearly exterminated in Van
-Diemen's Land and rare on the mainland of Australia.
-
-It is a fine, bold dog, of considerable size, generally long-coated, of a
-light tan colour, and with pricked-up ears. It is easily tamed, and some of
-those kept in this country have made affectionate pets. Puppies are
-regularly bred and sold at the Zoological Gardens. The animal has an
-elongated, flat head which is carried high; the fur is soft, and the tail
-bushy. In the wild state it is very muscular and fierce.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz, Berlin._
-
-HIMALAYAN BLACK BEAR.
-
-This photograph shows the most active climber of the two Himalayan bears.]
-
-THE FOXES.
-
-FOXES form a very well-marked group. They have very pointed muzzles, strong
-though slightly built bodies, very fine thick fur, often beautifully
-coloured and very valuable, bushy tails, pricked-up ears, and eyes with
-pupils which contract by day into a mere slit. They are quite distinct from
-dogs (although wolves are not), and will not interbreed, though stories are
-told to the contrary. The smell of a fox is disgusting to a dog, and quite
-sufficient to distinguish it.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-FOX CUBS.
-
-Fox cubs are born from March 25 till three weeks later, the time when young
-rabbits, their best food, are most numerous.]
-
-If the present writer takes a simpler view of the kinds and species of
-foxes than that adopted by many naturalists, he must plead to a study of
-the subject on slightly different lines than those usually followed. The
-skins of all foxes are valuable, some more than others. But they are sent
-in hundreds of thousands, and from all parts of the northern hemisphere, to
-London to the great fur-sales. There these differences can be studied as
-they can be studied nowhere else. As the habits and structure of foxes are
-much alike, allowing for differences of climate, and the discrepancies in
-size, not more than can be accounted for by abundance or scarcity of food,
-it seems pretty certain that these animals are some of the few, almost
-alone among mammals, showing almost every variety of colouring, from black
-to white, from splendid chameleon-red to salmon-pink, and many exquisite
-shades of brown, grey, and silver. At the Hudson Bay Company's sales you
-may see them all, and trace the differences and gradations over whole
-continents. The most important are those of North America. There the RED
-CANADIAN FOX, of a ruddier hue than brown, shades off into the yellow and
-grey CROSS FOX of farther north. But of these there are many varieties.
-Then farther north still comes an area where red foxes, cross foxes, and
-black foxes are found. The black fox, when the fur is slightly sprinkled
-with white, is the famous SILVER FOX. This and the black fox are also found
-in North Siberia and Manchuria. Farthest north we find the little stunted
-ARCTIC FOXES. In the Caucasus and Central Asia large yellowish-red foxes
-live, and in Japan and China a very bright red variety. A small grey fox
-lives in Virginia, and is hunted with hounds descended from packs taken out
-before the American Revolution. India has its small DESERT-FOXES ("the
-little foxes that eat the grapes") and the BENGAL FOX.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-MOUNTAIN-FOX.
-
-In hilly countries the fox becomes a powerful and destructive animal,
-killing not only game but lambs.]
-
-The value of the foxes as fur-bearing animals is immense. Only white, blue,
-and black skins seem to be appreciated in England. The black fox has been
-known to fetch 150 guineas a skin. But in the East, from Asia Minor to
-China, red, grey, and yellow fox-skins are the lining of every rich man's
-winter wraps. Splendid mixed robes are made by the Chinese by inserting
-portions of cross fox-skins into coats of cut sable, giving the idea that
-it is the fur of a new animal.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-LEICESTERSHIRE FOX.
-
-Leicestershire is the best fox-hunting county in England. The foxes are
-famous for their speed and endurance.]
-
-The COMMON FOX, the foundation or type of all the above, is the best-known
-carnivorous animal in this country. Abroad its habits do not greatly
-differ, except that, not being hunted much with hounds, it is less
-completely nocturnal. It drops its young in an earth early in April.
-Thither the vixen carries food till late in June, when the cubs come out,
-and often move to a wood or a corn-field. There they are still fed, but
-learn to do a little on their own account by catching mice and moles. By
-late September the hounds come cub-hunting, partly to kill off superfluous
-foxes, partly to educate the young hounds, and to teach the foxes to fear
-them and to make them leave cover easily. Four or five cubs in a litter are
-commonly seen. The distance which a fox will run is extraordinary. The
-following is a true account of one of the most remarkable runs ever known.
-The hounds were those of Mr. Tom Smith, master of the Hambledon Hunt. He
-was the man of whom another famous sportsman said that if he were a fox he
-should prefer to be hunted by a pack of hounds rather than by Tom Smith
-with a stick in his hand. The fox was found in a cover called Markwells, at
-one o'clock in the afternoon in December, near Petersfield. It crossed into
-Sussex, and ran into an earth in Grafham Hill a little before dark. The fox
-had gone twenty-seven miles. The hounds had forty miles to go back to
-kennel that night, and three only found their way home four days
-afterwards. Dog-foxes assemble in considerable numbers when a vixen is
-about in spring, and at all times common foxes are sociable creatures,
-though not actually living in societies. Sometimes as many as five or six
-are found in a single earth. Two years ago five foxes and a badger were
-found in one near Romford. They eat mice, beetles, rats, birds, game,
-poultry, and frogs. Their favourite food is rabbits. If there are plenty of
-these, they will not touch other game. They hunt along the railway-lines
-for dead birds killed by the telegraph-wires. In the New Forest they also
-go down to the shore and pick up dead fish. One in the writer's possession
-was shot when carrying away a lamb from a sheepfold near the cliffs of
-Sidmouth, in Devon. The shepherd thought it was a marauding dog, and lay in
-wait with a gun.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-TOO DIFFICULT!
-
-Foxes can easily climb trees with small projecting branches. One was found
-87 feet up a tree in Savernake Forest; but a branchless stump such as that
-here shown no fox could climb.]
-
-
-THE ARCTIC FOX.
-
-[Illustration: _Photos by Scholastic Photo. Co._] [_Parson's Green._
-
-ARCTIC FOX.
-
-_In summer._ _Changing his coat._ _In winter._
-
-The Arctic Fox is one of the few animals showing different phases of
-colour, some being blue at all seasons, while others are white in winter
-and mottled brownish in summer.]
-
-The ARCTIC FOX is somewhat different in habits from others. It is also much
-smaller than the red foxes. Its fur is almost as soft as eiderdown, and so
-thick that the cold does not penetrate. In winter the whole coat changes
-colour, not gradually, but in patches. At the same time a dense growth of
-under-fur comes up on the body. In summer this is shed in patches, almost
-like loose felt. The foxes live in colonies, but are so hard put to it for
-food in the winter that they desert their homes to gather round
-whaling-ships or encampments. There they steal everything edible, from
-snowshoe-thongs to seal-flesh. Blue foxes are bred and kept for the sake of
-their fur on some of the islands in Bering Sea. They are fed on the flesh
-of the seals killed on the neighbouring islands, and are, like them, killed
-when their coat is in condition.
-
-
-THE FENNECS.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-FENNEC-FOX.
-
-Remarkable for the great size of the ears. An African species. Its sense of
-hearing is probably very acute.]
-
-Africa has a group of small foxes of its own. They have very large ears and
-dark eyes. Some of them remind us of the Maholis and other large-eyed
-lemuroids. Several are not more than 9 or 10 inches long; they are a
-whitish-khaki colour, but the eyes are very dark and brilliant.
-
-The COMMON FENNEC is found over the whole of Africa. Its favourite food is
-dates and any sweet fruit, but it is also fond of eggs, and will eat mice
-and insects. It is probably the original hero of the story of the fox and
-the grapes. The large-eared fennec, which is sometimes called the SILVER
-FOX, is found from the Cape to as far north as Abyssinia. It is 23 inches
-long, and lives mainly on insects and fruit.
-
-
-DOMESTIC DOGS.
-
-BY C. H. LANE.
-
-The DOG, almost without exception, shows a marked liking for the society of
-human beings, and adapts itself to their ways more than any other animal.
-
-Fox-, Stag-, and Hare-hounds--the latter better known as Hariers and
-Beagles--have many points in common, much beauty of shape and colour, and
-great suitability for their work, though differing in some other
-particulars.
-
-Another group--Greyhounds, Whippets, Irish Wolf-hounds, Scottish
-Deer-hounds, all of which come under the category of Gaze-hounds, or those
-which hunt by sight--are built for great speed, to enable them to cope with
-the fleet game they pursue. In the same group should be included the
-BORZOI, or Russian Wolf-hound, now very popular in this country, with
-something of the appearance of the Scottish deer-hound about it as to
-shape, but with a finer, longer head, deeper body, more muscular limbs, and
-shaggier in the hair on body and tail.
-
-The OTTER-HOUND is one of the most picturesque of all the hound tribe. This
-variety somewhat reminds one of a large and leggy Dandie Dinmont terrier,
-with a touch of the blood-hound, and is thought to have been originally
-produced from a cross between these or similar varieties.
-
-The BLOOD-HOUND is another, with much style and beauty of shape, colour,
-and character about it which cannot fail to favourably impress any
-beholder. The matches or trials which have of late years been held in
-different localities have been most interesting in proving its ability for
-tracking footsteps for long distances, merely following them by scent, some
-time after the person hunted started on the trail. By the kindness of my
-friend Mr. E. Brough, I am able to give as an illustration a portrait of
-what he considers the best blood-hound ever bred.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by F. H. Dembrey_] [_Bristol._
-
-STAG-HOUND PUPPIES.
-
-This gives an interesting group of hounds in kennel.]
-
-Much valued by sportsmen with the gun are POINTERS, so called from their
-habit of remaining in a fixed position when their quarry is discovered,
-eagerly pointing in its direction until the arrival of the guns. They are
-most often white, with liver, lemon, or black markings; but occasionally
-self colours, such as liver or black, are met with. They have been largely
-bred in the west of England. I have been fortunate in obtaining one of Mr.
-E. C. Norrish's celebrated strain as a typical specimen for illustration.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-GREYHOUND.
-
-A typical specimen of this elegant variety.]
-
-The SETTER group, which comprises three varieties, are all useful and
-beautiful in their way. The English are usually white, with markings or
-tickings of blue, lemon, or black; they are rather long and narrow in the
-head, with bodies and sterns well feathered, and are graceful and active
-movers. Gordon setters, which are always black and tan in colour, and
-preferred without any white, are generally larger and stronger in build
-than the last-named. Irish setters are more on the lines of the English,
-being a rich tawny red in colour, rather higher on the leg, with narrow
-skulls, glossy coats, feathered legs and stern, ears set low and lying
-back, and lustrous, expressive eyes.
-
-RETRIEVERS may be divided into flat-coated and curly-coated. Both are
-usually black, but other colours are occasionally seen. The coats of the
-first-named are full, but without curl in them; while the latter have their
-bodies, heads, legs, thighs, and even tails covered with small close curls.
-The eyes of both should be dark, and the ears carried closely to the sides
-of the head. In an article dealing with retrievers, which appeared in the
-_Cornhill Magazine_ under the title of "Dogs which Earn their Living," the
-author writes: "There is not the slightest doubt that in the modern
-retrievers acquired habits, certainly one acquired habit, that of fetching
-dead and wounded game, are transmitted directly. The puppies sometimes
-retrieve without being taught, though with this they also combine a greatly
-improved capacity for further teaching. Recently a retriever was sent after
-a winged partridge which had run into a ditch. The dog followed it some way
-down the ditch, and presently came out with an old rusty tea-kettle, held
-in its mouth by the handle. The kettle was taken from the dog, amid much
-laughter; then it was found that inside the kettle was the partridge! The
-explanation was that the bird, when wounded, ran into the ditch, which was
-narrow. In the ditch was the old kettle, with no lid on. Into this the bird
-crept; and as the dog could not get the bird out, it very properly brought
-out the kettle with the bird in it. Among dogs which earn their living,
-these good retrievers deserve a place in the front rank." The illustration
-shows a good flat-coated retriever at work.
-
-The SPANIEL group is rather large, including the English and Irish
-water-spaniels, the former an old-fashioned, useful sort, often liver or
-roan, with some white or other markings, and a good deal of curl in the
-coat and on the ears. His Irish brother is always some shade of liver in
-colour, larger in the body and higher on the leg, covered with a curly
-coat, except on the tail, which is nearly bare of hair, with a profusion of
-hair on the top of the head, often hanging down over the eyes, giving a
-comical appearance, and increasing his Hibernian expression. They make
-lively, affectionate companions and grand assistants at waterfowl-shooting.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-RETRIEVER.
-
-This represents a flat-coated retriever at work, and is remarkably true to
-life.]
-
-[Illustration: BLOOD-HOUND.
-
-This photograph shows what an almost perfect blood-hound should be like.]
-
-CLUMBER SPANIELS are always a creamy white, with lemon or light tan
-markings, and are rather slow and deliberate in their movements, but have a
-stylish, high-class look about them.
-
-SUSSEX SPANIELS are also rather heavy in build and of muscular frame, but
-can do a day's work with most others. They are a rich copper-red in colour,
-with low short bodies, long feathered ears, full eyes of deep colour, and
-are very handsome.
-
-BLACK SPANIELS should be glossy raven-black in colour, with strong muscular
-bodies on strong short legs, long pendulous ears, and expressive eyes. Good
-specimens are in high favour, and command long prices. I regret I cannot
-find room for an illustration of this breed, so deservedly popular.
-
-COCKERS, which are shorter in the back, higher on the leg, and lighter in
-weight, being usually under 25 lbs., are very popular, full of life, and
-very attractive in appearance.
-
-BASSET-HOUNDS, both rough- and smooth-coated, are probably the most
-muscular dogs in existence of their height, with much dignity about them.
-In the Sporting Teams at the Royal Agricultural Hall there were some
-thirteen or fifteen teams of all kinds of sporting dogs, and of these a
-team each of rough and smooth bassets was in the first four.
-
-DACHSHUNDS are often erroneously treated as Sporting Dogs. There are
-certainly not so many supporters of the breed as formerly. Their lean
-heads, with long hanging ears, long low bodies, and crooked fore legs, give
-them a quaint appearance. The colours are usually shades of chestnut-red or
-black and tan; but some are seen chocolate and "dappled," which is one
-shade of reddish brown, with spots and blotches of a darker shade all over
-it.
-
-[Illustration: ENGLISH SETTER.
-
-A typical but rather coarse specimen of a beautiful variety.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor_] [_Ealing._
-
-SMOOTH-COATED SAINT BERNARD.
-
-The illustration gives a capital idea of these handsome dogs.]
-
-GREAT DANES, though mostly classed amongst Non-sporting Dogs, have much of
-the hound in their bearing and appearance. The whole-coloured are not so
-popular as the various shades of brindle and harlequin, but I have seen
-many beautiful fawns, blues, and other whole colours. They are being bred
-with small natural drooping ears. One of the first I remember seeing
-exhibited was a large harlequin belonging to the late Mr. Frank Adcock,
-with the appropriate name of "Satan," as, although always shown muzzled, he
-required the attentions of three or four keepers to deal with him; and at
-one show I attended he overpowered his keepers, got one of them on the
-ground, tore his jacket off, and gave him a rough handling.
-
-
-NON-SPORTING VARIETIES.
-
-SAINT BERNARDS, although sometimes exceeding 3 feet at the shoulder, are as
-a rule very docile and good-tempered, and many are owned by ladies. The
-coat may be rough or smooth, according to taste; but either are splendid
-animals. They are sometimes seen self-coloured, but those with
-markings--shades of rich red, with white and black, for preference--are the
-handsomest. They are still used as "first aids" in the snow on the Swiss
-mountains. So far as I remember, this is the only breed of dog used for
-stud and exhibition for which as much as £1,500 has been paid; and this has
-occurred on more than one occasion.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Fratelli Alinari_] [_Florence._
-
-GREAT DANE.
-
-This shows a typical specimen of this breed, with cropped ears, which will
-be discontinued in show dogs.]
-
-NEWFOUNDLANDS have regained their place in popularity, and many good blacks
-and black-and-whites can now be seen. Numerous cases are on record of their
-rendering aid to persons in danger of drowning, and establishing
-communication with wrecked vessels and the shore.
-
-MASTIFFS are looked on as one of the national breeds. Their commanding
-presence and stately manner make them highly suitable as guards, and they
-are credited with much attachment and devotion to their owners. The colours
-are mostly shades of fawn with black muzzle, or shades of brindle. I am
-able to give the portrait of one of the best specimens living, belonging to
-Mr. R. Leadbetter.
-
-BULL-DOGS are also regarded as a national breed. They are at present in
-high favour. The sizes and colours are so various that all tastes can be
-satisfied. Recently there has been a fancy for toy bull-dogs, limited to 22
-lbs. in weight, mostly with upright ears of tulip shape. In spite of the
-many aspersions on their character, bull-dogs are usually easy-going and
-good-tempered, and are often very fastidious feeders--what fanciers call
-"bad doers."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-DACHSHUND.
-
-The photograph conveys a fair idea of those quaint dogs.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Kitchener Portrait Co._
-
-DALMATIANS.
-
-All are typical, but the first is the best in quality and markings.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-NEWFOUNDLAND.
-
-The dog shown here gives a good idea of size and character, but is not in
-best coat.]
-
-ROUGH COLLIES are very graceful, interesting creatures, and stand first in
-intelligence amongst canines. They are highly popular. Several have been
-sold for over £1,000, and the amounts in prize-money and fees obtained by
-some of the "cracks" would surprise persons not in "the fancy." A high-bred
-specimen "in coat" is most beautiful. The colours most favoured are sables
-with white markings; but black, white, and tans, known as "tricolors," are
-pleasing and effective. I quite hoped to give a portrait of one of the most
-perfect of present-day champions, belonging to H.H. the Princess de
-Montglyon, but could not find room.
-
-SMOOTH COLLIES are a handsome breed, full of grace, beauty, and
-intelligence, and very active and lively. A favourite colour is merle, a
-sort of lavender, with black markings and tan and white in parts, usually
-associated with one or both eyes china-coloured. Specimens often win in
-sheep-dog trials; a bitch of mine won many such, and was more intelligent
-in other ways than many human beings.
-
-OLD ENGLISH SHEEP-DOGS are a most fascinating breed, remarkably active,
-possessed of much endurance and resource, and very faithful and
-affectionate. I have often made long journeys through cross-country roads
-accompanied by one or more of them, and never knew them miss me, even on
-the darkest night or in the crowded streets of a large town. The favourite
-colour is pigeon-blue, with white collar and markings. The coat should be
-straight and hard in texture. The illustration is from a portrait of one of
-the best bitches ever shown, belonging to Sir H. de Trafford.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-BULL-DOGS.
-
-The photograph is remarkably good and characteristic of this variety.]
-
-DALMATIANS are always white, with black, liver, or lemon spots, the size of
-a shilling or less, evenly distributed over the body, head, ears, and even
-tail, and pure, without mixture of white. There is much of the pointer
-about this variety, which has long been used for sporting purposes on the
-continent of Europe. I can testify to their many good qualities as
-companions and house-dogs. To quote again from the article above mentioned:
-"It is commonly believed that the spotted carriage-dogs once so frequently
-kept in England were about the most useless creatures of the dog kind,
-maintained only for show and fashion. This is a mistake. They were used at
-a time when a travelling-carriage carried, besides its owners, a large
-amount of valuable property, and the dog watched the carriage at night when
-the owners were sleeping at country inns. We feel we owe an apology to the
-race of carriage-dogs.... While this dog is becoming extinct, in spite of
-his useful qualities, other breeds are invading spheres of work in which
-they had formerly no part." There is only one point in which I differ from
-the above, and that is contained in the last sentence. There are a number
-of enthusiastic breeders very keen on reviving interest in this variety,
-and I have during the last few years had large entries to judge, so that we
-shall probably see more of them in the future.
-
-POODLES are of many sizes and colours. They are very intelligent, easily
-taught tricks, and much used as performing dogs. They have various kinds of
-coats: _corded_, in which the hair hangs in long strands or ringlets;
-_curly_, with a profusion of short curls all over them, something like
-retrievers; and _fluffy_, when the hair is combed out, to give much the
-appearance of fleecy wool. A part of the body, legs, head, and tail is
-usually shorn.
-
-[Illustration: OLD ENGLISH SHEEP-DOG.
-
-This is a remarkably fine photograph of a well-known specimen of this
-interesting variety.]
-
-BULL-TERRIERS are now bred with small natural drooping ears, and should
-have long wedge-shaped heads, fine coats, and long tails. There is also a
-toy variety, which hitherto has suffered from round skulls and tulip ears,
-but is rapidly improving. I have bred many as small as 3 lbs. in weight. In
-each variety the colour preferred is pure white, without any markings, and
-with fine tapering tails.
-
-IRISH TERRIERS are very popular, and should be nearly wholly red in colour,
-with long lean heads, small drooping ears, hard coats, not too much leg,
-and without coarseness. They make good comrades.
-
-BEDLINGTON TERRIERS have long been popular in the extreme north of England,
-and are another fighting breed. It is indeed often difficult to avoid a
-difference of opinion between show competitors. Their lean long heads,
-rather domed skulls, with top-knot of lighter hair, long pointed ears, and
-small dark eyes, give them a peculiar appearance. The coats, which are
-"linty" in texture, should be shades of blue or liver.
-
-Three breeds, all more or less hard in coat-texture, and grizzled in colour
-on heads and bodies, while tanned on other parts, are AIREDALE, OLD
-ENGLISH, and WELSH TERRIERS, which may be divided into large, medium, and
-small. The first-named make very good all-round dogs; the Old English, less
-in number, make useful dogs, and are hardy and companionable; while Welsh
-terriers are much the size of a small wire-haired fox-terrier, but usually
-shorter and somewhat thicker in the head. I intended one of Mr. W. S.
-Glynn's best dogs to illustrate the last-named.
-
-FOX-TERRIERS are both smooth- and wire-haired. Their convenient size and
-lively temperament make them very popular as pets and companions for both
-sexes and all ages. The colour is invariably white, with or without
-markings on head or body, or both.
-
-BLACK-AND-TAN and WHITE ENGLISH TERRIERS are built upon the same lines,
-differing chiefly in colour, the former being raven-black, with tan
-markings on face, legs, and some lower parts of the body, and the latter
-pure white all over. Both should have small natural drooping ears, fine
-glossy coats, and tapering sterns. The toy variety of the former should be
-a miniature of the larger, and is very difficult to produce of first-class
-quality.
-
-[Illustration: MASTIFF.
-
-The photograph gives almost an ideal picture of this national breed, the
-colour being known as black-brindle.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Lambert Lambert_] [_Bath._
-
-DEER-HOUND.
-
-This is a capital portrait of one of the best of this graceful variety.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by H. Cornish_] [_Crediton._
-
-POINTER.
-
-This is a young dog not yet shown, but full of quality and type.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Villiers & Sons_] [_Newport._
-
-SKYE TERRIER.
-
-The photograph is of a well-known winner in show form.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-CORDED POODLE.
-
-The length of the cords of which the coat is composed is clearly shown.]
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Mrs. Hall-Walker._
-
-POMERANIAN.
-
-Probably about the best all-black Toy Pomeranian ever shown.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Kitchener & Salmon_] [_Bond Street._
-
-SCOTTISH TERRIER.
-
-A smart picture of one of the best of these popular dogs.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. N. Taylor_] [_Cowley Road._
-
-MALTESE TOY TERRIER.
-
-A very excellent representation of one of the best specimens of the present
-day.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor_] [_Ealing._
-
-BUTTERFLY-DOG.
-
-The photograph gives an excellent idea of this somewhat rare variety.]
-
-SCOTTISH TERRIERS are very interesting, often with much "character" about
-them. The usual colours are black, shades of grey, or brindle, but some are
-seen fawn, stone-colour, and white. The ears should be carried bolt
-upright, the coat as hard as a badger's, teeth even, small dark expressive
-eyes, fore legs straight, the back short. One I brought from Skye many
-years since I took with me when driving some miles into the country; coming
-back by a different route, he missed me; but on nearing my starting-point I
-found him posted at a juncture of four roads, by one of which I must
-return. He could not have selected a better position. The illustration is
-that of a first-rate specimen of the variety, "Champion Balmacron Thistle."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-HER MAJESTY QUEEN ALEXANDRA, WITH CHOW AND JAPANESE SPANIELS.
-
-A group which will be studied with much interest by all.]
-
-DANDIE DINMONT TERRIERS have many quaint and charming ways. They are very
-strongly built, being among the most muscular of the terriers, of high
-courage, devotedly attached to their owners, and admirably adapted for
-companions, being suitable for indoors or out, and at home anywhere. The
-colours are pepper (a sort of darkish iron-grey) and mustard (a yellowish
-red fawn), both with white silky hair on head, called the top-knot, and
-lustrous dark eyes, very gipsy-like and independent in expression.
-
-SKYES, both PRICK- and DROP-EARED, are another Scottish breed which well
-deserve their popularity, as they are thorough sporting animals. The
-colours are chiefly shades of dark or light grey, but sometimes fawn with
-dark points and whites are seen. The texture of coat should be hard and
-weather-resisting; the eyes dark and keen in expression; bodies long, low,
-and well knit; legs straight in front; even mouths; tails carried gaily,
-but not curled over the back.
-
-SCHIPPERKES are of Belgian origin. To those who do not know them, they are
-something like medium-sized Pomeranians, short of coat, but without tails.
-They are nearly always pure black in colour, with coats of hardish texture,
-fullest round the neck and shoulders, the ears standing straight up like
-darts, short cobby bodies, and straight legs. They make smart guards and
-companions.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-SAND-DOG.
-
-A quaint picture of a quaint variety, quite hairless, and much the colour
-of Castille soap.]
-
-CHOWS originally came from China, but are now largely bred here. They are
-square-built sturdy dogs, with dense coats, tails carried over the side,
-blunt-pointed ears, and rather short thick heads. They have a little of a
-large coarse Pomeranian, with something of an Eskimo about them, but are
-different from either, with a type of their own. The colour is usually some
-shade of red or black, often with a bluish tinge in it. One marked
-peculiarity is that the tongues of chows are blue-black in colour.
-
-POMERANIANS can be procured of any weight from 3 to 30 lbs., and of almost
-every shade of colour. At present brown of various shades is much in
-favour, but there are many beautiful whites, blacks, blues, sables, and
-others. They are very sharp and lively, and make charming pets and
-companions. Really good specimens command high prices. The illustration is
-of one of the best of his colour ever seen--"Champion Pippin."
-
-PUGS, both fawn and black, are old-fashioned favourites very quaint and
-peculiar in appearance. They should have square heads and muzzles, with
-small ears, large protruding eyes, short thick bodies, and tails tightly
-curled over the back. The illustration, "Duchess of Connaught," is of a
-well-known winner.
-
-MALTESE TERRIERS are very beautiful when pure bred. They have a long
-straight coat of silky white hair nearly reaching the ground, black nose
-and eyes, and the tail curled over the back of their short cobby body.
-Their beauty well repays the trouble of keeping them in good condition. The
-illustration, from a photograph taken for this article, is that of the
-high-class dog "Santa Klaus."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by County of Gloucester Studio, Cheltenham._
-
-PUG AND PEKINESE SPANIEL.
-
-A typical portrait of two well-known winners in these popular varieties.]
-
-YORKSHIRE TOY TERRIERS, with their steel-blue bodies and golden-tanned
-faces, legs, and lower parts, and long straight coats, require skilful
-attention to keep in order, but are very attractive as pets.
-
-TOY SPANIELS are very old members of the toy division, dating from or
-before the time of His Majesty King Charles: KING CHARLES SPANIELS being
-black and tan; PRINCE CHARLES SPANIELS black, white, and tan; another
-strain, the BLENHEIM, white, with shades of reddish-tan markings on the
-head and body, and a spot of same colour on forehead; and the RUBY, a rich
-coppery red all over. They should be small and stout in size and shape,
-without coarseness, long in the ear, with large full protruding eyes of
-dark colour, a short face, a straight coat, and not leggy.
-
-JAPANESE SPANIELS carry heavy coats, usually black, or yellow, and white in
-colour, shorter in the ears, which are carried more forward than in the
-last-named, broader in the muzzle, with nearly flat faces, dark eyes, and
-bushy tails carried over the back. They have very short legs, and their
-hair nearly reaches the ground as they walk. When I kept them they were
-much larger in size, but they are often now produced under 6 lbs. in
-weight.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-FOX-TERRIER.
-
-A picture full of life and go--at present odds in favour of our friend with
-the prickly coat.]
-
-PEKIN SPANIELS, the last of the toy spaniels I need mention, come from
-China. They should have soft fluffy coats, tails inclined to turn over the
-back, short faces, broad muzzles, large lustrous eyes, and a grave,
-dignified expression. The colour is usually some shade of tawny fawn or
-drab, but I have seen them black and dark brown; whatever colour, it should
-be without white. The illustration, Mrs. Lindsay's "Tartan Plaid," was one
-of the early importations.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor_] [_Ealing._
-
-BLENHEIM AND PRINCE CHARLES SPANIELS.
-
-This little group will serve to show the appearance of these charming
-little pets.]
-
-ITALIAN GREYHOUNDS, another old-fashioned variety of toy dog, should not
-exceed 12 lbs. in weight, but in my opinion are better if they are some
-pounds less. Much like miniature greyhounds in shape and build, they are
-elegant, graceful little creatures, very sensitive to cold. Shades of fawn,
-cream, or French grey are most common; but some are slate-blue,
-chestnut-red, and other tints. Of late years the breed has met with more
-encouragement, and there is less fear of its being allowed to die out.
-
-GRIFFONS BRUSSELOIS have been greatly taken up the last few years. They are
-something like Yorkshire toy terriers in size and shape, but with a
-shortish harsh coat, generally of some shade of reddish brown, very short
-face, small shining dark eyes, heavy under-jaw, short thick body, and an
-altogether comical appearance. Imported specimens, particularly before
-reaching maturity, are often difficult to rear.
-
-The AFRICAN SAND-DOG occasionally seen in this country (mostly at shows) is
-remarkable for being entirely hairless, except a few hairs of a bristly
-character on the top of the head and a slight tuft at the end of the tail;
-it is chiefly blue-black or mottled in colour, something in shape and size
-like a coarse black-and-tan terrier, and very susceptible to cold.
-
-Having been supplied with an illustration of PARIAH PUPPIES, I will say a
-few words about this variety, which is seen in large numbers at
-Constantinople and other Eastern cities, where they roam about unclaimed,
-and act as amateur scavengers; they are said to divide the places they
-inhabit into districts or beats, each with its own leader, and resent any
-interference with their authority. I have known cases where they have made
-a determined attack on travellers out late at night; but they are rather a
-cowardly race, and easily repulsed with a little firmness on the part of
-the attacked. Probably these are the descendants of the dogs so often
-mentioned in Scripture with opprobrium; and, among Eastern peoples, to call
-a man "a dog" is even now the most insulting epithet that can be used. By
-the Jews, in ancient times, the dog never seems to have been used, as with
-us, in hunting and pursuing game and wild animals, but merely as a guardian
-of their flocks, herds, and sometimes dwellings.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford. Woburn Abbey._
-
-PARIAH PUPPIES.
-
-This capital photograph of a variety seldom seen in this country will be
-very interesting.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-COMMON BROWN BEAR.
-
-In Scandinavia a few still haunt the highest mountain-ridges, as here
-shown.]
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VI.
-
-_THE BEARS._
-
-Except the great cats, no creatures have longer held a place in human
-interest than the BEARS. Their size and formidable equipment of claws and
-teeth give the touch of fear which goes with admiration. On the other hand,
-they do not, as a rule, molest human beings, who see them employing their
-great strength on apparently insignificant objects with some amusement.
-Except one species, most bears are largely fruit and vegetable feeders. The
-sloth-bear of India sucks up ants and grubs with its funnel-like lips; the
-Malayan bear is a honey-eater by profession, scarcely touching other food
-when it can get the bees' store; and only the great polar bear is entirely
-carnivorous. The grizzly bear of the Northern Rocky Mountains is largely a
-flesh-eater, consuming great quantities of putrid salmon in the Columbian
-rivers. But the ice-bear is ever on the quest for living or dead flesh; it
-catches seals, devours young sea-fowl and eggs, and can actually kill and
-eat the gigantic walrus.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz, Berlin._
-
-AN INVITING ATTITUDE.
-
-The upright position is not natural to the brown bear. It prefers to sit on
-its hams, and not to stand.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Fratelli Alinari_] [_Florence._
-
-THREE PERFORMING BEARS.
-
-Those on the right and left are Himalayan black bears. The white collar is
-plainly seen.]
-
-Every one will have noticed the deliberate flat-footed walk of the bears.
-This is due partly to the formation of the feet themselves. The whole sole
-is set flat upon the ground, and the impressions in a bear's track are not
-unlike those of a man's footsteps. The claws are not capable of being
-retracted, like those of the Cats; consequently they are worn at the tips
-where the curve brings them in contact with the ground. Yet it is
-surprising what wounds these blunt but hard weapons will inflict on
-man--wounds resembling what might be caused by the use of a very large
-garden-rake. Against other animals protected by hair bears' claws are of
-little use. Dogs would never attack them so readily as they do were they
-armed with the talons of a leopard or tiger. The flesh-teeth in both jaws
-of the bear are unlike those of other carnivora. The teeth generally show
-that bears have a mixed diet. Bears appear to have descended from some
-dog-like ancestor, but to have been much modified.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-EUROPEAN BROWN BEAR.
-
-The specimen of the brown bear of Europe from which this picture was taken
-was an unusually light and active bear. Its flanks are almost flat.]
-
-Except the ice-bear, all the species are short and very bulky. It is said
-that a polar bear has been killed which weighed 1,000 lbs. It is far the
-largest, and most formidable in some respects, of all the Carnivora. The
-claws of the grizzly bear are sometimes 5 inches long over the outer curve.
-All bears can sit upright on their hams, and stand upright against a
-support like a tree. Some can stand upright with no aid at all. Except the
-grizzly bear, they can all climb, many of them very well. In the winter, if
-it be cold, they hibernate. In the spring, when the shoots of the early
-plants come up, they emerge, hungry and thin, to seek their food. Bears
-were formerly common in Britain, and were exported for the Roman
-amphitheatres. The prehistoric cave-bears were very large. Their remains
-have been found in Devon, Derbyshire, and other counties. The species
-inhabiting Britain during the Roman period was the common brown bear of
-Europe.
-
-
-THE COMMON BROWN BEAR.
-
-Only one species of bear is found in Europe south of the ice-line, though
-above it the white ice-bear inhabits Spitzbergen and the islands off the
-White Sea. This is the BROWN BEAR, the emblem of Russia in all European
-caricature, and the hero of innumerable fragments of folklore and fable,
-from the tents of the Lapps to the nurseries of English children. Except
-the ice-bear, it is far the largest of European carnivora, but varies much
-in size. Russia is the main home of the brown bear, but it is found in
-Sweden and Norway, and right across Northern Asia. It is also common in the
-Carpathian Mountains, in the Caucasus, and in Mount Pindus in Greece. In
-the south it is found in Spain and the Pyrenees, and a few are left in the
-Alps. The dancing-bears commonly brought to England are caught in the
-Pyrenees. The "Queen's bear," so called because its owner was allowed to
-exhibit it at Windsor, was one of these. But lately dancing-bears from
-Servia and Wallachia have also been seen about our roads and streets. In
-Russia the bear grows to a great size. Some have been killed of 800 lbs. in
-weight. The fur is magnificent in winter, and in great demand for rich
-Russians' sledge-rugs. The finest bear-skins of all are bought for the caps
-of our own Grenadier and Coldstream Guards. In the Alps the bears
-occasionally visit a cow-shed in winter and kill a cow; but as a rule the
-only damage done by those in Europe is to the sheep on the hills in the far
-north of Norway. Tame brown bears are amusing creatures, but should never
-be trusted. They are always liable to turn savage, and the bite is almost
-as severe as that of a tiger. Men have had their heads completely crushed
-in by the bite of one of these animals. In Russia bears are shot in the
-following manner. When the snow falls, the bears retire into the densest
-thickets, and there make a half-hut, half-burrow in the most tangled part
-to hibernate in. The bear is tracked, and then a ring made round the cover
-by beaters and peasants. The shooters follow the track and rouse the bear,
-which often charges them, and is forthwith shot. If it escapes, it is
-driven in by the beaters outside. High fees are paid to peasants who send
-information that a bear is harboured in this way. Sportsmen in St.
-Petersburg will go 300 or 400 miles to shoot one on receipt of a telegram.
-
-The brown bear, like the reindeer and red deer, is found very little
-modified all across Northern Asia, and again in the forests of North
-America. There, however, it undergoes a change. Just as the red deer is
-found represented by a much larger creature, the wapiti, so the brown bear
-is found exaggerated into the great bear of Alaska. The species attains its
-largest, possibly, in Kamchatka, on the Asiatic side of Bering Sea; but the
-Alaskan bear has the credit with sportsmen of being the largest. A skin of
-one of the former, brought to the sale-rooms of Sir Charles Lampson & Co.,
-needed two men to carry it. Last spring, in the sale-rooms of the same
-great firm, some persons present measured the skin of an Alaskan bear which
-was 9 feet across the shoulders from paw to paw.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor_] [_Ealing._
-
-SYRIAN BEAR.
-
-This is the bear generally alluded to in the Old Testament.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-LARGE RUSSIAN BROWN BEAR.
-
-The picture shows to what a size and strength the brown bear attains.]
-
-
-THE GRIZZLY BEAR.
-
-This is a very distinct race of brown bear. It has a flat profile, like the
-polar bear; in addition it grows to a great size, is barely able to climb
-trees, and has the largest claws of any--they have been known to measure 5
-inches along the curve. The true grizzly, which used to be found as far
-north as 61° latitude and south as far as Mexico, is a rare animal now. Its
-turn for cattle-killing made the ranchmen poison it, and rendered the task
-an easy one. It is now only found in the Northern Rocky Mountains, and
-perhaps in North California and Nevada. Formerly encounters with "Old
-Ephraim," as the trappers called this bear, were numerous and deadly. It
-attacked men if attacked by them, and often without provocation. The horse,
-perhaps more than its rider, was the object of the bear. Lewis and Clarke
-measured a grizzly which was 9 feet long from nose to tail. The weight
-sometimes reaches 800 lbs. Measurements of much larger grizzly bears have
-been recorded, but it is difficult to credit them. On a ranche near the
-upper waters of the Colorado River several colts were taken by grizzly
-bears. One of them was found buried according to the custom of this bear,
-and the owner sat up to shoot the animal. Having only the old-fashioned
-small-bored rifle of the day, excellent for shooting deer or Indians, but
-useless against so massive a beast as this bear, unless hit in the head or
-heart, he only wounded it. The bear rushed in, struck him a blow with its
-paw (the paw measures a foot across), smashed the rifle which he held up as
-a protection, and struck the barrel on to his head. The man fell
-insensible, when the bear, having satisfied himself that he was dead,
-picked him up, carried him off, and buried him in another hole which it
-scratched near the dead colt. It then dug up the colt and ate part of it,
-and went off. Some time later the man came to his senses, and awoke to find
-himself "dead and buried." As the earth was only roughly thrown over him,
-he scrambled out, and saw close by the half-eaten remains of the colt.
-Thinking that it might be about the bear's dinner-time, and remembering
-that he was probably put by in the larder for the next meal, he hurried
-home at once, and did not trouble the bear again. Not so a Siberian
-peasant, who had much the same adventure. He had been laughed at for
-wishing to shoot a bear, and went out into the woods to do so. The bear had
-the best of it, knocked him down, and so frightfully mangled his arm that
-he fainted. Bruin then buried him in orthodox bear fashion; and the man,
-when he came to, which he fortunately did before the bear came back, got
-up, and made his way to the village. There he was for a long time ill, and
-all through his sickness and delirium talked of nothing but shooting the
-bear. When he got well, he disappeared into the forest with his gun, and
-after a short absence returned with the bear's skin!
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by New York Zoological Society._
-
-AMERICAN BLACK BEAR.
-
-The black bear was the species first encountered by the early settlers on
-the Atlantic side of America. The grizzly belongs to the Rocky Mountain
-region.]
-
-
-THE AMERICAN BROWN BEAR.
-
-The brown bear of America is closely allied to that of Europe; it was first
-described by Sir John Richardson, who called it the Barrenlands Bear, and
-noted, quite rightly, that it differed from the grizzly in the smallness of
-its claws. The difference in the profile is very marked--the brown bear
-having a profile like that of the European bear, while that of the grizzly
-is flat. The brown bear of North America lives largely on the fruits and
-berries of the northern plants, on dead deer, and on putrid fish, of which
-quantities are left on the banks of the northern rivers. Whether the large
-brown bear of the Rocky Mountains is always a grizzly or often this less
-formidable race is doubtful. The writer inclines to think that it is only
-the counterpart of the North European and the North Asiatic brown bear. The
-following is Sir Samuel Baker's account of these bears. He says: "When I
-was in California, experienced informants told me that no true grizzly bear
-was to be found east of the Pacific slope, and that Lord Coke was the only
-Britisher who had ever killed a real grizzly in California. There are
-numerous bears of three if not four kinds in the Rocky Mountains. These are
-frequently termed grizzlies; but it is a misnomer. The true grizzly is far
-superior in size, but of similar habits, and its weight is from 1,200 lbs.
-to 1,400 lbs." After giving various reasons for believing this to be a fair
-weight, Sir Samuel Baker adds that this weight is equivalent to that of an
-English cart-horse. There are certainly three Rocky Mountain bears--the
-Grizzly, the Brown, and the small Black Bear. There is probably also
-another--a cross between the black and the brown. It is ridiculous to say
-that the brown bears which come to eat the refuse on the dust-heaps of the
-hotels in the Yellowstone Park, and let ladies photograph them, are savage
-grizzly bears.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-YOUNG SYRIAN BEAR FROM THE CAUCASUS.
-
-This is, properly speaking, a Syrian bear, but the species is found in the
-Caucasus and in the Taurus Range.]
-
-
-THE SYRIAN BEAR.
-
-This bear, which figures in the story of Elisha, is a variety of the brown
-bear. It is found from the Caucasus to the mountains of Palestine, and is a
-smaller animal than the true brown bear, weighing about 300 lbs. The fur in
-summer is of a mixed rusty colour, with a whitish collar on the chest. It
-steals the grapes on Mount Horeb, and feeds upon ripe fruits, apples,
-chestnuts, corn, and the like. It is then ready to face the long winter
-sleep.
-
-
-THE AMERICAN BLACK BEAR.
-
-This is the smallest North American species, and perhaps the most harmless.
-It seldom weighs more than 400 lbs. Its coat is short and glossy, and its
-flesh, especially in autumn, is esteemed for food. The early backwoodsmen
-found it a troublesome neighbour. The bears liked Indian corn, and were not
-averse to a young pig. "Like the deer," says Audubon, "it changes its
-haunts with the seasons, and for the same reason--viz. the desire of
-obtaining food. During the spring months it searches for food in the low
-alluvial lands that border the rivers, or by the margins of the inland
-lakes. There it procures abundance of succulent roots, and of the tender,
-juicy stems of plants, upon which it chiefly feeds at that season. During
-the summer heat it enters the gloomy swamps, and passes much of its time in
-wallowing in the mud like a hog, and contents itself with crayfish, roots,
-and nettles; now and then, when hard pressed by hunger, it seizes a young
-pig, or perhaps a sow or calf. As soon as the different kinds of berries
-ripen, the bears betake themselves to the high grounds, followed by their
-cubs. In much-retired parts of the country, where there are no hilly
-grounds, it pays visits to the maize-fields, which it ravages for a while.
-After this the various kinds of nuts and grapes, acorns and other forest
-fruits, attract its attention. The black bear is then seen wandering
-through the woods to gather this harvest, not forgetting to rob every tree
-which it comes across."
-
-
-THE INDIAN SLOTH-BEAR.
-
-Few people would believe that this awkward and ugly beast is so formidable
-as it is. It is the commonest Indian species, seldom eats flesh, prefers
-sucking up the contents of a white ants' nest to any other meal, and is not
-very large; from 200 lbs. to 300 lbs. is the weight of a male. But the
-skull and jaws are very strong, and the claws long and curved. As they are
-used almost like a pickaxe when the bear wishes to dig in the hardest soil,
-their effect upon the human body can be imagined.
-
-Sir Samuel Baker says that there are more accidents to natives of India and
-Ceylon from this species than from any other animal.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-A BROWN BEAR IN SEARCH OF INSECTS.
-
-The photograph shows a bear feeding on insects, possibly large ants, which
-he licks up from the ground, after scratching them out with his claws.]
-
-Mr. Watts Jones writes an interesting account of his sensations while being
-bitten by one of these bears: "I was following up a bear which I had
-wounded, and rashly went to the mouth of a cave to which it had got. It
-charged. I shot, but failed to stop it. I do not know exactly what happened
-next, neither does my hunter who was with me; but I believe, from the marks
-in the snow, that in his rush the bear knocked me over backwards--in fact,
-knocked me three or four feet away. When next I remember anything, the
-bear's weight was on me, and he was biting my leg. He bit, two or three
-times. I felt the flesh crush, but I felt no pain at all. It was rather
-like having a tooth out with gas. I felt no particular terror, though I
-thought the bear had got me; but in a hazy sort of way I wondered when he
-would kill me, and thought what a fool I was to get killed by a stupid
-beast like a bear. The shikari then very pluckily came up and fired a shot
-into the bear, and he left me. I felt the weight lift off me, and got up. I
-did not think I was much hurt.... The main wound was a flap of flesh torn
-out of the inside of my left thigh and left hanging. It was fairly deep,
-and I could see all the muscles working underneath when I lifted it up to
-clean the wound." This anecdote was sent to Mr. J. Crowther Hirst to
-illustrate a theory of his, that the killing of wild animals by other
-animals is not a painful one.
-
-Rustem Pasha, once Turkish Ambassador in England, had an accident when
-brown bear shooting in Russia, and writes of it in the same sense: "When I
-met the accident alluded to, the bear injured both my hands, but did not
-tear off part of the arm or shoulder. In the moment of desperate struggle,
-the intense excitement and anger did, in fact, render me insensible to the
-feeling of actual pain as the bear gnawed my left hand, which was badly
-torn and perforated with holes, most of the bones being broken."
-
-There is good reason to believe that when large carnivora, or beasts large
-in proportion to the size of their victims, strike and kill them with a
-great previous shock, the sense of pain is deadened. Not so if the person
-or animal is seized quietly. Then the pain is intense, though sometimes
-only momentary. A tigress seized Mr. J. Hansard, a forest officer in
-Ceylon, by the neck. In describing his sensations afterwards, he said: "The
-agony I felt was something frightful. My whole skull seemed as if it were
-being crushed to atoms in the jaws of the great brute. I certainly felt the
-most awful pain as she was biting my neck; but not afterwards, if I can
-remember." Sir Samuel Baker says he has twice seen the sloth-bear attack a
-howdah-elephant. Lord Edward St. Maur, son of the Duke of Somerset, was
-killed by one. Mr. Sanderson, the head of the Government Elephant-catching
-Department, used to hunt bears in the jungle with bull-terriers. Against
-these the bear was unable to make a good fight. They seized it by the nose;
-and as its claws were not sharp like those of the leopard, the bear could
-not get them off.
-
-This bear seldom produces more than two or three young at a birth. The
-young cub is very ugly, but very strong, especially in the claws and legs.
-A six weeks' old cub has been turned upside-down in a basket, which was
-shaken violently, without dislodging the little animal clinging inside.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Fratelli Alinari_] [_Florence._
-
-POLAR BEARS.
-
-Though Arctic animals, polar bears can endure great heat. During a "heat
-wave" at Hamburg, Herr C. Hagenbeck found two of his leopards suffering
-from heat apoplexy, but the polar bears were enjoying the sun.]
-
-
-THE ISABELLINE BEAR AND HIMALAYAN BLACK BEAR.
-
-The former animal is a medium-sized variety of the brown bear. The coat in
-winter is of a beautiful silver-tipped cinnamon colour. The HIMALAYAN BLACK
-BEAR has a half-moon of white on its throat. The habits of both do not
-differ markedly from those of the brown bear of Europe.
-
-Recently black bears have been most troublesome in Kashmir, attacking and
-killing and wounding the woodcutters with no provocation. Dr. E. T. Vere,
-writing from Srinagar, says: "Every year we have about half a dozen
-patients who have been mauled by bears. Most of our people who are hurt are
-villagers or shepherds. Bears have been so shot at in Kashmir that,
-although not naturally very fierce, they have become truculent. When they
-attack men, they usually sit up and knock the victim over with a paw. They
-then make one or two bites at the arm or leg, and often finish up with a
-snap at the head. This is the most dangerous part of the attack. One of our
-fatal cases this year was a boy, the vault of whose skull was torn off and
-lacerated. Another man received a compound fracture of the cranium. A third
-had the bones of his face smashed and lacerated. He had an axe, but said,
-'When the bear sat up, my courage failed me.'"
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Fratelli Alinari_] [_Florence._
-
-TWO POLAR BEARS AND A BROWN BEAR.
-
-Although this is a photograph from life, it is scarcely a very natural
-scene; as a matter of fact, all three animals belong to Herr Carl
-Hagenbeck's remarkable menagerie.]
-
-
-THE MALAYAN SUN-BEAR.
-
-These small, smooth-coated bears have a yellow throat-patch like a mustard
-plaster, and are altogether the most amusing and comical of all the tribe.
-They are almost as smooth as a pointer dog, and are devoted to all sweet
-substances which can be a substitute for honey, their main delicacy when
-wild. There are always a number of these bears at the Zoo incessantly
-begging for food. When one gets a piece of sugar, he cracks it into small
-pieces, sticks them on the back of his paw, and licks the mess until the
-paw is covered with sticky syrup, which he eats with great gusto. This bear
-is found in the Malay Peninsula, Borneo, Sumatra, and Java. It is only 4
-feet high, or sometimes half a foot taller. It is more in the habit of
-walking upright than any other species.
-
-
-THE POLAR BEAR.
-
-ICE-BEAR is the better name for this, the most interesting in its habits of
-all the bears. It is an inhabitant of the lands of polar darkness and
-intense cold, and one of the very few land animals which never try to avoid
-the terrible ordeal of the long Arctic night, which rolls on from month to
-month. It can swim and dive nearly as well as a seal, climbs the icebergs,
-and goes voyages on the drifting ice, floating hundreds of miles on the
-polar currents, and feeding on the seals which surround it. Of the limits
-of size of the ice-bear it is impossible to speak with certainty. From the
-skins brought to this country the size of some of them must be enormous.
-One which lived for more than thirty years at the Zoo was of immense length
-and bulk. When the first discoverers went to the Arctic Seas, dressed in
-thick clothes and skins, the polar bears took them for seals. On Bear
-Island, below Spitzbergen, a Dutch sailor sat down on the snow to rest. A
-bear walked up behind him, and seized and crushed his head, evidently not
-in the least aware of what kind of animal it had got hold of. When the
-Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition was wintering in Franz-Josef Land, the bears
-were a positive nuisance. They were not afraid of man, and used to come
-round the huts at all hours. The men shot so many that they formed a
-valuable article of food for the dogs. The flesh is said to be unwholesome
-for men. The power of these bears in the water is wonderful; though so
-bulky, they are as light as a cork when swimming, and their strong, broad
-feet are first-class paddles. Whenever a dead whale is found near the
-shore, the polar bears assemble to feed upon it. In the various searches
-for the Franklin Expedition they pulled to pieces nearly all the cabins
-erected to hold provisions for the sledge-parties. In one case it was found
-that the bears had amused themselves by mounting the roof of a half-buried
-hut, and sliding down the snowy, frozen slope. Cubs are often brought home
-in whaling- and sealing-ships, after the mothers have been shot. There is a
-ready sale of them for Continental menageries. Herr Hagenbeck, of Hamburg,
-by purchasing them quite young, has induced bears to live on good terms
-with tigers, boar-hounds, and leopards.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. W. McLellan_] [_Highbury._
-
-POLAR BEAR.
-
-This bear is the most formidable of all aquatic mammals. It is almost as
-much at home in the water as a seal.]
-
-The manoeuvres of an ice-bear in the water are marvellous to watch. Though
-so bulky a beast, it swims, dives, rolls over and over, catches seals or
-fish, or plays both on and under the water with an ease and evident
-enjoyment which show that it is in its favourite element. One favourite
-game of the ice-bear is to lie on its back in the water, and then to catch
-hold of its hind toes with its fore feet, when it resembles a half-rolled
-hedgehog of gigantic size. It then rolls over and over in the water like a
-revolving cask. Its footsteps are absolutely noiseless, as the claws are
-shorter than in the land-bear's, and more muffled in fur. This noiseless
-power of approach is very necessary when it has to catch such wary
-creatures as basking seals. A very large proportion of the food formerly
-eaten by ice-bears in summer was probably putrid, as they were always
-supplied with a quantity of the refuse carcases of whales and seals left by
-the whaling-ships. This may account for the bad results to the sailors who
-ate the bears' flesh. Now the whaling industry is so little pursued that
-the bears have to catch their dinners for themselves, and eat fresh food.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the New York Zoological Society._
-
-HALF-GROWN POLAR BEARS.
-
-When young polar bears are brought to England or New York on board ship,
-they arrive with coats almost as yellow as a sponge. It takes a week's
-bathing to restore the pure white colour.]
-
-The Arctic explorer Nordenskiöld saw much of the ice-bears on his voyages,
-and left us what is perhaps the best description of their attempts to stalk
-men, mistaking them for other animals. "When the polar bear observes a
-man," he writes in his "Voyage of the Vega," "he commonly approaches him as
-a possible prey, with supple movements and a hundred zigzag bends, in order
-to conceal the direction he means to take, and to prevent the man feeling
-frightened. During his approach he often climbs up on to blocks of ice, or
-raises himself on his hind legs, in order to get a more extensive view. If
-he thinks he has to do with a seal, he creeps or trails himself forward on
-the ice, and is then said to conceal with his fore paws the only part of
-his body that contrasts with the white colour of the snow--his large black
-nose. If the man keeps quite still, the bear comes in this way so near that
-it can be shot at the distance of two gun-lengths, or killed with a lance,
-which the hunters consider safer."
-
-When a vessel lies at anchor, a polar bear sometimes swims out to it, to
-inspect the visiting ship; it has also a special fancy for breaking open
-and searching stores of provisions, boats abandoned and covered over, and
-cabins of wrecked ships. One bear which had looted a provision depôt was
-found to have swallowed a quantity of sticking-plaster. The ice-bear has
-been met swimming at a distance of eighty miles from land, and with no ice
-in sight. This shows how thoroughly aquatic its habits and powers are.
-Polar bears do not hug their victims, like the brown bear, but bite, and
-use their immense feet and sharp claws. It has been said that when one
-catches a seal on the ice it will play with it as a cat does with a mouse.
-The size of these bears varies very much. Seven or eight feet from the tip
-of the nose to the tail is the usual length; yet they have been known to
-exceed even 13 feet in length. This would correspond to an immense
-difference in bulk and weight. An ice-bear was once found feeding on the
-body of a white whale, 15 feet in length, and weighing three or four tons.
-The whale could not have got on to the ice by itself, and it is difficult
-to imagine that any other creature except the bear could have dragged it
-there from the sea, where it was found floating. When hunting seals, polar
-bears will chase them in the water as an otter does a fish, but with what
-result is not known. Besides stalking them in the manner described above,
-they will mark the place at which seals are basking on the rim of an
-ice-floe, and then dive, and come up just at the spot where the seal would
-naturally drop into the water. Those shot for the sake of their skins are
-nearly all killed when swimming in the sea. The hunters mark a bear on an
-ice-floe, and approach it. The bear always tries to escape by swimming, and
-is pursued and shot through the head from the boat. When the females have a
-cub or cubs with them, they will often attack persons or boats which molest
-them; otherwise they do not willingly interfere with man, except, as has
-been said above, when they mistake men for seals or other natural prey.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-THE ICE-BEAR'S COUCH.
-
-A favourite attitude of the polar bear is to lie stretched on its stomach,
-with the hind and fore legs extended flat. The head often lies between the
-fore paws. Notice the hair on the feet, which keeps the animal from
-slipping when on the ice.]
-
-The instances recorded of the affection shown by these animals for their
-young are somewhat pathetic. When the _Carcase_ frigate, which was engaged
-on a voyage of Arctic discovery, was locked in the ice, a she-bear and two
-cubs made their way to the ship, attracted by the scent of the blubber of a
-walrus which the crew had killed a few days before. They ran to the fire,
-and pulled off some of the walrus-flesh which remained unconsumed. The crew
-then threw them large lumps of the flesh which were lying on the ice, which
-the old bear fetched away singly, and laid before her cubs as she brought
-it, dividing it, and giving each a share, and reserving but a small portion
-for herself. As she was fetching away the last piece, the sailors shot both
-the cubs dead, and wounded the dam. Although she could only just crawl to
-the place where the cubs lay, she carried the lump of flesh which she had
-last fetched away, and laid it before them; and when she saw that they
-refused to eat, laid her paws on them, and tried to raise them up, moaning
-pitifully. When she found she could not stir them, she went to some
-distance, and looked back, and then returned, pawing them all over and
-moaning. Finding at last that they were lifeless, she raised her head
-towards the ship and uttered a growl, when the sailors killed her with a
-volley of musket-balls.
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VII.
-
-_THE SMALLER CARNIVORA._
-
-----
-
-THE RACCOON FAMILY.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co._] [_Parson's Green._
-
-COMMON RACCOON.
-
-This is the typical representative of the Raccoon Family. It is found in
-most parts of the United States, and also in South America.]
-
-A link between the Bears and the Weasel Tribe is made by the RACCOONS and
-their allies. They are bear-like in having a short, thick body, and in
-their flat-footed manner of walking; also in their habit of sitting up on
-end, and using their paws as hands, to some extent, in aiding them to
-climb. But they are also much like the Civets; and the pretty little
-CACOMIXLE, or RING-TAILED CAT of Mexico, was formerly classed with the
-civets. They are all very active, enterprising, and quick-witted creatures
-of no great size, very different in temperament from the bears.
-
-
-THE RACCOON.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-RACCOON.
-
-This animal has the habit of always washing its food, if possible, before
-it eats it.]
-
-The type of the family is the AMERICAN RACCOON itself. Its scientific name
-of "Letor," the "Washer," was given to it from an odd habit these creatures
-have of wetting and washing their food in any water which is near. One kept
-at the Zoo washed her kittens so much when they were born that they all
-died.
-
-The 'coon inhabits America from Canada to the south as far down as
-Paraguay. In size it is equal to a common fox, but is short and stout.
-Restless, inquisitive, and prying, it is a most mischievous beast where
-farmyards and poultry are within reach. It kills the fowls, eats the eggs,
-samples the fruit, and if caught shams dead with all the doggedness of an
-opossum. It is very fond of fish and shell-fish. Oysters are a special
-dainty, as are mussels and clams. A gentleman who kept one says: "It opens
-oysters with wonderful skill. It is sufficient for it to break the hinge
-with its teeth; its paws complete the work of getting out the oyster. It
-must have a delicate sense of touch. In this operation it rarely avails
-itself of sight or smell. It passes the oyster under its hind paws; then,
-without looking, it seeks with its hands the weakest place. It there digs
-in its claws, forces asunder the valves, and tears out the flesh in
-fragments, leaving nothing behind." Its favourite haunt is in the
-cane-brakes of the south. There the planters follow it by night with dogs,
-and shoot it in the trees in which it takes refuge. The skins, with
-handsome alternations of yellow and brown, make fine carriage-rugs.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-GREAT PANDA.
-
-This very rare animal is found on the high plateau of Tibet.]
-
-
-THE COATIS.
-
-The COATIS are small arboreal creatures, with the habits of a raccoon and
-squirrel fairly proportioned. They are flesh-eaters, but active and
-playful. Their long pig-like snouts give them an unpleasant appearance.
-They inhabit Mexico and Central and South America as far as Paraguay.
-Several specimens are generally to be seen at the Zoological Gardens. Their
-habits are much the same as those of the small tree-climbing cats, but with
-something of the badger added. Insects and worms, as well as birds and
-small animals, form their food.
-
-
-THE PANDAS AND KINKAJOU.
-
-Among the small carnivorous mammals the BEAR-CAT, or PANDA, is a very
-interesting creature. Its colour is striking--a beautiful red-chestnut
-above, the lower surface jet-black, the tail long and ringed. The quality
-of the fur is fine also. It is found in the Eastern Himalaya, and is as
-large as a badger. The GREAT PANDA, from Eastern Tibet, is a much larger,
-short-tailed, black-and-white animal, once thought to be a bear. The
-KINKAJOU has a prehensile tail, and uses its paws as hands so readily that
-it was formerly placed among the lemurs. It is a native of Southern and
-intertropical America. Nocturnal, and living in the great forests, it is
-seldom seen by man. Its head is round and cat-like, its feet are the same,
-but with non-retractile claws, and it has a long, full tail. It has a long
-tongue, with which it can lick out insects from the crevices and holes of
-trees. Baron von Humboldt says that it attacks the nests of wild bees. It
-uses its tongue to draw objects of food towards it, even if they are not
-living. A pleasant description of this animal appeared in Charles Knight's
-"Museum of Animated Nature," published many years ago: "In its aspect there
-is something of gentleness and good-nature. In captivity it is extremely
-playful, familiar, and fond of being noticed. One lived in the gardens of
-the Zoological Society for seven years. During the greater part of the
-morning it was asleep, rolled up in a ball in its cage. In the afternoon it
-would come out, traverse its cage, take food, and play with those to whom
-it was accustomed. Clinging to the top wires of its cage with its tail and
-hind paws, it would thus swing itself backwards and forwards. When thus
-hanging, it would bring its fore paws to the bars, as well as the hind
-pair, and in this manner would travel up and down its cage with the utmost
-address, every now and then thrusting out its long tongue between the
-wires, as if in quest of food, which, when offered to it, it would
-endeavour to draw in between the wires with this organ. It was very fond of
-being gently stroked and scratched, and when at play with any one it knew
-it would pretend to bite, seizing the hand or fingers with its teeth, as a
-dog will do when playing with its master. As the evening came on, it was
-full of animation, and exhibited in every movement the most surprising
-energy."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo, Co., Parson's Green._
-
-KINKAJOU.
-
-The kinkajou eats birds and eggs as well as honey and fruit. One kept in
-South America killed a whole brood of turkeys, and was partial to birds'
-eggs.]
-
-
-THE OTTERS.
-
-As the badgers and ratels seem specially adapted to an underground and
-cave-making existence, so the Otters all conform in structure to an aquatic
-life; yet, except the webbing of the space between the toes and the
-shortening and flattening of the head, there is very little obvious change
-in their structure to meet the very great difference in the conditions
-under which they live.
-
-The SHORT-TOED OTTER is a small Indian species. It has nails on its hands
-in place of claws. One kept at the Zoo was a most amusing and friendly
-little pet, which let itself be nursed like a kitten.
-
-The NORTH AMERICAN OTTER has the same habits as the English kind, but is
-somewhat larger, and has a far finer coat. It is trapped in thousands, and
-the fur sent over to this country to the Hudson Bay Company's and Sir
-Charles Lampson's fur-sales. These otters, like all their family, are very
-fond of playing. One of their regular games is to make a snow-slide or an
-ice-slide down a frozen waterfall. The alighting-place from this chute is,
-if possible, in the water. There the trapper sets his traps, and the poor
-otters are caught.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Percy Leigh Pemberton, Esq._
-
-YOUNG OTTERS.
-
-Otters, when taken young, can be trained to catch fish for their owners. In
-India several tribes employ them for this purpose.]
-
-The COMMON OTTER is far the most attractive of the British carnivora. It is
-still fairly common all over Britain where fish exist. It is found on the
-Norfolk broads and rivers, all up the Thames, in Scotland, Devonshire,
-Wales, Cumberland, and Northumberland. It travels considerable distances
-from river to river, and sometimes gets into a preserved trout-pool or
-breeding-pond, and does much mischief. The beautiful young otters here
-figured are in Mr. Percy Leigh Pemberton's collection of British mammals at
-Ashford, Kent. Their owner made a large brick tank for them, where they
-were allowed to catch live fish. Once one of them seized a 4-lb. pike by
-the tail. The pike wriggled round and seized the otter's paw, but was soon
-placed _hors de combat_. The largest otter which the writer has seen was
-bolted by a ferret from a rabbit-warren on the edge of the Norfolk fen at
-Hockwold, and shot by the keeper, who was rabbiting.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-TWO TAME OTTERS.
-
-These two little otters were photographed by the Duchess of Bedford.
-Alluding to the old signs of the zodiac and their fondness for the
-watering-pot, their portrait was called "Aquarius" and "The Twins."]
-
-English dog otters sometimes weigh as much as 26 lbs. They regularly hunt
-down the rivers by night, returning before morning to their holt, where
-they sleep by day. No fish stands a chance with them. They swim after the
-fish in the open river, chase it under the bank, and then corner it, or
-seize it with a rush, just as the penguins catch gudgeon at the Zoo.
-Captain Salvin owned a famous tame otter which used to go for walks with
-him, and amuse itself by catching fish in the roadside ponds.
-
-
-THE SEA-OTTER.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-SEA-OTTER.
-
-The sea-otter has the most valuable fur of any animal.]
-
-Common otters killed on the coast are often confounded with the SEA-OTTER.
-This is a great mistake. The sea-otter is as much a marine animal as the
-seal or the sea-lion. It swims out in the open ocean, and is even more of a
-pelagic creature than the seal, for it either produces its young when in
-the water, or at any rate carries and suckles them on the open sea. The
-sea-otter is much larger than the common otter. Unfortunately the fish and
-other marine creatures which form the food of the sea-otters are found
-mainly near the coast. Following them, the otters come near the Aleutian
-Islands, where the hunters are ever on the watch for them. If a single
-otter is seen, five or six boats, with a rifleman in each, at once put out,
-and the otter stands little chance of escape. It never was a common animal,
-and the prices given for the fur, up to £200 for a first-class skin, have
-caused its destruction. The skin, when stretched and cured, is sometimes 5
-feet long, and is of an exquisite natural rich brown, like long plush,
-sprinkled all over with whitish hairs like hoarfrost.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt, Washington._
-
-RACCOON.
-
-This animal is found from Alaska, through the United States, to Central
-America.]
-
-THE SKUNKS.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-A SKUNK.
-
-An American animal, noted chiefly for the scent-gland it possesses, from
-which it emits a most obnoxious-smelling fluid.]
-
-Of all the strange equipments given by nature to animals for their
-protection that possessed by the various species of SKUNK is the most
-effective. These animals are able to emit a fluid so vile in odour that it
-seems equally hateful to all animals. Dogs, pumas, men, alike shun them,
-and the animals seem to know this and to presume on their immunity. An
-ordinary skunk is about the size of a cat, black, with bright white stripes
-down the sides and back. The fur is thick and handsome, and, if the animal
-be killed before it discharges its fluid, is not too strongly odorous to
-make trimmings for jackets. Mr. Hudson, in his "Naturalist in La Plata,"
-says: "In talking to strangers from abroad, I have never thought it
-necessary to speak of the dangers of sunstroke, jaguars, or the assassin's
-knife. But I have never omitted to warn them of the skunk, minutely
-describing its habits and personal appearance. I knew an Englishman who, on
-taking a first gallop across the Pampas, saw one, and, quickly dismounting,
-hurled himself bodily on to it to effect its capture. Poor man! He did not
-know that the animal is never unwilling to be caught. Men have been blinded
-by them for ever by a discharge of the fiery liquid in their faces. The
-smell pervades the whole system of any one subjected to it, like a
-pestilent ether, nauseating the victim till sea-sickness seems pleasant in
-comparison." Dogs can be taught to kill skunks; but they show the greatest
-disgust and horror when the fluid of the animal falls upon them, and
-sometimes roll in mud or dust in the endeavour to get rid of it.
-
-
-THE BADGERS.
-
-The BADGERS include several genera. The SAND-BADGERS of the East have a
-naked snout, small ears, and rough fur, with softer fur underneath. The
-INDIAN BADGER is larger than that of Europe, while that of Java, Sumatra,
-and Borneo is smaller, and has a very short tail.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-A BADGER IN THE WATER.
-
-Badgers are increasing in many parts of England. They are nocturnal
-animals.]
-
-The FERRET-BADGERS from the East have elongated bodies and short tails.
-They are tree-climbers, and as omnivorous as the badger itself. The CAPE
-ZORILLA, with another species found in Egypt, is more nearly allied to the
-polecats, but is striped like a skunk.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co._] [_Parson's Green._
-
-EUROPEAN BADGER.
-
-Badgers can be readily kept in confinement, and are not difficult to tame
-thoroughly.]
-
-The EUROPEAN BADGER is still fairly numerous. There is not a county in
-England where it is not found. A large colony has been established in
-Epping Forest, some fifty yards square of hillside being honeycombed with
-badger-earths. The European badger is found all over temperate Northern
-Europe and Asia; but being shy, wary, and mainly nocturnal, is seldom seen.
-At night it wanders about, and in August gets into the corn-fields, whence
-it is chased and caught by dogs. A Somersetshire farmer had a pointer and
-sheep-dog which were adepts at this night-catching of badgers. They would
-accompany their master along the roads, and the pointer instantly winded
-any badger which had crossed. Both dogs then bounded off, and soon their
-loud barking showed that they had found and "held up" the badger. The dogs'
-owner then came up, picked the badger up by its tail, and dropped it in a
-sack. The badger's "earth" is wonderfully deep and winding; in it the
-badger sleeps during the winter, and gives birth to its young, three or
-four of which are produced at a time. The end of March is the period of
-birth, but the cubs do not come out until June. In October they are
-full-grown. The badger carries in a great quantity of fern and grass as a
-bed for its cubs. Mr. Trevor-Battye writes: "I had a pair which were
-probably about six weeks old. They were called Gripper and Nancy. They
-would rest on my lap when feeding, and sit up and beg like dogs. Their
-hearing and power of scent were remarkable. The badgers were in a closed
-yard; but if any of the dogs came near, even following a path which ran at
-a distance of six or seven yards, they would instantly jump off my lap and
-disappear into a corner. The animals could walk and trot _backwards_ with
-the greatest ease." I have never seen this noticed elsewhere, yet it is
-worth mentioning, because it is characteristic of the Weasel Family, not
-being shared, to my knowledge, by any other mammal--not, for instance, by
-the Bears.
-
-Mr. A. E. Pease says of the badger: "It is easily domesticated, and if
-brought up by hand is found an interesting and charming companion. I had at
-one time two that I could do anything with, and which followed me so
-closely that they would bump against my boots each step I took, and come
-and snuggle in under my coat when I sat down."
-
-
-THE RATELS.
-
-As the mink is adapted for an aquatic diet, so the RATELS, a link between
-the Weasels and the Badgers, seem to have been specialised to live upon
-insects and honey as well as flesh. They are quaint creatures, with rounded
-iron-grey backs, and black bellies, noses, and feet. The African kind is
-found in Cape Colony and East Africa, and is believed to live largely on
-honey and bee-brood. The habits of the ratel are almost identical with
-those of the badger, except that it is less shy and very restless. A nearly
-similar species of ratel is found in Southern Asia from the Caspian to
-India.
-
-The ratels are strictly nocturnal, and make their lair by day in hollow
-trees, though they are said not to climb. The skin is protected by thick,
-close hair, so that bees cannot sting through the fur. The skin is also
-very loose. If a dog bites it, the ratel can generally twist round and bite
-back. The African ratel is omnivorous. It eats snakes and birds. The body
-of a cobra has been found in the stomach of one.
-
-
-THE WEASEL TRIBE.
-
-No animals are more bloodthirsty and carnivorous than most of the Weasel
-Tribe. They are also well equipped both in actual weapons and in activity
-of body, and have powers quite out of proportion to their size. They are
-also gifted with magnificent coats, and constitute the most valuable source
-of choice furs. Sable, Marten, Mink, Wolverine, Ermine, Otters, and several
-others are among the most highly prized. Their claws are sharp, but not
-retractile. It is indeed fortunate that these creatures are so small in
-size, otherwise they would be among the greatest enemies of animal life. As
-things are, they are useful in keeping down the numbers of creatures which,
-like field-mice, moles, rabbits, and rats, might, and occasionally do,
-become a pest.
-
-
-THE MARTENS.
-
-There are two species of marten in Europe--the BEECH--and the PINE-MARTEN.
-The latter has a yellow throat, the former a white one. The fur is almost
-as fine as sable. All so-called Canadian sables are really martens. These
-animals are found throughout Northern Europe and Northern Asia, in Japan,
-and all over Northern America. In Scotland the pine-marten survives in the
-pine forests; also in Ireland, where it is occasionally killed on the
-Wicklow Mountains, near Dublin, and on the Mourne Mountains. It is believed
-to remain in Cumberland, Devonshire, and possibly in parts of Wales. It is
-a tree-loving animal, and feeds mainly on squirrels, which it pursues
-through the branches. It is also fond of fruit. Mr. Charles St. John
-discovered this in a curious way. He noticed that his raspberries were
-being stolen, so set a trap among the canes. Next day all he could see was
-a heap of newly gathered raspberry leaves where the trap was. Stooping down
-to move them, a marten sprang up and tried to defend itself. The poor beast
-had come to gather more raspberries, and had been caught. Unable to escape,
-it gathered the leaves near and concealed itself.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-RATEL.
-
-Ratels are curiously restless little animals, with a peculiar trot-like
-walk.]
-
-
-THE SABLE.
-
-This is so little different from the marten that some have thought it only
-a northern variety. That is not the case, as both are found in the same
-area, and no one who knows anything of form and colour could mistake the
-true sable's fur. This fur is so fine and even that each single hair tapers
-gradually to a point: that is why sable brushes for painting are so
-valuable; they always form a point when wet. The price of these brushes,
-which are of genuine sable fur, though made up from fragments of the
-worst-coloured or damaged skins, varies yearly with the price of sable in
-the market.
-
-
-THE MINK.
-
-Ladies are very familiar with the fur of the MINK, which is one of the best
-of the less expensive varieties; it is not glossy as marten or sable, and
-of a lighter and more uniform brown. The mink is a water-haunting polecat,
-found in Siberia, North America, and Japan. Its main home is in North
-America, where the immense system of lakes and rivers gives scope for its
-aquatic habits. The under-fur is particularly warm and thick, to keep out
-the cold of the water, in which the animal spends more time than on land.
-It is not stated to catch fish, as does the otter, in the water; but it
-lives on frogs, crayfish, mussels, and dead or stranded fish. Minks have
-been kept in confinement and regularly bred in "minkeries," as is the blue
-fox, and in Manchuria the chow dog, for the sake of its fur.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Percy Leigh Pemberton, Esq._
-
-PINE-MARTEN.
-
-Pine-martens have most beautiful fur, and for that reason are much hunted
-in America.]
-
-
-THE POLECAT.
-
-This is now probably the rarest of the British weasels. It is almost
-identically the same as the polecat-ferret, a cross-breed between it and
-the domesticated variety. It survives in a few of the great woodlands of
-the Midlands and of Oxfordshire, in Scotland, and Wales. It is found in
-Cumberland, near Bowness, and on Exmoor and Dartmoor where rabbits abound.
-It is an expert swimmer. Its habits are the same as those of the stoat, but
-it is slower in its movements. It catches fish, and can pick up food from
-the bottom of the water. Wild ones can be trained to work like ferrets.
-"They do not delay in the hole, but follow the rat out and catch it in a
-couple of bounds" (Trevor-Battye). The FERRET is a domesticated breed of
-polecat. It is identical in shape and habits, but unable to stand the cold
-of our climate in the open.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Percy Leigh Pemberton, Esq._
-
-POLECAT.
-
-In England this animal in becoming very scarce.]
-
-
-THE WEASEL.
-
-The smallest, fiercest, and commonest of its race, the little WEASEL is by
-no means the least formidable to other animals of the carnivora of England.
-It is cinnamon-coloured, with a white throat and belly, and climbs as
-neatly as a cat, running up vertical boughs with almost greater facility. A
-weasel in a high hedge will run the whole length of the fence, from twig to
-twig, without descending; it threads the galleries of the field-mice, sucks
-the eggs of small birds in their nests, and attacks rats, mice, rabbits,
-and even such large birds as grouse without fear or hesitation. During a
-great plague of field-voles in the Lowlands of Scotland in the years 1890
-and 1891 the weasels increased enormously. A shepherd took the trouble to
-follow a weasel down a hollow drain in the vole-infested hillside; he found
-the bodies of no less than thirteen field-mice, which the weasel had amused
-itself by killing. In winter weasels hunt the corn-stacks for mice, and
-often make a home among the sheaves. One was seen chasing a vole by Mr.
-Trevor-Battye, who picked up the vole, which the weasel was just about to
-jump up for, when he threw it into the hedge. There the weasel pounced on
-it and carried it off!
-
-The main food of the weasel is the field-mouse and small voles. Weasels are
-very devoted to their young; they will pick them up and carry them off as a
-cat does a kitten, if the nest is in danger. Their hunting shows great
-marks of cunning. One was seen in a field in which a number of
-corn-buntings were flying about, alighting on thistles. The weasel went and
-hid under one of the tallest thistles, on which a bunting soon alighted; an
-instant after it sprang up and caught and killed the bird.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-HIMALAYAN WEASEL.
-
-Weasels are still common in England. They are fierce, and absolutely
-fearless when in pursuit of game.]
-
-
-THE STOAT, OR ERMINE.
-
-This is the commonest and most widely distributed of all the Weasel Tribe.
-In winter the fur turns to pure white in the northern countries, and
-occasionally in Southern England. It is then known as the ERMINE, and
-yields the ermine fur. In every country where it is found it is the deadly
-foe of all small animals, from the hare to the smallest field-mice. It has
-the same passion for killing for killing's sake shared by the ferret. If a
-stoat finds a rabbit's nest, for instance, it always murders all the young
-ones. These creatures sometimes contrive to hunt in packs, or to migrate in
-society. They are very fond of their young, which they lay up in old crows'
-nests, holes in banks, or straw-stacks. They have often been seen to carry
-them out of danger in their mouths. The length of the head and body is 10¾
-inches, and of the tail 6½ inches. The young are usually from five to eight
-in number, and are born in April or May. They soon move into the long
-standing-grass, and remain there till it is cut. After that they move to
-the woods and covers, and great numbers are trapped. If not, they attack
-the young pheasants, and do great damage. They can climb well, and are
-known, as is the polecat, to ascend trees and kill birds on their nests.
-They also suck eggs. Forty-two pheasants' eggs were taken by Mr. de Winton
-from one stoat's hole.
-
-[Illustration: _Photos by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-COMMON STOAT.
-
-_In summer coat._ _In
-winter coat._
-
-These photographs show the stoat (or ermine, as it is often called) in its
-summer and winter coats. This animal gives us the well-known ermine fur.]
-
-
-THE GLUTTON, OR WOLVERINE.
-
-This largest and most destructive of all the Weasel Tribe is found all
-round the northern edge of the Arctic Circle, from Norway to Hudson Bay. It
-is a large heavy animal, with a short head, sharp claws, long thick fur,
-and a clumsy gait. Its tusks are very long and sharp; and its appetite, if
-not so insatiable as the old travellers were told, is sharp enough to keep
-it always hunting. It follows the fur-trappers in the woods, and, being
-very cunning, breaks in at the back of their fall-traps, and robs the baits
-or the prey caught. When Lord Milton and Dr. Cheadle made the North-west
-Passage by land, they lost nearly all their furs in this way. Once, having
-trapped a valuable silver fox, the only one caught by them, they found
-nothing but shreds of fur left by the glutton. As the marten-hunters' line
-of traps is perhaps fifty or sixty miles long, the loss and damage caused
-by the glutton is most mortifying. This animal can only be caught in steel
-traps, and that with great difficulty.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-GLUTTON.
-
-A cunning, destructive animal, which follows the trappers and robs them of
-the animals taken in the traps.]
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of the New York Zoological Society._
-
-CALIFORNIAN SEA-LIONS, OR EARED SEALS.
-
-Seal-herds form "rookeries" when on land at the breeding-season, during
-which time they undergo a complete fast.]
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER VIII.
-
-_MARINE CARNIVORA: THE SEALS, SEA-LIONS, AND WALRUS._
-
-There are three families of the Sea Carnivora,--the Fur-seals, or Eared
-Seals; the Walrus; and the True or Earless Seals.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-STELLER'S SEA-LION.
-
-The eared seal, or sea-lion, has the hind flippers divided, and is thus
-able to move with comparative ease on land.]
-
-The first group, which are called EARED SEALS, and occasionally SEA-LIONS
-and SEA-BEARS, have a small outer ear, and when on land the hind flippers
-are folded forwards beneath the body. There is a distinct neck, and on the
-flippers are rudimentary claws. Some of the eared seals have the close and
-fine under-fur which makes their capture so remunerative. Under the skin
-there is often a thick layer of blubber, which is also turned to commercial
-uses by the sealers.
-
-The WALRUS stands by itself. It is a purely Arctic species, whereas
-fur-seals are found from Bering Sea to the Antarctic; and forms in some
-degree a connecting-link between the eared seals and the true seals. Like
-the former, it turns the front flippers forwards and inwards when on land;
-but it resembles the true seals in having no external ears. The upper
-canine teeth are developed into enormous tusks of hard ivory.
-
-The COMMON SEALS are the most thoroughly aquatic. The hind flippers seem
-almost to have coalesced with the tail, and are always directed backwards
-in line with it. They have no under-fur. On land they can only use the
-front flippers to aid their progress.
-
-Most seals are marine, though some are found in the land-locked sea of Lake
-Baikal, in Central Asia, and the true seals often come up rivers.
-
-
-THE EARED SEALS, OR SEA-LIONS.
-
-These and the walrus have their hind limbs so far free that they can crawl
-on land and use their flippers for other purposes than swimming; they can
-comb their hair with them, and walk in an awkward way. They are divided
-into the fur-seals and hair-seals in the language of trade. The fur-seals
-are those from which ladies' seal-skin jackets are made; the hair-seals are
-sought for their hides and oil. A demand has sprung up for the latter to
-make coats for automobilists to wear when riding at high speed in cold
-weather. The "porpoise-hide" boots are really made from the skin of the
-hair-seal.
-
-Both hair-seals and fur-seals have in common the remarkable habit of
-assembling in large herds during the breeding-season, and of spending a
-long period on land after the young are born. The male seals reach the
-islands, or "rookeries," first, followed by the females. The latter give
-birth to their young almost as soon as they reach the rocks, and are then
-seized and gathered into harems by the strongest and oldest males. The
-sea-lions of Patagonia, equally with the fur-seals of Bering Sea and the
-Pribyloff Islands, never feed during the whole time which they spend on the
-rocks, often for a period of two months.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-SEA-LION.
-
-This photograph shows the dry mane of the sea-lion, a rather uncommon
-sight, as it rarely remains long enough out of the water for its fur to
-become absolutely dry.]
-
-
-THE FUR-SEALS.
-
-The NORTHERN FUR-SEAL is the only member of this group surviving in any
-number. These animals still annually resort to the Aleutian Islands, in the
-territory of Alaska, in great herds to produce their young, and to certain
-other islets off the coast of Japan. This northern fur-seal, from the fur
-of which the seal-skin jackets are obtained, is, when full grown, between 6
-and 7 feet long. The females are only 4 feet or 4½ feet in length. The
-shoulder of the male is grey, the rest of the body varying between reddish
-grey and deep black. The female is lighter in colour. Males of this species
-are not full grown till six years of age, but breed when four years old.
-The females produce young at three years of age. The male seals take
-possession of the females almost immediately after reaching the
-breeding-grounds, each male collecting as many females as it can round it.
-The pups keep with their mothers. This assemblage is surrounded by great
-numbers of young male or bachelor seals, which the old males prevent from
-annexing any of the females. The greatest of all these gathering-places are
-on the Pribyloff Islands and certain other islets in Bering Sea. By the end
-of May both male and female seals swim in flocks through Bering Straits,
-making for the islands. The islands themselves are leased to American
-merchants. But as those seals killed on the way are all just about to bring
-forth young, the waste and cruelty of this "pelagic sealing" will be easily
-understood. On the islands, or "rookeries," the males, mothers, and pups
-remain till August, when the pups take to the water. The male seals have
-remained for at least two months, incessantly fighting and watching,
-without taking any food. By that time they are quite exhausted, the fat
-which they laid up previously being all absorbed. The fur has not naturally
-either the colour or texture which art gives it. The outer fur is long and
-coarse, and only the inner fur of the exquisite texture of the "made" skin.
-The former is removed, and the latter dyed to the rich brown colour which
-we see. The fur-seals are steadily diminishing, and each year's catch is
-smaller than that of the year before.
-
-The CAPE FUR-SEAL, SOUTHERN FUR-SEAL, and NEW ZEALAND FUR-SEAL are
-practically extinct for commercial purposes.
-
-
-THE HAIR-SEALS.
-
-Among these are the large so-called "sea-lions" of Patagonia and the North
-Pacific. We are familiar with their appearance, because for many years
-specimens have been kept at the Zoological Gardens. Their habits are much
-the same as those of the fur-seals. The principal species are, in the
-north, STELLER'S SEA-LION, and the PATAGONIAN SEA-LION in the south. Those
-kept at the Zoological Gardens are usually of the latter species.
-
-STELLER'S SEA-LION is already on the road to extinction. When the annual
-catch of fur-seals reached 100,000 a year, the total number of these
-northern sea-lions was estimated at between 30,000 and 40,000. They repair
-every year to the Pribyloff Islands to breed, as the fur-seals do, but are
-shier and more entirely aquatic. The fur of the old males is tawny, and
-makes a kind of mane over the shoulders, whence its name. Off San Francisco
-there is a small rocky island, one of the ancient "rookeries" of these
-sea-lions, where they are carefully preserved by the United States
-Government as one of the sights of the bay. Another favourite haunt in old
-days was on the Farralone Islands, thirty miles from the bay.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Professor Bumpus_] [_New York._
-
-SEA-LION.
-
-All sea-lions are polygamous. The males guard their harems very jealously,
-and fight determinedly with any intruder.]
-
-Southwards, towards the Antarctic, on the desolate and uninhabited coasts
-and islets of the Far Southern Ocean, the most characteristic of the fauna
-still remaining are the sea-lions. Formerly they swarmed in great packs,
-crowding at the breeding-season the seaweed-covered rocks with their huge
-and unwieldy forms, and at other times cruising in uncouth and noisy
-companies in search of the fishes and squids, which they pursued like packs
-of ocean-wolves. In spring the sea-lions used to struggle on to the flat
-shore, where the equally aquatic tribes of penguins, which had lost the use
-of their wings, covered acre after acre of rock with their eggs and young.
-These the sea-lions devoured. When the men of the first exploring-ships
-visited the penguins' nurseries, all the ungainly birds began to hop
-inland, evidently taking the men for seals, and thinking it best to draw
-them as far from their native element as possible. But the eared seals can
-make good progress of a kind on land. When Captain Musgrave and his crew
-were cast away for twenty months on the Auckland Islands, they found their
-tracks on the top of a hill four miles from the water. Captain Musgrave
-also saw the mother seals teaching their puppies to swim; they were by no
-means inclined to do this, and were afraid of the water--fairly clear
-presumptive evidence that seals have only recently, so far as natural time
-is counted, taken to the aquatic life, and modified their form so
-profoundly as they have.
-
-The PATAGONIAN SEA-LION is perhaps the most numerous species, though its
-numbers have been greatly reduced by whalers in search of skins and oil.
-The first sea-lion ever brought to England was one of these. The Zoological
-Society did not import it; they found it in the possession of a Frenchman
-called Lecomte, who had taken it on the Patagonian coast, trained it, and
-brought it home, where he showed it in a caravan. Its training was long and
-difficult; it bit like a bull-dog, and Lecomte's limbs were scarred all
-over with its bites. In spite of this it was the cleverest performing
-animal ever seen up to that time in England. This sea-lion died from
-swallowing a fish-hook concealed in some fish with which it was fed.
-Lecomte was then sent out by the Zoological Society to obtain some more.
-With the greatest difficulty several were secured, but all died on the
-voyage to New York. Lecomte returned and obtained others, one of which he
-succeeded in bringing to England. The cleverness of these animals--or
-rather their power of understanding what they are required to do, and their
-willingness to do it--probably exceeds that of any other animal, except the
-elephant and the dog. Why this is so is not easy to conjecture, except that
-the brain is more developed. They have been taught to fetch and carry on
-dry land like a retriever, in addition to the well-known tricks exhibited
-by those at the Zoo. One belonging to Barnum's Show caught
-strawberry-punnets on its nose when they were thrown to it, and waved a
-torch, which it held in its teeth and caught after tossing it into the air.
-
-The sea-lions are much more powerful animals than the fur-seals. The male
-of Steller's sea-lion attains a length of 10 feet and a weight of 1,000
-lbs. The AUSTRALIAN SEA-LION is even larger than that of the North Pacific.
-Some specimens are said to attain 12 feet in length. Captain Cook mentions
-seeing male Patagonian sea-lions 14 feet long and from 8 to 10 feet in
-circumference. Though none are now seen of such dimensions, skulls found on
-the beach show that anciently some of the sea-lions were larger than any
-now known.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Carl Hagenbeck_] [_Hamburg._
-
-FEMALE WALRUS.
-
-This is a photograph of the only walrus which has ever been tamed and
-taught to perform tricks. It was taken when she was two years old and
-weighed 380 lbs. At that time she consumed 70 lbs. of boneless fish a day;
-a year later not less than 100 lbs. satisfied her. She is now an inmate of
-the Roumanian Zoological Gardens.]
-
-It should be noted that all these creatures are carnivorous, yet the supply
-of food for them never seems to fail, as undoubtedly it would were the
-animals dependent for their food on land.
-
-
-THE WALRUS.
-
-The distinguishing features of the walrus have been mentioned in the
-introductory remarks to this chapter. It should be added that it has an
-external ear-passage, though no external ears, and very thick and bristly
-whiskers. It is practically confined to the Arctic Circle, though once its
-range extended to the British coasts (where its bones are found in the
-Suffolk Crag) and to Virginia. The skull of one was found in the peat at
-Ely--evidence that it once ascended rivers.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild_] [_Tring._
-
-MALE WALRUS.
-
-The "tusks" of the walrus are put to many practical uses during life, and
-after death are much valued for the ivory.]
-
-The walrus stands alone; it is a real monster of the deep. Strange and
-awful stories were told of it by some of the early voyagers to the Arctic
-Seas; but Captain Cook gave a very different account of his impressions of
-the walruses which he saw on the north coast of America: "They lie in herds
-of many hundreds on the ice, huddling over one another like swine. (They
-lie just like a lot of pigs in a yard.) They roar and bray so very loud,
-that in the night, or in foggy weather, they gave us notice of the vicinity
-of the ice before we could see it. We never found the whole herd asleep,
-some being always on the watch. These, on the approach of the boat, would
-awaken those next to them; and the alarm being thus gradually communicated,
-the whole herd would awake presently. But they were seldom in a hurry to
-get away, till after they had been once fired at; they then would tumble
-over one another into the sea in the utmost confusion. They did not appear
-to us to be that dangerous animal which authors have described, not even
-when attacked. Vast numbers of them would follow us, and come close up to
-the boats; but the flash of the musket in the pan, or the bare pointing of
-it, would send them down in an instant. The female will defend her young to
-the last, and at the expense of her own life, whether in the water or upon
-the ice; nor will the young one quit the dam, though she be dead; so that
-if one be killed the other is certain prey." The long pendent tusks,
-bristly whiskers, small bloodshot eyes, and great size lent colour to the
-terrifying tales of the walrus. But more ancient voyagers than Captain Cook
-told the truth--that the "morses," as they called them, were harmless
-creatures, which often followed the ships from sheer curiosity. They sleep
-on the ice like elephantine pigs, and dive and rout on the sea-bottom for
-clams, cuttle-fish, and seaweeds. Probably the long tusks are used to rake
-up mussels and clams; they also help the walrus to climb on to the ice. A
-young walrus was kept for some time by the members of the
-Jackson-Harmsworth Expedition, and was found to be an amusing pet. One kept
-on board a Dundee whaler used to sleep with an Eskimo dog, and got into the
-same kennel with it. It ate blubber and salt pork, but liked the sailors'
-pea-soup better than anything else; it was most sociable, and could not
-bear to be alone--would tumble down the hatchway to seek the society of its
-beloved sailors, and scramble into the cabin if the door were open. When it
-fell ill and before it died, it seemed most grateful for any attention
-shown to it. The parent walrus shows the greatest courage in trying to
-defend the young one. Walruses are now scarce; but as the ivory is the only
-part of them of much present value, there is a chance that they may not be
-killed off entirely.
-
-
-THE TRUE SEALS.
-
-The TRUE SEALS, with their greatly modified forms, heads set almost on to
-their shoulders, with no neck visible, have well-developed claws on all the
-toes, and in the typical species have double-rooted and small cheek-teeth.
-The number of the incisors is variable. The GREY SEAL of the North Atlantic
-is a large species which visits the North British coasts and the Hebrides.
-One old male shot off the coast of Connemara weighed nearly 400 lbs., and
-was 8 feet long. It is found off Scandinavia and eastwards to the coast of
-Greenland, and breeds off our coasts in October and November. This is the
-large seal occasionally shot up Scotch lochs. Its colour is yellowish grey,
-varied with blots and patches of dirty black and brown.
-
-
-THE COMMON SEAL.
-
-This seal is smaller than the preceding. It breeds on parts of the Welsh
-and Cornish coasts, and is found on both sides of the Atlantic and in the
-North Pacific. It assembles in small herds, and frequents lochs, estuaries,
-and river-mouths. In the summer it is fond of following flounders and
-sea-trout up rivers. A few years ago one came up the Thames and was shot at
-Richmond. The young are born in June, and are greyish white. The adults are
-variously mottled with grey, brown, and black. The fondness of seals for
-music is proverbial. Macgillivray, the Scotch naturalist, said that in the
-Hebrides he could bring half a score of them within forty yards of him by a
-few notes on his flute, when they would swim about with their heads above
-water like so many black dogs. A seal was captured by the servants of a
-landowner near Clew Bay, on the west coast of Ireland, and kept tame for
-four years. It became so attached to the house that, after being carried
-out to sea three times, it returned on each occasion. The cruel wretches
-who owned it then blinded it, out of curiosity to see whether it could find
-its way back sightless. The poor animal did so after eight days.
-
-The common seal is still fairly numerous on the rocky western coasts of the
-British Islands, though a few old seals, unable to forget their early
-habits, appear now and then in Morecambe Bay and in the Solway. It is not
-uncommon off the coasts of Caithness and Sutherland. It also frequents a
-sandbank in the Dornoch Firth, though it has been much persecuted there.
-The common seal is gregarious, while the grey seal usually lives only in
-pairs, or at most in small companies. Two or three dozen like to lie
-closely packed on shore with all their heads turning seawards. The white
-hair of the young seals--which, as already said, are born in June--is shed
-in a day or two, when the young take to the water. With regard to their
-reputed musical proclivities, some experiments made at the Zoological
-Gardens did not bear out this belief; but there is much evidence that in a
-state of nature they will approach and listen to music. The common seal has
-a large brain-capacity, and is a very intelligent creature. The upper parts
-of this seal are yellowish grey, spotted with black and brown, the under
-parts being silver-grey.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Carl Hagenbeck_] [_Hamburg._
-
-WALRUS AND SEA-LION.
-
-Another photograph of the walrus tamed by Herr Carl Hagenbeck. Notice the
-sea-lion in the right-hand corner, which also formed one of the same
-performing troupe.]
-
-The HARP-SEAL is an Arctic or ice-seal which sometimes finds its way to
-Britain. The young are born on ice-floes. It is found in great herds in
-Davis Straits, on the coasts of Greenland, and in the greater part of the
-frozen Arctic Ocean. It is the animal which the sealing-vessels which hunt
-seals for oil and "hair"--that is, the leather of the skins, not the
-fur--seek and destroy. In the old days they could be seen in tens of
-thousands blackening square miles of ice. They are still so numerous that
-in Danish Greenland more than 30,000 are taken each year. The RINGED SEAL
-is a small variety, not more than 3 or 4 feet in length, found in great
-numbers in the Far North. Its flesh is the main food of the Eskimo, and its
-skin the clothing of the Greenlanders. The seals make breathing-holes in
-the ice. There the Eskimo waits with uplifted spear for hours at a time,
-until the seal comes up to breathe, when it is harpooned. The BLADDER-NOSED
-SEAL is a large spotted variety, with a curious bladder-like crest on the
-head and nose of the male. Unlike all other seals, it sometimes resists the
-hunters and attacks the Eskimo in their kayaks.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-GREY SEAL.
-
-Seals are not so well adapted as sea-lions for getting about on the dry
-land, and, except for their habit of coming ashore to bask in the sun, are
-thoroughly aquatic.]
-
-If any evidence were needed of the great destruction which the sealing and
-whaling industry causes, and has caused, among the large marine animals,
-the case of the ELEPHANT-SEALS ought to carry conviction. These are very
-large seals, the male of which has a projecting nose like a proboscis. They
-were formerly found both north and south of the Equator, their main haunts
-being on the coast of California, and on the islands of the South Pacific
-and Antarctic Ocean. They are gigantic compared with the common seals, some
-of the males being from 16 to 20 feet long. Cuttle-fish and seaweed are the
-principal food of this seal, which was formerly seen in astonishing
-numbers. The whaling-ships which hunted both these seals and sperm-whales
-at the same time almost destroyed those which bred on the more accessible
-coasts, just as the earlier whalers entirely destroyed Steller's sea-cow,
-and their modern descendants destroyed the southern right-whales. The
-elephant-seal is now very scarce, and when one is killed the skin is
-regarded as something of a curiosity.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. W. McLellan_] [_Highbury._
-
-GREY SEAL.
-
-Note the difference between the seal's and the sea-lion's hind flippers.
-When on land, the seal advances by a jumping movement, produced by the
-muscles of the body, assisted forward by the front flippers.]
-
-In the records of the voyage of the _Challenger_ it is stated that there
-were still great numbers of the elephant-seals surviving near Heard Island,
-and not a few round the shores of Kerguelen Island. Professor Moseley
-states that on the windward shore of Heard Island "there is an extensive
-beach, called Long Beach. This was covered with thousands of sea-elephants
-in the breeding-season; but it is only accessible by land, and then only by
-crossing two glaciers. No boat can safely land on this shore; consequently
-men are stationed on the beach, and live there in huts. Their duty is
-constantly to drive the sea-elephants from this beach into the sea, which
-they do with whips made out of the hides of the seals themselves. The
-beasts thus ousted swim off, and often 'haul up,' as the term is, upon the
-accessible beach beyond. In very stormy weather, when they are driven into
-the sea, they are forced to betake themselves to the sheltered side of the
-island. Two or three old males, which are called 'beach-masters,' hold a
-beach for themselves and cover it with cows, but allow no other males to
-haul up. They fight furiously, and one man told me that he had seen an old
-male take a young one up in his teeth and throw him over, lifting him in
-the air. The males show fight when whipped, and are with great difficulty
-driven into the sea. The females give birth to their young soon after their
-arrival. The new-born young ones are almost black, unlike the adults, which
-are of a light slate-brown. They are suckled by the female for some time,
-and then left to themselves, lying on the beach, where they seem to grow
-fat without further feeding. They are always allowed by the sealers to lie
-like this, 'in order to make more oil.' This account was corroborated by
-all the sealers I met, but I do not understand it. Probably the cows visit
-their offspring unobserved from time to time. Péron says that both parent
-elephant-seals stay with the young without taking any food at all till the
-latter are about six or seven weeks' old, and that the old ones conduct the
-young to the water and carefully keep them company. The rapid increase in
-weight is in accordance with Péron's account. Goodridge gives a somewhat
-different story--namely, that after the females leave the young the old
-males and the pups proceed inland, as far as two miles sometimes, and stop
-without food for more than a month, during which time they lose fat. The
-male sea-elephants come ashore for the purpose of breeding about the middle
-of August, the females a little later."
-
-Formerly the elephant-seals were found as far north as the Californian
-coast, where their capture was the main business of the sealing-traders.
-This species also formed the mainstay of the far southern sealers. As the
-elephant-seals were killed off, so the business became less and less
-profitable. It is to be hoped that the voyages of exploration to the
-Antarctic ice-fringe will not lead to the discovery of fresh
-sealing-grounds, for if this is the case there is little chance that any of
-the southern seals will escape entire destruction. Some form of close time
-has already been enforced in the pursuit of the hair-seals of Northern
-Europe; but it is very desirable that the species still found on our own
-coasts should also receive protection. Except when they paid visits to the
-fixed salmon-nets, they never did any harm; and fixed nets are now illegal.
-When a seal learned the use of the stake-nets, which these animals were
-very quick to understand, it would wait quietly till it saw a fish caught,
-and then swim up and carry it off before the fishermen could take it.
-
-Two species--namely, the COMMON SEAL and GREY SEAL--still regularly visit
-our shores. The common seal breeds on our south-western coasts, and the
-grey seal off the Hebrides. If the common seal were accorded a close time,
-its numbers would probably increase; and the spectacle of such interesting
-creatures visible on our coast could not fail to be of great interest. All
-the old legends of mermaids and wild men of the sea are based on the
-capture of seals. Perhaps the most ancient is one which records such a
-capture in the river near Orford Castle, in Suffolk, in the reign of Henry
-II. The ignorant soldiers were persuaded that it was a man, and tortured it
-to make it speak. They then took it to the church, and showed it the sacred
-emblems. As it "showed no reverence," they took it back to the castle, and
-fed it on fish. It was allowed to go into the river, but returned to its
-captors of its own accord. Later it swam away to the sea. The monk who
-recorded the story stated his conviction that this seal was an evil spirit
-which had got into the body of a drowned sailor. A grey seal was taken not
-many years ago in the creek leading up to the little town of Wells, in
-Norfolk. It was so tame that the fishermen caught it by throwing coats over
-it as it lay on the mud.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild_] [_Tring._
-
-HARP-SEAL.
-
-The harp-seal comes from Greenland.]
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild_] [_Tring._
-
-SEA-ELEPHANT.
-
-These enormous seals (about 20 feet in length) are becoming very scarce.
-When they come ashore, they are easily approached, though not so easily
-killed. They are much valued for their oil. Note the trunk-like
-prolongation of the nose, which, when the animal is excited, becomes
-distended.]
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER IX.
-
-_THE RODENTS, OR GNAWING ANIMALS._
-
-The Rodents, or Gnawing Mammals, have all the same general type of teeth,
-from which the order receives its distinctive name. There are a very large
-number of families and of genera among the rodents, more than in any other
-order of mammals. All the rodents possess a pair of long chisel-shaped
-incisor teeth in each jaw. The ends of these teeth are worn into a sharp
-edge which cuts like a steel tool. In most rodents these are the only teeth
-in that part of the jaw, a wide gap intervening between them and the other
-teeth. The hares, rabbits, and calling-hares have a minute pair of teeth
-set just behind the large pair in the upper jaw. The grinding-teeth are set
-far back, and are never more than six in number, these being sometimes
-reduced to four. Rodents generally have five toes on the fore feet; in the
-hind feet there are in some cases only four, or even three. None of the
-species are of great size; the largest, the CAPYBARA, a water-living animal
-of South America, is about the dimensions of a small pig. But the number of
-species of small rodents is prodigious, and their fecundity so great that
-they constantly increase in favourable seasons until they become a plague.
-Voles, lemmings, field-mice, and rabbits are constant sources of loss to
-agriculture in their seasons of extraordinary increase. Most rodents feed
-on vegetables, though rats and mice have developed carnivorous tastes. No
-rodents have canine teeth.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-CAPYBARA.
-
-This, the largest of the Rodents, is found by the rivers of South America.]
-
-
-THE SQUIRRELS.
-
-Those of the order of Gnawing Animals which have only two incisors in each
-jaw, and no rudimentary teeth like those possessed by the hares, are called
-"Simple-toothed Rodents." Of those the family usually placed first in order
-is that of the SQUIRRELS and their allies. The True Squirrels and Marmots
-have five molar teeth on each side of the upper jaw.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Professor Bumpus, New York._
-
-FLYING-SQUIRREL.
-
-One of the small species of the group.]
-
-Squirrels are found in nearly every temperate part of the globe, from
-Norway to Japan, and in very great numbers in India and the tropics.
-Everywhere they are favourites; and though they do some mischief in highly
-cultivated countries, they are among the most harmless of creatures. Most
-of them live on wild nuts and the kernels of fruit; they suck eggs
-occasionally, and in Canada will come to the traps in extreme cold and eat
-the meat with which they are baited.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-FLYING-SQUIRREL.
-
-The large flying-squirrels are mainly nocturnal. They can leap a distance
-of 40 feet with the aid of the parachutes of skin stretching from the fore
-to the hind limbs.]
-
-
-THE RED SQUIRREL.
-
-This, the common squirrel of England, is representative of the whole order.
-In old Scandinavian legends the squirrel is represented as the messenger of
-the gods, who carried the news of what was going on in the world to the
-other animals. Together with its close relations, it is the most graceful
-of all climbers of trees. With its long tail waving behind it, it races up
-or down the trunks and across the forest from branch to branch as easily as
-a horse gallops across a plain. It will descend the trunk head downwards as
-fast as it runs up. Squirrels pair for life, and are most affectionate
-little creatures, always playing or doing gymnastics together. The squirrel
-builds a very good house, in which he shows himself far more sensible than
-the monkeys and apes; it is made of leaves, moss, and sticks. The sticks
-come first as a platform; then this is carpeted, and a roof put on. No one
-who has seen English squirrels at work house-building has ever described
-exactly how they do it; it is the best nest made by any mammal, thoroughly
-well fitted together and waterproof. In this nest the young squirrels are
-born in the month of June; that year they keep with the parents, and do not
-"set up for themselves" till the next spring. The red colour is very
-persistent in squirrels. One Chinese variety, black and red, has even
-bright red teeth. In cold countries the red squirrels make stores of food,
-but spend much of the winter asleep.
-
-It is a great pity that in England no one tries to tame the squirrels as
-they do in America; there they are the greatest ornament of the parks of
-cities, coming down to be fed as tamely as our sparrows. The writer has
-known one instance in which a lady induced wild squirrels to pay daily
-visits to her bedroom for food; they used to climb up the ivy and jump in
-at the open window. The great enemies of squirrels near houses are the
-cats, which kill all the young ones when they first come down from the
-trees. In a garden in Berkshire a pair of squirrels had a family every
-summer for five years, but none ever survived the cats' persistent attacks.
-These squirrels were most amusing and improvident. They used to hide
-horse-chestnuts, small potatoes, kernels of stone fruit, bulbs of crocuses,
-and other treasures in all kinds of places, and then forget them. After
-deep snows they might be seen scampering about looking into every hole and
-crevice to see whether that happened to be the place where they had hidden
-something useful. Much of the store was buried among the roots of trees and
-bushes, and quite hidden when the snow fell.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-DORSAL SQUIRREL FROM CENTRAL AMERICA.
-
-A most beautiful species. The main colour is red, but the back is French
-grey, and the tail French grey and red mingled.]
-
-
-THE GREY SQUIRREL.
-
-In Northern Europe, and across Northern Asia and America, a large grey
-squirrel is found. From its fur the "squirrel-cloaks" are made. These
-squirrels live mainly on the seeds of pines in winter, and on wild fruits,
-shoots, and berries in summer. It has been noticed that they will entirely
-forsake some great area of forest for a year or two, and as suddenly return
-to it. The marten and the sable are the great enemies of the grey squirrel,
-but the eagle-owl and goshawk also kill numbers of them. In many countries
-the flesh of the squirrel is eaten.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-ASIATIC CHIPMUNKS.
-
-Small ground-squirrels which store food for the winter.]
-
-The grey-and-black squirrel of the United States was thus described some
-sixty years ago: "It rises with the sun, and continues industriously
-engaged in the search for food for four or five hours every morning. During
-the warm weather of spring it prepares its nest on the branch of a tree,
-constructing it first of dried sticks, which it breaks off, or, if these
-are not at hand, of green twigs as thick as a finger, which it gnaws off
-from the boughs. These it lays in the fork of a tree, so as to make a
-framework. It lines this framework with leaves, and over these again it
-spreads moss. In making the nest, the pair is usually engaged for several
-days, spending an hour in the morning hard at work. The noise they make in
-cutting the sticks and carrying material is heard at some distance." In
-winter they reside entirely in the holes of trees, where their young are in
-most cases born. Green corn and young wheat suffered greatly from their
-depredations, and a wholesale war of destruction used to be waged against
-them everywhere. In Pennsylvania an old law offered threepence a head from
-the public treasury for every squirrel destroyed, and in 1749 the enormous
-sum of £8,000 was paid out of the public funds for this purpose. In those
-days vast migrations of these squirrels used to take place, exciting not
-only the wonder but the fear of the old settlers. In the Far North-west
-multitudes of squirrels used to congregate in different districts, forming
-scattered bands, which all moved in an easterly direction, gathering into
-larger bodies as they went. Neither mountains nor rivers stopped them. On
-they came, a devouring army, laying waste the corn- and wheat-fields, until
-guns, cats, hawks, foxes, and owls destroyed them.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-RED-FOOTED GROUND-SQUIRREL.
-
-This species has some of the characteristics of the tree-squirrels, among
-them the bushy tail.]
-
-
-THE FLYING-SQUIRRELS.
-
-One of the finest squirrels is the TAGUAN, a large squirrel of India,
-Ceylon, and the Malacca forests. It is a "flying-squirrel," with a body 2
-feet long, and a bushy tail of the same length. Being nocturnal, it is not
-often seen; but when it leaps it unfolds a flap of skin on either side,
-which is stretched (like a sail) when the fore and hind limbs are extended
-in the act of leaping; it then forms a parachute. The colour of this
-squirrel is grey, brown, and pale chestnut. There are a number of different
-flying-squirrels in China, Formosa, and Japan, and in the forests of
-Central America. One small flying-squirrel, the POLATOUCHE, is found in
-North-east Russia and Siberia. It flies from tree to tree with immense
-bounds, assisted by the "floats" on its sides. Though only 6 inches long,
-it can cover distances of 30 feet and more without difficulty. Wherever
-there are birch forests this little squirrel is found. One nearly as small
-is a native of the Southern States of America, ranging as far south as
-Guatemala.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt_] [_Washington._
-
-BLACK FOX-SQUIRREL.
-
-The fur of this species is as valuable as that of the grey squirrel.]
-
-In Africa, south of the Sahara, the place of the Oriental flying-squirrel
-is taken by a separate family. They have a different arrangement of the
-parachute from that of the flying-squirrels of India. This wide fold of
-skin is supported in the Asiatic squirrels by a cartilage extending from
-the wrist. In the South African flying-squirrels this support springs from
-the elbow, not from the wrist; they have also horny plates on the
-under-surface of the tail. Many of the tropical flying-squirrels are quite
-large animals, some being as large as a small cat.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co._] [_Parson's Green._
-
-LONG-TAILED MARMOT.
-
-The marmots live by preference on high and cold mountains just below the
-line of eternal snow in Europe. In Asia, where the snow-line is higher,
-they are found at altitudes of 12,000 feet.]
-
-Mr. W. H. Adams says of PEL'S FLYING-SQUIRREL, a West African species:
-"These squirrels come out of their holes in the trees some hours after
-sunset, and return long before daybreak. They are only visible on bright
-moonlight nights. The natives say that they do not come out of their holes
-at all in stormy weather, or on very dark nights; they live on berries and
-fruits, being especially fond of the palm-oil nut, which they take to their
-nests to peel and eat. They pass from tree to tree with great rapidity,
-usually choosing to jump from a higher branch to a lower one, and then
-climbing up again to make a fresh start.... They litter about twice in a
-year, once in September. The young remain in the nest for about nine weeks,
-during which they are fed by the old ones on such food as shoots and
-kernels. They do not attempt to jump or 'fly' till the end of that period,
-extending the length of their jumps with their growth."
-
-The ETHIOPIAN SPINY SQUIRRELS have coarse spiny fur; the little INDIAN
-PALM-SQUIRREL is marked with longitudinal dark and light stripes on the
-back; others have light bands on their flanks.
-
-
-THE GROUND-SQUIRRELS.
-
-Many tree-living squirrels pass a good deal of their time on the ground;
-but there are others which burrow like mice, and, though they climb
-admirably, prefer to make their nest, and the regular squirrel's store of
-nuts, in the earth, and not in the branches. The best known is the little
-CHIPMUNK of the United States, the favourite pet of all American children.
-There are many kinds of chipmunks, all of which have pouches in their
-cheeks for carrying food. The commonest is the STRIPED CHIPMUNK. It is from
-8 to 10 inches long, with white stripes, bordered with dark brown on each
-side. The chipmunks' hoards of grain and nuts are so large that the Indians
-used to rob them in times of scarcity. There is also a ground-squirrel in
-Northern Europe and Northern Asia with much the same habits as the
-chipmunk.
-
-The burrows of the chipmunks are deep and extensive, and into them these
-rodents convey such quantities of grain and maize as to inflict
-considerable loss on the farmer. The SIBERIAN GROUND-SQUIRREL has been
-known to conceal over 8 lbs. weight of corn in its hole. This has a
-sleeping-chamber at the end, filled with moss and leaves, on which the
-family sleep. From this side passages are dug, all leading to chambers
-stocked with food, often far in excess of the wants of these provident
-little creatures. The surplus stores are said to be eaten in the spring by
-wild boars and bears.
-
-
-THE PRAIRIE-DOGS AND MARMOTS.
-
-Between squirrels which live in holes in the ground and the marmots and
-their relations no great gap is found. These creatures drop the climbing
-habit and increase that of burrowing. In disposition most of them are still
-very squirrel-like, though they gain something in solemnity of demeanour by
-never going far from their holes. A prairie-dog or marmot is like a
-squirrel which has left society and settled down in a suburb. The little
-creatures known in America as PRAIRIE-DOGS have in Northern Europe and the
-steppes of Asia some first cousins, called SUSLIKS. Both live in colonies,
-burrow quickly and well, feed on grass, and have a habit of sitting bolt
-upright outside their holes, keeping a look-out for enemies. The
-prairie-dogs also bark like a little dog when alarmed. Before going to
-sleep, the latter always carry the dry grass on which they slept out of
-their burrow, and carefully bite up into short lengths a fresh supply to
-make their beds. The susliks and prairie-dogs are of a khaki colour, like
-the sand in which they delight to burrow. Every one has heard that the
-little burrowing-owls live in the same holes in company with the
-prairie-dogs, and that the rattlesnake sometimes eats both the young
-prairie-dogs and the young owls. An acquaintance of the writer who had
-killed a rattlesnake actually took a young prairie-dog from its mouth. The
-snake had not struck it with the poison, but had begun to swallow it
-uninjured. It was still alive, and recovered.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of the New York Zoological Society._
-
-PRAIRIE-DOGS, OR MARMOTS.
-
-A most characteristic picture. It shows the prairie-dogs' method of holding
-their food while they eat, or cutting up grass to make their beds.]
-
-The suslik was once found in England; its remains, with those of other
-steppe animals, are found in the river gravels and brick earth in the
-London basin. The prairie-dogs form a kind of connecting-link between the
-susliks and the true marmots. They have short ears, short tails, rounded
-bodies, and possess great powers of digging. When a prairie-dog has nothing
-better to do, it usually spends its time either in digging holes or in
-cutting up grass or anything handy to make its bed with. Young prairie-dogs
-are not so large as a mouse when born. The adult animals feed almost
-entirely on grass and weeds in their wild state; they seem quite
-independent of water, and able to live in the driest places.
-
-The ALPINE MARMOT is a much larger species than the prairie-dog. It lives
-on the Alps just below the line of perpetual snow. From five to fifteen
-marmots combine in colonies, dig very deep holes, and, like the
-prairie-dogs, carefully line them with grass; they also store up dry grass
-for food. In autumn they grow very fat, and are then dug out of the burrows
-by the mountaineers for food. Young marmots used to be tamed and carried
-about by the Savoyard boys, but this practice is now rare. The monkey is
-probably more attractive to the public than the fat and sleepy marmot.
-Marmots are about the size of a rabbit, and have close iron-grey fur.
-
-Tschudi, the naturalist of the Alps, says of the marmots that they are the
-only mammal which inhabits the region of the snows. No other warm-blooded
-quadrupeds live at such an altitude. In spring, when the lower snows melt,
-there are generally small pieces of short turf near their holes, as well as
-great rocks, precipices, and stones. Here they make their burrows, outside
-which they feed, with a sentinel always posted to warn them of the approach
-of the eagle or lammergeir. The young marmots, from four to six in number,
-are born in June. When they first appear at the mouth of the holes, they
-are bluish grey; later the fur gains a brownish tint. The burrows are
-usually at a height of not less than 7,000 or 8,000 feet. Winter comes on
-apace. By the end of autumn the ground is already covered with snow, and
-the marmots retire to sleep through the long winter. As they do not become
-torpid for some time, they require food when there is none accessible; this
-they store up in the form of dried grass, which they cut in August, and
-leave outside their burrows for a time to be turned into hay.
-
-The ALPINE MARMOT is also found in the Carpathians and the Pyrenees.
-Another species, the BOBAC, ranges eastward from the German frontier across
-Poland, Russia, and the steppes of Asia to Kamchatka. In Ladak and Western
-Tibet a short-tailed species, the HIMALAYAN MARMOT, is found, sometimes
-living at a height of nearly 17,000 feet. The GOLDEN MARMOT is found in the
-Pamirs.
-
-
-THE BEAVERS.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of the New York Zoological Society._
-
-AMERICAN BEAVER.
-
-The engineering feats of the beavers, in damming streams and forming pools,
-are the most remarkable achievements performed by living animals.]
-
-The BEAVERS are classed as the last family of the squirrel-like group of
-the Rodents, and the largest creatures of that order in the northern
-hemisphere. The value of their fur has caused their destruction in great
-measure where they were once numerous, and has led to their total
-extirpation where there is evidence that they existed as a not uncommon
-animal. They were formerly distributed over the greater part of Europe. In
-England semi-fossilised remains show that they were not uncommon. In Wales
-beavers' skins were mentioned in the year 940 in the laws of Howel Dha, and
-in 1188 Giraldus stated that they were living on the river Teify, in
-Cardiganshire. Beavers were formerly found in France, especially on the
-Rhone, where a few are still said to survive, in Germany, Austria, Russia,
-Poland, and in Sweden and Norway, on the rivers Dwina and Petchora, and on
-the great rivers of Siberia. A few still remain in two districts of Norway,
-and some were known to frequent the Elbe in 1878. The Moldau, in Bohemia,
-is also credited with a colony; but parts of the Danube are believed to be
-the chief haunt of the European beaver at the present time. The American
-beaver, though its range has greatly contracted, is still sufficiently
-numerous for its fur to be a valuable item in the winter fur-sales.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-BEAVER.
-
-The beaver here shown was kept as a pet. It was photographed upon a stream
-in Scotland. The long upper fur is removed when the skin is prepared by the
-furrier.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-BEAVER.
-
-This is a photograph of a swimming beaver. Note the advantage which it has
-taken of the eddy in the stream.]
-
-The beaver's tail is flattened like a paddle and covered with scales; its
-hind feet are webbed between the toes; it has sharp claws, which aid it in
-scratching up mud, and a thick, close fur, with long brown hair above, and
-a most beautiful and close under-fur, which, when the long hairs have all
-been removed, forms the beaver-fur of which hats were once made, and
-trimmings for ladies' jackets and men's fur coats are now manufactured.
-There are two separate lines of interest in connection with the
-animal--political and zoological. The value of the fur was anciently such
-that, when the first French explorers began to search the Canadian lakes,
-and later when the Hudson Bay Company succeeded to the French dominion, the
-history of Canada was largely bound up with beaver-catching and the sale of
-the skins. In the early days of the Company the "standard of trade" of the
-North-west was a beaver-skin. For nearly a century the northern territories
-were organised, both under French and English rule, with a view to the
-beaver trade. The beaver was, and is, the crest of the Canadian Dominion.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt_] [_Washington._
-
-MUSK-RAT.
-
-A small water rodent, a native of the North American rivers. Immense
-numbers are killed for the sake of their fur.]
-
-The beavers' engineering feats have for their object to keep up a uniform
-depth of water in the streams where they live. On large rivers there is
-always enough water for the beaver to swim in safety from its enemies, and
-to cover the mouth of the hole which it makes in the bank, just as a
-water-rat does. But on small streams, especially in Canada, where during
-the winter the frost prevents the springs from running, there is always the
-danger that the water may fall so low that the beavers would be left in
-shallow water, a prey to the wolverine, wolf, lynx, or human enemies. To
-keep up the water, the beavers make a dyke or dam across the stream. This
-they go on building up and strengthening until they have ponded back a
-large pool. In time, as they never seem to stop adding to their dam, the
-pool floods the ground on either side of the stream and makes a small lake.
-It flows over the parts of the bank where their holes are; these also
-become filled up, because the beavers carry into them every day fresh
-quantities of wood-chips to make their beds. The beavers then scrape out
-the earth on the top, pile sticks over this, plaster the sticks with mud,
-and so build a dome over their bedroom. In time this is raised higher and
-higher, the artificial lake rises too, and the complete "beaver-lodge"
-surrounded with water is seen. The old trappers who found these _in situ_
-imagined they were built at once and outright in the water. The experiments
-and observations at Leonardslee, in Sussex, where Sir E. G. Loder has kept
-beavers in a stream for ten years, show that the "evolution" of the lodge
-is gradual and only incidental. But the building of the dyke, the cutting
-of the trees, and the making of the pool are done with a purpose and
-definite aim.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-GAMBIAN POUCHED RAT.
-
-These rats are able to carry food in their cheek-pouches, which are used as
-pockets.]
-
-What this is, and how done, is explained in the following description of
-the beaver colony at Leonardslee: "Their first object was to form in the
-brook a pool, with water maintained at a constant height, to keep the mouth
-of their burrow in the bank submerged during the droughts of summer. To
-this end they built a dam, as good a specimen of their work as can be seen
-even in Canada. Its situation was carefully chosen. A small oak, growing on
-what appears to have been a projection in the bank, gives support to the
-work. It may be concluded that this was part of their intention; for though
-they have cut down every other tree in their enclosure to which they had
-access, except two or three very large ones, they have left this small tree
-which supports the dam untouched. (Later, when the dyke was stronger, they
-cut it down.) Above this stretches the dam, some 12 yards wide, and rising
-5½ feet from the base to the crest. The beavers built it solidly of battens
-of alder, willow, larch, and other straight-limbed trees, cut into lengths
-of from 2 to 3 feet. The bark of each was carefully gnawed off for food;
-and the whole work, constructed of these cut and peeled logs, has a very
-regular and artificial appearance. Smaller twigs and sticks are jammed in
-between the battens, and the interstices are stuffed with mud, which the
-beavers bring up from the bottom of the pool in their mouths, and push in
-with their feet, making the whole structure as watertight as a wall." This
-dam converted what was a narrow brook into a long lake, some 50 yards by 15
-or 20 yards broad. Later the beavers made another larger dam below this,
-cutting down some more trees. One tree gave them a great deal of trouble;
-it was a beech, 40 feet high, and hard to gnaw; so they waited till the
-water rose round it, and then _dug it up_. When the large dam was made,
-quite a considerable lake was formed below the first. They then neglected
-their first dam, and let the water run out of the top lake into the lower
-one. At the time of writing there are five old beavers and a family of
-young ones at Leonardslee. The work done by these beavers, so few in
-numbers, shows how large colonies may alter the course of rivers.
-
-
-THE DORMICE.
-
-There are a considerable number of animals, even in England, which
-hibernate. Most of these feed largely on insect food, which in winter is
-unobtainable in any great quantity. Consequently the hedgehog and the
-badger, which live largely on snails and worms, go to sleep in the famine
-months. So does the sleepiest of all--the DORMOUSE. This alone would show
-that this little rodent probably feeds on insects very largely, for if it
-only ate nuts and berries it could easily store these, and find a good
-supply also in the winter woods. It has been recently proved that dormice
-are insectivorous, and will eat aphides, weevils, and caterpillars. But a
-dormouse hibernates for so long a time that one might imagine its vitality
-entirely lost; it sleeps for six months at a time, and becomes almost as
-cold as a dead animal, and breathes very slowly and almost imperceptibly.
-Mr. Trevor-Battye says that if warmed and made to awaken suddenly in the
-winter it would die in a minute or two, its heart beating very fast, "like
-a clock running down." Before their hibernation dormice grow very fat.
-There is a large species, found in Southern Europe, which the Romans used
-to eat when in this fat stage. In winter dormice usually seek the nest of
-some small bird, and use it as a sleeping-place. They pull out and renew
-the lining, or add a roof themselves. Into the interior they carry a fresh
-supply of moss, and sleep there in great comfort. Their great enemy at this
-time is the weasel. There are two main groups of the dormice, divided by
-naturalists in reference to the structure of their stomach. The South
-African GRAPHIURES have short tufted tails. The hibernating habit is
-confined to the more northern species.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-POCKET-GOPHER.
-
-The pocket-gophers are almost entirely subterranean. Their burrowing powers
-are remarkable. The teeth as well as claws are used to aid them.]
-
-
-THE MOUSE TRIBE.
-
-This family, which includes the MICE, RATS, and VOLES, contains more than a
-third of the number of the whole order of Rodents. Some are arboreal,
-others aquatic; but most are ground-living animals and burrowers. The
-number of known species has been estimated at 330. Among the most marked
-types are the WATER-MICE of Australia and New Guinea, and of the island of
-Luzon in the Philippines. The feet of the Australian species are webbed,
-though those of the Philippine form are not. The GERBILS form another
-group, mainly inhabitants of desert districts. They have very large eyes,
-soft fur, and tails of various length and form in different species. They
-have greatly developed hind legs, and leap like jerboas, and are found in
-Southern Europe, Asia, and Africa. The PHILIPPINE RATS, large and
-long-haired, and the TREE-MICE of Africa south of the Sahara, form other
-groups. A very mischievous race of rodents is represented in Europe by the
-HAMSTERS, and in the New World by a closely allied group, the WHITE-FOOTED
-MICE.
-
-
-THE HAMSTERS.
-
-The HAMSTER is a well-known European species, and represents the group of
-pouched rats. These creatures have cheek-pouches to aid them in carrying
-food. In addition they are most voracious and inquisitive, so that the
-hamster is a type throughout Central Europe of selfishness and greed. We
-are sorry to add that John Bull occasionally appears in German cartoons as
-the "Land-hamster," or land-grabber. Hamsters are numerous from the Elbe to
-the Obi. They burrow and make cellars in the corn- and bean-fields, and
-convey thither as much as a bushel of grain. As soon as the young hamsters
-can shift for themselves, each moves off, makes a separate burrow, and
-begins to hoard beans and corn. As the litter sometimes contains eighteen
-young, the mischief done by the hamster is great. Its coloration is
-peculiar. The fur, which is so thick as to be used for the linings of
-coats, is a light yellowish brown above. A yellow spot marks each cheek.
-The lower surface of the body, the legs, and a band on the forehead are
-black, and the feet white. Thus the hamster reverses the usual natural
-order of colour in mammals, which tends to be dark on the back and light
-below. The animal is 10 inches long, and very courageous. Hamsters have
-been known to seize a horse by the nose which stepped on their burrow, and
-at all times they are ready to defend their home. Besides vegetables and
-corn, they destroy smaller animals. They spend the winter in a more or less
-torpid state in their burrows, but emerge early in spring. They then make
-their summer burrows and produce their young, which in a fortnight after
-birth are able to begin to make a burrow for themselves.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-LONG-EARED JERBOA.
-
-These curious little animals are mainly desert creatures. They move by a
-series of leaps.]
-
-Among the South American members of the group to which the hamster belongs
-are the FISH-EATING RATS, with webbed hind feet. The RICE-RAT, which is
-found from the United States to Ecuador, lives on the Texas prairies much
-as do the prairie-marmots, though its burrows are not so extensive, and
-often quite shallow. In these the rats make beds of dry grass.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-CAPE JUMPING-HARE.
-
-This animal is very common in South Africa. The Boers call it the
-"Springhaas."]
-
-
-THE VOLES.
-
-The VOLES are allied to the preceding groups, but are marked externally by
-a shorter and heavier form than the typical rats and mice. Their ears are
-shorter, their noses blunter, their eyes smaller, and the tail generally
-shorter. They are found in great numbers at certain seasons, when they
-often develop into a pest. The SHORT-TAILED FIELD-VOLE is responsible for
-much destruction of crops in Europe. One of the latest plagues of these
-animals took place in the Lowlands of Scotland, where these voles devoured
-all the higher pastures on the hills. Nearly at the same time a similar
-plague occurred in Turkish Epirus. When an English commissioner was sent to
-enquire into the remedies (if any existed) there in use, he found that the
-Turks were importing holy water from Mecca to sprinkle on the fields
-affected. The BANK-VOLE is a small English species, replaced on the
-Continent by the SOUTHERN FIELD-VOLE.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-OCTODONT.
-
-The octodonts, so called because they have four molar teeth on each side of
-the jaw, are a group of rodents found mainly in South America.]
-
-The WATER-RAT belongs to the vole group. It is one of the most commonly
-seen of all our English mammals--probably, except the rabbit, the most
-familiar. Although not entirely nocturnal, it prefers the darkness of
-twilight; but whenever the visitor to the waterside keeps still, the
-water-rats will allow him to watch them. The writer has had rather an
-extensive acquaintance with these cousins of the beavers, and, while
-watching them, has never ceased to be struck with their close resemblance
-to those creatures. At Holkham Lake, in Norfolk, he noticed a willow-bush,
-in which a number of twigs had been gnawed off; and then saw the missing
-sticks lying neatly peeled, just like "beaver-wood," in the water below.
-Waiting quietly, he noticed a water-rat climb into the bush, gnaw off a
-willow twig, descend with it to the edge of the water, and there, sitting
-on some crossed boughs, peel and eat the bark, just as a beaver does. By
-the Thames a sound is often heard in the round reeds as of something
-tearing or biting them; it is made by the water-rats getting their supper.
-The rat cuts off three or four sedges and makes a rough platform. It then
-cuts down a piece of one of the large round reeds full of pith, and,
-holding it in its hands, seizes the bark with its teeth, and shreds it up
-the stem, peeling it from end to end. This exposes the white pith, which
-the rat then eats. Water-rats have been seen to swim out and pick up acacia
-blossoms floating on the water. When swimming under water, each hair is
-tipped by a little bubble, which makes the rat look like quicksilver. When
-it comes out, the rat shakes itself with a kind of shiver, throwing all the
-water off its coat. Though so good a swimmer, its feet are not webbed. It
-is found from Scotland to the Bering Sea, but not in Ireland.
-
-In the Far North the LEMMING takes the place of the voles. It is a very
-small, short-tailed creature, like a diminutive prairie-dog. Like the
-voles, lemmings have seasons of immoderate increase. They then migrate in
-enormous flocks, and are said never to stop till they reach the sea, into
-which they plunge. It is believed that they are following an inherited
-instinct, and that where there is now sea there once was land, over which
-they passed onwards.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Midland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-COYPU.
-
-This is a large aquatic rodent, found on the South American rivers. Its
-fur, called "nutria," forms a valuable export from Argentina.]
-
-The MUSK-RAT inhabits the same waters as the beaver of North America. It
-makes a house, generally of reeds piled in a mound, in the lakes and
-swamps. The body is only 12 inches long, but the fur is thick and close,
-and much used for lining coats and cloaks. The vast chains of rivers and
-lakes in Canada make that country the favourite home of the musk-rat. This
-creature lives upon roots of aquatic plants, freshwater-mussels, and stems
-of juicy herbs. Besides making the domed houses of grass, reeds, and mud,
-it also burrows in the banks of streams. There it makes rather an elaborate
-home, with numerous passages leading to the water. The odour of musk is
-very strong even in the skin. The tail is narrow and almost naked. This
-species is the largest of the vole group.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-SHORT-TAILED HUTIA.
-
-The hutias are another group of octodonts, found in the West India
-Islands.]
-
-
-THE TYPICAL RATS AND MICE.
-
-These animals were originally an Old World group. Though the brown rat is
-now common in America, it is believed to have come originally from China.
-
-A very large number of animals are now almost dependent on man and his
-belongings. Such creatures are said to be "commensalistic," or eaters at
-the same table. They are often very unwelcome guests, whether they are
-flies, sparrows, or cockroaches; but probably the least welcome of all are
-the rats and mice. The BROWN RAT is the best known of any. It has come into
-worse repute than usual of late, because it is now certain that it harbours
-the plague-bacillus, and communicates the disease to man. Its habits and
-appearance need no description. The BLACK RAT is the older and smaller
-species indigenous in Europe, which the brown rat has almost extirpated
-from England. A few old houses still hold the black rat, and there are
-always a few wild ones at the Zoological Gardens which feed in the animals'
-houses. The BLACK-AND-WHITE RAT (not the albino white rat) kept tame in
-this country is probably a domesticated form of the ALEXANDRINE RAT of
-Egypt.
-
-The HOUSE-MOUSE is now found in all parts of the world to which Europeans
-have access. In England its main home is in the corn-ricks. Were the
-farmers to thresh the grain, as is done in the United States, as soon as it
-is cut, mice would be far less common. Besides these parasitic mice, there
-are a host of field- and forest-mice in this and other countries. One of
-the best-known English species is the HARVEST-MOUSE, which makes a globular
-nest of grass in the wheat-fields, attached to stems of corn or weeds. In
-this the young are born. In winter the mouse lives in holes in banks, and
-lays up a store of kernels and grain. The WOOD-MOUSE is larger than the
-former, or than the HOUSE-MOUSE. It is yellowish brown in colour, lays up a
-great store of winter food, and is itself the favourite prey of the weasel.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild, Tring._
-
-PORCUPINE.
-
-The common porcupine is found in Italy, Spain, and North Africa. This one
-was kept by Mr. Rothschild, who had it photographed by Mr. S. G. Payne, of
-Aylesbury.]
-
-
-THE BANDICOOTS.
-
-A very mischievous class of rats is represented by the various species of
-BANDICOOT. They are found throughout Southern Asia as far as Ceylon, and in
-Kashmir and Turkestan. The BANDICOOT-RAT of India is a large and
-destructive species which is sometimes brought to the London docks in
-ships, but has not spread into the country.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-PORCUPINE.
-
-This photograph shows the arrangement of the porcupine's defence of spines;
-but when frightened it erects these, so as to form a complete protection to
-the body.]
-
-
-OTHER MURINE RODENTS.
-
-Among the numerous other rodents allied to the rat group are the MOLE-RATS,
-with short mole-like bodies. The largest is the GREAT MOLE-RAT, found in
-South-eastern Europe, South-western Asia, and North-eastern Africa. It is a
-subterranean creature, burrowing for food like a mole. The BAMBOO-RATS have
-minute eyes, small external ears, and a short tail partly covered with
-hair. In Somaliland a small, almost naked SAND-RAT is found, which burrows
-in the sand of the desert, throwing up little heaps like mole-hills.
-
-
-THE GOPHERS.
-
-In North and Central America the POCKET-GOPHERS form a curious group of
-small rodents with cheek-pouches opening on the outside. They spend their
-entire existence underground, and are said to use their incisor teeth as
-picks to open the hard earth in their tunnels. They push the loosened soil
-out by pressing it with their chests and fore feet. When a gopher has eaten
-enough to satisfy the immediate calls of hunger, it stores all spare food
-away in the large cheek-pouches. When gophers desire to empty the pouches,
-they pass their feet along their cheeks from behind, and press the food
-forwards on to the ground.
-
-
-THE JERBOAS, SPRINGHAAS, AND JUMPING-MICE.
-
-The hopping rodents have an immense range, from Southern Europe, through
-Africa, Arabia, India, and Ceylon, and even in the New World, where the
-AMERICAN JUMPING-MOUSE is found throughout the northern part of the
-continent. The latter is only 3 inches long. The true JERBOAS are mainly
-found in Africa. All these, when excited, move like kangaroos. Their main
-home is the Central Asian steppe region, but they are found in Egypt,
-India, Syria, and Arabia. The hind legs are much elongated, the fore legs
-very small, and the body usually of a sandy colour. The American
-jumping-mouse, though a very small creature, can cover from 3 to 5 feet at
-each leap. It inhabits the beech and hard-wood forests. In winter it makes
-a globular nest about 6 inches under the surface of the ground.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-VISCACHA.
-
-The viscacha form colonies like those of the prairie-dogs. It is found on
-the pampas north of the La Plata.]
-
-The CAPE JUMPING-HARE forms a family by itself, with no near allies. It is
-of a tawny brown colour, becoming almost pure white below.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford, Woburn Abbey._
-
-CHAPMAN'S ZEBRAS.
-
-These zebra have for some years been running loose in the park at Woburn
-Abbey.]
-
-The tail is long, and carried upright as the animal leaps. The head and
-body are nearly 2 feet long, and the tail 20 inches. It is found both in
-the plains and mountains of South Africa, where it makes deep burrows, in
-which several families live. It is mainly nocturnal.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-CHINCHILLA.
-
-A small rodent of the Andes, possessing very soft and valuable grey fur.]
-
-
-THE OCTODONT FAMILY.
-
-America is the main home of this family of rodents, though there are
-several representatives in Africa. Their name is due to the fact that they
-have four molar teeth on each side of the jaw. The best-known species is
-the COYPU, or NUTRIA, of South America, an aquatic, fur-bearing animal. It
-is very plentiful in the large rivers of that continent, where its fur is a
-valuable commodity for export. When swimming, the female coypu carries its
-young on its back. The coypu is usually 20 inches long, with a tail
-two-thirds of the length of its head and body. The general colour is brown
-above and brownish yellow below. Coypus live in pairs in holes in the
-river-banks. In the Chonos Archipelago they frequent the seashore, and
-burrow near the beach.
-
-The HUTIA, another large octodont, is found in the West Indies. There are
-two species, both partly arboreal. The TUCO-TUCOS, burrowing octodonts of
-the pampas and the far south of the American Continent, are rat-like
-animals, with large claws and very small eyes and ears.
-
-
-THE PORCUPINES.
-
-These animals are either tree-climbers or ground-dwellers. The former are
-found in South America, though one, the CANADIAN PORCUPINE, is found in the
-North; the latter are European and Asiatic. In Africa they are also common.
-The Canadian porcupine passes nearly all its life in trees, feeding on the
-leaves; but it has not a prehensile tail. The COMMON PORCUPINE is abundant
-in Italy (where it is eaten by man), Greece, Spain, and Africa. It lives in
-burrows or among rocks. In India a very similar species is found. The head
-and shoulders of these ground-porcupines are not protected by the larger
-sharp spines which guard the rest of their bodies.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-AGUTIS.
-
-The agutis are also a South American group, found both in the forests and
-on the plains.]
-
-The tree-porcupines of the forests of Central America have long prehensile
-tails, and are very lightly built. The quills are short, the head rounded,
-and the appearance very different from that of the European or African
-species. The common porcupine of Europe and North Africa measures about 28
-inches in length from the nose to the root of the tail. The head, neck, and
-shoulders are covered with short spines and hairs, and the shoulders and
-back by a crest of long spines, varying from 12 to 15 inches in length. The
-tail also carries spines.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-PACA, OR SPOTTED CAVY.
-
-The pacas are among the larger rodents, found mainly in the northern part
-of the South American region.]
-
-
-VISCACHAS AND CHINCHILLAS.
-
-On the plains of La Plata the commonest large rodent is the VISCACHA. It
-assembles in societies like the prairie-dogs, but is a much larger animal,
-from 18 inches to 2 feet long. Viscachas always set a sentinel to give
-warning of danger. They cut every kind of vegetable near and drag them to
-their holes; they also have a habit of picking up and collecting round the
-burrows any object which strikes them as curious. Articles lost by
-travellers, even whips or boots, may generally be found there. The viscacha
-belongs to the chinchilla family, but differs much from the beautiful
-creature of the high Andes from which chinchilla fur is taken. The COMMON
-CHINCHILLA is about 10 inches long, and the SHORT-TAILED CHINCHILLA rather
-smaller. The exquisite fur is well known. Two other chinchillas are more
-like hares in appearance. All four creatures are found on the Andes.
-
-
-THE AGUTIS AND PACAS.
-
-South America also produces a family of rodents not unlike small pigs, but
-nearer to the mouse-deer in general appearance; they are called AGUTIS.
-Mainly forest animals, but living also in the plains, they feed on grass,
-leaves, and plants of all kinds; they are very swift in their movements,
-and have much the habits of the small South African bucks. The fur is long,
-olive- or chestnut-coloured, and thick.
-
-The PACAS are allied to the agutis, but are stouter; they live either in
-burrows made by themselves, or in holes in the banks of rivers, or in old
-tree-roots. The pacas are spotted and rather ornamentally marked; they are
-found from Ecuador to Brazil and Paraguay.
-
-
-THE CAVIES.
-
-The DINOMYS, a spotted rodent known by one example from Peru, has been
-thought to form a link between the pacas and the cavies, of which the
-guinea-pig is the most familiar and the aquatic capybara the largest. The
-original of our guinea-pig is believed to be the RESTLESS CAVY, a small
-rodent common on the plains of La Plata. It is dark blackish, with
-yellowish-grey and white hairs of the domesticated species; and it is
-suggested that the original of the present name was "Guiana pig." This cavy
-lives in thickets rather than in forests or plains.
-
-The PATAGONIAN CAVY is a larger form, about twice the size of our hare. It
-burrows in the ground, and has a grey coat, with yellowish markings on the
-sides. It has been acclimatised successfully in France and England. The
-flesh is like that of the rabbit.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-PACAS, OR SPOTTED CAVIES.
-
-This photograph, which represents young animals, shows in great perfection
-the linear arrangement of the stripes.]
-
-The CAPYBARA is the largest of all rodents. This species is, in fact, a
-gigantic water-guinea-pig. It is found in all the great rivers of South
-America, from the Orinoco to the La Plata. It swims as well as a water-rat,
-though it is as large as a small pig. It feeds on reeds, water-plants, and
-grass. A capital photograph of this animal appears on page 146.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co._] [_Parson's Green._
-
-PATAGONIAN CAVY.
-
-This large species of cavy has been acclimatised successfully both in
-England and in France.]
-
-
-PIKAS, HARES, AND RABBITS.
-
-The last two families of the Rodents have a small pair of rudimentary
-incisor teeth behind the large ones in the upper jaw. The PIKAS, or
-CALLING-HARES, resemble the marmot tribe in general appearance. Their heads
-are short, their ears rounded, and, being tailless, they still less
-resemble the common hare; but their dentition marks them as allied. One
-species, about 9 inches long, is found in Siberia; and another, only 7
-inches long, in the Rocky Mountains. The former has a habit of cutting
-grass and storing it in small stacks outside its hole for winter use; the
-Rocky Mountain species carries its hay into its burrows.
-
-The HARES are a widely distributed group. They are found from the north of
-Scotland (where the grey mountain species turns white in winter) to the
-south of India, in South Africa, and across the continent of Asia to Japan.
-The MOUNTAIN-HARE takes the place of the brown species in Scandinavia,
-Northern Russia, and Ireland; it is rather smaller, and has shorter ears
-and hind legs.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Professor Bumpus_] [_New York._
-
-WOOD-HARE.
-
-This is one of the forms intermediate between the hares and rabbits.]
-
-As early as 54 B.C., Cæsar, in his account of Britain, writes that the
-COMMON HARE was kept by the ancient Britons as a pet, but not eaten by
-them. It was protected by the Normans in the second list, or schedule, of
-animals reserved for sport. The first list included the _Beasts of the
-Forest_, the second the _Beasts of the Chase_, of which the hare was one of
-the first. The word "chase" has here a technical meaning, by which was
-understood an open park, or preserved area, midway in dignity between a
-forest and an enclosed park. "Hare parks" were also made, perhaps the most
-recent being that made at Bushey for the amusement of the sovereign when at
-Hampton Court Palace. The name is often found surviving elsewhere. At
-Hokham, the Earl of Leicester's seat in Norfolk, a walled park of 1,500
-acres holds almost all the hares on the estate. If these parks and forest
-laws had not existed at an early date, it is probable that the hare would
-have become very scarce in this country.
-
-Hares produce their leverets about the middle of April, though in mild
-seasons they are born much earlier. The number of the litter is from two to
-five. They are placed in a small hollow scraped out by the doe hare, but
-not in a burrow of any kind.
-
-The instinct of concealment by remaining still is very highly developed in
-the hares and rabbits. They will often "squat" on the ground until picked
-up rather than take to flight. This seems almost a perverted instinct; yet
-hares often exhibit considerable courage and resource when escaping from
-their enemies. The following is an instance:--A hare was coursed by two
-young greyhounds on some marshes intersected by wide ditches of water. It
-first ran to the side of one of these ditches, and doubled at right angles
-on the brink. This caused the outer dog to lose its balance and to fall
-heavily into the deep and cold water. The hare then made straight for the
-line of walkers, and passed through them, with the other greyhound close
-behind it. The dog reached out and seized the hare by the fur of the back,
-throwing it down. The hare escaped, leaving a large patch of fur in the
-dog's jaws, doubled twice, and was again seized by the second dog, which
-had come up. It escaped from the jaws of the second pursuer, leapt two
-ditches 12 feet wide, and then sat for a moment behind a gate on a small
-bridge. This use of the only cover near caused the dogs to lose sight of
-it; they refused to jump the second drain, and the hare escaped.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-WILD RABBITS.
-
-The wild rabbit has now spread to the north of Scotland, where this picture
-was taken. It is also common in the Hebrides.]
-
-The RABBIT is too well known to need description either of its habits or
-appearance. It originally came from the countries south of the
-Mediterranean, but is now common in Northern Europe, and has become a pest
-in Australia and New Zealand. The rabbit breeds when six months old, and
-has several litters in each year.
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER X.
-
-_THE BATS AND INSECT-EATING MAMMALS._
-
-BY W. P. PYCRAFT, A.L.S., F.Z.S.
-
-These two groups are really closely allied; but the bats are generally
-considered apart, on account of their totally different mode of life.
-Originally, like their more commonplace relatives, they were dwellers upon
-the earth, or, more correctly, among the trees. By gradual modification of
-the fore limbs, and a corresponding development of folds of skin attached
-thereto, and to the body, they have acquired the power of flight. The
-cobego, to be mentioned presently, gives us a hint of how this may have
-come about.
-
-The bats are the only members of the Mammalia which possess the power of
-true flight. The so-called flying-squirrels do not rightly deserve this
-title, for they have no wings. The wings of the bat have been formed by
-modification of the fore limbs, the finger-bones having become excessively
-lengthened, so as to serve as a support to a thin web of skin extending
-outwards from the body, much as the ribs of an umbrella support the
-covering. The hand of the bat is therefore a quite unique organ.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Croydon._
-
-AUSTRALIAN FRUIT-BAT, OR "FLYING-FOX."
-
-This photograph shows the "flying-fox" in its customary resting position. A
-photograph of it flying is shown on page v of Introduction.]
-
-The wing-membrane serves yet another purpose, for its sense of touch is
-exceedingly delicate, enabling even blind bats (for bats are not blind
-usually, as is popularly supposed) to avoid objects placed in their path.
-Some bats, however, appear to depend also in some slight degree upon
-hearing. The sense of touch is still further increased by the development
-of frills or leaf-like expansions of skin round the nose and mouth, and by
-the excessive development of the external ears. Delicate hairs fringing
-these membranes probably act like the "whiskers" of the cat.
-
-Insect-eating bats inhabiting regions with a temperate climate must in
-winter, when food-supplies cease, either hibernate or migrate to warmer
-regions. The majority hibernate; but two species at least of Canadian bats
-perform extensive migrations, it is supposed to escape the intense cold.
-
-The power of flight has made the bats independent of the barriers which
-restrict the movements of terrestrial animals, and accordingly we find them
-all over the world, even as far north as the Arctic Circle. But certain
-groups of bats have an extremely restricted range. Thus the Fruit-bats
-occur only in the warmer regions of the Old World, the Vampires in America,
-whilst some of the more common insect-eating forms are found everywhere.
-Those forms with a restricted distribution are, it should be noticed, all
-highly specialised--that is to say, they have all become in some way
-adapted to peculiar local conditions, and cannot subsist apart therefrom.
-It is the more lowly--less specialised--forms which have the widest
-geographical range. There are some spots, however, on the world's surface
-from which no bat has yet been recorded--such are Iceland, St. Helena,
-Kerguelen, and the Galapagos Islands.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Henry King_] [_Sydney._
-
-AUSTRALIAN FRUIT-BATS.
-
-In their roosting-places these bats hang all over the trees in enormous
-numbers, looking like great black fruits. Although shot in thousands, on
-account of the damage they do to fruit orchards, their numbers do not
-appear to be reduced.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-TUBE-NOSED FRUIT-BAT.
-
-The tubular nostrils distinguish this and a species of insect-eating bat
-from all other living mammals.]
-
-
-THE FRUIT-BATS.
-
-These represent the giants of the bat world, the largest of them, the
-KALONG, or MALAY FOX-BAT, measuring no less than 5 feet from tip to tip of
-the wing. The best known of the fruit-bats is the INDIAN FOX-BAT. Sir J. E.
-Tennent tells us that a favourite resort of theirs near Kandy, in Ceylon,
-was some indiarubber-trees, "where they used to assemble in such prodigious
-numbers that large boughs would not infrequently give way beneath the
-accumulated weight of the flock." An observer in Calcutta relates that they
-occasionally travel in vast hordes, so great as to darken the sky. Whether
-they are performing some preconcerted migration or bent only on a foray to
-some distant feeding-ground is a matter for speculation. These hordes are
-quite distinct from the "long strings" which may be seen every evening in
-Calcutta on their way to neighbouring fruit-trees.
-
-One of the most remarkable of this group is the TUBE-NOSED FRUIT-BAT, in
-which the nostrils are prolonged into a pair of relatively long tubes.
-Strangely enough, a group of insect-eating bats has developed similar
-though smaller tubes. Except in these bats, such tubes are unknown among
-mammals. Their function is not known.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Fratelli Alinari_] [_Florence._
-
-PIPISTRELLE BAT.
-
-This is one of the commonest of the British bats. It is the first to appear
-in the spring, and the last to retire at the fall of the year.]
-
-
-INSECT-EATING BATS.
-
-The vast majority of the bats comprising this group feed exclusively on
-insects. Some, however, have acquired the habit of fruit-eating, like the
-true fruit-bats; and a few have developed quite ogre-like habits, for they
-drink blood--indeed, they subsist upon nothing else. This they obtain from
-animals larger than themselves.
-
-Many of the bats of this group have developed curious leaf-like expansions
-of skin around the nose and mouth, which are supposed to be endowed with a
-very delicate sense of touch. In some, as in the FLOWER-NOSED BAT, the
-nose-leaf is excessively developed, forming a large rosette. The upper
-border of this rosette is furnished with three stalked balls, the function
-of which it is surmised is probably ornamental--from the bat's point of
-view. To our more æsthetic taste the whole effect is hideous.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-LEAF-NOSED BAT.
-
-The leaf-nosed are the most highly organised of all the bats. The
-remarkable leaf-like folds of skin around the nose or chin, as the case may
-be, serve as delicate organs of perception. There are numerous species of
-leaf-nosed bats.]
-
-Limited as is our space, we cannot pass over the SUCKER-FOOTED BATS. These
-are met with, strangely enough, in countries so far apart as Brazil and
-Madagascar. The suckers from which they derive their name, in the Brazilian
-species, are small circular, hollow disks, attached to the thumb and the
-sole of the foot, recalling the suckers of the cuttle-fish and brown
-water-beetle. By their means the animal is enabled to climb over smooth
-vertical surfaces.
-
-A white bat is a rarity in the bat world. We cannot therefore afford to
-pass without mention the fact that Central and South America possess two
-species of WHITE BATS. This colour is probably developed for protection's
-sake, the bats being found nestling between the silvery leaves of a
-cocoanut-palm. Brilliant coloration, on the other hand, is by no means so
-rare. WELWITSCH'S BAT, for instance--a West African species--is remarkable
-for its gorgeous coloration, the colours being orange and black. An Indian
-species, known as the PAINTED BAT, is said to be so brilliantly coloured as
-to resemble a gorgeous butterfly rather than a bat.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Croydon._
-
-COBEGO.
-
-Back view of the cobego, with the limbs extended, showing the great size of
-the flying-membranes, or parachute.]
-
-Ugliness is more common than beauty amongst the bats, and perhaps the
-ugliest of all the tribe is the NAKED BAT of the Malayan region. It is
-absolutely repulsive. The skin is naked, save for a collar of hair round
-the neck; whilst on the throat it gives rise to an enormous throat-pouch,
-which discharges an oily fluid of a peculiarly nauseating smell. On either
-side of the body is a deep pouch, in which the young are carried--a very
-necessary provision, for they would be quite unable to cling to the body of
-the parent, as do the young of fur-bearing bats, on account of the naked
-skin.
-
-Of the great group of the VAMPIRE-BATS we can only make mention of the
-blood-sucking species. These are natives of South America. It is to Dr.
-Darwin that we owe our first absolutely reliable information about these
-little animals. Before the account in his Journal, it was uncertain to
-which of the vampires belonged the unenviable distinction of being the
-blood-sucker. During the stay of the great naturalist in Chili one was
-actually caught by one of his servants, as evening was drawing on, biting
-the withers of a horse. In the morning the spot where the bite had been
-inflicted was plainly visible, from its swollen condition. These two
-species, it has been stated, "are the only bats which subsist entirely on a
-diet of blood, yet it is possible that ... some of the JAVELIN-BATS or
-their allies may on occasion vary their ordinary food with it."
-
-
-THE INSECTIVORA, OR FLIGHTLESS INSECT-EATERS.
-
-Some members of this group have departed from the traditional insect diet.
-Thus the cobego feeds upon leaves, a curious aquatic shrew--the Potamogale
-of West Africa--upon fish, and the moles upon worms.
-
-The group has a very wide geographical distribution, but there are
-nevertheless large portions of the globe in which they are conspicuous by
-their absence. They are never found in Australia or South America.
-Madagascar, Africa, and the West India Islands produce the most remarkable
-forms.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Croydon._
-
-COBEGO.
-
-Vertical (front) view of the cobego, with newly born and naked young
-attached. Note the extension of the membrane between the toes of the fore
-feet of the adult.]
-
-
-THE COBEGO.
-
-This is a peculiarly interesting animal, which lives in the forests of
-Sumatra, Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippine Islands. It dwells
-among the trees, moving from one to another by taking flying leaps through
-the air, covering as much as seventy yards at a jump. Prodigious leaps like
-this would be quite impossible but for the fact that the animal, which is
-almost as large as a cat, is provided with a sort of parachute, formed by a
-broad web of skin stretched between the body on either side and the fore
-and hind limbs, and between the hind limbs and the tail.
-
-
-SHREWS, HEDGEHOGS, AND TENRECS.
-
-The variation in form presented by the members of this group is
-considerable. The most noteworthy examples of this variation are furnished
-by the pretty little squirrel-like TREE-SHREWS of India and Borneo and
-neighbouring lands, the mouse-like JUMPING-SHREWS of Africa, the HEDGEHOGS,
-the TENRECS, the elegant little MOUSE-LIKE SHREWS of almost world-wide
-distribution, and the WATER-SHREWS. Of these, hedgehogs and tenrecs have
-undergone the greatest transformation. By a curious modification of their
-original hairy covering they have developed a formidable armour of sharp
-spines. When alarmed, the former roll themselves up into a ball by the
-contraction of powerful muscles, and so present an almost impregnable
-armour to an enemy. Stoats and foxes, however, appear at least occasionally
-to succeed in overcoming this defence and making a meal of the vanquished.
-
-Tenrecs are found in Madagascar. The COMMON TENREC is the largest of all
-insect-eaters, and one of the most prolific, as many as twenty-one having
-been produced at birth. Of all living mammals it is the one most nearly
-allied to the Marsupials.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Croydon._
-
-COBEGO ASLEEP.
-
-All four limbs are used in suspending itself when asleep, as in the sloths.
-In this position the cobego closely resembles, and is mistaken by its
-enemies for, the fruits of one of the native trees. It is a nocturnal
-animal.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Melland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-THREE BABY HEDGEHOGS.
-
-Young hedgehogs are born blind and naked. The spines on their first
-appearance are quite soft; they soon harden, and at the same time the power
-to roll the body up into a ball is acquired.]
-
-
-THE MOLES.
-
-The COMMON MOLE shows a most perfect adaptation to its underground mode of
-life. The general form of the animal is long, cylindrical, and pointed in
-front, whilst the legs are exceedingly short, the foot only in the fore
-limb projecting from the body. This foot is very broad and spade-like and
-immensely powerful, its use being to force a way--often with incredible
-speed--through the soft, yielding soil, and not to support the body, as in
-running or walking. The hind feet are weak, but resemble those of its
-allies the shrews, for instance. The eyes have become reduced to mere
-vestiges, very difficult to find. The fur has become so altered in
-structure that it will lie equally smooth whether brushed towards head or
-tail, so that it should not be damaged when the animal travels backwards in
-its burrow. External ears have been dispensed with.
-
-Worms form the staple diet of the mole, but besides underground insects of
-all kinds are greedily devoured. This animal is one of the most voracious
-feeders, falling ravenously upon its prey. It has been said with truth that
-so great is the ferocity displayed by the mole that if it could be
-magnified to the size of the lion it would be one of the most terrible of
-living creatures. That a constant supply of food is necessary to satiate
-its enormous appetite is shown by the fact that a mole will succumb to an
-abstinence of from ten to twelve hours. Moles fight among themselves
-furiously; and if two are confined together, the weaker will be attacked
-and devoured. They take readily to the water, and instances of moles
-observed in the act of crossing streams are numerous.
-
-It is a curious fact, but the mole is unknown in Ireland; yet it ranges
-from England in the west through Asia to Japan.
-
-Careful observation seems to have shown that with the common mole males are
-more numerous than females. Whether this is true of other species remains
-to be seen. The moles of North America form a group distinct from those of
-the Old World, though closely allied thereto. The WEB-FOOTED and the
-STAR-NOSED MOLES are the most interesting of the American forms.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-COMMON MOLE.
-
-Note that this mole is changing its coat.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Croydon._
-
-COMMON MOLE.
-
-The skeleton is here revealed by the Röntgen rays.]
-
-Speaking of the prodigious speed with which these animals burrow their way
-through the ground, Dr. Hart Merriam remarks that in a single night, after
-rain, they have been known to make a gallery several yards in length, and
-that he had himself traced a fresh tunnel for nearly a hundred yards. As he
-says, we can only appreciate the magnitude of this labour by comparison,
-and "computation shows that, in order to perform equivalent work, a man
-would have to excavate in a single night a tunnel thirty-seven miles long,
-and of sufficient size to easily admit of the passage of his body."
-
-The star-nosed mole is peculiar in that its nose is surrounded by a ring of
-finger-like processes, forming a kind of rosette, which probably acts as a
-highly sensitive organ of touch; furthermore, it differs from other moles
-in the great length of its tail, which is nearly as long as its body. Like
-the mole, this species makes its way through the ground with great speed.
-
-Beneficial as moles undoubtedly are in destroying worms and obnoxious
-insects, yet they are regarded as a pest both by the farmer and gardener.
-That there is some justification for this dislike must be admitted; for the
-farmer suffers in that, in the search for food, crops are damaged by
-cutting through the roots of plants--the gardener not only for the same
-reason, but also because the ridges and hillocks which they make in their
-course disfigure the paths and beds of a well-kept garden.
-
-The nearest allies of the moles are the curious aquatic DESMANS of Russia,
-and the SHREWS, some of which are quite mole-like in form, owing to their
-having adopted a similar mode of life.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-GOLDEN MOLE.
-
-This is found only in South Africa. The name is derived from the wonderful
-metallic lustre of the fur: the brilliancy of the hues is intensified by
-immersion in spirit.]
-
-The BURROWING SHREWS are not the only forms in the great group which have
-assumed a mole-like shape, for allied to the hedgehog-like TENRECS is a
-remarkable animal known as the GOLDEN MOLE. The mole-like shape of the body
-of this animal is another instance of adaptation to a similar mode of life.
-The fore limb of the golden mole is provided with huge claws, which are
-used for digging purposes; the hand is not broadened out spade-like, as in
-the common mole, the claws rendering this unnecessary.
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XI.
-
-_THE ELEPHANT, TAPIR, HYRAX, AND RHINOCEROS._
-
-----
-
-THE ELEPHANT.
-
-BY F. C. SELOUS.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by M. E. F. Baird, Esq._
-
-A FINE TUSKER.
-
-The male Indian elephant has smaller tusks than the African species.]
-
-At once the mightiest and most majestic of all terrestrial mammals, the
-elephant appeals to the imagination more forcibly than any other living
-animal, not only on account of its great sagacity and the strangeness and
-singularity of its outward appearance, but also because it is such an
-obvious link between the world of to-day and the dim and distant past of
-Pleiocene and Miocene times.
-
-There are two existing species of elephant, the AFRICAN and the ASIATIC,
-the latter, from the structure of its molar teeth and the shape of its
-skull, appearing to be very nearly related to the MAMMOTH, which lived upon
-the earth in comparatively recent times--geologically speaking--and was
-undoubtedly contemporary with man in Europe during the Stone Age.
-
-There are very considerable differences both in the external appearance and
-also in the habits of the two existing forms of elephant. In the African
-species the forehead is more convex and the eye relatively larger than in
-its Asiatic cousin; and whilst the ears of the latter are only of moderate
-size, those of the former are so large that they at once arrest the
-attention, and are one of that animal's most remarkable external
-characteristics. Both sexes of the African species, with few exceptions,
-carry well-developed tusks, but in the Asiatic form the tusks of the
-females are so small as scarcely to protrude beyond the jaws. In Asia, too,
-tuskless bull elephants are common, whilst males of the African species
-without tusks are extremely rare. The latter species has but three nails on
-the hind foot, the Asiatic elephant four. In the African species the middle
-of the back is hollowed, the shoulder being the highest point, whilst in
-the Asiatic elephant the back is arched, and the top of the shoulder lower
-than the highest part of the back. The extremity of the proboscis is also
-different, in the two species, the African elephant being furnished with
-two nearly equal-sized prolongations, the one on the front, the other on
-the hinder margin, with which small objects can be grasped as with the
-finger and thumb of the human hand, whilst in the Asiatic species the
-finger-like process on the upper margin of the end of the trunk is
-considerably longer than that on the under-side. In external appearance the
-skin of the African elephant is darker in colour and rougher in texture
-than that of the Asiatic form. The molar teeth of the former animal are,
-too, of much coarser construction, with fewer and larger plates and thicker
-enamel than in the latter, which would naturally lead one to suppose that
-the African elephant is accustomed to eat coarser, harder food than the
-Asiatic species. This supposition is borne out by fact; for whilst the
-Asiatic elephant feeds mainly upon grass, the leaves and fruit of the wild
-plantain, and the young shoots of the bamboo, together with the leaves,
-twigs, and bark of certain trees, the African species never eats grass,
-and, although very fond of certain kinds of soft and succulent food, such
-as wild fruits and the inner bark of certain trees, is constantly engaged
-in chewing up the roots and branches of trees as thick as a man's wrist for
-the sake of the sap and bark, the woody portions being rejected after
-having been reduced to pulp. The Asiatic elephant appears to be far less
-tolerant of exposure to the heat of the sun than the African; and whilst
-the latter may often be found standing at rest or sleeping throughout the
-hottest hours of the day in long grass or scrubby bush of a height not
-sufficient to afford any protection from the sun to the whole of the upper
-portion of the head and body, the former, when in a wild state, is said to
-always seek the shade of the densest forests it can find during hot
-weather.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Fratelli Alinari_] [_Florence._
-
-A YOUNG INDIAN ELEPHANT.
-
-This animal has been trained to "salute" by raising its trunk and foot. It
-has lost the end of its tail.]
-
-The Asiatic elephant often lies down when resting and sleeping. This is in
-marked contrast to the African species, which, if it ever does lie down at
-all, except to roll in mud or rub itself against an ant-heap, can only do
-so very rarely, since in all my experience, though I have seen some
-thousands of African elephants standing sleeping during the heat of the
-day, I have never yet seen one of these animals lying down, nor found the
-impress in the ground where one had been so lying.
-
-When excited and charging, both species of elephant raise their heads and
-cock their ears, which in the African animal stand out at such a time like
-two sails, and, being each upwards of 3½ feet in breadth, cover, together
-with the animal's head, an expanse of fully 10 feet. The Asiatic elephant
-is said to remain mute whilst charging, and to hold its trunk tightly
-curled up between its tusks. The African elephant, on the other hand,
-usually accompanies a charge with a constant succession of short, sharp
-trumpeting screams. Sometimes, though rarely, however, animals of this
-species remain mute whilst charging, but they never, I believe, coil their
-trunks up under their throats. Often an African elephant will swing round
-for a charge with a loud scream and trunk held high in the air; but in my
-experience, when settling down to a chase, it drops its trunk and holds it
-pointing straight down in front of its chest.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by M. E. F. Baird, Esq._
-
-THE CHIEF OF CHIENGMAI'S CARRIAGE.
-
-This victoria was drawn by a young Indian elephant.]
-
-In the southern portions of the African Continent the average standing
-height at the shoulder of full-grown bull elephants ranges from 10 feet to
-10 feet 6 inches, though individuals have doubtless been met with in those
-districts which have much exceeded these dimensions. In North Central
-Africa the average standing height appears to be some inches higher,
-approaching 11 feet, and in those districts it is quite possible that
-individuals exist which exceed 12 feet in height. African cow elephants
-stand from 8 feet to 8 feet 6 inches at the shoulder. The Asiatic species
-is considerably smaller than the African, the average height of full-grown
-males not exceeding 9 feet, though certain individuals now and then attain
-to a much greater size, as is indicated by the fact that there is a mounted
-skeleton of an Indian elephant in the Museum at Calcutta which stands 11
-feet 3 inches at the shoulder. In the size of its tusks the African
-elephant far surpasses the Asiatic species. In India a pair of tusks
-measuring 5 feet in length and weighing 70 lbs. the pair would, I think, be
-considered large, though an elephant was killed by Sir Victor Brooke in the
-Garo Hills with a single tusk measuring 8 feet in length, 17 inches in
-circumference, and weighing 90 lbs., and a few tusks even exceeding these
-dimensions have been recorded. In Southern Africa the tusks of full-grown
-bull elephants usually weigh from 80 to 120 lbs. the pair, and measure
-about 6 feet in length, with a circumference of from 16 to 18 inches; but
-these weights and measurements have often been much exceeded, and in my own
-experience I have known of two pairs of elephants' tusks having been
-obtained south of the Zambesi, each of which weighed slightly over 300
-lbs., each tusk measuring upwards of 9 feet in length, whilst a single tusk
-brought from the neighbourhood of Lake Ngami in 1873 weighed 174 lbs. The
-average weight of cow-elephant tusks in Southern Africa is from 20 to 30
-lbs. the pair, but I have seen the tusk of a cow elephant killed in
-Matabililand which weighed 39 lbs. and measured over 6 feet in length,
-whilst its fellow almost equalled it in size and weight. In North Central
-Africa, according to Sir Samuel Baker, the tusks of full-grown elephants
-average about 140 lbs. the pair, and tusks weighing upwards of 100 lbs.
-each are not at all uncommon, whilst many of a much greater size have been
-obtained.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by M. E. F. Baird, Esq._
-
-TIMBER-ELEPHANTS.
-
-This photograph was taken at Lakou, in Upper Siam. Notice the large teak
-log in the foreground.]
-
-Until quite recently a tusk in the possession of Sir E. G. Loder, which
-weighs 184 lbs. and measures 9 feet 5 inches in length, with a
-circumference of 22½ inches, was supposed to be the largest in existence;
-but in 1899 two tusks were obtained near Kilimanjaro, in East Central
-Africa, both of which much exceed this weight. These enormous tusks were at
-first stated to be a pair taken from a single elephant; but though nearly
-equal in weight they are said to be differently shaped, and as their
-history is not yet fully known it is possible, though not probable, that
-they originally belonged to two different elephants. The larger of these
-two tusks has recently been purchased for the collection of the British
-Museum (Natural History), where it may now be seen. It weighs 228 lbs.,
-measures 10 feet 2½ inches on the outside curve, and 24¼ in girth at the
-thickest part. The tusks of cow elephants are also considerably larger and
-heavier on the average in East Central and North Central Africa than in the
-southern portions of the continent.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by M. E. F. Baird, Esq._
-
-FEMALE INDIAN ELEPHANT DRAGGING TEAK.
-
-The teak logs are floated down the Burmese rivers and dragged out by
-elephants.]
-
-At the present time the Asiatic elephant is found in a wild state in most
-of the forest-covered tracts of India, Ceylon, Assam, Burma, Siam,
-Cochin-China, Sumatra, and Borneo; whilst the African species, although it
-has been hunted out of large tracts of country in South and South-western
-Africa, still inhabits the greater part of the continent south of the
-Sahara, and in many districts of Central Africa appears to be
-extraordinarily abundant. In the Cape Colony two herds still exist under
-the protection of the Government.
-
-As might be expected from the greater length of its legs, and consequent
-longer stride, the African elephant is admitted by those who have had
-experience of both species to be a more active animal than its Asiatic
-cousin. Speaking of the walking and running powers of the Indian elephant,
-that great authority Mr. Sanderson says that "the only pace of the elephant
-is the walk, capable of being increased to a fast shuffle of about fifteen
-miles an hour for very short distances. It can neither trot, canter, nor
-gallop. It does not move with the legs on the same side, but nearly so. A
-very good runner might keep out of an elephant's way on a smooth piece of
-turf, but on the ground in which they are generally met with any attempt to
-escape by flight, unless supplemented by concealment, would be unavailing."
-This description exactly coincides with my own experience of the African
-elephant, except that I think that animals of the latter species,
-especially cows and young bulls, are capable of getting up a pace of at
-least twenty miles an hour, and keeping it up for from 100 to 200 yards,
-when charging.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by M. E. F. Baird Esq._
-
-INDIAN ELEPHANTS BATHING.
-
-These animals love a bath, and will walk on the bottom of a deep river with
-only their trunks raised above the water.]
-
-In disposition both African and Asiatic elephants are as a rule timid
-animals, and, excepting in the case of males of the latter species when
-suffering from sexual excitement, are always inclined to shun danger. I
-have never heard of male elephants of the African species becoming savage
-and aggressive at any season of the year; indeed, old bulls always appeared
-to me to be less inclined to charge than cows or young bulls. The eyesight
-of the elephant--of the African species at least--is bad, and his hearing
-not particularly acute; but his olfactory nerves are probably more highly
-developed than in any other animal, and, aided by this exquisite sense of
-smell, he will avoid a human being if possible. But if elephants are
-attacked and wounded, they become savage and dangerous animals; and the
-charge of an African elephant, coming on with the great ears outspread, to
-the accompaniment of a quick succession of short, sharp trumpeting screams,
-besides being very sudden and rapid, is very disconcerting to the nerves of
-a man unaccustomed to such experiences. I remember the case of a young
-Englishman who was killed in Matabililand many years ago by the first
-elephant he had ever seen. This animal--an old bull--had retired, after
-having been wounded, into a small but dense patch of thorn-bush, into which
-its pursuer thought it unadvisable to follow on horseback. He therefore
-left his horse, and advanced on foot towards the cluster of trees amongst
-which the elephant was concealed. The latter, having either seen or smelt
-the approaching enemy, at once charged out, screaming loudly; and the young
-hunter, instead of standing his ground and firing at the advancing monster,
-lost his presence of mind, and, turning, ran for his horse; but before he
-reached it he was overtaken and killed. It seemed to the friend who found
-his body (he was close at hand shooting another elephant at the time, and
-pieced the story together from the tracks of man, horse, and elephant) that
-the victim had first been struck in the back of the head by one of his
-pursuer's tusks--at any rate his skull had been smashed to pieces and
-emptied of its brains. Then the elephant had rushed upon him where he fell,
-and, after first having driven a tusk right through his chest and deep into
-the ground, had stamped him into a bloody pulp with his huge feet. A waggon
-was brought the same night, and the mangled body carried to the hunter's
-camp on the banks of the Ramokwebani, where it was buried.
-
-The strength of the elephant is proverbial; and in India and Burma, where
-this animal has for ages past been trained in the service of man, this
-power is habitually made use of in moving and stacking large baulks of
-timber, or in dragging heavy guns through muddy ground or up steep ascents.
-In Africa the traveller is often astonished at the size of trees which have
-been uprooted and overturned by elephants. These trees, however, have no
-taproot, and have not therefore a very firm hold in the ground, especially
-during the rainy season, when the ground is soft. At this time of year
-large trees are butted down by elephants, which push against their stems
-with the thick part of their trunks, and get them on the swing, until the
-roots become loosened and the trees are at last overturned. Small trees of
-2 or 3 inches in diameter, as well as branches, they break off with their
-trunks. In 1878 a tuskless bull elephant--I met the same animal again in
-1885, and he is the only African bull elephant without tusks I have ever
-seen--killed a native hunter in Mashonaland. This man, a big powerful Zulu
-and a great friend of my own, was torn into three pieces. I imagine that,
-after having caught him, the elephant held the unfortunate man down with
-his foot or knee, and then, twisting his trunk round his body, tore him
-asunder--surely a terrible exhibition of strength.
-
-The elephant is a very slow-growing and long-lived animal, not arriving at
-maturity until upwards of thirty years of age; and since cases are on
-record of elephants having lived for upwards of 130 years in captivity in
-India, it is probable that in a wild state these animals, both in Asia and
-Africa, often attain to an age of 150 years. The female elephant produces,
-as a rule, but one calf at birth, the period of gestation lasting from
-eighteen to nearly twenty-two months. The mammæ of the cow elephant are
-placed between the fore legs, and the new-born calf sucks with its mouth,
-holding its trunk turned back over its head. I have seen elephant calves so
-engaged.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. W. McLellan_] [_Highbury._
-
-AFRICAN ELEPHANT.
-
-The difference in profile between this and the Indian species is
-noticeable. The forehead is receding and the ears much larger in the
-African species.]
-
-Although there is no reason to doubt that the African elephant is as
-intelligent as the Asiatic species, its domestication has never been
-attempted by the Negro or Bantu races of Africa. It is believed, however,
-that the African elephant was in ancient times domesticated by the
-Carthaginians, and used by them in their wars with the Romans. The opinion,
-too, is generally held that the elephants with which Hannibal crossed the
-Alps were of the African species, as well as those which, after the
-conquest of Carthage, were used in the Roman amphitheatres and military
-pageants. On the other hand, it is well to remember that the late Mr. W.
-Cotton Oswell, who had had great experience both with African and Asiatic
-elephants, wrote as follows on this subject: "I believe some people suppose
-the Carthaginians tamed and used the African elephant; they could hardly
-have had mahouts Indian fashion, for there is no marked depression in the
-nape of the neck for a seat, and the hemming of the ears when erected would
-have half smothered them. My knowledge does not allow me to raise any
-argument on this point; but might not the same market have been open to the
-dwellers at Carthage as was afterwards to Mithridates, who, I suppose, drew
-his supply from India? I know in the representations of elephants on the
-medals of Faustina and of Septimus Severus the ears are African, though the
-bodies and heads are Indian; but these were struck nearly 400 years after
-Carthaginian times, when the whole known world had been ransacked by the
-Romans for beasts for their public shows; and I still think it possible
-that the Carthaginians--the great traders and colonisers of old--may have
-obtained elephants through some of their colonies from India."
-
-An interesting example of the intelligence of these animals can be seen any
-day at the London Zoological Gardens. A large African elephant restores to
-his would-be entertainers all the biscuits, whole or broken, which strike
-the bars and fall alike out of his reach and theirs in the space between
-the barrier and his cage. He points his trunk at the biscuits, and blows
-them hard along the floor to the feet of the persons who have thrown them.
-He clearly knows what he is doing, because, if the biscuits do not travel
-far enough, he gives them a harder blow.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-MALE AFRICAN ELEPHANT DRINKING.
-
-Note the great size of the tusks and base of the trunk.]
-
-
-TAPIRS AND HYRAX.
-
-BY W. P. PYCRAFT, A.L.S., F.Z.S.
-
-TAPIRS are odd-looking creatures, and, strange as it may seem, are
-nevertheless related on the one hand to the rhinoceroses, and on the other
-to the horses. They are furthermore extremely interesting animals, because
-they have undergone less modification of form than any other members of the
-group to which they belong. This we know because fossil tapirs, belonging
-to a very remote period of the world's history, are practically
-indistinguishable from those now living.
-
-The general form of the body may perhaps be described as pig-like; the
-head, too, suggests that animal. But the pig's snout is here produced into
-a short proboscis, or trunk. The feet are quite unlike those of the pig,
-and resemble those of the rhinoceros. The fore feet have each four and the
-hind feet three toes; these are all encased in large horse-like hoofs. The
-tail is reduced to a mere stump.
-
-Tapirs are shy and inoffensive animals, living in the seclusion of dense
-forests in the neighbourhood of water, in which element they are quite at
-home; indeed, it is said that they will frequently dive and walk along the
-bed of the river. They are also fond of wallowing in mud, partly, it is
-believed, that they may encase themselves with it as a protection against
-the annoyance of flies. They feed on shoots of trees, bushes, leaves, and
-fallen fruits, foraging during the evening, and possibly far into the
-night.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-MALAYAN TAPIR.
-
-The largest of all the tapirs. Is easily distinguished from the American
-tapirs by the patch of white on the middle of its body.]
-
-Tapirs are hunted by the natives for the sake of their thick hides, which
-are cut into thongs for reins and bridles. The flesh also is esteemed by
-some. There are three methods of capture. In South America the lasso is
-used with occasional success. But when not foiled by undergrowth, the
-hunter often loses his victim by reason of the violence and force of its
-rush, which snaps the thong. The Gauchos intercept it with dogs on its way
-to the water, when it will fight furiously, and many dogs may be killed
-before its dispatch is accomplished. Others imitate its peculiar, shrill
-call, and shoot it on its approach in answer thereto. Captives are easily
-tamed, and may be seen walking about the streets in many South American
-towns. They wander into the forest by day, returning in the evening to be
-fed, and are said to display great affection. On account of their great
-strength, it has been suggested that such captives should be used as beasts
-of burden.
-
-Except the MALAYAN TAPIR, which is black and white, tapirs are black or
-dark brown in colour, and but scantily clothed with hair; but the young, it
-is interesting to note, are spotted and striped with white or fawn-colour
-on a dark ground, a coloration recalling that of the wild pig.
-
-There are five different species of tapir. Their geographical distribution
-is remarkable, four species being South American, and one belonging to the
-Malayan region. But far back in the world's history, as we know from
-fossils, tapirs roamed over the warm and temperate regions of Europe, and
-their remains have been found in China and the United States. Thus the
-intervening gaps existing to-day have been made by the extinction of these
-intermediate species.
-
-By nature the tapir appears to be a harmless and inoffensive animal, flying
-even before the smallest dog. Occasionally, however, it displays great
-courage and ferocity, and this appears to be especially the case with
-females deprived of their young. At such times they will charge with great
-spirit, and knock down, trample on, and bite their victim after the fashion
-of wild swine.
-
-Man alone excepted, the most deadly foe of the AMERICAN TAPIR is the
-jaguar, as is the tiger of the Malay species. The American tapir often gets
-rid of the jaguar by rushing at full speed into the dense jungle, thus
-sweeping its assailant from its back, the jaguar's claws finding but an
-insecure hold on its victim's thick hide. Tapirs are often found bearing
-scars all over the back, witnessing the terrible nature of the wounds
-received at such times.
-
-That the tapir is a comparatively unknown animal is partly accounted for by
-the fact that it is but little sought after by the big-game hunter--who
-finds more excitement in pursuit of its larger relative the rhinoceros--and
-partly, perhaps, owing to its inhabiting regions comparatively little
-visited by Europeans. Nevertheless, the tapir is an animal of quite
-peculiar interest, having undergone but little change during long ages,
-whilst its ally the horse has effected in the same time a complete
-transformation, not only in its general shape, but more especially in its
-teeth and feet. The gradual steps by which this transformation has been
-brought about we can trace through certain fossil forms, of which we can
-say little here.
-
-Amongst these fossils occur remains of an animal bearing a very strong
-resemblance to the living tapir, but which, strangely enough, is not really
-so closely related thereto as to the horses. It does not, however, stand in
-the direct line of descent of these latter, but must be regarded as
-representing a collateral branch thereof. The occurrence of this distinct
-tapir-like animal is of great scientific interest.
-
-The short, stout legs and spreading toes of the living tapirs,
-rhinoceroses, and ancestral horse are admirably adapted for plodding
-deliberately over soft and yielding ground, such as is afforded by
-reed-beds and banks of rivers, or the shady depths of forests. Speed in
-such surroundings is not necessary, food in plenty being always at hand,
-and escape from enemies being sought by concealment in thick herbage rather
-than flight. With a migration to drier and higher plains, the spreading
-foot has undergone a change. The short legs and numerous toes have given
-place to long ones, and of the several toes growth has taken place in one
-only--the third; whilst the others have slowly dwindled, till eventually
-only traces of the second and fourth remain, as in the modern horse. Thus
-has a firmer support over hard, unyielding ground been brought about, and
-great speed gained. The animals with this type of foot (in which the third
-is the largest toe) are known as the Odd-toed Hoofed Animals. The pigs,
-sheep, deer, and oxen have gained an equally efficient foot, yet retaining
-four toes. Of these, the third and fourth are equal in size, and serve as a
-support to the body, whilst the second and fifth have now become
-functionless, and do not reach the ground. This type of foot characterises
-that group of the hoofed animals known as the Even-toed.
-
-
-THE HYRAX.
-
-This is one of the most remarkable of living mammals, and one of the
-greatest puzzles to zoologists, having no near living relatives. Though
-bearing some resemblance to an earless rabbit, it really belongs to the
-hoofed animals, and amongst them comes perhaps somewhat nearer the
-rhinoceros than to any other animal. It is the CONEY of the Bible. It
-inhabits the rocky districts of Syria and parts of Africa. It is a
-vegetable-feeder, and very wary. About a dozen species are known.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-COMMON AMERICAN TAPIR.
-
-This tapir inhabits tropical America. It is a nocturnal animal, frequenting
-the depths of shady forests in the neighbourhood of water, to which it
-frequently resorts for the purpose of bathing, or as a refuge from
-pursuit.]
-
-
-THE RHINOCEROS.
-
-BY F. C. SELOUS.
-
-Of the five existing species of RHINOCEROS, three are found in Asia, whilst
-two are inhabitants of Africa.
-
-Of the three Asiatic species, two, the INDIAN and the JAVAN, are
-one-horned, and have a single pair of broad incisor teeth in the upper jaw,
-and a pair of sharp-edged and pointed tusks in the lower, the nasal bones
-being long and narrow, and terminating in a point. In both these species
-the skin is hairless (except for tufts or fringes at the extremity of the
-tail and on the edges of the ears), and is arranged in shield-like folds
-over the body. The arrangement of these folds, however, differs somewhat in
-the two species, and the large round tubercles with which the skin of the
-great Indian rhinoceros is profusely studded are wanting in the Javan
-species.
-
-The INDIAN RHINOCEROS inhabits the Terai at the foot of the Himalaya from
-Bhutan to Nepal, and is said to be very abundant in Assam and the Bhutan
-Dooars. It frequents swampy ground, and lives amongst jungles and dense
-growths of reeds and grass, which attain a height sometimes of 20 feet, and
-cover vast areas of ground in the valley of the Brahmaputra and other
-rivers.
-
-Owing to the nature of the country in which it lives, the Indian rhinoceros
-cannot often be hunted with much prospect of success, except with the aid
-of elephants, which sagacious animals are not only employed to carry the
-hunters, but are also used to beat the great grass jungles in which the
-rhinoceroses lie hidden, and drive them towards the guns.
-
-Despite its great size and strength, the Indian rhinoceros seems to be
-regarded as, in general, a timid and inoffensive animal, and even when
-wounded it seldom charges home. Elephants, however, appear to be as a rule
-nervous when in the near proximity of rhinoceroses, perhaps objecting to
-the smell of those animals. When the Indian rhinoceros does make good its
-charge against either man or elephant, it cuts and rips its enemy with its
-teeth, and makes little use of its horn as an offensive weapon.
-
-The Indian rhinoceros is said to live principally, if not entirely, on
-grass and reeds. As a rule it is a solitary animal, but sometimes several
-are found living in a comparatively small extent of grass-covered plain.
-
-Large males of this species will stand from 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet at
-the shoulder, and they are enormously bulky. Both sexes carry
-well-developed horns, which, however, do not usually attain a length of
-upwards of 12 inches. There is a specimen in the British Museum measuring
-19 inches, and it is believed that in very exceptional instances a length
-of 2 feet has been attained.
-
-The JAVAN RHINOCEROS, though it has been called the Lesser Indian
-Rhinoceros, is said by a late authority--Mr. C. E. M. Russell--to stand
-about the same height at the shoulder as the Indian species. It is found in
-the Sunderbunds of Eastern Bengal, and has been met with in the Sikhim
-Terai and in Assam, ranging eastwards through Burma and the Malay Peninsula
-to Sumatra, Java, and Borneo.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-HAIRY-EARED SUMATRAN RHINOCEROS.
-
-This species is found in Eastern Bengal and in the Malay Peninsula and
-adjacent large islands.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. W. McLellan_] [_Highbury._
-
-GREAT INDIAN RHINOCEROS.
-
-The largest land mammal of the East after the elephant.]
-
-But little appears to be known of the habits of this species of rhinoceros.
-Although it is found in the swampy grass-covered plains of the Sunderbunds,
-its more usual habitat seems to be hilly forest-covered country, and both
-in Burma and Java it ascends to a height of several thousand feet above
-sea-level. It feeds principally upon leaves and the young shoots of trees
-and bushes. In disposition it is timid and inoffensive. Only the male
-carries a horn, which, being very short, is a very poor trophy for a
-sportsman.
-
-The third Asiatic species of rhinoceros, known as the SUMATRAN, is the
-smallest of all living rhinoceroses. This species carries two horns, and
-its skin, which is very rough, is usually thinly covered with hair of a
-dark brown colour and of considerable length. The folds in the skin of the
-Sumatran rhinoceros are not nearly so well developed as in its
-single-horned relatives, and the one behind the shoulders is alone
-continued over the back. Although furnished with tusks in the lower jaw,
-the small pair of incisor teeth, which in the other two Asiatic
-rhinoceroses are always present in front of these tusks, are wanting in the
-Sumatran species.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-GREAT INDIAN RHINOCEROS.
-
-This species inhabits the grass jungles of North-eastern India.]
-
-The Sumatran rhinoceros is rare in Assam, but is found in Burma and the
-Malay Peninsula, as well as in Siam, Sumatra, and Borneo. The two horns of
-this species are placed at some distance apart. Although they are as a rule
-very short, the front horn occasionally grows to a considerable length,
-sweeping backwards in a graceful curve.
-
-In height adult males of the Sumatran species stand on the average from 4
-feet to 4½ feet at the shoulder, and females sometimes not more than 3 feet
-8 inches.
-
-Like the Javan rhinoceros, the Sumatran species is by preference an
-inhabitant of hilly, forest-covered country, and browses on the leaves and
-shoots of trees and bushes. It is a timid and inoffensive animal, soon
-becoming tame in captivity. Its flesh is said to be much appreciated by the
-Dyaks of Borneo; and as its horns are of value for export to China, where
-they are used for medicinal purposes, it has of late years very much
-decreased in numbers in the province of Sarawak, but is more plentiful in
-Central and North Borneo. Living as it does in dense jungle, it is an
-animal which is seldom seen by European sportsmen, and its habits in a wild
-state have never been yet very closely studied.
-
-Turning to the two species of rhinoceros which inhabit the continent of
-Africa, both are double-horned, and neither furnished with incisor teeth,
-the nasal bones being thick, rounded, and truncated in front. Both, too,
-are smooth-skinned and entirely hairless, except on the edge of the ears
-and extremity of the tail, which are fringed or tufted.
-
-Of the two African species, the WHITE or SQUARE-MOUTHED RHINOCEROS is the
-larger and the rarer. Until quite recently the range of this huge
-ungainly-looking animal, the biggest of all terrestrial mammals after the
-elephant, was supposed to be entirely confined to the southern portions of
-the African Continent; for although from time to time horns had found their
-way to Zanzibar which seemed referable to the square-mouthed rhinoceros,
-the fact of the existence of the white rhinoceros in any part of Africa
-north of the Zambesi remained in doubt until a female was shot in the year
-1900, in the neighbourhood of Lado, on the Upper Nile, by Captain A. St. H.
-Gibbons, who brought its skin, skull, and horns to England. The fact,
-however, that the white rhinoceros has never been encountered by any other
-traveller in Central Africa seems to show that the animal is either very
-rare in those districts, or that it has an exceedingly limited range.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. B. Hausburg, Esq._
-
-BLACK AFRICAN RHINOCEROSES.
-
-A splendid snapshot of two black African rhinoceroses taken on the open
-veldt. They were afterwards shot by the party.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. B. Hausburg, Esq._
-
-ONE OF THE SAME RHINOCEROSES DEAD.
-
-This picture gives some idea of the size of the commonest surviving
-species.]
-
-In the early years of the nineteenth century the square-mouthed or white
-rhinoceros was found in large numbers over the whole of South Africa from
-the Orange River to the Zambesi, except in the waterless portions of the
-Kalahari Desert, or those parts of the country which are covered with
-rugged stony hills or dense jungle.
-
-Speaking of his journey in 1837 through the western part of what is now the
-Transvaal Colony, Captain (afterwards Sir) Cornwallis Harris wrote: "On our
-way from the waggons to a hill not half a mile distant, we counted no less
-than twenty-two of the white species of rhinoceros, and were compelled in
-self-defence to slaughter four. On one occasion I was besieged in a bush by
-three at once, and had no little difficulty in beating off the assailants."
-Even so lately as thirty years ago the white rhinoceros was still to be met
-with in fair numbers in Ovampoland and other districts of Western South
-Africa, whilst it was quite plentiful in all the uninhabited parts of
-Eastern South Africa from Zululand to the Zambesi. In 1872 and 1873, whilst
-elephant-hunting in the uninhabited parts of Matabililand, I encountered
-white rhinoceroses almost daily, and often saw several in one day. At the
-present time, however, unless it should prove to be numerous in some as yet
-unexplored districts of North Central Africa, this strange and interesting
-animal must be counted one of the rarest of existing mammals, and in
-Southern Africa I fear it must soon become extinct. A few still exist
-amongst the wild loquat groves of Northern Mashonaland, and there are also
-a few surviving in Zululand; but I fear that even with the most rigid
-protection they are too few in number to restock the country. They have a
-better chance, I think, of increasing in numbers in Zululand than in
-Mashonaland, in which latter country it is at present impossible to afford
-them any protection either from natives or Europeans.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. W. McLellan_] [_Highbury._
-
-RHINOCEROS BATHING.
-
-All the Asiatic species of rhinoceros are fond of bathing and wallowing in
-mud.]
-
-A full-grown bull white rhinoceros stands from 6 feet 6 inches to 6 feet 9
-inches at the shoulder, and is very massively built, with short, stout
-legs. The head is very much elongated, and the mouth square, like that of
-an ox. When white rhinoceroses were still plentiful, very considerable
-differences were observable in the length and shape of their horns. The
-anterior horns of full-grown bulls might measure from 18 inches to 40
-inches in length; those of cows from 24 inches to 60 inches. The longest
-horn known--that of a cow--which was brought from South Africa by the
-well-known hunter the late Roualeyn Gordon Cumming, measures 62½ inches
-over the curve. As a rule, the front horn of the white rhinoceros curved
-slightly backwards, but was often straight or bent slightly forwards, and
-sometimes curved strongly backwards. The posterior horn varied from a few
-inches to 2 feet in length.
-
-The white rhinoceros lived in families, usually a bull, cow, and calf being
-found together; but there might be two or even three calves of different
-ages, and of which the youngest alone would be suckling, living with the
-father and mother. In the early South African spring (September and
-October), when the young green herbage was just sprouting after the first
-rains, two or three families of white rhinoceroses might be seen feeding in
-close proximity, presenting the appearance of a herd; but I fancy the
-several families of these animals had only been brought together for the
-sake of the young green grass. In Southern Africa the white rhinoceros
-lived entirely on grass, and I have never seen any evidence of their having
-eaten anything else. When either walking, trotting, or galloping, the white
-rhinoceros always carried its nose close to the ground. A calf always
-preceded its mother, and she appeared to guide it by holding the point of
-her horn on the little creature's rump; and in all changes of pace, no
-matter how sudden, this position was always maintained. The white
-rhinoceros was easily killed by a shot through the heart or through both
-lungs, but would travel very long distances, and probably, as a rule,
-ultimately recover from wounds in other parts of the body. They could
-travel at a great rate and for a considerable distance with a broken fore
-leg or shoulder, but if a hind leg were broken they were rendered almost
-immediately helpless. In disposition they were sluggish and inoffensive
-animals, lying asleep in the shade of trees or bushes during the heat of
-the day, and coming to the water to drink at night or often before sundown
-in parts of the country where they had not been much molested. When
-disturbed, white rhinoceroses would go off at a swift trot, but if chased
-on horseback would break into a gallop, which they were capable of
-maintaining for a considerable distance, and at a wonderful pace for so
-large and heavy an animal. The meat of the white rhinoceros was most
-excellent, the part in greatest favour amongst hunters being the hump on
-the back of the neck in front of the shoulder, which was cut off whole and
-roasted in the skin in a hole dug in the ground.
-
-The colour of the so-called white rhinoceros is dark grey. The second
-species of African rhinoceros, which is also dark grey in colour, is known
-as the BLACK or PREHENSILE-LIPPED RHINOCEROS.
-
-Less than a hundred years ago the range of this fast-disappearing species
-extended from the north-western districts of the Cape Colony to Abyssinia,
-and at that time it must have been plentiful over almost the whole of the
-intervening country. It never seems to have penetrated into the equatorial
-forest regions of West Central Africa, where the climate is probably too
-damp to suit its requirements; for both species of African rhinoceros
-appear to like a dry climate, and not to object to very arid surroundings.
-At the same time they never wander many miles from a river or pool, and
-drink regularly every night, and in hot weather probably very often a
-second time in the early morning.
-
-In Southern Africa the black rhinoceros appears to attain to a larger size
-than in the countries farther north. To the south of the Zambesi large
-bulls of this species will stand 5 feet 8 inches at the shoulder; whilst
-the height of an adult bull, as taken by Mr. F. Jackson at Naivasha, in
-East Africa, was 5 feet 5 inches; and Mr. A. H. Neumann gives the standing
-height of another adult bull shot by himself still farther north, near Lake
-Rudolph, as only 4 feet 9 inches.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Norman B. Smith, Esq._
-
-BLACK AFRICAN RHINOCEROS.
-
-This photograph, taken by a sportsman in Africa, shows a charging
-rhinoceros just before it was shot.]
-
-It is now generally recognised that there is but one species of
-prehensile-lipped rhinoceros in Africa, though the horns, and especially
-the hinder one, differ in length and shape to such an extent that it was
-long thought that there were at least two distinct species, those with both
-horns of equal or nearly equal length having been distinguished from the
-more common form, with a comparatively short second horn, as the KEITLOA,
-this being the name in the Sechuana dialect for a prehensile-lipped
-rhinoceros with horns of equal length. Speaking on this subject, Mr. A. H.
-Neumann, who has had great experience with the black rhinoceros in East
-Africa, writes: "Length of horn is a purely fortuitous individual trait;
-and the extremely long horns (mostly of females) which have occasionally
-been obtained from traders on the east coast, and brought home, are merely
-exceptionally fine specimens, selected from among large numbers brought to
-the coast (the bulk of which, I am told, go to China to be ground up into
-medicine), and do not belong to any distinct species, nor come from any
-particular region. In proof of this contention I may mention that I have a
-40-inch horn, the owner of which I myself shot at the northern base of the
-Jambeni Range (near Kenia), in a neighbourhood where I hunted a great deal
-and saw great numbers of rhinos, and shot a good many. The vast majority
-have quite short horns--under a foot--and anything over 18 inches is
-uncommon, while a length of 30 inches or upwards is extremely rare." The
-black rhinoceros, I believe, never eats grass, but browses on the young
-shoots of trees and bushes, which are often quite leafless and seem
-excessively dry. In this way it chews up and swallows great quantities of
-dry-looking twigs, much of which passes through its stomach undigested.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-SUMATRAN RHINOCEROS.
-
-This species of rhinoceros is the smallest of the three Oriental forms. It
-has two horns.]
-
-There has been a good deal of controversy as to the character and
-disposition of the black rhinoceros, some hunters and travellers regarding
-it as most dangerous and aggressive, whilst others are inclined to take an
-almost opposite view. That some black rhinoceroses are certainly aggressive
-and therefore dangerous animals, the experiences of C. J. Anderson and W.
-Cotton Oswell in South Africa many years ago, and of many travellers and
-hunters in East Africa during the last few years, certainly prove beyond a
-doubt; and as one never knows that any particular rhinoceros, when
-encountered, may not prove to be a vicious brute, a certain amount of
-caution should be employed in approaching one of these animals. In my own
-experience I always found that black rhinoceroses ran off at once on
-getting the wind of a human being; whilst, on the other hand, if they only
-heard one approaching, they would come towards the noise, and I have often
-known them to trot up to within twenty yards of where I was standing,
-snorting and puffing loudly; but as these animals always turned round and
-went off eventually without charging, I came to the conclusion that they
-were inquisitive and very short-sighted rather than vicious. When fired
-into, a black rhinoceros goes off at a gallop--his usual pace, when
-alarmed, being a very fast trot--puffing and snorting loudly. He can gallop
-at a very great pace, considering his size and weight; but a South African
-shooting-pony can easily come up with him, or get away from him if pursued.
-In death a black rhinoceros will often sink down on its knees, and remain
-in that position, looking as if it were simply resting. When dying, it
-often gives vent to a pitiful squeal, the sound seeming very small and thin
-for so large a beast. The meat of the black rhinoceros is not
-ill-flavoured, and, if fat, very palatable; but as a rule these animals are
-very lean, and their flesh tough and coarse. The tongue, however, if well
-cooked, is always good; and the liver, if first roasted under the ashes,
-and then, after being beaten up in a native wooden mortar, cooked with rice
-and fat, makes a dish which is good enough for a hungry man.
-
-During the making of the Uganda Railway the engineers came upon something
-like a preserve of this species of rhinoceros, especially in the thick and
-waterless thorn jungle near the coast. The rhinoceros was almost the only
-animal, except the lion, which was able to penetrate the bush. As many as
-five of these animals were seen in one day when the line was being made;
-they did no injury to the coolies, other than by frightening them, and
-appeared to be stupid and by no means vigilant animals, perhaps because no
-other creature attacked them. The lion never meddles with a grown-up
-rhinoceros, though it might and probably does kill a calf occasionally,
-when the latter is no larger than a full-grown pig. The horns of some of
-these East African black rhinoceroses were of unusual length and thinness.
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XII.
-
-_THE HORSE TRIBE._
-
-----
-
-ZEBRAS AND WILD ASSES.
-
-BY F. C. SELOUS.
-
-----
-
-ZEBRAS.
-
-The Zebras have many points in common with the asses, from which latter
-group of animals they are principally distinguished by their beautifully
-striped skins. Both asses and zebras carry short, erect manes, and in both
-the upper portion of the tail is free from long hair. In both groups there
-are naked callosities on the fore legs only, whilst the head is larger in
-proportion to the size of the animal, and the ears longer than in the
-horse. In BURCHELL'S and GREVY'S ZEBRAS the hoof is intermediate between
-that of the horse and the ass; for although narrower than the hoof of the
-horse, it is broader and more rounded than that of the ass. In the TRUE
-ZEBRA, however, the hoof is thoroughly asinine in character, and the ears
-very long.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-MOUNTAIN-ZEBRA.
-
-The true or mountain zebra is now becoming scarcer than formerly. At one
-time it was to be seen in great numbers on the mountains of Cape Colony.]
-
-The TRUE or MOUNTAIN ZEBRA appears never to have had a very extended range.
-It was once an inhabitant of all the mountainous regions of the Cape Colony
-as well as of the great Drakensberg Range, and fifty years ago was also
-found amongst the rugged hills of Great Namaqualand. The mountain-zebra is
-the smallest of the group, standing only from 12 to 12½ hands at the
-shoulder. It is a most beautiful animal, the whole of the head, body, and
-limbs, with the exception of the under-parts and the insides of the thighs,
-being striped. The ground-colour of the body is white, the stripes being
-black and the muzzle bright brown. Both hind and fore legs are banded down
-to the hoofs. The stripes on the neck and body are narrower and more
-numerous than in Burchell's zebra, and on the hindquarters the median
-stripe, which runs down the centre of the back from the mane to the tail,
-is connected with the uppermost of the oblique longitudinal stripes by a
-series of short horizontal bars. The ears in this species are much larger
-than in Burchell's zebra.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-GREVY'S ZEBRA.
-
-This species of zebra comes from the Galla country, and has narrower and
-more numerous stripes than the mountain-zebra.]
-
-The true zebra seems never to have been an inhabitant of the plains, like
-all its congeners, but to have confined its range entirely to mountainous
-districts. Speaking on this point, Captain (afterwards Sir) Cornwallis
-Harris wrote upwards of sixty years ago: "This beautiful and wary animal
-never of its own free will descends into the plain, as erroneously asserted
-by all naturalists, and it therefore never herds with either of its
-congeners, the quagga and Burchell's zebra, whose habitat is equally
-limited to the open and level lowlands. Seeking the wildest and most
-sequestered spots, the haughty troops are exceedingly difficult of
-approach, as well on account of their watchful habits and extreme agility
-and fleetness of foot, as from the abrupt and inaccessible nature of their
-highland abode."
-
-An allied species, of which examples have been obtained by Mr. G. W.
-Penrice, occurs in Benguela, Portuguese West Africa.
-
-I once saw the carcase of a zebra stallion which had been sent by rail to
-the Cape Town Museum by a farmer living in the neighbourhood of the village
-of Worcester. This animal had come down from the mountains, and joined a
-troop of donkeys running on the farm. Its intrusion was, however, resented
-by a male donkey, which fought with and overpowered it, and, having seized
-it with its teeth by the back of the neck, held it fast until it was
-secured by the farmer and his men. The captured animal, however, refused
-food, and soon died, when its carcase was sent to the Cape Museum for
-preservation.
-
-GREVY'S ZEBRA is the largest and perhaps the handsomest of all the zebras.
-This fine animal is an inhabitant of Eastern Africa, its range extending
-from the central portion of Somaliland southwards to the Tana River. It
-appears to be plentiful in the country between Mount Kenia and Lake
-Rudolph, but has not, I believe, been met with to the west of that lake.
-Full-grown specimens of Grevy's zebra will stand from 14½ to 15 hands at
-the shoulder, with a girth of body immediately behind the shoulders of
-nearly 5 feet. The arrangement of the stripes in this species differs
-considerably both from that of the mountain-zebra of the Cape Colony and
-also from Burchell's zebra. The body-stripes are very narrow, numerous, and
-deep black in colour, and are separated by equally narrow white bands. The
-longitudinal stripes on the haunches are also shorter and finer than in any
-other species of zebra, and on the top of the quarters there is a white
-unstriped space on each side of the median line which runs down the centre
-of the back from the neck to the tail. The belly and insides of the thighs
-are white, and the legs banded right down to the hoofs as in the
-mountain-zebra, and the ears are as large as in that species.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Percy Ashenden._
-
-BURCHELL'S ZEBRA AT HOME.
-
-This excellent photograph was taken in South Africa, and shows these
-animals in their native state.]
-
-Grevy's zebra is, as a rule, an inhabitant of open or thinly wooded
-country, and it appears to avoid anything in the nature of thick cover. In
-Central Somaliland Major Swayne met with it on low plateaux some 2,500 feet
-above sea-level, the sides of which fell in broken ravines to the
-river-valleys. This country is described as broken and hilly, and here
-Grevy's zebras were met with in small droves of about half a dozen. In the
-country between Mount Kenia and Lake Rudolph, Mr. A. H. Neumann frequently
-met with herds of Grevy's and Burchell's zebras consorting together. The
-contrast between the two species when thus seen side by side was very
-marked, the former animals looking like horses among a flock of ponies. Mr.
-Neumann never observed stallions of the two species fighting together, but
-on the other hand he states that the stallions of the larger species fight
-viciously amongst themselves for possession of the mares. Grevy's zebras
-seem never to collect in large herds, more than twenty, or at the outside
-thirty, being very seldom seen together.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. T. Newman_] [_Berkhamsted._
-
-THE HON. WALTER ROTHSCHILD'S TEAM OF ZEBRAS.
-
-Mr. Rothschild was practically the first Englishman to break in zebras to
-harness. At one time these animals were thought to be quite untamable.]
-
-Although this species is an inhabitant of arid plains and bare stony hills
-where the herbage is short, it requires to drink daily, and is never
-therefore found at any great distance from water.
-
-The cry of Grevy's zebra is stated to be quite different from that of
-Burchell's. Mr. Neumann describes it as a very hoarse kind of grunt, varied
-by something approaching to a whistle, the grunts being long drawn out, and
-divided by the shrill whistling sound, as if the latter were made by
-drawing in the breath which had been expelled during the sustained grunt.
-
-Like all other species of the genus to which they belong, Grevy's zebras,
-especially the mares when in foal, become very fat at certain seasons of
-the year, and their flesh is much appreciated both by natives and lions,
-the latter preying on them and their smaller congeners, Burchell's zebras,
-in preference to any other animal, now that the rinderpest has almost
-exterminated the great herds of buffalo which once roamed in countless
-numbers all over East Central Africa.
-
-BURCHELL'S ZEBRA once inhabited the whole of South-western, South-eastern,
-Central, and Eastern Africa from the Orange River to Lake Rudolph; and
-though it has long ceased to exist in the more southerly portions of its
-range, it is still the most numerous and the best known of all the species
-of zebra.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Charles Reid, Wishaw, N.B._
-
-HIGHLAND CATTLE.
-
-These magnificent cattle are bred in large numbers in the Scottish
-Highlands, whence they are brought to the richer pastures of England to
-fatten for the market.]
-
-The typical form of this species was first met with early last century by
-Dr. Burchell in Southern Bechuanaland. In this form the legs are white
-below the knees and hocks, and the body-stripes do not join the median
-stripe of the belly. In examples met with farther north the legs are
-striped down to the hoofs and the body-stripes join the belly-stripe. South
-of the Zambesi all forms of Burchell's zebra seem to have faint markings,
-known as shadow-stripes, on the pale yellow ground-colour of the spaces
-between the broad black stripes. North of the Zambesi varieties are met
-with in which these shadow-stripes are wanting. As, however, the
-differences between all the various sub-species of Burchell's zebra are
-superficial and not structural, and as, moreover, the habits of these
-animals seem to be the same in every part of their widely extended range, I
-shall henceforth speak of them as one species.
-
-Burchell's zebra is without the small horizontal bars on the hindquarters,
-which in the mountain-zebra connect the dorsal stripe with the uppermost of
-the broad longitudinal bands running across the flanks. Its ears, too, are
-smaller than in the latter species, and its mane fuller. In size Burchell's
-zebra is intermediate between the mountain-zebra and Grevy's zebra,
-standing from thirteen to thirteen and a half hands at the shoulder.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Mr. William Cross_] [_Liverpool._
-
-BURCHELL'S ZEBRA, CHAPMAN'S VARIETY.
-
-This zebra is one of several trained in Mr. Cross's well-known
-establishment at Liverpool. Mr. Cross has been very successful in breaking
-in zebras, and is frequently to be seen driving a pair about Liverpool.]
-
-Where they have not been shot down, Burchell's zebras often live in large
-herds of from fifty to over a hundred together. I have met with them almost
-at the level of the sea, as in the Pungwe district of South-east Africa,
-and all over the high plateaux of the interior up to a height of 5,000 feet
-above sea-level. They are partial to sparsely forested country intersected
-by open glades, but also frequent open plains entirely devoid of trees or
-bush, having been once numerous on the open downs of the Western Transvaal
-and Orange River Colony. They never live in dense jungle, but I have met
-with them frequently amongst broken rugged hills. Burchell's zebras are
-both fleet and enduring, but I have often galloped right amongst a herd of
-them when mounted on a fast horse, and in good ground. In broken, hilly,
-and stony ground, however, no horse can live with a Burchell's zebra. The
-hoofs of this species seem made for running in rocky ground, being deeply
-hollowed and as hard as iron.
-
-I have always found the presence of Burchell's zebras a sure indication
-that water was not far distant, and it is my experience that these animals
-require to drink daily, and never wander more than a few miles away from
-the pool or river they frequent.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-MARE AND FOAL OF BURCHELL'S ZEBRA.
-
-These animals breed regularly in captivity.]
-
-This species of zebra may often be seen in Southern Africa in company with
-other animals, such as buffaloes, blue wildebeests, elands, gemsbucks, roan
-and sassaby antelopes, and ostriches, and I have upon several occasions
-seen them come up to domestic cattle and horses. They are naturally not
-very wary, and in parts of the country where they have not been much
-molested are often very inquisitive, and will come trotting quite close up
-to a caravan, provided they do not get the scent of human beings. Foals of
-this species are easily caught, and become at once very tame and confiding;
-nor do I believe that adult Burchell's zebras are such vicious animals as
-is generally supposed, since I have seen several which were very quiet and
-well broken, whilst even the half-broken animals, which were at one time
-used on one of the coach-lines in the Transvaal, did not appear very
-vicious.
-
-As with Grevy's zebra, the flesh of the species under consideration is much
-appreciated both by natives and lions. I have often seen the fat on the
-quarters of the mares quite an inch thick. It is of a dark yellow colour,
-and too rich to suit the stomach of a European. The meat is rather sweet in
-taste, but if fried with bacon not at all unpalatable.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Norman B. Smith, Esq._
-
-BURCHELL'S ZEBRA.
-
-This species is occasionally domesticated and driven in South Africa, as it
-is not injured by the tsetse fly.]
-
-Professor Ewart has lately carried out a very interesting series of
-experiments on the hybridising of zebras and horses. The results were very
-satisfactory. The zebra cross proved to be very hardy creatures, capable of
-wintering in the open on the hills of Scotland. The scientific data
-obtained were of singular value, as showing the effect of crossbreeding on
-subsequent generations of foals of the same mother. It has long been
-believed that the influence of the first sire was seen in foals of which
-other animals were subsequently the fathers. Thus, if a white mare threw a
-foal to a black stallion, it was considered that her subsequent progeny
-would occasionally be black, and instances were freely quoted to support
-this theory. The scientific name of "telegony" was given to this supposed
-influence of previous sires on future offspring. Professor Ewart's
-experiments, in which pony mares were first mated with a zebra and
-afterwards with horses, show that this theory of telegony is erroneous. The
-foals sired afterwards by ponies and horses showed no trace whatever of
-zebra stripes, but were normal pony foals, and not altered either in shape
-or disposition.
-
-The QUAGGA, which became extinct about thirty years ago, never had a very
-extended range, but in the early part of the last century it existed in
-great numbers on all the upland plains of the Cape Colony to the west of
-the Kei River, and in the open treeless country lying between the Orange
-and Vaal Rivers. North of the Vaal it appears to have been unknown.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Percy Ashenden._
-
-ZEBRAS ON TABLE MOUNTAIN.
-
-Another South African photograph. Notice Cape Town in the far distance.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-QUAGGA.
-
-This is, we believe, the only known photograph from life of this very rare
-animal. There will probably never be another, for the quagga is generally
-supposed to be extinct.]
-
-The quagga seems to have been nearly allied to Burchell's zebra--especially
-to the most southerly form of that species--but was much darker in general
-colour, being of a dark rufous brown on the neck and upper-parts of the
-body, becoming lighter on the sides, and fading off to white beneath and
-behind. Instead of being striped, too, over the whole body, it was only
-strongly banded on the head and neck, the dark brown stripes becoming
-fainter on the shoulders and dying away in spots and blotches. On the other
-hand, in size and build, in the appearance of its mane, ears, and tail, and
-in general habits, it seems to have nearly resembled its handsomer
-relative. The barking neigh "qu[=a]-h[=a]-h[=a], qu[=a]-h[=a]-h[=a]" seems,
-too, to have been the same in both species. The word "quagga" is pronounced
-in South Africa "qu[=a]-h[=a]," and is of Hottentot origin, being an
-imitation of the animal's neighing call. To-day Burchell's zebras are
-invariably called Qu[=a]-h[=a]s by both Boers and British colonists.
-
-
-WILD ASSES.
-
-The true asses are without stripes on the head, neck, and body, with the
-exception of a dark streak down the back from the mane to the tail, which
-is present in all members of the group, and in some cases a dark band
-across the shoulders and irregular markings on the legs.
-
-In Africa the wild ass is only found in the desert regions of the
-north-eastern portion of that continent, being an inhabitant of Abyssinia,
-Somaliland, Gallaland, the Soudan, and the arid districts bordering the Red
-Sea. The form of wild ass found in Somaliland differs in some respects from
-its near relative of the Nubian Desert, in that it is of a paler colour,
-has the dorsal stripe but faintly marked, and is without a cross stripe
-over the shoulders, whilst on the other hand it has numerous markings both
-on the front and hind legs. Naturalists are, however, agreed that, although
-there may be certain small differences in the colour and markings of the
-wild asses found in different localities of Northern Africa, such
-variations are of no specific value, and only one species is recognised.
-
-The AFRICAN WILD ASS is a fine animal, standing between 13 and 14 hands at
-the shoulder. It lives in small herds or families of four or five
-individuals, and is not found in mountainous districts, but frequents low
-stony hills and arid desert-wastes. It is as a general rule an alert animal
-and difficult to approach, and so fleet and enduring that, excepting in the
-case of foals and mares heavy in young, it cannot be overtaken even by a
-well-mounted horseman. Notwithstanding the scanty nature of the herbage in
-the districts they frequent, these desert-bred asses are always in good
-condition. They travel long distances to water at night, but appear to
-require to drink regularly. Their flesh is eaten by the natives of the
-Soudan. The bray of the African wild ass is said to be indistinguishable
-from that of the domesticated animal, which latter is undoubtedly descended
-from the wild African breed.
-
-In Asia three varieties of the wild ass are found, which were formerly
-believed to represent three distinct species; but since the points of
-difference between these varying forms do not appear to be of specific
-value, all the local races of the Asiatic wild ass are now considered to
-belong to one species.
-
-These wild asses have a wide range, and are met with in the deserts of Asia
-from Syria to Persia and Western India, and northwards throughout the more
-arid portions of Central Asia.
-
-In Tibet and Mongolia the wild ass inhabits the high mountain-plateaux, and
-lives at elevations of 14,000 feet and upwards above the sea. This local
-race, known as the KIANG, approaches in size to the African wild ass,
-standing 13 hands at the shoulder. It is dark reddish brown in colour, with
-a very narrow dorsal stripe. The ONAGER of Western India and Baluchistan is
-a smaller and lighter-coloured animal, with a broader stripe down the back.
-In parts of its range it is found at sea-level. In Persia and Syria a third
-local race of wild ass is found, which, however, differs from the two forms
-already enumerated in no essential particular.
-
-Like their African congeners, the wild asses of Asia are inhabitants of the
-waste places of the earth, frequenting desert plains and wind-swept
-steppes. They are said to be so fleet and enduring that, except in the case
-of a mare heavy with foal, they cannot be overtaken by a single horseman.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. W. McLellan_] [_Highbury._
-
-BALUCHI WILD ASS.
-
-This is one of the three leading varieties of the Asiatic wild ass. It is
-found in Western India and Baluchistan.]
-
-The wild asses of the desert plains of India and Persia are said to be very
-wary and difficult to approach, but the kiang of Tibet is always spoken of
-as a much more confiding animal, its curiosity being so great that it will
-frequently approach to within a short distance of any unfamiliar object,
-such as a sportsman engaged in stalking other game.
-
-Asiatic wild asses usually live in small families of four or five, but
-sometimes congregate in herds. Their food consists of various grasses in
-the low-lying portions of their range, but of woody plants on the high
-mountain-plateaux, where little else is to be obtained. Of wild asses in
-general the late Sir Samuel Baker once said: "Those who have seen donkeys
-only in their civilised state can have no conception of the wild or
-original animal; it is the perfection of activity and courage."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-MALE KIANG.
-
-The kiang comes from the Tibetan highlands. It is the largest and most
-horse-like of the wild asses of Asia.]
-
-
-DOMESTICATED HORSE, ASSES, AND MULES.
-
-BY W. P. PYCRAFT, A.L.S., F.Z.S.
-
-----
-
-THE DOMESTICATED HORSE.
-
-Like the wild camels, genuine wild horses are very generally believed to be
-extinct. The vast herds which occur to-day in a wild state in Europe,
-America, and Australia are to be regarded, say those who believe in the
-extinction theory, as descended from domesticated animals which have run
-wild. So far as the American and Australian horses are concerned, this is
-no doubt true; but of the European stocks it is by no means so certain. For
-Dr. Nehring--and he speaks with authority--assures us that the wild horses
-known as TARPANS, which occur on the steppes north of the Sea of Azoff,
-between the river Dnieper and the Caspian, are veritable wild horses, the
-last remaining members of enormous herds which occurred in Europe before
-the dawn of civilisation. These horses formed no small part of the food of
-the savage races of men then inhabiting this continent. This we know
-because of the quantities of their remains found in the caves of the south
-of France, for instance, associated with the remains of the men who hunted
-them. Further evidence of this we have in the shape of crude engravings on
-pieces of bone and deer horns, carved by the more artistic spirits amongst
-these early hunters. From these drawings we gather that the horse they
-hunted was small in size and heavy in build, with a large head and rough,
-shaggy mane and tail--a horse, in fact, almost identical with the
-above-mentioned tarpan. But long before historic records begin these horses
-must have been domesticated; man discovered that they could be even more
-useful alive than dead, and from that time forth the horse became his
-inseparable companion. "Cæsar found the Ancient Britons and Germans using
-war-chariots drawn by horses."
-
-But the stock of domestic horses drawn from this tarpan breed appears to
-have died out almost entirely, the majority of horses now existing being
-probably descendants of the native wild horses of Asia, the product of a
-still earlier domestication. In Egypt the horse, as a domestic animal,
-seems to have been preceded by the ass; but about 1900 B.C. it begins to
-appear in the rôle of a war-horse, to draw chariots. Its use, indeed, until
-the Middle Ages was almost universally as a war-horse.
-
-From the time of its domestication till to-day the history of the horse has
-been one of progress. The care and forethought of the breeder have produced
-many varieties, resulting in such extremes as the London Dray-horse, the
-Racer, and the Shetland Pony.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-YEARLING ARAB COLTS.
-
-Note the colts examining the photographer's bag. They are very inquisitive
-creatures, but easily frightened.]
-
-The coloration of our various breeds of horses is generally without any
-definite marking, piebald and dappled being the nearest approach to a
-pattern. Occasionally, however, horses are found with a dark stripe along
-the back, and sometimes with dark stripes on the shoulders and legs.
-Darwin, discovering a number of horses so marked belonging to different
-breeds, came to the conclusion that probably all existing races of horses
-were descended from a "single dun-coloured, more or less striped primitive
-stock, to which [stock] our horses occasionally revert."
-
-"If we were not so habituated to the sight of the horse," says the late Sir
-William Flower, "as hardly ever to consider its structure, we should
-greatly marvel at being told of a mammal so strangely constructed that it
-had but a single toe on each extremity, on the end of the nail of which it
-walked or galloped. Such a conformation is without parallel in the
-vertebrate series." By the aid of fossils we can trace out all the stages
-through which this wonderful foot has passed in arriving at its present
-state of perfection: we can see how it has become more and more beautifully
-adapted to fulfil the requirement demanded--a firm support to enable its
-owner to cover hard ground at great speed. The study of the structure of
-this foot, and a comparison with the intermediate forms, make it clear that
-this toe corresponds to the third finger or toe of the human hand or
-foot--according as we compare the fore or hind limbs--and that its
-development was at the expense of the remaining toes, which gradually
-dwindled and disappeared, leaving in the living one-toed horse only traces
-of the second and fourth toes in the shape of a pair of splint-bones, one
-on either side of the excessively developed third toe.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-ARAB MARE.
-
-Nothing would induce this horse to stand still in order to be photographed;
-so as a last resource Lady Anne Blunt put on her Arab costume. This acted
-like magic, for under its spell the animal at once became quiet.]
-
-The horses, it must be remarked, may be distinguished from the asses by the
-fact that the tail in the former is clothed with long hair throughout; in
-the latter long hair springs only from the sides and end, forming a tuft.
-Furthermore, the horses have a remarkable horny excrescence, resembling a
-huge black and flattened wart, on each hind leg just below the "hock," or
-heel-joint. This excrescence is commonly known as the "chestnut." Its
-function is unknown. A similar pair of "chestnuts" occurs on the inner side
-of the fore limb just above the wrist, or "knee," as it is generally
-called. The "chestnuts" of the fore limb occur also in the asses, but not
-those of the hind limb.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-ARAB MARES AND FOALS.
-
-A pretty group of some of Lady Anne Blunt's famous Arabs.]
-
-
-THE ARAB HORSE.
-
-This magnificent and justly celebrated animal is chosen first for
-consideration because it is probably a direct descendant of an original
-wild breed--the Asiatic wild horse. How far back the domestication of this
-breed began will probably never be exactly known. Till the third century
-after Christ the Arabs were almost certainly camel-riders; but by the sixth
-century of our era we find them in possession of a breed of horses which
-they regarded with great reverence, and spoke of as an heritage from their
-forefathers. They were probably introduced from the Caucasus or Asia Minor.
-The Arab horse found its way into Europe, perhaps accompanied by an allied
-breed--the Barb--with the Arab invasion of Spain in the eighth and ninth
-centuries, leaving traces of its sojourn in the Andalusian and the French
-Limousin. But the great value of Arab blood was not appreciated till armour
-ceased to be used, the excessive weight of this demanding a horse of heavy
-build.
-
-The Arab does not appear to have been introduced into England till the
-seventeenth century; but the result of that introduction, as we shall see
-presently, has been fraught with tremendous consequences. In its native
-land it appears to have been bred chiefly for the purposes of warfare. The
-success with which the breeders' judicious selection has been rewarded is
-plainly seen in the wonderful powers of endurance on long marches; so that,
-at the end of a raid, the animal is still fresh enough either for flight,
-if necessary, or for a final rush on a retreating enemy. Besides, Arabs
-possess great courage, and are frugal both in the matter of food and drink.
-
-As a race-horse, one enthusiast assures us, the Arab is superior to every
-other natural breed; he is beaten only by his own half-breed offspring--the
-English Race-horse. But this seems to be rather an over-estimate.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-PERCHERON HORSE.
-
-A Continental breed. This horse is believed to be the only one of its kind
-in England.]
-
-The colour of the Arab varies; white is the most highly esteemed, but bay
-and chestnut are common, black being rare. Strange as it may seem, the
-white breed is never born white.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-HACKNEY AND FOAL.
-
-A specimen of the English carriage-horse.]
-
-The great affection of the Arab for his horse is proverbial. The following
-story is certainly worth repeating: "The whole stock of an Arab of the
-desert consisted of a mare. The French Consul offered to purchase her, in
-order to send her to his sovereign, Louis XIV. The Arab would have rejected
-the proposal; but being miserably poor, with scarcely a rag to cover him,
-his wife and children starving, he was tempted greatly. At length he
-yielded. He brought the mare to the consul's house, and stood leaning on
-her neck, and looking, now at the gold, and now at the horse. The gold was
-good to look upon; it would make him rich for life. Turning at last to his
-favourite, he said: 'To whom is it I am going to yield thee up? To
-Europeans, who will tie thee close, who will beat thee, who will make thee
-miserable. Return with me, my beauty, my jewel, and rejoice the hearts of
-my children.' At the last of these words he sprang upon her back, and was
-in a few moments out of sight."
-
-
-THE BARB.
-
-This is an African breed, which, like the generality of African horses, is
-distinguished from those of Asia by its long limbs and small girth at the
-loins, thus resembling the foals of other breeds. It displays great powers
-of enduring hunger and thirst; and is fleet, with a high and graceful
-action. The barb takes its name from its native land--Barbary. It is a
-larger breed than the Arab.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-LADAS.
-
-A perfect English thoroughbred. With this racer Lord Rosebery won the Derby
-in 1894.]
-
-
-LEVANT AND PERSIAN HORSES.
-
-These are very closely allied to the Arab, but generally of larger size;
-and in Southern Persia, at least, less delicately framed. The Turkoman
-horses are related to those of Northern Persia.
-
-
-THE ENGLISH RACE-HORSE.
-
-This animal is the product of very careful selection and gradual
-improvement of an original native breed, extending over several centuries.
-Long since, so long ago as the reign of James I., it had reached a high
-degree of excellence.
-
-Upon this native stock there has been built up, by the infusion of Arab
-blood, the swiftest horse which the world has ever known--the BRITISH
-THOROUGHBRED. "Of this breed, it may be stated," says Mr. Allison, "that
-every such animal in the stud-book of the present day, in this country or
-any other, descends ... from one of three original Eastern sires--the
-Darley Arabian, the Byerley Turk, or the Godolphin Arabian." This is an
-extremely interesting fact, and constitutes a lasting monument to the
-enterprise and acumen of the British horse-breeder.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-FLORIZEL II.
-
-One of the King's racing-stud.]
-
-The Byerley Turk hailed from the Levant, and was introduced by Captain
-Byerley about 1689. From the Byerley Turk came Herod, the most celebrated
-of his descendants, who has given rise to the Herod line, which to-day is
-but feebly represented.
-
-The Godolphin Arabian, or the Godolphin Barb, was born about 1724. From his
-grandson Matchem is derived the Matchem line, which is also to-day
-bordering on extinction.
-
-The Darley Arabian carries us back to the reign of Queen Anne. Flying
-Childers and Bartlett's Childers are directly descended from him; and from
-the latter is descended Eclipse, the fastest horse which the turf has ever
-known. It is interesting to note that the descendants in the Eclipse line
-enormously outnumber those of the other two lines which we have considered.
-Of his descendants, one of the most illustrious is Stockwell, who has been
-described as the most extraordinary sire of all time, whose blood is coming
-more than ever to the front.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-SHETLAND PONY AND FOAL.
-
-These ponies belong to Lady Mary Hope and her sister, who have been very
-successful in breeding them.]
-
-
-THE TROTTING-HORSE.
-
-This is an American breed. The trotting-horse is a combination of barb and
-Arab on an English stock. Most of the trotting- and pacing-horses of
-America may be traced to an English thoroughbred--Messenger--who was
-imported into America in 1780. This horse became the founder of the
-greatest trotting family in the world. The speed attained by some of the
-fastest trotters is wonderful, a mile being covered in some three or four
-seconds over two minutes.
-
-Russia is the only European country with a distinct breed of trotter--the
-ORLOFF. This breed was made by crossing Arab and English horses with the
-native races. The Orloff has not the speed of the American horse, but has
-greater powers of endurance. The trotting-season in Russia is winter, the
-races taking place on the ice.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-CHAMPION SHIRE STALLION.
-
-One of Sir Walter Gilbey's celebrated cart-horses.]
-
-The PACER is not a distinct breed, but so called on account of its curious
-method of trotting. In trotting the left fore and right hind leg strike the
-ground at the same moment; in pacing the fore and hind leg of the _same
-side_ move in unison. Some wild animals--as the giraffe--are pacers. "Many
-American horses," says Mr. Winans, "are able to move with either action, a
-set of lighter shoes often sufficing to convert a trotter into a pacer."
-Pacing is a swifter mode of motion than trotting. The record time stands at
-one mile in 1 minute 39½ seconds, as again the trotting record of one mile
-in 2 minutes 3¾ seconds.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-SHIRE MARE AND FOAL.
-
-Another of Sir Walter Gilbey's champion cart-horses showing mother and
-young.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-WELSH PONY.
-
-This photograph shows the Duchess of Newcastle with one of her white Welsh
-ponies.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-POLO-PONY.
-
-Various breeds of ponies are used in this game, but the most esteemed at
-the present day are the English-bred New Forest, Dartmoor, or Exmoor, or
-Welsh ponies.]
-
-
-THE HUNTER.
-
-This also is not a distinct breed, as some suppose. Any good riding-horse
-may be used as a hunter. "Hunters" have been made by infusing the blood of
-the race-horse with native breeds. The chief requirements are a muscular
-neck and chest, with a rather short body, and shorter and stouter legs than
-the race-horse.
-
-From the half-bred hunter we pass by insensible gradation to the ordinary
-saddle- and carriage-horses. The ideal carriage-horse, however, is more of
-a distinct breed than the hunter, and known as the CLEVELAND BAY. It has
-been produced by mingling the blood of the thoroughbred with that of a
-horse of stouter make than that of the hunter type.
-
-The record broad jump for the hunter, we might mention in passing, is
-variously stated to be from 33 to 37 feet!
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by. T. Fall_] [_Baker Street._
-
-DONKEY.
-
-This is a typical English coster's donkey, and won the first prize at the
-Southwark Show.]
-
-
-THE SHETLAND PONY.
-
-This is a native of the Shetland Islands, and remarkable for its small
-size, docility, and hardihood. It is allowed to run nearly wild, and made
-to forage almost entirely for itself. In the winter it grows a coat of
-great length, which, soon becoming matted, forms a most effective
-protection against cold and wet. The DARTMOOR, EXMOOR, and NEW FOREST are
-likewise small breeds, but lack the symmetry and beauty of the Shetland.
-
-
-CART-HORSES.
-
-Under this head are included all the large, heavily built draught-horses.
-These are of European origin, and without intermixture of foreign--Asiatic
-or African--blood. In England the most important breeds are the BLACK or
-SHIRE HORSE, the CLYDESDALE, and the SUFFOLK PUNCH. These are wonderful
-instances of the results of selective breeding towards a definite
-end--large size, accompanied by great physical strength and powers of
-endurance. To accomplish this, speed has had to be sacrificed.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-EGYPTIAN DONKEYS.
-
-The ass has long been known to the Egyptians, having been in use by them
-before the introduction of the horse.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-MULES.
-
-A couple of fine mules belonging to Lord Arthur Cecil.]
-
-
-ASSES AND MULES.
-
-ASSES.
-
-The DOMESTIC ASS, so common to-day in these islands, is of African origin,
-and has, moreover, departed but little in either form or colour from the
-wild race. This is probably due to the fact that the ass has not been
-subjected in this country to that process of rigorous and careful selection
-that the horse has undergone.
-
-We have no record of its first introduction to these islands, but it was
-certainly known in the reign of Ethelred, though it was a rare animal.
-Later it appears to have died out, and to have been reintroduced in the
-reign of Elizabeth; but it has never become popular. This is unfortunate;
-its sterling qualities have never been really appreciated by us. Spain,
-Italy, and Malta have all succeeded in raising some fine breeds. The United
-States has, however, produced the finest of all in animals standing some 15
-or 16 hands (5 feet or 5 feet 4 inches) high.
-
-
-MULES.
-
-The term MULE, strictly speaking, should be reserved for the offspring of
-the male ass and the mare: the offspring of the opposite cross is called
-the HINNY. Mules are valued on account of their great powers of endurance
-and their sure-footedness. The finest and handsomest are bred in Spain, the
-United States, and North-west India.
-
-It is interesting to note that mules exhibit a strong tendency to revert to
-the dun-coloured and striped coloration believed to belong to the primitive
-horses. The spinal and shoulder stripes which sometimes appear in horses,
-and more frequently in asses, occur yet more frequently in mules. The legs
-of the mules appear particularly liable to revert to this striped
-coloration in the United States, it is said nine out of ten being so
-marked.
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIII.
-
-_THE HOLLOW-HORNED RUMINANTS: OXEN, BISON, BUFFALOES, AND MUSK-OX._
-
-Cattle, Deer, Camels, Pigs, Horses, Tapirs, Rhinoceroses, and Elephants
-differ greatly in structure from the orders already described. They are
-classed as the Ungulates, or Hoofed Mammals. In most of these, such as the
-Horse, Deer, and Oxen, the toes are contained within a solid hoof; in
-others, such as the Rhinoceros, they are protected by broad nails. Great
-differences exist in the feet of the various groups of Ungulates, caused by
-the degree in which the digits, or "toes," remain in use or not. Except in
-the Elephant, where there are five, the greatest number of "working" digits
-found in existing forms is four. In the Horse and its surviving allies the
-digits are reduced to one; in the Giraffes, to two.
-
-The general process, as it can be learnt from the remains of the horse-like
-animals of the past, seems to have been as follows. One or more of the toes
-were developed in length and strength at the expense of the others, until,
-in the case of the Horse, only one toe remained, which was enclosed in a
-large and solid hoof, little splints on either side of the cannon-bone
-being left to hint where the second and fourth toes had once been. In the
-Oxen and Deer the third and fourth toes developed equally, at the expense
-of the others, and each gained a case or covering, which makes the two
-parts of the "cloven hoof" of these groups.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor_] [_Ealing._
-
-ENGLISH PARK-CATTLE.
-
-This photograph represents two animals of different types. The bull (on the
-right) is from Earl Ferrers' herd at Chartley Castle; the cow is a
-cross-bred.]
-
-The first group of the order of Ungulates is represented by the
-Hollow-horned Ruminants. These have horns set on a core of bone, the horns
-themselves being hollow throughout. They "chew the cud," after receiving
-the food eaten into the first of four divisions in the stomach, whence it
-is brought up into the mouth, and then swallowed again for digestion. The
-Oxen, Sheep, and Goats have no popular name by which they are collectively
-distinguished, but their characteristics are sufficiently well known. The
-horns are never shed annually, as is the case with the Deer; and the hoofs
-are cloven. They have no incisor teeth in the upper jaw, a characteristic
-also shared by the Giraffes, the Prongbuck (or American antelope), and the
-Deer. The lower jaw has its full complement of incisor teeth.
-
-The Oxen and the allied Bison, Yak, and Buffaloes are the bulkiest and most
-important to man of all ruminants. Some are found in nearly all inhabited
-parts of the Old World, and there is one North American species, now
-practically exterminated as a wild animal.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-ENGLISH PARK BULL.
-
-The similarity in shape to the best-bred modern shorthorns is obvious.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-CALF OF ENGLISH PARK-CATTLE.
-
-Though the stock is very old and inbred, the white park-cattle are still
-fairly prolific.]
-
-
-BRITISH PARK-CATTLE, AND THE AUROCHS.
-
-The so-called "WILD CATTLE" found in the parks of Chillingham and Chartley,
-as well as in Lord Leigh's park at Lyme, and in that of the Duke of
-Hamilton at Cadzow Castle, Scotland, are probably not the descendants of an
-indigenous wild race. It is not without reluctance that the belief in their
-wild descent has been abandoned. But the evidence seems fairly conclusive
-as to the antiquity of these white cattle, regarded as a primitive breed,
-and of the unlikelihood of their being survivors of a truly wild stock.
-They are almost identical in many points with the best breeds of modern
-cattle, and probably represent the finest type possessed by the ancient
-inhabitants of these islands. But they are far smaller than the original
-WILD OX, or AUROCHS, the ancestor of our domestic breeds. The skulls of
-these large wild oxen, which still survived in the Black Forest in Cæsar's
-time, have been dug up in many parts of England, especially in the Thames
-Valley, and may be seen at the Natural History Museum. The remains of the
-extinct wild ox, the _Bos urus_ of the Romans, show that, if not so large
-as an elephant, as Cæsar heard, its size was gigantic, reckoned by any
-modern cattle standard whatever. It probably stood 6 feet high at the
-shoulder, and there is every reason to believe that it was the progenitor
-of the modern race of domestic cattle in Europe. It seems certain that the
-Chartley Park herd did once run wild in Needwood Forest; but so do the
-Italian buffaloes in the Maremma, and the Spanish bulls on the plains of
-Andalusia. Those at Chartley have been kept in the park, which is very wild
-and remote, so long that they have gradually lost many of the attributes of
-domestication. This is even more marked in the case of Lord Tankerville's
-white cattle at Chillingham. An observant visitor to Chillingham lately
-noted that the bulls fight for the possession of the cows, and that one is
-occasionally killed in these combats. The cows still "stampede" with their
-calves when alarmed, and hide them for a week or ten days after they are
-born. The horns of the Chillingham cattle turn up; those of the bulls of
-the Chartley herd are straight or slightly inclined downwards. Crossbreds
-between the Chartley cattle and some other herds of reputed ancient descent
-may generally be seen at the Zoological Gardens. They remain remarkably
-true to type.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. T. Newman_] [_Berkhamsted._
-
-JERSEY COW.
-
-The property of Lord Braybrooke. Though small in size, the Jersey cows
-produce more butter than any English breed.]
-
-Formerly there were several other herds of ancient white cattle. One was at
-Gisburne, in Yorkshire; another at Chatelherault Park, in Lanarkshire; and
-records of herds at Bishop Auckland in Durham, Barnard Castle, Blair Athol,
-Burton Constable, Naworth Castle, and other ancient parks are preserved.
-Probably all were of a breed highly prized in ancient days, which was
-allowed the run of the forests adjacent to the homes of their owners; then,
-as the forests were cleared, they were gradually taken up and enclosed in
-parks. Another theory is, that they were the white cattle of North-western
-Italy, imported by the first settlements of Italian monks after the
-conversion of the Saxons.
-
-
-SOME DOMESTICATED CATTLE.
-
-The various species of European domestic cattle have in most cases been
-brought to a degree of excellence even higher than that which might be
-expected from the long period of time in which their improvement has been
-an object of solicitude to man. Of the foreign races, the dark red cattle
-of the Spanish Peninsula--animals which have been exported to the Canary
-Islands and Madeira with great success--are justly famous. The white oxen
-of North-east Italy have been famous since the days of the Romans. The tall
-long-horned cattle of Hungary are excellent alike as beasts of draught and
-for beef. The black-and-white Dutch cows are, and have been, the mainstay
-of the dairy industry of Holland, and later of Denmark; while the small
-Brittany cows are perhaps the best butter-producers on the continent of
-Europe. But England and the Channel Islands may justly claim to rear the
-finest cattle of the temperate parts of the world. The diminutive Jersey
-cows, now reared in all parts of the kingdom, surpass all the animals of
-Europe or America in the richness of their milk, while stock from the
-pedigree herds of various English breeds is eagerly sought by foreign and
-continental buyers on both sides of the Atlantic, and in New Zealand and
-Australia. These foreign strains need constant replenishing from the
-English herds, and the result is a golden harvest to the breeders in these
-islands.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-SPANISH CATTLE.
-
-These belong to the long-horned race of Southern and Eastern Europe. In the
-bulls the horns are shorter, and often turn downwards.]
-
-The SHORTHORN was the first breed to be brought to perfection. Two main
-stocks--one for producing beef, the other for the dairy--are recognised;
-they are the "all-round breed" most in favour, and it is said that the
-improvement in this race alone has raised the value of average Irish store
-cattle £2 per head during the last twenty years. The shorthorns are
-level-backed, large animals, maturing very quickly. The commonest colours
-are roan, white, red, and red-and-white. HEREFORD CATTLE are red, with
-white faces and long, upturned horns; they fatten quickly on good grass,
-and are in most demand for summer beef. HIGHLAND CATTLE have long horns,
-rough, shaggy coats, and bodies of moderate size and great symmetry; they
-are grazed on the mountains of the West Highlands mainly, and fattened in
-the south. The beef is of the finest quality. SUSSEX CATTLE are an "all
-red" variety, large, and formerly much used for draught and farm work. The
-DEVONS are another red variety very like the Sussex, yielding excellent and
-rich milk, and, when fattened, being little inferior to any breed as beef.
-The long-horned black WELSH CATTLE grow to a great size, as do the polled
-ANGUS breed of Scotland. The polled or hornless cattle include the red
-SUFFOLKS, a most valuable breed, hardy, and wonderful producers of milk.
-The cows often give milk every day of the year. The LONGHORN breed is
-almost disappearing, as the horns are a disadvantage both in the fields and
-when the animals are carried on board ship or in the train. The HUMPED
-CATTLE of India and East Africa belong to a race different from European
-cattle, of which the parent stock is not known. They have a hump upon the
-withers, drooping ears (a sign of ancient domestication), and a very large
-dewlap. The coat is always exquisitely fine. They are of all sizes, from
-the tall Brahminee bull to dwarf breeds not larger than a Newfoundland dog.
-The commonest colours are cream, grey, mouse-colour, and white. They do not
-low, but grunt, and are by no means so fond of shade and water as European
-cattle.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-YOUNG GAUR.
-
-The largest and handsomest of the wild oxen.]
-
-
-WILD OXEN.
-
-This group consists of the GAUR of India; the GAYAL of Assam, which is
-possibly a domesticated form of the gaur, but rather smaller in size, with
-skull and horns different in character; and the BANTING, a lighter and more
-slender wild ox, of which different varieties are found in Burma, in Java
-(where it is kept in a half-domesticated condition), and in Manipur.
-
-
-THE GAUR.
-
-The GAUR, the so-called INDIAN BISON, is probably the largest of all the
-wild bovine animals. It is found at the foot of the North-eastern Himalaya,
-in the Central Provinces of India, the forests of Madras and Mysore, and in
-parts of Burma and the Malay Peninsula, but not in Ceylon. Its range
-eastward is not accurately known. In habits the gaur is mainly a forest
-animal, retiring always at daybreak into the depths of the jungle. It
-sometimes attains a height of over 6 feet at the shoulder, and a length of
-9 feet 6 inches from the nose to the tail. The colour of the full-grown
-gaur is dark brown, turning to black; the legs from above the knees and
-hocks to the hoofs are white, the hair being short and fine. Its horns are
-upturned, and tipped with black, with white hair covering the junction on
-the top of the skull. The cows are much smaller than the bulls, standing
-about 5 feet high at the shoulder. This species feeds both on grass and on
-the young shoots of trees and of bamboos. The calves are dropped in August
-and September. The pure-bred animal does not appear capable of
-domestication.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-COW GAYAL.
-
-This animal is not at all dissimilar to the gaur. Its chief points of
-difference are in the horns and in the colour of its skin.]
-
-Hunting gaur by tracking in the jungle has long been a favourite sport of
-Anglo-Indians. General Douglas Hamilton says: "I have killed bulls
-measuring 6 feet at the shoulder, and the average height of the male is
-from 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches. An old bull gaur is a magnificent
-animal. The normal colour is a brownish black, sometimes in very old
-specimens almost quite black. The white stockings reach from the hoof to
-above the knee, and are very conspicuous. When on the Anamalies, I had a
-grand fight with a big bull. I was out early, and came on the spoor of
-bison, and soon saw two, one a very large bull. To my disgust he lay down,
-and was completely covered by creepers and bushes. After a bit I attempted
-to move to get a better view; but there to my left was a cow bison staring
-at me. She at once gave the alarm, and I waited for the large bull to rise.
-This he did so quickly, and disappeared so suddenly, that I only got a
-snapshot. As I stopped to load, I saw a young calf squatting at the foot of
-a tree like a hare, intently watching me. I put the rifle down, crept up
-behind the tree, and suddenly threw myself on the little calf, and managed
-to get hold of its hind legs, but it got from under me. I managed, however,
-to tie its fore legs securely by means of some slender stems from the
-creepers. All this time it continued to bellow and to make a great row, and
-I fully expected to see the mother come charging down. I went back to the
-bungalow, and got some men to bring my little captive home. After breakfast
-I started again, and got on the track of the bison.... I saw some branches
-move, and on looking carefully perceived a large bull bison; but he was
-among the thick bushes, and I could not see his outline. I guessed as
-nearly as possible the position of the shoulder, and fired the big rifle at
-him. He gave a bound forward, and then stopped long enough for me to give
-him a shot with the other barrel.... The next moment I saw the bull
-standing on the high ground above us. I fired again, and hit him well
-behind the shoulder. He dashed off, but only went fifty yards, and then
-stopped. I walked up, thinking to finish him, when he made a fearful rush
-at me. My man put the double rifle into my hands and then bolted, and I
-thought it prudent to retire and await my opportunity. But he only moved a
-few paces forward, and then stopped. Then began a regular siege of his
-position." The result of the siege was that the bison received four more
-bullets, charged and routed the hunter twice, and then walked off. It was
-shot twice more, charged again, and was finally killed by General Hamilton
-with his hunting-knife tied to a bamboo spear-pole.
-
-Considering the size and tenacity of life of the gaur, it is rather
-wonderful that more accidents do not occur in the pursuit of this animal;
-but as it lives mainly in thick jungle, where large trees grow, the
-sportsman has more chance of getting out of sight of a wounded animal than
-when attacked by the Indian buffalo, which generally haunts jungles of high
-grass.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Curt Hagenbeck_] [_Hamburg._
-
-INDIAN HUMPED BULL.
-
-The hump and dewlap mark the Oriental cattle. The ears are often more
-drooping than in this specimen.]
-
-
-THE GAYAL.
-
-The doubt whether this animal is found in a wild state has recently been
-considerably increased. It is well known in a semi-domesticated condition,
-in which it is kept by the tribes in and around the Assam Valley, where the
-wild gaur is also found. These herds roam during the day freely in the
-jungle, and return to be fed at the villages. It has been stated that wild
-gayal are enticed to join the tame herds by feeding them with balls of meal
-and salt; but these "wild" specimens may be only those which have belonged
-to or have descended from the domesticated herd. Gayal have been kept in
-England not only in the Zoological Gardens but in some parks, and crossed
-with English cattle. The offspring furnished excellent beef, but were
-rather wild and intractable. The horns of the gayal are thicker and flatter
-than those of the gaur, and placed lower on the skull and farther apart.
-The domesticated gayal stands lower than the gaur, but is a very massive
-animal.
-
-
-THE BANTING.
-
-The common wild ox of the Malay countries of Borneo, Java, Eastern Burma,
-and northwards, in Manipur resembles the European oxen rather more than
-does the gaur. In size the bulls sometimes reach 5 feet 9½ inches. The old
-bulls are black, the younger bulls chocolate-red, and the cows a bright
-reddish brown. The rump is marked with a large white patch, and all have
-white stockings from above the knees and hocks down to the hoofs. The tail
-is considerably longer than in the gaur, coming well below the hocks. As
-might be expected from its distribution, the size of this animal and the
-shape of the horns vary considerably in the different districts which it
-inhabits. In Borneo the horns often curve forwards; in Java they spread
-outwards. In the latter island large herds of this species are kept in a
-state of domestication. When wild, banting live in small herds, and in
-Burma feed from early morning until ten o'clock, when they retire into the
-jungle for shelter. The Manipur race is smaller than that of Burma (of
-which the males are not black), and the bulls have not the white rump.
-
-
-THE YAK.
-
-The YAK is naturally an inhabitant of the very high plateaux and mountains
-of Tibet, where the climate is cold and the air excessively dry. Lower down
-on the Indian side of the Himalaya a smaller race is found domesticated,
-which is the only one able to stand the climate of India, or of Europe,
-where it is now kept in some parks as a curiosity. The tamed yaks are
-usually much smaller than the wild; these sometimes reach a weight of
-between 1,100 and 1,200 lbs. In form they are long and low, very massive,
-and with hair almost entirely black; this falls off along the sides into a
-long sweeping fringe. The tail is thickly tasselled with fine hair, and is
-employed by Indian princes for fly-flaps. The wild yak has large, massive
-black horns, curved upwards and forwards in the male. In Ladak and Chinese
-Tibet the yaks inhabit a desolate and barren country, in which their main
-food is a dry, coarse grass, on which they nevertheless contrive to keep
-themselves in condition, feeding in the mornings and evenings, and lying
-down by day to rest among the rocks.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park_
-
-INDIAN HUMPED CATTLE.
-
-These are often called Zebu in Europe, but the origin of the name in
-unknown.]
-
-
-THE BISON.
-
-The BISON form a marked group, differing from others of the Ox Tribe. They
-possess fourteen pairs of ribs, while the oxen have only thirteen (the yak
-has fourteen); and have very heavy, massive heads, broader and more convex
-foreheads than the oxen, longer spinal processes on the vertebrae of the
-front part of the back, and larger muscles to hold the ponderous head,
-causing a hump, which in the American bison is very marked. There are two
-living species of bison, one of which is found in Europe, the other in
-North America.
-
-
-THE EUROPEAN BISON.
-
-This is the most interesting survival of the primitive fauna of the Old
-World. It is still found wild, though protected, in a large forest in
-Lithuania, the property of the Czar of Russia, called the Forest of
-Bielowitza. A few are also left of the purely wild stock in the Caucasus.
-Those in Lithuania have been protected for several centuries, and the herd
-is numbered from time to time. In 1857 there were 1,898 of these bison
-left; in 1882 there were only 600; in 1889 the herd had sunk to 380, but in
-1892 it had risen to 491. The presence of the bison in the Caucasus had
-been almost forgotten till Mr. Littledale and Prince Demidoff gave accounts
-of hunting it there quite recently. The ZUBR, as it is called, only
-survives in some very inaccessible parts of the mountains, preserved by the
-Grand Duke Sergius Michaelovitch, in the Kouban district. There it exists
-as a really wild animal. The dimensions of one recently shot were 10 feet
-from the muzzle to the end of the last vertebra of the tail. The Grand Duke
-has to obtain special permission from the Czar to shoot one whenever he
-goes to the Caucasus.
-
-This bison seems to have been an inhabitant of most of the forests of
-Europe and Northern Asia; its remains show that it existed in Britain, and
-it was plentiful in the Black Forest in the time of Cæsar. It is the
-largest of all European quadrupeds, measuring as much as 10 feet 1 inch
-from the nose to the root of the tail, and standing nearly 6 feet high at
-the shoulder. Prince Demidoff states his belief that it is found on the
-southern slopes of the Caucasus Range between the hills and the Black Sea.
-The weight of this bison reaches 1,700 lbs. It is now rare to see more than
-five or six together. Though the animal is so massive, its horns are rather
-small and slender, and curve upwards. The mane--which, like the rest of the
-coat, is of a uniform rich brown--is thick and curly, but not developed
-like that of the American bison.
-
-
-THE AMERICAN BISON.
-
-The American bison is the western representative of the bison of Europe.
-The almost complete disappearance of this species is one of the warnings
-against reckless destruction of animal life. It was formerly found in
-millions on the prairies, and its meat formed the staple food of the Red
-Indians, who lived on the flesh and used the "robes" of those killed in
-winter for great coats and bedding. When Audubon went up the Upper
-Missouri, bison were in sight almost throughout the voyage; they were even
-carried down on ice-flows on the river. The bulls were very large, and were
-occasionally savage, especially when attacked and wounded; but usually they
-were harmless animals. Every winter and spring they made migrations along
-regular routes to fresh pastures. These lines of travel were then black
-with bison. The females had their calves by their sides, and all travelled
-in herds, feeding as they went. At the present time the only remains of the
-bison are the paths they left on the prairies, and their bones and skulls.
-The paths are still distinctly seen, worn by the "treks" of the great
-beasts which have now perished. The bones were collected in stacks and sold
-to make manure.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-DOMESTICATED YAK.
-
-The wild bovine animal of the Central Asian plateau, tamed and
-domesticated.]
-
-Colonel Roosevelt, in an article contributed to "The Encyclopædia of
-Sport," thus describes the destruction of the bison: "Pursuit by sportsmen
-had nothing to do with the extermination of the bison. It was killed by the
-hide-hunters, redskin, white, and half-breed. The railways, as they were
-built, hastened its destruction, for they gave means of transporting the
-heavy robes to market. But it would have been killed out anyhow, even were
-there no railroads in existence. Once the demand for the robes became known
-to the Indians, they were certain to exterminate it. Originally the bison
-ranged from the Rocky Mountains to the Alleghanies, and from Mexico to the
-Peace River. But its centre of abundance was the vast extent of grass-land
-stretching from the Saskatchewan to the Rio Grande. All the earlier
-explorers who crossed these great plains, from Lewis and Clarke onwards,
-spoke of the astonishing multitudes of the bison, which formed the sole
-food of the Horse Indians. The herds were pressed steadily back, but the
-slaughter did not begin till after the Civil War; then the commercial value
-of the robes became fully recognised, and the transcontinental railways
-rendered the herds more accessible. The slaughter was almost incredible,
-for the bison were slain literally by millions every year. They were first
-exterminated in Canada and the southern plains. It was not till 1883 that
-the last herd was killed off from the great north-western prairies."
-
-The height of a fine bull American bison at the shoulder is 6 feet. The
-horns are short, blunt, and curved, and set farther back on the forehead
-than in the European species. The hindquarters are low and weak, and the
-mane develops in winter into a thick robe, covering the neck, shoulders,
-and chest. An adult bull bison was found to weigh 1,727 lbs. The
-woodland-bison of Athabasca, now nearly exterminated, are larger than the
-prairie-bison, and have finer coats. In 1897 there were said to be between
-280 and 300 head remaining in two herds.
-
-
-THE BUFFALOES.
-
-The BUFFALOES are so far distinct from other wild cattle that they will not
-interbreed with them; yet one species, the INDIAN BUFFALO, has been
-domesticated for a long, though unknown period, and is among the most
-valuable of tame beasts of draught, as well as for dairy purposes. The
-various buffaloes usually have little hair, especially when old, and have
-flatter shoulders than the gaur, gayal, or bison. The pairs of ribs number
-thirteen.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of the New York Zoological Society._
-
-AMERICAN BULL BISON.
-
-The American bison (locally called "buffalo") is lower behind than its
-European brother; but the withers, as will be seen from the photograph, are
-stronger and more massive, and its mane considerably longer.]
-
-
-THE AFRICAN BUFFALO.
-
-Great differences in size and colour exist in the AFRICAN BUFFALOES.
-Whether they are separate species or not may be doubtful; but the small
-yellow CONGO BUFFALO, with upturned short horns, is a vastly different
-creature from the large black CAPE BUFFALO. There is also an Abyssinian or
-brown race of African buffalo, and another in Senegambia smaller than the
-former, and a reputed grey race near Lake Tchad. The Cape buffalo is a
-heavy, thickset animal, all black in colour, with large massive horns
-covering the skull, and nearly meeting in the middle line of the forehead.
-In height it varies from 4 feet 10 inches to 5 feet at the shoulder. This
-species ranges from South Africa to the Congo on the west, and to the
-region of the Equator on the east of the continent. Firearms, and lately
-rinderpest, have greatly reduced the number of these creatures. They live
-and feed in herds, and, like the Indian species, are fond of the
-neighbourhood of water, in which they bathe, but are not so dependent on
-bathing and wallowing as the former.
-
-Fully as formidable as the Indian buffalo, and much like it in habits, the
-African species is quite distinct. It has different horns, broad at the
-base and curled and tapering at the ends. Among the extreme measurements of
-the Indian buffalo's horns recorded is one of 12 feet 2 inches from tip to
-tip along the curve. Those of the African buffalo are seldom more than 6
-feet, measured in the same way. By far the greatest number of hunting
-accidents in Africa are caused by the buffalo. Sir Samuel Baker shot a
-buffalo bull one evening near the White Nile. His men actually danced upon
-the body, when the animal rose to its feet, and sent them flying into the
-river like so many frogs. It then disappeared in the thick vegetation. On
-the following day, supposing that it must have died during the night,
-thirty or forty men, armed with double-barrelled guns, went to look for it.
-The result was thus recorded by Sir Samuel Baker: "They had not been ashore
-for many minutes when I first heard a shot and then a regular volley. My
-people returned with the head of the buffalo and a large quantity of meat,
-but they also carried the body of my best man, who, when leading the way
-through the high reeds, following the traces of blood, actually stumbled
-upon the buffalo lying in the swamp, and the light guns failed to stop its
-charge. The crooked horn had caught him behind the ear, and, penetrating
-completely through the neck, had torn out the throat as though it had been
-cut. The savage beast had then knelt upon the body, and stamped it into the
-muddy ground, until it fell beneath the fire of thirty men."
-
-The head and body of a male Cape buffalo are 9 feet long. It is stated that
-the parasite conveyed by the tsetse fly remains in the blood of the buffalo
-(which is not affected by it), and that this forms a reserve whence the
-fly, after sucking the blood of the buffalo, poisons other animals.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-EUROPEAN BISON.
-
-These wild animals of the Caucasus are very much scarcer than formerly, and
-are in danger of becoming extinct.]
-
-
-THE CONGO BUFFALO.
-
-This is a very small race, the height at the shoulder being about 3 feet 6
-inches. The shape of the horns varies, but they are wrinkled at the bases
-and flattened, and turn upwards, ending in thin, sharp tips. The hair is
-bright reddish yellow. It is entirely a West African species. Sir Samuel
-Baker records an instance in which his brother was nearly killed by a small
-West African buffalo, probably one of the species in question. It is said
-to be less gregarious than the Cape buffalo, and usually found in pairs.
-
-
-THE INDIAN OR WATER-BUFFALO.
-
-Very great interest attaches to this animal, if only from the fact that it
-is evidently a species domesticated directly from the wild stock. It
-therefore deserves consideration both as a wild and as a domesticated
-animal. It is found wild in the swampy jungles at the foot of the Himalaya,
-in the Ganges Delta, and in the jungles of the Central Provinces; also, it
-is believed, in the jungles of West Assam. Like the African species, it is
-an animal of great size and strength, with short brown hair, white
-fetlocks, and immense long, narrow, flattened horns. It is almost aquatic
-by preference, passing many hours of each day wallowing in the water, or
-standing in any deep pool with only the tips of its nostrils and its horns
-out of the water. By general consent it is the most dangerous of Indian
-animals after the tiger. A buffalo bull when wounded will hunt for its
-enemy by scent as persistently as a dog hunting for a rabbit. A writer in
-_Country Life_ lately gave an account of a duel between himself, armed with
-a small and light rifle, and a buffalo bull, in which the latter hunted him
-for more than an hour, each time being driven off by a shot from the light
-rifle, and each time returning to the search, until it was killed. Sir
-Samuel Baker, when he first went to Ceylon, found the buffaloes practically
-in possession of the meadows round a lake in the neighbourhood of his
-quarters, and waged a war of extermination against the bulls, which were
-very dangerous.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-AMERICAN BISON.
-
-Notice the difference in the fore and hind quarters of this animal and the
-European representative of the same group. (See page 216.)]
-
-The buffaloes of Ceylon are the same as those of India, but the horns are
-inferior in size. "The charge of a buffalo is a serious matter." says Sir
-Samuel Baker. "Many animals charge when infuriated, but they can generally
-be turned aside by the stunning blow of a rifle-shot, even if they be not
-mortally wounded. But a buffalo is a devil incarnate when it has once
-decided on the offensive; nothing will turn it. It must be actually stopped
-by death, sudden and instantaneous, as nothing else will stop it. If not
-killed, it will assuredly destroy its adversary. There is no creature in
-existence so determined to stamp the life out of its opponents, and the
-intensity of its fury is unsurpassed when a wounded bull rushes forward
-upon its last desperate charge. Should it succeed in overthrowing its
-antagonist, it will not only gore the body with its horns, but will kneel
-upon the lifeless form, and stamp it with its hoofs till the mutilated
-remains are beyond recognition."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-CAPE BUFFALO.
-
-Notice the striking difference depicted on this page between the two
-species of buffalo--the Indian and the Cape.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-DOMESTICATED INDIAN BUFFALO.
-
-This animal is found as a wild and domesticated species in India. It is
-valuable as a beast of draught and for the dairy.]
-
-The true Indian buffalo is usually shot from the back of an elephant.
-Hunting it on foot is dangerous in the extreme, for the buffalo can crash
-through obstacles which would prevent any man from making his way through
-them when escaping. When domesticated, the Indian buffalo loses most traces
-of its savageness; it is habitually managed by the children, who take the
-herds out to graze in the jungle, and drive them back, often riding on one
-of the bulls, at night. They dislike Europeans, and often show this by
-attacking them; but otherwise they are quite tame, and are docile when in
-harness or carrying burdens. The buffalo's milk is very rich, and makes a
-much larger percentage of butter than ordinary cow's milk. So useful is
-this mud- and water-loving animal in all swampy districts, that wherever
-rice is cultivated it is almost indispensable. The result is that the
-Indian buffalo has been transported, probably in comparatively modern
-times, to many distant quarters of the globe. When this was done is not
-known; but it is probable, for instance, that it was not known in Egypt in
-the days of the Pharaohs, for its form never appears in the paintings and
-sculptures. Now it is seen very far up the Nile, and plays an important
-part in Egyptian agriculture; it is also the general beast of burden and
-for the dairy in the Pontine Marshes of Italy. In Spain it was probably
-introduced by the Arabs, and is used to cultivate the marshy plains near
-the mouths of the rivers of Andalusia; it is also in use in the marshes of
-Hungary, in the Crimea, and across Western Asia to Afghanistan. We have
-thus the curious fact that a wild animal once confined to the jungles of
-the Indian Peninsula is now domesticated on two other continents. It has
-not been introduced into America yet, though it would be useful in the
-Mississippi swamps; but the Chinese have taken it to the Far East, and
-established it as their favourite beast of burden.
-
-
-THE TAMARAU AND ANOA.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-A PAIR OF ANOAS.
-
-The anoa is the smallest and most antelope-like member of the Ox Tribe.]
-
-In the island of Mindoro, in the Philippines, a small black buffalo, with
-upright, slightly incurved horns, is found in the dense forests. The height
-at the shoulder is about 3 feet 6 inches; a few irregular marks of white
-are found on the fore legs, face, and occasionally the throat. It is called
-the TAMARAU by the natives, most of whom fear to attack it. Its habits are
-said to be much the same as those of the other buffaloes; but it is reputed
-to fight with the Indian buffaloes which have escaped and become semi-wild
-in the forests.
-
-In Celebes a still smaller wild forest-buffalo is found, called the ANOA.
-It is only 3 feet 3 inches high at the shoulder, and has upright, almost
-straight horns. The general colour is brownish, tinged with yellow, that of
-the adults being very dark brown or black. Scarcely anything is known of
-its habits.
-
-
-THE MUSK-OX.
-
-The MUSK-OX was formerly found in immense numbers on the barren lands and
-other regions bordering on the Arctic ice. The hair of this animal reaches
-almost to the ground, and the horns are large and massive. At present it is
-only common in the corner of North America north and east of a line drawn
-from Fort Churchill, on Hudson Bay, to the mouth of the Mackenzie, and on
-the adjacent islands of the Arctic Sea. In former Arctic expeditions the
-flesh of the musk-oxen was a great and reliable source of food. Now some
-parts of the herds seem to have retired inland, and in the winter to become
-mainly forest-dwellers; but large numbers seem to endure the coldest parts
-of the Arctic winter in the open country of the Far North, in the snows of
-Grinnell Land and of Northern Greenland. The remains of musk-oxen have been
-found in the river gravels of the Thames Valley, with those of the reindeer
-and other northern species. The musk-ox gallops at a great rate of speed
-when disturbed in the open, and makes as little of a steep mountain-side as
-does the wild sheep. When fat, the flesh is very tolerable food; but if the
-animals grow thin, the taste of musk is very unpleasant. The colour of the
-coat is dark brown; it is now in great demand for sledge-rugs in Canada.
-This remarkable animal appears to be a form standing apart both from the
-oxen and the sheep.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-YOUNG BULL MUSK-OX.
-
-The musk-ox is nearly allied to the sheep. It is about the size of Highland
-cattle, and inhabits Arctic America and Northern Greenland.]
-
-
-
-It will be seen from the above accounts of the whole wild bovine race that
-they all exhibit in a high degree many of the traits which are seen in
-domesticated animals of the same tribe. The chief differences made by man's
-selection and breeding affect the form of the body and the development of
-the udder, otherwise there is no great modification, except the production
-of the drooping ear in some of the Indian species of domesticated oxen. No
-wild cattle have the level, flat back and rectangular body which mark all
-the best shorthorns and other breeds intended for beef. In the Asiatic and
-Galla humped breeds, the races which first domesticated the original wild
-species seem to have used the long processes of the vertebræ which cause
-the back of many wild cattle to form a hump as the basis of a valuable
-feature, the hump becoming as it were another joint of meat. The
-development of the udder has for untold centuries been the object of the
-breeders of cows; consequently we find that in the domesticated races this
-has become abnormally large. There is at present a very general tendency to
-get rid of the horns among all breeds of high quality, as these appendages
-cause much loss by wounds inflicted by cattle upon each other; but even in
-this respect sentiment rather tends to preserve the horns as an ornament in
-some of the best milking breeds, such as the Jerseys.
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIV.
-
-_THE SHEEP AND GOATS._
-
-----
-
-THE SHEEP.
-
-The sheep are represented at the present time by several wild species, one
-of which is found in Northern India east of the Indus, in the Punjab, and
-in Sind; one in North America; and another in North Africa. The rest
-inhabit the high ground of Europe and Asia as far south as the Himalaya.
-These mountains, with the adjacent plateaux of the Pamirs and the great
-ranges of Central Asia, form the main home of the group. Wild sheep are of
-various types, some so much like the goats that it is difficult to draw a
-hard-and-fast line between them; while others, especially the Curly-horned
-Argalis, Bighorns, Oorial, and Kamchatka Wild Sheep, are unmistakably ovine
-in type. The wild original of the domesticated breeds of sheep is unknown;
-but the extreme differences between various breeds of tame sheep--as, for
-instance, between the smooth-coated, drooping-eared breed of Nubia and the
-curly-horned, woolly sheep of Dorsetshire--must not be allowed to divert
-the attention from the considerable likeness of habit which still remains
-between other breeds and the wild species. Domesticated sheep which live on
-hills and mountains are still inclined to seek the highest ground at night.
-The rams fight as the wild rams do, and many of them display activity and
-powers of climbing and of finding a living on barren ground scarcely less
-remarkable than in the wild races. The apparent absence of wool in the
-latter does not indicate so great a difference as might be thought. The
-domesticated sheep have been bred by artificial selection for unnumbered
-ages in order to produce wool. It is said that in some of the wild breeds
-there is an under-fur which will "felt" like wool. Most of the species are
-short-tailed animals, but this is not the case with the Barbary wild sheep.
-
-Wild sheep are mainly mountain-living animals or frequenters of high
-ground. They generally, although not always, frequent less rugged country
-than that affected by the wild goats, and some are found at quite low
-levels. The altitude at which other wild sheep are found is, however, very
-great; on the Pamirs it reaches 20,000 feet. Here the country is quite
-open.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-YOUNG BARBARY SHEEP.
-
-Note the length of the tail as compared with other wild sheep.]
-
-
-THE EUROPEAN MOUFFLON.
-
-The only wild sheep of Europe is the MOUFFLON, found in the mountains of
-Corsica and Sardinia. Its height at the shoulder is about 27 inches. In the
-rams the horns are strong, and curved into a spiral, forming almost a
-complete circle. The hair is close, and in winter has a woolly under-fur.
-In summer and autumn the coat is a bright red-brown on the neck, shoulders,
-and legs; the rump and under-parts are whitish, and the back and flanks
-marked with a white saddle. In winter the brown becomes darker and the
-white saddle broader. A rather larger moufflon is found on Mount Elburz in
-Persia, in Armenia, and in the Taurus Mountains. A smaller variety exists
-in Cyprus, where it has been preserved since the British occupation. The
-moufflon is a typical wild sheep. In Sardinia and Corsica are dense scrubby
-forests of tall heather, some 5 feet high. This _maquia_ is practically
-impenetrable to hunters. When alarmed, the moufflon dash into it, and are
-safe. The _maquia_ has preserved two very interesting survivals of
-antiquity--the moufflon, and the Corsican or Sardinian bandit. The Corsican
-bandit, like the moufflon of the same island, is nearly extinct. In
-Sardinia both flourish. Many English sportsmen have had their first taste
-of big-game shooting in the difficult pursuit of the moufflon on the
-Sardinian mountains. Some declare that the sport is so fascinating that
-they have seldom found much to equal it since. Mr. S. H. Whitbread, whose
-notes in "The Encyclopædia of Sport" are very full on this subject, deems
-that the best season to stalk moufflon is in October or November. The
-animals are then less disturbed by shepherds and dogs, and the moufflon are
-on the move and more easily seen during the day than in summer, when they
-feed at night and rest or sleep by day.
-
-Sir E. G. Loder has a small herd of moufflon running wild in his park at
-Leonardslee, near Horsham. They have a specially built "mountain-top" of
-stone to make a home of, but are free to feed where they like in the park.
-They produce lambs yearly. It is an interesting sight to see the quick rush
-of the little flock, when frightened, to their sheltering-place, led by an
-old white-saddled ram.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-SIBERIAN ARGALI.
-
-One of the large wild sheep of Central Asia.]
-
-
-THE ARGALIS.
-
-The ARGALIS are the largest of all living wild sheep. Some measure from 3
-feet 9 inches to 4 feet at the shoulder. The horns are broad, corrugated,
-and curling in the male, and in the female short, erect, and curving
-backwards. The male TIBETAN ARGALI has a ruff on the throat. The usual
-colour is a stony grey, mingled with white in the summer in the case of the
-old males. The name is applied collectively to several wild sheep found in
-Northern and Central Asia. Whether these are only varieties or separate
-species it is difficult to say; but the following are some of the most
-marked forms.
-
-The SIBERIAN ARGALI is the characteristic wild sheep of the rocky hills and
-mountains of Southern Siberia, the Altai Mountains, and Northern Mongolia.
-The horns curve so as to form more than a complete circle; the upper parts
-are tinged with grey, and the lower are white.
-
-The TIBETAN ARGALI is a little smaller in size, and has slightly smaller
-horns. The rams have also a large white ruff on the throat. These sheep
-descend in winter to the lower valleys of the Tibetan plateau, returning to
-the higher ground in spring. The lambs are born in May or June.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. T. Newman_] [_Berkhamsted._
-
-BARBARY SHEEP.
-
-These fine wild sheep are found in the Atlas and Aures Mountains of North
-Africa.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-BARBARY SHEEP.
-
-This shows a fine ram, with a mane reaching almost to its hoofs.]
-
-LITTLEDALE'S SHEEP is a smaller animal, found on the Sair Mountains in the
-Great Altai, on the north-western border of Mongolia. It is darker in
-colour than the argali or Marco Polo's sheep, and has dark under-parts.
-
-Writing of the argali of Southern Siberia, the naturalist Brehm says that
-when the Tartars want mutton an argali hunt is organised. The Tartar
-hunters advance on their horses at intervals of 200 or 300 yards, and when
-the sheep are started generally manage, by riding, shooting, coursing them
-with dogs, and shouting, to bewilder, shoot, or capture several.
-
-On the high plateau of the Pamirs and the adjacent districts MARCO POLO'S
-SHEEP is found. The rams are only slightly less in size than the Siberian
-argali; the hair is longer than in that species, and the horns are thinner
-and more slender and extend farther in an outward direction. An adult ram
-may weigh 22 stone. The first description of this sheep was given by the
-old traveller whose name it now bears. He said that on the Pamir plateau
-wild animals are met with in large numbers, particularly a sheep of great
-size, having horns three, four, and even six palms in length. The shepherds
-(? hunters) form ladles and vessels from them. In the Pamirs, Marco Polo's
-sheep is seldom found at less than 11,000 or 12,000 feet above the sea. In
-the Thian-shan Mountains it is said to descend to 2,000 or 3,000 feet. They
-prefer the hilly, grassy plains, and only seek the hills for safety. On the
-Pamirs they are said to be very numerous in places, one hunter stating that
-he saw in one day not less than 600 head.
-
-
-THE BIGHORN SHEEP OF AMERICA AND KAMCHATKA.
-
-North America has its parallel to the argalis in the famous BIGHORN. It is
-now very rare even in Northern Canada, and becoming scarce in the United
-States, though a few are found here and there at various points on the
-Rocky Mountains as far south as Mexico. In habits it is much the same as
-other wild sheep--that is to say, it haunts the rock-hills and "bad lands"
-near the mountains, feeding on the scanty herbage of the high ground, and
-not descending unless driven down by snow.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. W. McLellan_] [_Highbury._
-
-BURHAL WILD SHEEP.
-
-Sometimes called the Blue Sheep. They have a wide range both on the
-Himalaya and north of those mountains.]
-
-The bighorn sheep are very partial to salt. Mr. Turner Turner, who hunted
-them in East Kooteney, says: "Wild sheep make periodical excursions to the
-mountain-tops to gorge themselves with salty clay. They may remain from an
-hour to two days, and when killed their stomachs will be found full of
-nothing but the clay formed from denuded limestone, which they lick and
-gnaw until sometimes deep tunnels are formed in the cliffs, large enough to
-hide six or seven sheep. The hunter, standing over one of these warrens,
-may bolt them within two yards of him. In the dead of winter sheep often
-come to the woods to feed on fir-trees. At such times they may be seen
-mixed with black-and-white-tailed deer, low on a river-bank. I have known
-them come within forty yards of an inhabited hut."
-
-While on the subject of the fondness of sheep and deer for salt, we may
-mention an anecdote told by Mr. H. C. Nelson in _Country Life_. He was
-sleeping with two other friends in a hut in the mountains where some miners
-had lived for a time. These men, when they washed up their pots and pans,
-threw the slops away at a certain place close by the hut. As all water used
-for cooking meat has salt put into it, a little salt remained on the
-surface. This the wild deer had found out, and were in the habit of coming
-to lick it at night. Mr. Nelson had a shot at one some twenty yards from
-the hut.
-
-The bighorn sheep stands from 3 feet 2 inches to 3 feet 6 inches at the
-shoulder. The horns are of the general type of the argalis, but smoother.
-Another bighorn is found in Kamchatka. There is also a beautiful white race
-of bighorn inhabiting Alaska. The typical Rocky Mountain race is browner
-than the Asiatic argalis, and in winter is dark even beneath the front
-parts of the body. It is not found on the high peaks of the great ranges,
-but on difficult though lower ground on the minor hills.
-
-
-THE OORIAL.
-
-The vast range of the Himalaya affords feeding-ground to other species of
-wild sheep and wild goat, so different in the shape of the horns that the
-variations of the ovine race under domestication need not be matter for
-wonder when so much variety is seen in nature.
-
-The OORIAL, or SHA, is found in North-west India, on the Trans-Indus
-Mountains, and in Ladak, Northern Tibet, Afghanistan, Baluchistan,
-Turkestan, and Southern Persia. The horns make a half-curve backwards, and
-are flattened. The angle with the horizontal line across the ears is about
-half a right angle. The coat is of a reddish-brown colour, with white on
-the belly, legs, and throat. This species has a very wide geographical
-distribution, and is the only wild sheep found in India proper.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by The Duchess of Bedford, Woburn Abbey._
-
-FEMALE KUDU.
-
-The Kudu is one of the handsomest of the African Antelopes, the
-corkscrew-like horns of the bucks forming some of the most striking of all
-sporting trophies.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. T. Newman_] [_Berkhamsted._
-
-PUNJAB SHEEP.
-
-This is an example of one of the breeds which carry no wool whatever.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-FAT-TAILED SHEEP.
-
-The fat tail of this sheep was considered by Charles Darwin as due to
-degeneration.]
-
-
-THE BARBARY SHEEP, AOUDAD, OR ARUI.
-
-This is a large wild sheep of the North African highlands. The old rams
-have a very fine appearance, with a long flowing beard or mane, and large
-horns. These wild sheep, though somewhat goat-like in appearance, are
-typical of their race in general habits. They live in the Atlas Range, and
-in the splendid heights of the Aures Mountains, which lie at the back of
-Algeria and fringe the great Sahara Desert. In the isolated and burning
-rocks which jut up in the desert itself into single mountains they are also
-found, living on ground which seems absolutely destitute of water, grass,
-or vegetation. They live singly or in small families; but the rams keep
-mainly alone. Sometimes they lie in shallow caves during the heat of the
-day. These caves smell like a sheep-fold. More generally the sheep repose
-on some shelf of rock, where they exactly match the colour of the stone,
-and are invisible. The ground is among the most difficult in which any
-hunting is attempted, except perhaps in chamois-stalking; but the pursuit
-seems to fascinate sportsmen. Mr. A. E. Pease recently gave some charming
-descriptions of the silence, the rugged rocks, and the astonishing views
-over the great orange Sahara Desert seen from the tops of these haunts of
-the Barbary sheep--mountains on the summits of which his Arab guides would
-prostrate themselves in evening prayer as the sun sank over the desert, and
-then, rising, once more resume the chase. The young lambs of the Barbary
-sheep are charming little creatures, more like reddish kids. They can
-follow the mother over the steepest ground at a great pace. When caught, as
-they sometimes are by the Arabs, they soon become tame. The tail is longer
-than in other wild sheep, and in the males a large mane covers the chest.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-FOUR-HORNED SHEEP.
-
-There are several breeds of these sheep, some from China, some from
-Iceland, and others from South Africa.]
-
-
-THE BURHAL, OR BLUE SHEEP.
-
-This species possibly indicates the transition-point from the sheep to the
-goats. It was pointed out by Mr. Brian Hodgson that it had certain features
-more like the goats than the sheep, and later other writers laid stress on
-structural differences of the same kind, both in skull and horns. It has
-not the disagreeable odour of the goats; but the black markings which
-separate the white of the belly from the brown of the flanks, and run down
-the front of the legs, are like those seen on some goats. The horns rise in
-a curve outwards and downwards. The largest are only some 30 inches long.
-
-Burhal are perhaps the commonest of all Asiatic wild sheep. They inhabit
-the whole length of the higher Himalayan Range, and are found over and
-round the Central Asian plateau as far north as Yarkand. The horns make two
-half-moons at right angles to the skull. Unlike some of the other wild
-sheep, burhal often climb the very highest ground of all. Much of the best
-burhal ground is above 17,000 feet high, and, as Mr. Whitbread remarks,
-this alone makes the chase of such an animal difficult. As in the moufflon,
-the mutton is excellent. There is no difficulty whatever in taming these
-wild Himalayan sheep; those in the Zoological Gardens are practically
-domesticated.
-
-
-DOMESTICATED SHEEP.
-
-Under domestication sheep exhibit a wide variety of coat, shape, and size,
-very striking to the eye, and very important in regard to the produce of
-wool or mutton. The introduction of a particular breed, with long wool or
-short wool as the case may be, has often saved or altered for a time the
-economic condition of a colony or province. It was the introduction of the
-sheep which gave Australia first rank among the rich colonies of the world;
-and the discovery that the Cheviot breed would thrive on the Scotch hills
-made millions of acres remunerative which might otherwise have been very
-unproductive. But the only important change in the structure of the sheep
-in domestication is the lengthening of the tail. The carcase may be fat
-mutton or thin mutton, the wool long or short, fine or coarse; but the
-sheep itself remains true to type, and of much the same docile habits,
-under all the changes of the breeders.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. T. Newman_] [_Berkhamsted_.
-
-SOUTH DOWN SHEEP.
-
-The finest breed of down-sheep.]
-
-We may first say a word or two as to foreign breeds of sheep, especially
-those of the East. Some of these resemble the wild breeds in having smooth
-coats and almost no wool. The SOMALI SHEEP, for instance, yield no wool
-useful for felting or spinning. They have drooping ears and black heads.
-Some of the finest natural wool is developed by a white sheep in Tibet. The
-fur is usually sold as Tibetan lamb. The wool is exactly like white
-floss-silk. When cured by the Chinese, the leather is like white kid, with
-this flossy wool attached.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-MERINO RAMS.
-
-The best wool-producing sheep. Imported from Spain to Australia.]
-
-In India and Persia the sheep is sometimes used as a beast of burden. Mr.
-Lockwood Kipling, in his "Beast and Man in India," says: "Borax,
-asafoetida, and other commodities are brought into India on the backs of
-sheep in bags. The flocks are driven in large numbers from Tibet into
-British territory. One of the sensations of journeying in the hills of the
-'interior,' as the farther recesses of the mountains are called by
-Anglo-Indians, is to come suddenly on such a drove, as it winds, with the
-multitudinous click of little feet, round the shoulder of some Himalayan
-spur. The coarse hair bags scrape the cliffside from which the narrow path
-is built out or hollowed, and allow but scant room for your pony, startled
-by the hurry and the quick-breathing rush of the creatures as they crowd
-and scuffle past. Only the picturesque shepherds return from these
-journeys. The carriers of the caravan (_i.e._ the sheep), feeding as they
-go, gather flesh in spite of their burdens, and provide most excellent
-mutton.... In the towns of the plains rams are kept as fighting animals. A
-Mohammedan swell going out for a stroll with his fighting-ram makes a
-picture of foppery not easily surpassed by the sporting 'fancy' of the
-West. The ram is neatly clipped, with a judicious reservation of the
-salient tufts, tipped with saffron and mauve dye, and besides a large
-collar of blue beads it wears a necklace of hawk-bells."
-
-The FAT-TAILED SHEEP of Persia and Tartary exhibits a curious provision of
-nature. When food is plentiful, a quantity of fat accumulates on the tail
-and croup. As the pasture dries up and the animal finds little food, this
-store of fat is gradually absorbed. Another fat-tailed sheep is found from
-Syria and Egypt to the Cape. This has a long tail reaching to the ground.
-In the Egyptian breed the tail is broad throughout; in the Syrian it
-narrows to a point. The ordinary weight of the Syrian sheep's tail is 15
-lbs.; but in some well-fattened examples it reaches 70 or 80 lbs. Ludolph
-saw in Egypt a sheep's tail of 80 lbs. weight. This overgrown tail is a
-great encumbrance to the animal. In order to lighten the burden, the
-shepherds fasten under it a small board, sometimes with wheels attached, to
-make it easy to draw over the ground.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. T. Newman_] [_Berkhamsted._
-
-BLACK-FACED MOUNTAIN-SHEEP.
-
-The sheep of the high mountains and heather-moors.]
-
-In Greece, Wallachia, and Western Asia a fine breed of sheep, quite
-different from the English forms, is seen. It is called the WALLACHIAN
-SHEEP. When the Zoological Gardens were first founded here, some of these
-sheep were introduced and crossed with English breeds. The horns are tall
-spirals, as in the great kudu antelope. The body is large, and the fleece
-long and straight, and more like that of the long-haired goats than curly
-wool.
-
-There are now few countries in the world to which sheep have not been
-introduced. They were probably among the earliest animals to be
-domesticated. Certainly they are the first to be mentioned; for we learn
-that "Abel was a keeper of sheep," while Cain tilled the earth. The feud
-between the keeper of flocks and the grower of crops typified in this
-ancient quarrel still goes on wherever the wild mountain breeds of sheep
-are kept, for there is of necessity always danger that the wandering sheep
-may raid the plots of corn. In Spain a curious and ancient set of laws
-regulates the passage of the flocks to and from the mountain pastures
-through the corn-lands.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. T. Newman_] [_Berkhamsted._
-
-LEICESTER EWE.
-
-A heavy, long-woolled breed.]
-
-It is said that the name of the famous breed of Spanish sheep known as
-MERINOS recalls their foreign origin from across the sea, and that they
-were originally imported into Spain from England. Whether that be so or
-not, it is certain that no one could recognise them now. The finest merino
-sheep, especially those bred in Australia, into which country they were
-imported some forty years ago, look as if covered with a dense growth of
-moss. The close wool grows not only on their backs, sides, and bellies, but
-on legs, forehead, and nose. There are believed to be ten millions of
-merino sheep in Spain, most of which are migratory. They are called
-"transhumantes," and are taken from the plains to the mountains and from
-the mountains to the plains yearly. These "transhumantes" are divided into
-flocks, each under a head shepherd, or "majoral." The flocks follow the
-shepherds, who lead the way, and direct the length and speed of the
-journey. A few wethers, trained to the business, follow the shepherds, and
-the rest come in due order. Powerful dogs accompany them as guards. This
-system of sheep migration is controlled by a tribunal termed the Mesta. It
-can be traced back to the middle of the fourteenth century. By it persons
-are prohibited from travelling along the course of the route pursued by the
-flocks so long as they are on the road. It also maintains the right for the
-flocks to graze on all the open or common land that lies in the way.
-Moreover, it claims a path ninety yards wide through all enclosed and
-cultivated country. The length of the journey is over 400 miles, which is
-accomplished in six or seven weeks. The system works greatly to the injury
-of local cultivators and stationary flocks, whose fields are injured by the
-migratory sheep.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-CROSS-BRED SHEEP.
-
-The class of sheep kept mainly on cultivated land in the North Midlands.]
-
-
-ENGLISH BREEDS OF SHEEP.
-
-In England are reared the finest and most valuable sheep. This is evident
-from the prices paid for them by foreigners and breeders in our colonies.
-Except for merinos, no one comes to any other country but this when about
-to seek new blood for their flocks or to stock new lands. Recently 1,000
-guineas were paid by a firm in Argentina for a single Lincoln ram.
-
-Differences, well marked and of great importance, exist between our
-different breeds. Each suits its own district, and each is carefully
-improved and kept pure by herd-books, in which all pedigree animals are
-entered.
-
-The "general utility sheep" in England is the SOUTH DOWN; in Scotland, the
-BORDER LEICESTER. The former is a small, fine sheep, with close wool, and
-yielding excellent mutton. It provides the meat sold in our best shops, and
-has largely stocked New Zealand. The original breed of England was possibly
-the COTSWOLD; it is a tall, long-woolled, white-fleeced sheep. Later a
-large heavy sheep, with long wool and a massive body, was bred in the
-Midlands, and called the LEICESTER LONG-WOOL. This sheep gives a great cut
-of wool, and much coarse mutton. The CHEVIOT SHEEP, originally bred on the
-hills of that name, is now one of the mainstays of the Scotch mountain
-farmer. The Cheviots eat the grass on the high hillsides, while the
-BLACK-FACED HIGHLAND SHEEP live on the heather higher up. The SUFFOLK,
-OXFORD, HAMPSHIRE, and other "Down" sheep are larger breeds than the South
-Down. The ROMNEY MARSH SHEEP are a heavy long-woolled breed. The EXMOORS
-are small heather-sheep like those of Wales, and the SOA and ST. KILDA
-SHEEP, which are often four-horned, the smallest of all.
-
-The maintenance of flocks is now almost an essential part of English
-agriculture on all chalk lands, which comprise a very large percentage of
-the southern counties. On the chalk downs the flocks are the great
-fertilisers of the soil. Every night the sheep are folded on the fields
-which are destined to produce corn in the following year. The manure so
-left on the soil ensures a good crop, with no expense for carting the
-fertiliser from the farmyard, as is the case with manure made by oxen kept
-in straw-yards.
-
-On the South Downs, Oxfordshire Downs or Chiltern Hills, Salisbury Plain,
-and the Berkshire Downs the farms have been mainly carried on by the aid of
-the flocks. Where these are no longer kept the land reverts to grass, and
-the growing of corn ceases. On the coarse, new-sown grasses cattle take the
-place of sheep, and an inferior style of farming, like the ranches of South
-America, replaces the careful and highly skilled agriculture of Old
-England. In the far north of Scotland cross-bred sheep are now reared and
-fed in winter on turnips, which will grow luxuriantly where the climate is
-too bleak and wet for wheat.
-
-Formerly cattle were the main source of wealth to the owners of Highland
-estates. The sheep was only introduced after the Highlands were subdued
-subsequently to the rebellion in 1745. It was found that the rough-coated
-heather-sheep throve on the wet and elevated hills. This led to their
-substitution for cattle, as wool was then dear. Sheep are now in their turn
-giving way to grouse and deer over much of the Central Highlands, as the
-price of wool has fallen.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. T. Newman_] [_Berkhamsted._
-
-LONK RAM.
-
-This is a photograph of the largest sheep on record.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. T. Newman_] [_Berkhamsted._
-
-WELSH EWES.
-
-A small breed of hill-sheep.]
-
-
-THE GOATS.
-
-Though the dividing-line between the Sheep and Goats is very indistinct,
-some differences are of general application. The goats are distinguished by
-the unpleasant "hircine" odour of the males, and by beards on the chins of
-the same sex, by the absence of glands in the hind feet, which sheep
-possess, and by certain variations in the formation of the skull. The
-difference between the temperament of the sheep and goats is very curious
-and persistent, showing itself in a marked way, which affects their use in
-domestication to such a degree that the keeping of one or the other often
-marks the owners as possessors of different degrees of civilisation. Goats
-are restless, curious, adventurous, and so active that they cannot be kept
-in enclosed fields. For this reason they are not bred in any numbers in
-lands where agriculture is practised on modern principles; they are too
-enterprising and too destructive. Consequently the goat is usually only
-seen in large flocks on mountain pastures and rocky, uncultivated ground,
-where the flocks are taken out to feed by the children.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor_] [_Ealing._
-
-FEMALE ANGORA GOAT.
-
-The breed from which mohair is obtained.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor_] [_Ealing._
-
-ANGORA RAM.
-
-These goats were originally obtained from Turkey in Asia, and exported to
-South Africa.]
-
-On the high Alps, in Greece, on the Apennines, and in Palestine the goat is
-a valuable domestic animal. The milk, butter, and cheese, and also the
-flesh of the kids, are in great esteem. But wherever the land is enclosed,
-and high cultivation attempted, the goat is banished, and the more docile
-and controllable sheep takes its place. In Syria the goat is perhaps more
-docile and better understood as a dairy animal than elsewhere in the East.
-The flocks are driven into Damascus in the morning; and instead of a
-milk-cart calling, the flock itself goes round the city, and particular
-goats are milked before the doors of regular customers.
-
-The EUROPEAN GOAT is a very useful animal for providing milk to poor
-families in large towns. The following account of its present uses was
-recently published: "The sheep, while preserving its hardy habits in some
-districts, as on Exmoor, in Wales, and the Highlands, adapts itself to
-richer food, and acquires the habits as well as the digestion of
-domestication. The goat remains, as in old days, the enemy of trees,
-inquisitive, omnivorous, pugnacious. It is unsuited for the settled life of
-the English farm. Rich pasture makes it ill, and a good clay soil, on which
-cattle grow fat, kills it. But it is far from being disqualified for the
-service of some forms of modern civilisation by the survival of primitive
-habits. Though it cannot live comfortably in the smiling pastures of the
-low country, it is perfectly willing to exchange the rocks of the mountain
-for a stable-yard in town. Its love for stony places is amply satisfied by
-the granite pavement of a 'mews,' and it has been ascertained that goats
-fed in stalls and allowed to wander in paved courts and yards live longer
-and enjoy better health than those tethered even on light pastures. In
-parts of New York the city goats are said to flourish on the paste-daubed
-paper of the advertisements, which they nibble from the hoardings. It is
-beyond doubt that these hardy creatures are exactly suited for living in
-large towns; an environment of bricks and mortar and paving-stones suits
-them. Their spirits rise in proportion to what we should deem the
-depressing nature of their surroundings. They love to be tethered on a
-common, with scanty grass and a stock of furze-bushes to nibble. A deserted
-brick-field, with plenty of broken drain-tiles, rubbish-heaps, and weeds,
-pleases them still better. Almost any kind of food seems to suit them. Not
-even the pig has so varied a diet as the goat; it consumes and converts
-into milk not only great quantities of garden-stuff which would otherwise
-be wasted, but also, thanks to its love for eating twigs and shoots, it
-enjoys the prunings and loppings of bushes and trees. In the Mont d'Or
-district of France the goats are fed on oatmeal porridge. With this diet,
-and plenty of salt, the animals are scarcely ever ill, and never suffer
-from tuberculosis; they will often give ten times their own weight of milk
-in a year."
-
-The Kashmir shawls are made of the finest goats' hair. Most of this very
-soft hair is obtained from the under-fur of goats kept in Tibet, and by the
-Kirghiz in Central Asia. Only a small quantity, averaging 3 ozs., is
-produced yearly by each animal. The wool is purchased by middlemen, and
-taken to Kashmir for manufacture.
-
-In India the goat reaches perhaps the highest point of domestication. The
-flocks are in charge of herd-boys, but the animals are so docile that they
-are regarded with no hostility by the cultivators of corn and cereals. Tame
-goats are also kept throughout Africa. The valuable ANGORA breed, from
-which "mohair" is obtained, is now domesticated in South Africa and in
-Australia. In the former country it is a great commercial success. The
-animals were obtained with great difficulty, as the Turkish owners did not
-wish to sell their best-bred goats; but when once established at the Cape,
-it was found that they proved better producers of mohair than when in their
-native province of Angora. The "clip" from their descendants steadily
-improves.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor_] [_Ealing._
-
-BRITISH GOAT.
-
-A much-neglected breed in this country. Note the shape of this animal.]
-
-
-WILD GOATS
-
-THE TUR.
-
-In the Caucasus, both east and west, in the Pyrenees, and on the South
-Spanish sierras three fine wild goats, with some features not unlike the
-burhal sheep, are found. They are called TUR by the Caucasian mountaineers.
-The species found in the East Caucasus differs from that of the west of the
-range, and both from that of Spain. The EAST CAUCASIAN TUR is a massive,
-heavy animal, all brown in colour (except on the fronts of the legs, which
-are blackish), and with horns springing from each side of the skull like
-half-circles. The males are 38 inches high at the shoulder. The short beard
-and tail are blackish, and there is no white on the coat. The WEST
-CAUCASIAN TUR is much lighter in colour than that of the East Caucasus, and
-the horns point backwards, more like those of the ibex, though set on the
-skull at a different angle. The SPANISH TUR has the belly and inner sides
-of the legs white, and a blackish line along the flank, dividing the white
-from the brown; also a blackish chest, and some grey on the flank.
-
-In the Caucasus the tur are found on the high crags above the snow-line in
-summer, whence they descend at night to feed on patches of upland grass;
-but the main home of the tur by day is above the snowline. The Spanish
-species modifies its habits according to the ground on which it lives. Mr.
-E. N. Buxton found it in dense scrub, while on the Andalusian sierras it
-frequents bare peaks 10,000 feet high. In Spain tur are sometimes seen in
-flocks of from 100 to 150 each.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of P. Thomas, Esq._
-
-FEMALE TOGGENBURG GOAT.
-
-These goats are milk-goats _par excellence_; they remain in profit for at
-least ten months in the year. Each goat produces on an average from 110 to
-120 gallons of milk during the year.]
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of P. Thomas, Esq._
-
-STUD TOGGENBURG GOAT.
-
-This breed originally came from Switzerland, but is now well known in
-England. The animals are fine in bone, have a long, thin neck, with two
-tassel-like appendages.]
-
-
-THE PERSIAN WILD GOAT.
-
-The original of our domesticated goat is thought by some to be the PASANG,
-or PERSIAN WILD GOAT. It is a fine animal, with large scimitar-shaped
-horns, curving backwards, flattened laterally, and with knobs on the front
-edge at irregular intervals. It is more slender in build than the tur,
-light brown in general colour, marked with a black line along the nape and
-back, black tail, white belly, blackish shoulder-stripe, and a black line
-dividing the hinder part of the flank from the white belly. Formerly found
-in the islands of South-eastern Europe, it now inhabits parts of the
-Caucasus, the Armenian Highlands, Mount Ararat, and the Persian mountains
-as far east as Baluchistan. A smaller race is found in Sind. It lives in
-herds, sometimes of considerable size, and frequents not only the high
-ground, but the mountain forests and scrub, where such cover exists. The
-domesticated goat of Sweden is said to be certainly a descendant of this
-species.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of P. Thomas, Esq._
-
-SCHWARTZALS GOAT.
-
-A large, long-haired breed, which derives its name from its peculiar
-colour, the fore part of the body being black and the hinder part white.
-These goats are good milkers.]
-
-
-THE IBEX.
-
-Of the IBEX, perhaps the best known of all the wild goats, several species,
-differing somewhat in size and in the form of their horns, are found in
-various parts of the Old World. Of these, the ARABIAN IBEX inhabits the
-mountains of Southern Arabia, Palestine, and Sinai, Upper Egypt, and
-perhaps Morocco. The ABYSSINIAN IBEX is found in the high mountains of the
-country from which it takes its name. The ALPINE IBEX is now extinct in the
-Swiss Alps and Tyrol, but survives on the Piedmontese side of Monte Rosa.
-The ASIATIC IBEX is the finest of the group; its horns have been found to
-measure 54¾ inches along the curve. This ibex inhabits the mountain-ranges
-of Central Asia, from the Altai to the Himalaya, and the Himalaya as far as
-the source of the Ganges.
-
-The King of Italy is the great preserver of the ALPINE IBEX, and has
-succeeded where the nobles of the Tyrol have failed. The animals are shot
-by driving them, the drivers being expert mountaineers. The way in which
-the ibex come down the passes and over the precipices is simply
-astonishing. One writer lately saw them springing down perpendicular
-heights of 40 feet, or descending "chimneys" in the mountain-face by simply
-cannoning off with their feet from side to side. Young ibex can be tamed
-with ease, the only drawback to their maintenance being the impossibility
-of confining them. They will spring on to the roof of a house, and spend
-the day there by preference, though allowed the run of all the premises.
-The kids are generally two in number; they are born in June.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-MALE ALPINE IBEX.
-
-The finest wild goat of Europe, formerly common on the Swiss Alps, now only
-on a limited area on the Italian side.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by S. G. Payne, Aytenbury, by permission of the Hon.
-Walter Rothschild._
-
-YOUNG MALE ALPINE IBEX
-
-The photograph shows the corrugated horns of the male.]
-
-The ibex was long one of the chief objects of the Alpine hunter. The
-Emperor Maximilian had a preserve of them in the Tyrol mountains near the
-Aachen Sea; these he shot with a cross-bow when they were driven down the
-mountains. Sometimes they were forced across the lake. A picture in his
-private hunting-book shows the Emperor assisting to catch one in a net from
-a boat. He notes that he once shot an ibex at a distance of 200 yards with
-a cross-bow, after one of his companions had missed it with a gun, or
-"fire-tube." When away on an expedition in Holland, he wrote a letter to
-the wife of one of the most noted ibex-poachers on his domain, promising
-her a silk dress if she could induce her husband to let the animals alone.
-In the Himalaya the chief foes of the ibex are the snow-leopard and wild
-dog.
-
-
-THE MARKHOR.
-
-The very fine Himalayan goat of this name differs from all other wild
-species. The horns are spiral, like those of the kudu antelope and
-Wallachian sheep. It may well be called the king of the wild goats. A buck
-stands as much as 41 inches at the shoulder, and the maximum measurement of
-the horns is 63 inches, or over 5 feet! It has a long beard and mane, and
-stands very upright on its feet. Besides the Himalaya, it haunts the
-mountains on the Afghan frontier. The markhor keep along the line between
-the forest and snow, some of the most difficult ground in the hills. The
-horns are a much-prized trophy.
-
-
-THE TAHR.
-
-The TAHR of the Himalaya is a very different-looking animal to the true
-goats, from which, among other characters, it is distinguished by the form
-and small size of the horns. The horns, which are black, spring in a high
-backward arch, but the creature has no beard. A buck stands sometimes as
-much as 38 inches high at the shoulder. It has a long, rough coat, mainly
-dark stone-colour in tint.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of P. Thomas, Esq._
-
-NUBIAN GOAT.
-
-These goats come from Nubia and Upper Egypt. They are generally hornless
-and short-haired; the colour varies, being sometimes black, and sometimes
-tan and spotted.]
-
-Tahr live in the forest districts of the Middle Himalaya, where they are
-found on very high and difficult ground. General Donald Macintyre shot one
-standing on the brink of an almost sheer precipice. Down this it fell, and
-the distance in sheer depth was such that it was difficult to see the body
-even with glasses. The tahr is fairly common all along the higher Himalayan
-Range. Its bones are believed to be a sovereign cure for rheumatism, and
-are exported to India for that object. A smaller kind is found in the
-mountains of Eastern Arabia, where very few English sportsmen have yet
-cared to attempt to shoot them.
-
-
-THE NILGIRI TAHR, OR NILGIRI IBEX.
-
-Though not an ibex, the sportsmen of India early gave this name to the tahr
-of the Nilgiri and Anamalai Hills. The Himalayan species is covered with
-long, shaggy hair; the South Indian has short, smooth brown hair.
-
-"The ibex," says Hawkeye, the Indian sportsman, of this animal, "is
-massively formed, with short legs, remarkably strong fetlocks, and a heavy
-carcase, short and well ribbed up, combining strength and agility wonderful
-to behold. Its habits are gregarious, and the does are seldom met with
-separate from the flock or herd, though males often are. The latter assume,
-as they grow old, a distinctive appearance. The hair on the back becomes
-lighter, almost white in some cases, causing a kind of saddle to appear;
-and from that time they become known to the shikaries as the saddle-backs
-of the herd, an object of ambition to the eyes of the true sportsman. It is
-a pleasant sight to watch a herd of ibex feeding undisturbed, the kids
-frisking here and there on pinnacles or ledges of rock and beetling cliffs
-where there seems scarcely safe hold for anything much larger than a
-grasshopper, the old mother looking calmly on. Then again, see the caution
-observed in taking up their resting- or abiding-places for the day, where
-they may be warmed by the sun, listening to the war of many waters, chewing
-the cud of contentment, and giving themselves up to the full enjoyment of
-their nomadic life and its romantic haunts. Usually, before reposing, one
-of their number, generally an old doe, may be observed gazing intently
-below, apparently scanning every spot in the range of her vision, sometimes
-for half an hour or more, before she is satisfied that all is well, but,
-strange to say, seldom or never looking up to the rocks above. Then, being
-satisfied on the one side, she follows the same process on the other, and
-eventually lies down calmly, contented with the precautions she has taken.
-Should the sentinel be joined by another, or her kid come and lie by her,
-they always lie back to back, in such a manner as to keep a good look-out
-to either side. A solitary male goes through all this by himself, and
-wonderfully careful he is; but when with the herd he reposes in security,
-leaving it to the female to take precautions for their joint safety."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Fratelli Alinari_] [_Florence._
-
-ITALIAN GOAT.
-
-From the earliest Roman days these goats have been the main form of
-livestock kept by the mountaineers of the Apennines.]
-
-
-ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT.
-
-America possesses only one species of wild goat, the place of this genus
-being taken in the southern part of the continent by the camel-like
-guanacos. The ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT, the North American representative of the
-group, is a somewhat anomalous creature. It has very few of the
-characteristics of the European and Asiatic species. In place of being
-active in body and vivacious in temperament, it is a quiet, lethargic
-creature, able, it is true, to scale the high mountains of the North-west
-and to live among the snows, but with none of the energetic habits of the
-ibex or the tahr. In form it is heavy and badly built. It is heavy in front
-and weak behind, like a bison. The eye is small, the head large, and the
-shoulders humped. It feeds usually on very high ground; but hunters who
-take the trouble to ascend to these altitudes find little difficulty in
-killing as many wild goats as they wish. These goats are most numerous in
-the ranges of British Columbia, where they are found in small flocks of
-from three or four to twenty. Several may be killed before the herd is
-thoroughly alarmed, possibly because at the high altitudes at which they
-are found man has seldom disturbed them. None of the domesticated sheep or
-goats of the New World are indigenous to the continent of America. It is a
-curious fact, well worth studying from the point of view of the history of
-man, that, with the exception of the llama, the dog, and perhaps the
-guinea-pig, every domesticated animal in use from Cape Horn to the Arctic
-Ocean has been imported. The last of these importations is the reindeer,
-which, though the native species abounds in the Canadian woods, was
-obtained from Lapland and Eastern Asia.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Miss E. J. Beck._
-
-ROCKY MOUNTAIN GOAT.
-
-This is one of the few animals which are white at all seasons of the year.
-The horns and hoofs are jet-black, forming a striking contrast to the
-beautiful coat.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Miss E. J. Beck._
-
-HIMALAYAN TAHR AND YOUNG.
-
-The typical representative of the short-horned wild goats.]
-
-The history of this effort at acclimatisation is curious, and may be quoted
-in this connection. When the first rush to Klondike was made, the miners
-were imprisoned and inaccessible during the late winter. The coming of
-spring was the earliest period at which communication could be expected to
-be restored, and even then the problem of feeding the transport animals was
-a difficult one. The United States Government decided to try to open up a
-road from Alaska by means of sledges drawn by reindeer, and the Canadian
-Government devised a similar scheme. Agents were sent to Lapland and to the
-tribes on the western side of Bering Sea, and deer, drivers, and harness
-obtained from both. The deer were not used for the Klondike relief
-expeditions by the Americans; but the animals and their drivers were kept
-in Alaska, native reindeer were caught, and the latest news of the
-experiment is that the deer were found very useful for carrying the mails
-in winter.
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XV.
-
-_THE ANTELOPES._
-
-BY F. C. SELOUS.
-
-The TRUE ANTELOPES (including the Gazelles) are strictly confined to the
-Old World, the Prongbuck of North America differing so much from all other
-living ruminants, in its horn growth and other particulars, that it is
-considered to be the sole representative of a distinct family.
-
-
-THE HARTEBEESTS.
-
-With the exception of one species--the Bubal--which is found both in North
-Africa and Arabia, the HARTEBEESTS are entirely confined to the African
-Continent. They are animals of large size, standing from 43 to 48 inches at
-the shoulder, and are characterised by their long, narrow faces, high
-withers, and doubly curved horns, which are present in both sexes. Nine
-different species of this group are known to exist.
-
-Although the ranges of these various species of hartebeest cover the
-greater part of the African Continent, it is noteworthy that each species
-keeps to its own ground, their several ranges but rarely overlapping.
-
-All the hartebeests have a strong family resemblance, and are very similar
-in their habits. They are never found either in dense forests or in swampy
-or mountainous country, but are inhabitants of the arid deserts of Northern
-and South-western Africa, and of the open grassy plains and thinly forested
-regions of the high plateaux of the interior of that continent. They are
-extraordinarily fleet and enduring, and in my own experience I have never
-heard of one of these animals, of whatever species, having been overtaken
-or ridden to a standstill by a man on horseback. They are very inquisitive,
-and where they have not been molested will allow any unaccustomed
-object--such as a European in clothes--to walk to within easy shot of them
-before running off. They soon gain experience, however; and in countries
-where they have been most persecuted hartebeests are the keenest-sighted
-and the most wary of all African game. They are very fond of climbing to
-the top of the large ant-heaps with which the plains of Africa are
-profusely studded, and from this point of vantage surveying the surrounding
-country. They live, I believe, entirely upon grass, and in the desert areas
-of their range seem able to subsist for long periods without drinking
-water. Their meat I have always thought very palatable. They are generally
-in fairly good condition, though they seldom carry much fat. Their fat,
-after being melted, becomes solid again immediately on cooling, and clogs
-on the teeth whilst being eaten. But very few African species, except the
-eland, ever become really fat; their life is too active, and the
-food-supply too uncertain, for them to put on flesh like European deer.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Miss E. J. Beck._
-
-BUBALINE HARTEBEEST.
-
-A small species, found in Syria as well as in North Africa.]
-
-
-BONTEBOK AND BLESBOK GROUP.
-
-Nearly allied to the hartebeests are certain other antelopes, of which it
-will be sufficient to mention but two species--_viz._ the BONTEBOK and the
-BLESBOK. These two antelopes, though doubtless distinct, since their points
-of difference are constant and unvarying, are nevertheless so much alike,
-and evidently so closely allied, that I look upon the former as a highly
-coloured and specialised race of the latter. The blesbok once had a far
-wider range than the bontebok, and ran in countless herds on the plains of
-the northern districts of the Cape Colony, the Orange River Colony, the
-Transvaal, Griqualand West, and British Bechuanaland, whilst the latter
-animal has always been confined to the sandy wastes in the neighbourhood of
-Cape Agulhas, the extreme southern point of Africa.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Percy Ashenden_] [_Cape Town._
-
-BLESBOK.
-
-A species formerly very numerous in South Africa, but now well-nigh
-exterminated.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. W. McLellan_] [_Highbury._
-
-WHITE-TAILED GNU AND CALF.
-
-This "Wildebeest" is now believed to be practically exterminated as a wild
-animal.]
-
-I think it, however, not improbable that ages ago the blesbok ranged right
-through Cape Colony to the sea-shore, and that subsequently the gradual
-desiccation of the south-western portions of the country--which is still
-continuing--or several years of continuous drought, caused the withdrawal
-of the species northwards from the waterless parts of the country. Those,
-however, which had reached the neighbourhood of Cape Agulhas, where there
-is plenty of water, would have remained behind and formed an isolated race,
-which, being influenced by local conditions, would naturally in course of
-time have become differentiated from the parent stock. Be this as it may,
-the bontebok of to-day is nothing but a glorified blesbok, being slightly
-larger and more richly coloured than the latter animal. Its horns, too, are
-always black, whilst those of the blesbok are of a greenish hue. When they
-are in good condition, the coats of both these species of antelope, as well
-as of the Sassaby, another member of this group, show a beautiful satiny
-sheen, which plays over their purple-brown hides like shadows on sunlit
-water.
-
-The few bonteboks which still survive are now all preserved on large
-enclosed farms; but their numbers are very small--less than 300, it is
-believed. The farmers of Dutch descent now do their best to preserve rare
-species on their land.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-A COW BRINDLED GNU.
-
-This gnu, which is still found in great numbers in East Central Africa,
-indulges in the same curious antics as the white-tailed species.]
-
-
-THE GNUS.
-
-These remarkable animals were once distributed throughout the greater part
-of Africa from the Cape to Abyssinia, and their range is even now very
-extensive, though what was once the most numerous and the most
-eccentric-looking species of the group has almost ceased to exist.
-
-The gnus are of large size, and at first sight appear to have the head of a
-buffalo, the tail of a horse, and the limbs and hoofs of an antelope. Their
-heads are very massive, with broad muzzles and widely separated, hairy
-nostrils; their necks are maned, tails long and bushy, and both sexes carry
-horns. They are known as "wilde beeste," or "wild cattle," to the Dutch
-colonists of South Africa.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Miss E. J. Beck._
-
-RED-FLANKED DUIKER.
-
-The duikers are for the most part diminutive and graceful antelopes, with
-simple, spike-like horns.]
-
-The WHITE-TAILED GNU, or BLACK WILDEBEEST, as it is more commonly called,
-was once found in great numbers on the karroos of Northern Cape Colony, and
-throughout the vast plains of the Orange River Colony, Transvaal,
-Griqualand West, and British Bechuanaland. Its range, in fact, was coequal
-with that of the blesbok. Even as lately as in 1875 and 1876 I personally
-saw very considerable herds of these quaint animals in the Orange River
-Colony and the Western Transvaal. When the present war broke out in 1899,
-there were only two herds of black wildebeest left alive. These animals
-numbered some 500 head altogether, and were protected by Dutch farmers.
-There are probably very few of them left to-day, and it is scarcely
-possible that this most interesting animal will long escape complete
-extinction.
-
-Black wildebeests, before they had been much persecuted, were so
-inquisitive that, in the words of Gordon Cumming, they would "caper and
-gambol" round a hunter's waggon or any other unusual object, and sometimes
-approach to within a couple of hundred yards, when, whisking their long
-white tails, they would gallop off with loud snorts. They were always,
-however, very keen-sighted, and soon became extremely wary and almost
-impossible to approach on foot in the open plains they frequented, whilst
-their powers of endurance and fleetness of foot were such that they could
-only be overtaken by a well-mounted hunter. In spite of these advantages,
-however, the value of their skins, and the ever-increasing number of
-hunters, armed with long-range rifles, practically brought about the
-extermination of this species of gnu in a few decades.
-
-The BRINDLED GNU is a larger animal than the last-named species, standing
-4½ feet and upwards at the shoulder. This animal once ranged from the Vaal
-River northwards, throughout Eastern and Central Africa, to the north of
-Kilimanjaro, where its range overlaps that of a closely allied form, the
-WHITE-BEARDED GNU, which is only found in certain districts of Eastern
-Africa. In general habits these two varieties seem to be identical.
-
-In the interior of Southern Africa, both north and south of the Zambesi, I
-have met with very large numbers of BLUE WILDEBEESTS. They usually run in
-herds of from ten to twenty individuals, but towards the end of the dry
-season collect in droves of 200 or 300. They are often found in company
-with zebras and sassaby antelopes. Their flesh resembles coarse beef, and,
-to my thinking, is not ill-flavoured.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Miss E. J. Beck._
-
-KLIPSPRINGER.
-
-The "cliff-jumper" is as active in its habits as a chamois, and is found in
-most of the mountain-ranges of Africa.]
-
-
-THE SMALLER BUCKS.
-
-In addition to the great number of antelopes of large size which inhabit
-the African Continent, there are also very many small species, the life
-history and habits of some of which are as yet but imperfectly known, since
-they are denizens of dense forests, and feed principally at night.
-
-All these small African antelopes are divided into two sub-families. The
-first comprises the African DUIKERS and the Indian FOUR-HORNED ANTELOPE,
-and the second the DIK-DIKS, ORIBIS, KLIPSPRINGER, and certain other small
-bush-antelopes.
-
-The African duikers are distributed throughout Africa south of the Sahara,
-and are represented by some twenty different species, the largest of which
-approaches a small donkey in size, whilst the smallest is not much larger
-than a hare.
-
-The majority of these dainty little antelopes are inhabitants of the dense
-tangled forests of the coast-belts of Africa, and are therefore but seldom
-seen by travellers and sportsmen. One species of the group, however, the
-COMMON DUIKER of South Africa, is a very well-known animal. This little
-antelope inhabits much more open country than most of its congeners, and
-has an enormous range, extending from Cape Agulhas to Somaliland, whilst
-two very nearly allied forms are found in Senegal and Abyssinia
-respectively.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-SING-SING WATERBUCK.
-
-The sing-sing and its relatives differ from the true waterbuck by the
-absence of the white elliptical ring on the rump]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-MOUNTAIN REEDBUCK.
-
-One of a group of small antelopes still common in many parts of Africa.]
-
-In most species of duikers both sexes are horned, but in the case of the
-common duiker it is very exceptional to find a female with horns, and in
-all my experience I have only known of three such cases.
-
-The FOUR-HORNED ANTELOPE is the Indian representative of the African
-duikers, and is found along the foot of the Himalaya from the Punjab to
-Nepal, and in suitable localities throughout the peninsula of India. It
-frequents wooded hills, but avoids dense jungle. Like its nearest allies,
-the duikers, it is solitary in its habits, more than two of these antelopes
-seldom being seen together. The growth of four horns on the skull of this
-antelope and on certain breeds of domesticated sheep is a curious fact
-which has not roused as much comment as it deserves.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by S. G. Payne, Aylesbury, by permission of the Hon.
-Walter Rothschild._
-
-MALE IMPALA, OR PALLA.
-
-The beautifully curved horns of the male palla form some of the most
-graceful of trophies.]
-
-
-THE KLIPSPRINGER.
-
-Turning to the second sub-family, we may select the KLIPSPRINGER as the
-most characteristic species to describe. This beautiful little animal,
-which is often called the African Chamois, is found in suitable localities
-from the Cape to Abyssinia. In the southern and northern portions of its
-range the klipspringer is an inhabitant only of rugged mountain-ranges, and
-ascends to a height of 9,000 or 10,000 feet above sea-level. In the more
-central regions of its habitat, however, although it always lives amongst
-rocks, and thoroughly justifies its name of "rock-jumper," it is often
-found in regions where there are no high mountain-ranges. It used to be
-very common in Matabililand, both in the Matopo Hills and on the isolated
-granite kopjes which are so numerous in that country, and usually are not
-more than 200 or 300 feet in height. In Mashonaland I have found it living
-amongst granite rocks in the beds of the larger rivers, and actually on the
-same level as the surrounding country; whereas on Wedza, a great
-mountain-mass of slate and ironstone, which rises to a height of about
-2,000 feet above the surrounding country, and to the top of which I once
-climbed, I did not see any klipspringers. The hoofs of this little animal
-are curiously different from those of any other African antelope, being
-remarkably short and small, with very deep hollows. This adaptation to its
-requirements enables the klipspringer to obtain a foothold on any small
-projecting piece of rock, and to climb in a series of little jumps up the
-faces of cliffs which seem almost perpendicular.
-
-In height the klipspringer stands about 1 foot 9 inches at the shoulder.
-The males alone carry horns, which are straight and ringed at the base, and
-vary from 3 to 5 inches in length. The coat is of a greeny yellow-brown
-colour, with the hairs hollow and brittle. These little animals are usually
-met with singly, or in twos and threes together. When caught young, they
-become wonderfully tame, and make the most charming pets, being very
-playful and fond of jumping, with surprising ease and grace, from the floor
-of a room on to any elevated position, such as a table, mantelpiece, or
-window-sill.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by S. G. Payne, Aylesbury, by permission of the Hon.
-Walter Rothschild._
-
-MALE SAIGA ANTELOPES.
-
-These antelopes inhabit the East Russian steppes. The thick woolly coat
-turns nearly white in winter.]
-
-
-THE WATERBUCKS.
-
-The largest animals in the first of three groups now to be considered are
-the WATERBUCKS, antelopes of stout and sturdy build, standing from 45 to 50
-inches at the shoulder, and covered with long, coarse hair, especially on
-the neck, in both sexes. The males alone carry horns, which vary from 20 to
-36 inches in length, and are strongly ringed in front for three-fourths of
-their length. They are sublyrate in shape, being first inclined backwards
-and then forwards at the tips. There are three well-marked species of
-waterbuck--_viz._ the COMMON WATERBUCK of South Africa, whose range extends
-from the Limpopo northwards, through Nyasaland to German and British East
-Africa, and to the Shebeyli River, in Somaliland; the SING-SING of Senegal
-and Gambia; and the DEFASSA WATERBUCK of Western Abyssinia and the Nile
-Valley, south to Uganda and British and German East Africa. In habits all
-species of waterbuck are very similar. They live generally, though not
-invariably, in herds of from ten to twenty individuals, and in such small
-herds there is seldom more than one full-grown male present. In the
-interior of South Africa the waterbuck is often met with amongst steep
-stony hills and at a distance of more than a mile from the nearest river.
-Speaking generally, however, this antelope may be said to frequent the near
-neighbourhood of water, but to prefer dry to swampy ground. When chased by
-dogs it always makes for water, and will plunge fearlessly into broad, deep
-rivers, regardless of crocodiles, to which ravenous reptiles it sometimes
-falls a victim. In South Africa waterbuck vary much in colour even in the
-same district, some being reddish brown, whilst others are of a very dark
-grey. The flesh of the waterbuck is coarse, and sometimes rather strongly
-tasted, and when in good condition the fat is very hard.
-
-The REEDBUCKS are similar in essential characters to the waterbucks, but
-are of smaller size, and have more bushy tails, and naked spots on the
-sides of the head beneath the ears.
-
-Of this group the COMMON REEDBUCK of South Africa is the best known. This
-animal stands 3 feet at the withers, and is of a soft greyish fawn-colour,
-with a large fluffy tail, which is always thrown up when the animal runs,
-exposing the white under-surface. The males alone carry horns, which curve
-backwards and then forwards, and attain a length of from 12 to 16 inches.
-Reedbucks are met with singly or in twos and threes, and never congregate
-in herds, though I have seen us many as eight, belonging probably to three
-or four families, feeding in close proximity to one another on young green
-grass.
-
-Another member of the reedbuck group is the ROOI RHEBUCK of South Africa.
-This latter species, though a much smaller animal, is very similar to the
-common reedbuck in colour, shape, and general appearance; it is quite
-distinct in its habits and mode of life, as it lives in small herds of from
-four or five to fifteen head, amongst rugged stony hills, often far from
-water.
-
-
-THE BLACKBUCK OF INDIA.
-
-This handsome species is found throughout India wherever there are open
-cultivated plains. The male stands about 32 inches at the shoulder, and
-when full grown is of a glossy black colour, with the exception of a
-chestnut-coloured patch at the back of the neck, and some markings of the
-same colour about the face. The belly and insides of the limbs are pure
-white, the line between the black and white being very clearly defined. The
-whole body and frame are very compact, strong, and beautifully
-proportioned, and the head is carried high. The males alone carry horns,
-which are spiral in shape, annulated almost to the tips, and vary in length
-from 18 to 28 inches. Young bucks and does are fawn-coloured instead of
-black. These antelopes are usually met with in considerable herds on open
-plains in which cultivated tracts alternate with waste land, and they often
-do much damage to the natives' crops. When alarmed, they first execute a
-series of prodigious bounds into the air before finally settling down to a
-steady run. They are surprisingly fleet, and can seldom be overtaken by the
-fastest greyhounds, although they can be caught and pulled down without
-difficulty by trained cheetas, or, as they are often called,
-hunting-leopards.
-
-The PALLA, which is found in Southern and Eastern Africa from Bechuanaland
-to Kordofan, is one of the most graceful of animals. It is a forest-loving
-species, and is never found far from water. Both sexes are of a general
-bright reddish brown, with white bellies. The males alone carry horns,
-which are very graceful in shape, and vary from 14 to upwards of 20 inches
-in length. The finest specimens of the palla are met with in the extreme
-southerly and most northerly portions of its range, the animals inhabiting
-the intermediate districts being smaller and carrying shorter horns. Pallas
-are gregarious, living in herds of from twenty to over one hundred. When
-alarmed, they bound over bushes or any other obstacles with the utmost ease
-and grace, and appear to get over the ground at a high rate of speed. They
-are, however, very commonly run down and torn to pieces by wild dogs, which
-hunt in packs, and are very destructive to African game.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Miss E. J. Beck._
-
-ARABIAN GAZELLE
-
-Gazelles are some of the most slenderly built of all antelopes.]
-
-Of far less graceful appearance than the two preceding species is the
-SAIGA, which, though structurally closely allied to the gazelles, has been
-placed by naturalists in a genus by itself.
-
-This curious-looking animal, which is chiefly remarkable for its large
-swollen-looking nose and light-coloured horns, is an inhabitant of the
-steppes of South-eastern Europe and Western Asia. In height it stands about
-30 inches at the withers, and is of a dull yellowish colour in summer,
-turning to nearly white in winter. The males alone carry horns, which are
-sometimes 13 or 14 inches long, and of a peculiar colour which has been
-likened to pale amber.
-
-At the present day the saiga is only found in Europe on the plains between
-the Don and the Volga, but to the east of the Ural River its range extends
-over the Kirghiz Steppes and the high plains of all Western Siberia. Living
-in open country, and having the senses of hearing, sight, and scent all
-highly developed, the saiga is a difficult animal to approach, and can only
-be successfully stalked by an expert hunter. In summer it is usually met
-with in small, scattered bands, which, when driven southwards by snow and
-cold, are collected into considerable herds in the more southerly portions
-of its range. In very severe winters whole herds have been known to perish
-in snow-drifts, and in such inclement seasons large numbers are also killed
-by the natives. The flesh of the saiga is said to resemble mutton, and is
-held in much esteem.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Carl Hugenbeck_] [_Hamburg._
-
-GOITRED GAZELLES FROM MESOPOTAMIA.
-
-These animals are inhabitants of rocky and desert ground. They are often
-kept tame by the wandering Arabs.]
-
-
-THE GAZELLES.
-
-We now come to the Gazelles, among which are comprised many of the best
-known and most beautiful of the small or medium-sized antelopes. In the
-true gazelles both sexes generally carry horns. Indeed, this rule is
-universal in those of Africa and Arabia; and there are only four species
-known--all Asiatic--in which the females are hornless: _viz._ the TIBETAN
-GAZELLE, PREJEVALSKI'S GAZELLE, the MONGOLIAN GAZELLE, and the PERSIAN
-GAZELLE.
-
-The range of the various species belonging to this large group is very
-extensive, comprising the whole of Northern and Eastern Africa, Arabia, and
-Western and Central Asia, as well as Mongolia and India. The gazelles are
-inhabitants of the open plains and arid desert regions of the Old World,
-and, although sometimes met with in tracts of country where there is a
-certain amount of scattered bush or open stunted forest, are never found in
-any kind of jungle or thick cover.
-
-On the sandy plains of North-western Africa are found the RED-FRONTED
-GAZELLE of Senegal and Gambia; the little-known MHORR GAZELLE of
-South-western Morocco; and the DAMA GAZELLE, a species which has been known
-to naturalists ever since the time of Buffon. A near ally of the last-named
-animal is the RED-NECKED GAZELLE of Dongola and Senaar. In North-eastern
-Africa are found the large and handsome SOEMMERRING'S GAZELLE; the ISABELLA
-GAZELLE, of the coastlands of the Red Sea; HEUGLIN'S GAZELLE; PELZELN'S
-GAZELLE, of the maritime plains of Northern Somaliland; and SPEKE'S
-GAZELLE, of the interior of the same country; whilst, farther south the
-group is represented by the large and beautiful GRANT'S GAZELLE, with its
-allies PETERS'S GAZELLE and THOMSON'S GAZELLE. The well-known DORCAS
-GAZELLE is an inhabitant of Morocco and Algeria, ranging through Egypt into
-Palestine and Syria; the MARICA GAZELLE, the MUSCAT GAZELLE, and the
-ARABIAN GAZELLE inhabit the deserts of Arabia; the EDMI GAZELLE is found in
-the mountain-ranges of Morocco, Algeria, and Tunis; while LODER'S GAZELLE
-inhabits the sandy tracts of the interior of Algeria and Tunis. In Asia,
-besides the four species of gazelle already enumerated in which the females
-are hornless, one other member of the group is met with. This is the INDIAN
-GAZELLE, a species very closely allied to the Arabian form.
-
-Of the whole genus GRANT'S GAZELLE is the most beautiful. This handsome
-animal, which was first discovered by the explorers Speke and Grant in
-1860, is an inhabitant of Eastern Africa, from the neighbourhood of Lake
-Rudolph southwards to Ugogo. In size the average height at the shoulder of
-males of this species is about 34 inches. The coat is close and short and
-of a general fawn colour, the rump and belly pure white, and the face
-marked with a rufous band from the horns to the nose and with streaks of
-white on each side. The upper surface of the tail is white, with a black
-and tufted tip. The horns, which are very elegant in shape, being first
-curved slightly forwards and then backwards, are much longer and more
-powerful than in any other gazelle, and attain a length of 30 inches in the
-males and 17 inches in the females.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Midland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-SPEKE'S GAZELLE.
-
-Found in the interior of Northern Somaliland.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-GAZELLES FROM EGYPT.
-
-Seen in great numbers when our troops crossed the Bayuda Desert.]
-
-Grant's gazelles, though they undoubtedly find their most congenial home in
-open country, have also been met with by recent travellers in
-bush-sprinkled wastes and stony, rugged hills. They are, however, never
-found in dense jungles or high mountains. They live in herds of from half a
-dozen to twenty or thirty individuals, though in certain localities as many
-as 200 have been seen together. They are fond of consorting with other
-game, such as Burchell's and Grevy's zebras, Coke's hartebeest, and the
-beisa oryx, and are often met with at long distances from the nearest
-water. They are keen-sighted and wary, and from the open character of the
-country in which they are usually encountered are often difficult to stalk.
-When in good condition, the meat of this gazelle is said to be excellent.
-
-The nearest ally of the true gazelles is undoubtedly the SPRINGBUCK of
-South Africa. Owing to the protection which it has received of late years,
-this graceful antelope is now a common animal in many parts of South
-Africa, and in the north-western portions of the Cape Colony still
-sometimes collects into prodigious herds, which travel through the country
-in dense masses, destroying every vestige of grass on the line of their
-advance, and causing considerable anxiety to farmers, whose flocks of sheep
-and goats are sometimes swept away by the migrating springbucks. In former
-years the migration of these antelopes in countless thousands from the
-deserts of Namaqualand to the countries farther south was a common
-occurrence, an unerring instinct guiding the wandering herds to districts
-where rain had lately fallen and caused a new growth of green grass. The
-animals composing these migrating herds were called by the Dutch settlers
-of the Cape Colony "Trekbokken," or "travelling-bucks."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-RED-FRONTED GAZELLE.
-
-Inhabits Dongola and Senaar.]
-
-Two other antelopes, the DIBATAG and the GERENUK, are included in the
-present group; but both, whilst typically gazelline in certain respects,
-differ so much in other ways from all members of that group that each has
-been placed in a separate genus.
-
-The DIBATAG is a very remarkable-looking antelope, only found in certain
-districts of Central Somaliland, where it was first discovered by Mr. T. W.
-H. Clarke in 1890. This species shows the face-markings of the gazelles,
-whilst the horns, which are only present in the males, much resemble in
-shape those of a reedbuck. They are rather short, attaining a length of
-only 11 or 12 inches, and their basal halves are strongly ringed in front.
-The neck of this antelope is singularly long and thin, and the tail, which
-is held curved forwards over the back when the animal is in motion, is also
-much elongated, and only tufted at the tip. The dibatag frequents sandy
-ground sparsely covered with low thorn-bushes, and lives in small families,
-being usually met with in twos or threes, whilst it is rare to find more
-than four or five consorting together.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-RED-FRONTED GAZELLE.
-
-Another view of the specimen shown above.]
-
-The GERENUK, like the last-named animal, is an East African species, but
-has a more extended range, being found all over Somaliland, and thence
-southwards to the Tana Valley and the Kilimanjaro district of British East
-Africa. The most remarkable external characteristic of this species is the
-excessively long neck. The males alone carry horns, which attain an average
-length of 12 or 13 inches, and, though somewhat gazelle-like in shape, are
-more strongly crooked forwards at the points. The skull of this species is
-more dense and solid in structure than in the true gazelles, and the
-cheek-teeth are smaller in size.
-
-Coming now to the Sable Antelope group, we find an assemblage of antelopes
-which are all of large size and handsome appearance, and in all of which
-both the males and females are horned. With the single exception of the
-BEATRIX ORYX, which inhabits Arabia, all these antelopes are denizens of
-Africa. One species of the group, the BLUEBUCK, which appears to have been
-entirely confined to the mountainous districts of the Cape Peninsula,
-became extinct during the first decade of the last century. Little is known
-as to the life history of this animal, but it was undoubtedly nearly allied
-to the larger and more handsomely marked ROAN ANTELOPE. This latter animal
-once had a more extensive range than any other antelope, as it was found in
-almost every part of Africa south of the Sahara, with the exception of the
-Congo forest region. It has now been exterminated in the more southerly
-portions of the country, but from the Limpopo to the Upper Nile, and thence
-to the Niger, it is still to be found wherever the surroundings are
-suitable to its requirements.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Percy Ashenden_] [_Cape Town._
-
-MALE SPRINGBUCK.
-
-Once the most numerous species in South Africa, where it is still not
-uncommon. Its migrations, or "treks," at certain seasons were one of the
-sights of the veldt.]
-
-A large bull roan antelope will stand 4 feet 9 inches at the withers. The
-general colour of the body differs in individuals, even in the same
-district, varying from a very light shade of brown to dark grey or
-red-roan. The front and sides of the face are jet-black in the adult male,
-and dark reddish brown in the female, with two long white tufts of hair
-under the eyes. The muzzle and extremity of the lower jaw are white. The
-hair on the under side of the neck is long and coarse, and a stiff mane
-about 3 inches in length runs from behind the ears to the withers. The ears
-are very long, and in the females and young males tufted. The horns are
-curved backwards, and in the male are very stout and strong, attaining a
-length of from 26 to 34 inches. In the female the horns are shorter and
-slighter, and not so strongly ringed.
-
-Roan antelope are usually met with in small herds of from six to a dozen
-members, and never congregate in large numbers. I do not think I have ever
-counted as many as thirty together. I have found them fairly common in
-certain districts, but nowhere very plentiful. They frequent open plains
-and thinly forested country, and are never found far away from water. Bucks
-often become savage when wounded, and will sometimes charge viciously if
-approached incautiously. They can use their horns with great dexterity, and
-play havoc with a pack of dogs.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by S. G. Payne, Aylesbury, by permission of the Hon.
-Walter Rothschild._
-
-SABLE ANTELOPE.
-
-A near ally of the Roan Antelope, from which it is broadly distinguished by
-its striking coloration--black and white.]
-
-The SABLE ANTELOPE, though considerably smaller than the roan, is yet a
-handsomer animal. In colour the adult male, when in high condition, is
-jet-black all over with the exception of the white face-markings and the
-snow-white of the belly and insides of the thighs. The mane is longer and
-more bushy than in the roan antelope, and often hangs down on either side
-over the withers. The horns, too, are much finer, and, sweeping backwards
-in a bold curve, are commonly upwards of 42 inches long, and have been
-known to reach 50 inches. The striking colour, large size, and horns of
-this creature make it one of the most-prized trophies of the sportsman. The
-skin, when prepared and laid down as a rug in halls or dwelling-rooms, is
-far more handsome than that of any deer. The female of this species is
-usually of a rich red-brown in colour instead of black as in the male.
-South of the Zambesi, however, old cows become almost absolutely black.
-North of the Zambesi both male and female sable antelopes are dark red in
-colour rather than black. The horns in the female are slighter and less
-curved than in the male, and are also considerably shorter, as a rule not
-measuring over 30 inches in length.
-
-The range of the sable antelope extends from the northern districts of the
-Transvaal to German East Africa. In the country between the Limpopo and the
-Central Zambesi it used to be a very common animal, especially in the
-northern districts of Mashonaland. It is partial to open forests
-intersected by grassy, well-watered glades, and is never found on open
-plains entirely devoid of bush. It is usually met with in herds of from
-twelve to twenty individuals, but I have often seen as many as fifty, and
-once counted between seventy and eighty together. However large a herd of
-sable antelopes may be, it is very exceptional to find with it more than
-one fully adult male, from which fact I should judge that these animals are
-of a very jealous and pugnacious disposition. When wounded and brought to
-bay by dogs, a sable antelope defends itself with the utmost fury, using
-its long scimitar-shaped horns with most wonderful quickness and dexterity.
-If badly wounded it will lie down, otherwise it fights standing. Keeping
-its face to some of its foes, with a sideways twist of its head it will
-transfix and throw into the air any dog which attempts to attack it from
-behind. I have seen a wounded sable antelope, when lying down, drive one of
-its horns clean through a large dog deep into its own haunch, and I have
-had four valuable hounds killed and four others grievously wounded by one
-of these animals in less than a minute. I once knew a native hunter who was
-stabbed through the kidneys and killed by a sable antelope cow.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-ROAN ANTELOPE.
-
-In common with the Sable Antelope and the Oryx group, both sexes of this
-species carry horns.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Norman B. Smith, Esq._
-
-MALE OF GRANT'S GAZELLE.
-
-This fine East African species is one of the handsomest of its kind.]
-
-The nearest allies of the sable and roan antelopes are the various species
-of the genus Oryx. In this group are included the WHITE ORYX, which
-inhabits the desert regions of the interior of Northern Africa from Dongola
-to Senegal; the BEATRIX ORYX of Southern Arabia; the GEMSBUCK of
-South-western Africa; the BEISA, which is found in North-east Africa from
-Suakim southwards to the river Tana; and the TUFTED BEISA, which is very
-nearly related to the last-named species, whose place it takes south of the
-Tana River in certain districts of British and German East Africa. In
-general appearance there is a strong family resemblance between the
-different species of oryx. In all of them both sexes carry horns, which are
-considerably longer, though somewhat slighter, in the females than in the
-males. In the white oryx the horns are curved backwards; but in the other
-four species they are straight, or nearly so. In all the faces are
-conspicuously banded with black and white, and the tails long, with large
-dark terminal brushes. The two most desert-loving species, the white and
-the Beatrix oryx, are paler in general body-colour than the other three,
-and the latter animal is considerably smaller than any other member of the
-group, standing not more than 35 inches at the withers. The gemsbuck is the
-largest and undoubtedly the handsomest of the group, standing 4 feet at the
-shoulders; the horns of the females are often upwards of 40 inches long,
-and have been known to attain a length of 48 inches.
-
-[Illustration: GROUP OF BEISA ORYX.
-
-This most interesting photograph, taken by Lord Delamere, shows a group of
-these fine antelopes on the East African plains.]
-
-In habits all species of oryx seem to be very similar. They are denizens of
-the arid sun-scorched plains of Africa, which are not necessarily devoid of
-all kind of vegetation, but are often covered with stunted bush, and carry
-a plentiful crop of coarse grass after rain. Oryx usually run in herds of
-from four or five to fifteen or twenty, though the beisa, the most abundant
-of the group, has been met with in troops numbering 400 or 500 head. All
-the oryx are shy and wary, and in the open country they usually frequent
-are difficult to approach on foot. If pursued on horseback, they run at a
-steady gallop, which they can maintain for long distances, swinging their
-bushy black tails from side to side, and holding their heads in such a way
-that their long straight horns are only sloped slightly backwards. Fleet
-and enduring, however, as oryx undoubtedly are, I am of opinion that in
-these respects the gemsbuck of South Africa, at any rate, is inferior to
-all other large antelopes living in the same country, with the single
-exception of the eland. I have often, when mounted on a fast horse,
-galloped right up to herds of gemsbuck, and on two occasions have run
-antelopes of this species to an absolute standstill. Oryx of all species
-should be approached with caution when badly wounded, as they are liable to
-make short rushes, and can use their horns with great effect.
-
-Nearly related to the antelopes of the Oryx group in many essential
-characteristics, yet at once distinguishable by its spiral horns and broad
-reindeer-like feet, the desert-haunting ADDAX has been placed in a separate
-genus, of which it is the sole representative.
-
-This remarkable animal stands about 38 inches in height at the withers, and
-varies in general colour at different seasons of the year, from brownish
-grey to a reddish hue. The forehead is covered with a thick growth of bushy
-black hair, beneath which there is a patch of white extending across the
-nose to under the eyes. The hindquarters, tail, and legs are white. The
-horns are spiral, and are present in both sexes. In the male they attain a
-length of about 28 inches in a straight line, and almost 36 inches
-following the spiral. In the female they are thinner and less spirally
-curved. The addax is confined to the desert regions of Northern Africa from
-Dongola to Senegal, and the broad, rounded hoofs, so unlike those of any
-other antelope, would seem to show that it inhabits countries where the
-soil is deep, soft sand.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by S. G. Payne, Aylesbury, by permission of the Hon.
-Walter Rothschild._
-
-WHITE ORYX.
-
-Found in Northern Africa from Dongola to Senegal.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-BEISA ORYX.
-
-The beisa is found in North-east Africa; by some it is believed to have
-suggested the original idea of the unicorn.]
-
-Very little is known of the life history or habits of this antelope. It is
-said to associate in pairs or small herds, and to be entirely independent
-of water, though it travels great distances over the desert in the track of
-thunder-storms for the sake of the young herbage which grows so quickly
-wherever rain falls in those thirsty regions. It is killed in considerable
-numbers by the Arabs for the sake of its flesh and hide, and is either
-stalked or hunted on horseback, with the help of greyhounds, by Europeans.
-
-The last of the sub-families into which modern naturalists have divided the
-antelopes of the world comprises some of the handsomest species of the
-whole group, and includes the largest of all antelopes, the Eland, as well
-as such small and beautifully marked creatures as the Harnessed Bushbucks.
-
-With one exception--the Nilgai--all the members of this sub-family are
-denizens of the great African Continent.
-
-The NILGAI, or BLUE BULL, is an inhabitant of India, and is found
-throughout the greater portion of the peninsula, from the base of the
-Himalaya to the south of Mysore. It is an animal of large size, standing
-about 4 feet 6 inches at the shoulder. In general colour the male is of a
-dark iron-grey, the female tawny fawn. White spots on the cheeks and just
-above the hoofs on the fore and hind feet are the outward signs of its
-affinity to the African harnessed antelopes. The male alone carries horns,
-which are nearly straight and very small for the size of the animal, rarely
-exceeding 9 inches in length.
-
-Passing now to the Harnessed Antelopes of Africa, our attention is first
-claimed by the BUSHBUCKS. Excluding the Inyala and the Broad-horned
-Antelope, we find several forms of the smaller bushbucks recognised by
-naturalists: _viz._ the HARNESSED ANTELOPE of the forest regions of Western
-Africa; the CAPE BUSHBUCK of South Africa; CUMMING'S BUSHBUCK of Eastern
-Africa; and the DECULA BUSHBUCK of Abyssinia. The various forms of bushbuck
-vary in general colour from very dark brown to various shades of
-grey-brown, yellow-brown, and rich red. In all species the young are more
-or less striped and spotted; but whereas in some forms the adult animals
-lose their stripes and spots almost entirely, in others the adults are more
-richly marked than immature specimens. For my part, I am inclined to
-believe that, if large series of bushbuck-skins were collected from every
-district throughout Africa, it would be found that all the varieties of
-this animal at present accepted as distinct species would be found to grade
-into one another in such a way that only one true species could be
-recognised.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by S. G. Payne, Aylesbury, by permission of the Hon.
-Walter Rothschild._
-
-GERENUK.
-
-A gazelle-like antelope with long neck and legs, inhabiting North-east
-Africa.]
-
-The bushbucks vary in height at the shoulder from 28 inches to 33 inches,
-and only the males carry horns, which are nearly straight, with a close
-spiral twist, and measure in adult animals from 10 inches to 18 inches in
-length.
-
-Bushbucks are not found in open country, but live in forest or thick bush
-near the bank of a river, stream, or lake, and are never met with far from
-water. They are very partial to wooded ravines amongst broken, mountainous
-country, provided such districts are well watered; and are very solitary in
-their habits, both males and females being usually found alone, though the
-latter are often accompanied by a kid or half-grown animal. They are shy
-and retiring, and should be looked for between daylight and sunrise, or
-late in the evening, as they are very nocturnal in their habits, and lie
-concealed in long grass or thick bush during the heat of the day. Their
-call resembles the bark of a dog, and may often be heard at nights.
-
-The BROAD-HORNED ANTELOPE is only found in the forests of the West African
-coast range, from Liberia to Gaboon. The male of this species is a very
-handsome animal, standing about 43 inches at the withers, and is a bright
-chestnut-red in general colour, with a white spinal stripe extending from
-the withers to the root of the tail, and fourteen or fifteen white stripes
-on the shoulders, flanks, and hindquarters. The ears are large and rounded,
-and the horns very massive, and about 30 inches in length, measured over
-the single spiral twist. There are two or three large white spots on the
-cheeks, and a broad white arrow-shaped mark across the nose below the eyes.
-The female is similar in coloration to the male, but smaller and hornless.
-
-Little or nothing is known as to the habits of this very beautiful
-antelope. Du Chaillu, who met with it in the interior of Gaboon between
-1856 and 1859, says that it is "very shy, swift of foot, and exceedingly
-graceful in its motions"; but he does not tell us whether it lives in pairs
-like the bushbucks, or in small herds like some of its other near allies.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-FEMALE NILGAI.
-
-The largest of the antelopes of India, and a distant cousin of the Kudu.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-ADDAX.
-
-Unfortunately, the specimen from which this photograph was taken had lost
-its splendid spiral horns.]
-
-The INYALA is another bush-loving antelope closely allied to the bushbucks.
-In this species the general colour of the adult male is a deep dark grey,
-that of the female and young male bright yellow-red, and both sexes are
-beautifully striped with narrow white bands on the body and haunches. In
-the male long dark hair hangs from the throat, chest, and each side of the
-belly, and fringes the front of the thigh almost to the hock, and the back
-of it up to the root of the tail. The ears are large and rounded; and the
-horns, which are only present in the male, attain a length of about 2 feet
-in a straight line, and 30 inches along their spiral curve. The standing
-height at the shoulder of males of this species is about 42 inches.
-
-This most beautiful antelope has a very restricted range, being only found
-in a narrow belt of coastland extending from St. Lucia Bay to the Sabi
-River, in South-east Africa, and in a still smaller area in the
-neighbourhood of the Upper Shiri River, in British Central Africa.
-
-Before the acquisition of firearms by the natives in South-east Africa, the
-inyala was very plentiful in Northern Zululand and Amatongaland, and was
-then to be met with in herds of from ten to twenty individuals; whilst the
-males, which at certain seasons of the year separated from the females,
-were in the habit of consorting together in bands of from five to eight.
-Constant persecution by the natives in Amatongaland and the countries
-farther north very much reduced the numbers of inyalas in those districts a
-long time ago; but in Zululand, where this animal has been strictly
-protected by the British authorities for the last twenty years, it was
-still plentiful up to 1896, when the rinderpest swept over the country, and
-committed such sad ravages amongst all the tragelaphine antelopes that it
-is to be feared the inyala can now no longer be found anywhere in any
-considerable numbers. Where I met with these antelopes some years ago, in
-the country to the south of Delagoa Bay, I found them living either alone
-or in pairs like bushbucks. They frequented dense thickets in the immediate
-neighbourhood of a river or lagoon, and I never saw one in anything like
-open country or far away from water. Their tracks showed me that at night
-they were accustomed to feed in open spaces in the bush, but they always
-retired to the jungle again at daylight, as they had become very wary and
-cunning through constant persecution at the hands of the natives.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son, Notting Hill._
-
-NORTHERN GIRAFFE.
-
-Two distinct types of Giraffe exist: the northern form, which has a large
-third horn, may be described as a chocolate-coloured animal marked with a
-network of fine buff lines; the southern form, in which the third horn is
-small, is fawn coloured with irregular brown blotches.]
-
-Closely allied to the bush-antelopes of the present group are the
-swamp-haunting SITATUNGAS. Three species of these have been described,--one
-from East Africa, named after Captain Speke; another from tropical West
-Africa; and a third from Lake Ngami and the Chobi River, named after the
-present writer.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Mr. W. Rau_] [_Philadelphia._
-
-A PAIR OF YOUNG PRONGBUCKS.
-
-From the fact that the horns of the males are annually shed, the prongbuck
-is assigned to a group apart from the Antelopes.]
-
-There is very little difference between the adult males of these three
-species, except that in the West African form the coat is of a darker
-colour than in the other two. The main difference consists in the fact
-that, whereas the female of Selous' sitatunga is light brown in colour like
-the male, and the newly born young are very dark blackish brown (the colour
-of a mole), beautifully striped and spotted with pale yellow, the female
-and young of the other two forms are red in ground-colour, with white spots
-and stripes. However, personally I am of opinion that there is only one
-true species of sitatunga in all Africa, and that the differences between
-the various forms are superficial, and would be found to grade one into the
-other, if a sufficiently large series of skins of all ages and both sexes
-could be gathered together from all parts of the continent. In the Barotse
-Valley, on the Upper Zambesi, my friend Major R. T. Coryndon informs me
-that both red and brown female sitatungas are met with. On the Lower Chobi
-and Lake Ngami region the females are never red, but always of the same
-brown colour as the males, whilst on the Congo all the females are red.
-
-The male sitatunga stands about 3 feet 6 inches at the shoulder, and varies
-in general colour in different localities from light to dark brown. The
-adult females are either red with a few faint stripes and spots, or light
-brown, only retaining very faint traces of any stripes or spots. The young
-are, both in tropical West and Central East Africa, red, striped, and
-spotted with white; but in South-west Africa dark blackish brown, with
-spots and stripes of yellowish white. The hoofs are excessively long, and
-the skin which covers the back of the pastern is hairless, and of a very
-thick and horny consistency. The males alone carry horns, which are of the
-same character as in the inyala, but more spiral and longer, having been
-known to attain a length of 28 inches in a straight line and 35 inches over
-the curve.
-
-The sitatunga is an inhabitant of the extensive swamps which exist in many
-parts of the interior of Africa. It may be said to live in the water, as it
-passes its life in flooded beds of reeds and papyrus, into the muddy
-bottoms of which its long hoofs, when splayed out, prevent it from sinking.
-When forced out into dry ground by heavy floods, the formation of its feet
-so hinders it in running that it can be overtaken and speared by a native
-on foot. I was informed by the natives on the Chobi River that, when the
-floods enabled them to paddle their canoes through the reed-beds, they
-often killed considerable numbers of the sitatungas. These animals, they
-said, when they saw a canoe approaching, would often not attempt to seek
-safety by flight, but would sink down in the water, submerging their whole
-bodies, and leaving only their nostrils above the surface, and in this
-position were easily speared.
-
-The sitatunga is not gregarious, but is met with singly or in pairs. The
-hair is long, but soft and silky; and the skins are much sought after by
-the natives for blankets.
-
-In addition to the bushbucks and sitatungas, two more very notable
-spiral-horned African antelopes remain to be mentioned--namely, the GREATER
-KUDU and the LESSER KUDU.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-FEMALE GORAL.
-
-The goral is a Himalayan antelope, with somewhat the habits of a chamois.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-HARNESSED ANTELOPE.
-
-A very beautiful species, in which the ground-colour of the coat is a rich
-chestnut, while the spots and stripes are pure white.]
-
-The GREATER KUDU is one of the most magnificent-looking of the whole family
-of antelopes, and is an animal of large size, an adult male standing 4 feet
-9 inches and upwards at the withers. The general colour of this species is
-light brown to dark grey, the old males looking much darker than females or
-younger animals, because the scantiness of their coats shows the dark
-colour of the skin beneath. On each side of the body and hind-quarters
-there are several white stripes, which vary in number from four to eight or
-nine. As in all this group of antelopes, there are two or three
-cheek-spots, as well as an arrow-shaped white mark across the nose, below
-the eyes. In the male there is a slight mane on the back of the neck, and a
-fringe of long white and blackish-brown hair intermixed, extending from the
-throat to the chest. The ears are very large and rounded, and the male is
-adorned with magnificent spiral horns, which have been known to attain a
-length of 48 inches in a straight line from base to tip, and 64 inches over
-the curve.
-
-The greater kudu once had a very wide range, which extended from the
-central portions of the Cape Colony to Angola on the west, and on the east
-throughout East Africa up to Abyssinia; but, with the single exception of
-the buffalo, no species of wild animal suffered more from the terrible
-scourge of rinderpest which recently swept over the continent than this
-lordly antelope, and it has almost ceased to exist in many districts of
-South and South Central Africa, where up to 1896 it was still very
-numerous.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Percy Ashenden_] [_Cape Town._
-
-MALE KUDU.
-
-A kudu bull stands about 5 feet or a little more at the withers, being in
-size only inferior to the eland. The horns form a corkscrew-like spiral.]
-
-The greater kudu is a bush-loving antelope, and very partial to wooded
-hills, though it is also plentiful in the neighbourhood of rivers which
-flow through level tracts of country covered with forest and bush. In my
-own experience it is never found at any great distance from water. It eats
-leaves and wild fruits as well as grass, and lives in small herds or
-families, never, I believe, congregating in large numbers. In Southern
-Africa, at any rate, it was always exceptional to see more than twenty
-greater kudus together, and I have never seen more than thirty. At certain
-seasons of the year the males leave the females, and live alone or several
-together. I once saw nine magnificently horned kudus standing on the bank
-of the Chobi, and I have often seen four or five males of this species
-consorting together. As a rule the greater kudu is met with in hilly
-country or in bush so dense that a horse cannot gallop through it at full
-speed; but if met with in open ground, a good horse can overtake an old
-male without much difficulty. The females are much lighter and faster, and
-cannot be overtaken in any kind of ground.
-
-The greater kudu is one of the most timid and inoffensive of animals, and
-when attacked by dogs will not make the slightest attempt to defend itself
-either with its horns or by kicking.
-
-The LESSER KUDU in general colour nearly resembles its larger relative, but
-is much smaller, the males only standing about 40 inches at the withers,
-and it lacks the long fringe of hair under the throat. The white stripes on
-the body and hindquarters are, however, more numerous--from eleven to
-fourteen; and the horns, which are only present in the males, are less
-divergent, and with the spiral curvature much closer than in the greater
-kudu.
-
-The lesser kudu is an inhabitant of Somaliland and the maritime districts
-of British East, Africa. It frequents thick scrubby jungle, and is said to
-be exceedingly watchful and wary. It lives either in pairs or in small
-families, but never congregates in large herds. Like all the tragelaphine
-antelopes, this species is a leaf-eater, and feeds principally during the
-night, lying up in thick bush during the heat of the day.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. W. McLellan_] [_Highbury._
-
-ELAND.
-
-A feature of the eland is the large "dewlap." Unlike the kudu, both sexes
-are horned.]
-
-There remains to be mentioned but one other group of antelopes, the ELANDS,
-large, heavily built animals, which belong to the present group, but differ
-from all species of kudu, sitatunga, and bushbuck, inasmuch as both sexes
-are horned. There are two forms of the COMMON ELAND--namely, the grey
-variety of South-western Africa, and the striped animal, which is found in
-the countries farther north and east. The two forms grade one into the
-other, and are absolutely identical in their habits and mode of life, the
-differences between them being merely superficial. To the south of the
-twenty-third parallel of south latitude all elands are of a uniform fawn
-colour, except the old animals, which look dark grey, from the fact that
-the scantiness of their coats allows the dark colour of the skin to show
-through the hair. Old males, when standing in the shade of a tree, appear
-to be of a deep blue-grey in colour, and are known to the colonists of
-South Africa as "blue bulls." In Rhodesia, South-east Africa, and the
-countries to the north of the Zambesi, all the elands are bright
-chestnut-red when young, with a black line down the centre of the back from
-the withers to the tail, broad black patches on the backs of the fore legs
-above the knees, and eight or nine white stripes on each side. When they
-grow old, the ruddiness of the ground-colour gradually fades, the black
-markings on the fore legs die out, and the white stripes become
-indistinguishable at a short distance, the old bulls looking deep blue-grey
-in general colour. Every intermediate stage of colouring between the
-unstriped and the highly coloured forms of eland is to be found in the
-district lying between the central portions of the Kalahari Desert and the
-Zambesi River. Old male elands south of the Zambesi develop a growth of
-long, bristly black hair on the forehead, which often hangs over their eyes
-and extends half-way down their noses. North of the Zambesi this growth of
-hair is not nearly so luxuriant.
-
-I have carefully measured the standing height at the withers of many old
-male elands in the interior of South Africa, and found that it varied from
-5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches. The horns of bulls in their prime
-measure from 26 inches to 33 inches in length, but old bulls wear their
-horns down very much. The cows carry longer, though thinner horns than the
-bulls.
-
-The range of the eland once extended from Cape Agulhas to the White Nile,
-but it has become extinct in many districts of Southern Africa, and in
-almost every other portion of its range has, like all other tragelaphine
-antelopes, suffered so cruelly from the recent visitation of rinderpest
-that it has now become a scarce animal all over Africa.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-ELAND COWS.
-
-Female elands carry longer, although more slender horns than the bulls.]
-
-During the rainy season elands are usually met with in small herds of from
-four or five to ten individuals; but towards the end of the dry season they
-collect into large herds, and at such times I have often seen from fifty to
-over two hundred of these animals in one troop.
-
-In my experience elands live for two-thirds of the year in forest or
-bush-covered country, or amongst rugged hills; and in such localities they
-are difficult to overtake on horseback; but in the middle of the dry
-season, as soon as they smell the smoke of the grass fires lighted by the
-natives on the open plateaux, they leave their retreats, and, collecting in
-herds, wander out on to the treeless plains in search of young grass. They
-then fall an easy prey to a mounted hunter, especially the heavy old bulls,
-which can be run to a standstill with ease by a very moderate horse.
-
-The flesh of the eland is excellent when the animal is in good condition,
-as at such a time these animals become very fat, especially the old bulls,
-whose hearts become encased in a mass of fat which will often weigh 20 lbs.
-It is a mistake, however, to think that eland-meat is always good; for
-towards the end of the dry season, when there is little grass to be got,
-they feed extensively on the leaves of certain bushes, and their meat at
-such times becomes very poor and tasteless.
-
-Besides the common eland of Southern, Central, and Eastern Africa, another
-distinct species is met with in Senegal and the Gambia Colony. This is the
-DERBIAN ELAND, about which animal our knowledge is still very slight, as I
-believe that it has never yet been shot nor its habits studied by a
-European traveller. A good many skulls and horns and a few skins have been
-obtained from natives, from which it appears that in general colour this
-species is of a rich reddish-fawn colour, becoming nearly white below, the
-middle of the belly being black. The neck is covered with long hair of a
-dark brown or black colour, blacker towards the shoulder than in front. A
-broad black stripe extends all down the centre of the back from the neck to
-the root of the tail, and there are large black patches on the backs and
-inner sides of the fore legs above the knees. On each side of the body and
-haunches there are thirteen or fourteen narrow white stripes. The horns are
-larger and more massive and divergent than in the common eland.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-BULL ELAND.
-
-The flesh of the eland is of better flavour than that of most other large
-game. If sheltered in winter, the species will thrive in English parks.]
-
-The Derbian eland is said to be a forest-loving animal, never of its own
-accord coming out into the plains. It lives in small herds, is very shy and
-not at all abundant, and browses on the leaves and young shoots of various
-trees and bushes.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-THE SOUTHERN GIRAFFE.
-
-The tallest mammal ever known to walk the earth.]
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVI.
-
-_THE GIRAFFE AND OKAPI._
-
-----
-
-THE GIRAFFE.
-
-BY H. A. BRYDEN.
-
-Giraffes, which are found only in the continent of Africa, are the tallest
-of all living creatures. They belong to the Ruminants, or Cud-chewers, and
-naturalists are inclined to place them somewhere between the Deer Family
-and the Hollow-horned Ruminants, in which latter are to be found oxen,
-buffaloes, and antelopes. Rütimeyer, the Swiss naturalist, once defined
-them as "a most fantastic form of deer," which is, perhaps, as good a
-definition of them as one is likely to hit upon. Fossil discoveries show
-that, in ages long remote, great giraffe-like creatures, some of them
-bearing horns or antlers, roamed widely in the south of Europe, Persia,
-India and even China.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Miss E. J. Beck._
-
-SOUTHERN GIRAFFE LYING DOWN.
-
-This giraffe was a present to Queen Victoria; it only lived fourteen days
-after its arrival.]
-
-Of living giraffes, two species have thus far been identified,--the
-SOUTHERN or CAPE GIRAFFE, with a range extending from Bechuanaland and the
-Transvaal to British East Africa and the Soudan; and the NUBIAN or NORTHERN
-GIRAFFE, found chiefly in East Africa, Somaliland, and the country between
-Abyssinia and the Nile. The southern giraffe, which, from its recent
-appearance in the Gardens of the Zoological Society, is now the more
-familiar of the two animals, has a creamy or yellowish-white ground-colour,
-marked by irregular blotches, which vary in colour, in animals of different
-ages, from lemon-fawn to orange-tawny, and in older specimens to a very
-dark chestnut. Old bulls and occasionally old cows grow extremely dark with
-age, and at a distance appear almost black upon the back and shoulders. The
-northern giraffe is widely different, the coloration being usually a rich
-red-chestnut, darker with age, separated by a fine network of white lines,
-symmetrically arranged in polygonal patterns. At no great distance this
-giraffe, instead of having the blotchy or dappled appearance of the
-southern giraffe, looks almost entirely chestnut in colour. Again, the
-southern giraffe has only two horns, while the northern species usually
-develops a third, growing from the centre of the forehead. These horns,
-which are covered with hair in both species, and tufted black at the tips,
-are, in the youthful days of the animal, actually separable from the bones
-of the head. As the animal arrives at maturity, they become firmly united
-to the skull. A third race or sub-species of giraffe has been identified in
-Western Africa, mainly from the skull and cannon-bones of a specimen shot
-in 1897 at the junction of the Binue and Niger Rivers; but very little is
-known about this form. Other varieties or sub-species may yet be discovered
-in other parts of the Dark Continent. It is lacking in the giraffe's long
-neck.
-
-The towering height of the giraffe is entirely attributable to the great
-length of the neck and limbs. A full-grown bull giraffe will certainly
-measure occasionally as much as 19 feet in height. I measured very
-carefully a specimen shot by my hunting friend, Mr. W. Dove, in the forests
-of the North Kalahari, South Africa, which taped 18 feet 11½ inches. A fine
-cow, shot by myself in the same country, measured 16 feet 10 inches, and
-there is no reason to suppose that cow giraffes do not easily reach fully
-17 feet in height. These animals feed almost entirely upon the leaves of
-acacia-trees, the foliage of the _kameel-doorn_, or giraffe-acacia,
-affording their most favourite food-supply. It is a most beautiful
-spectacle to see, as I have seen, a large troop of these dappled
-giants--creatures which, somehow, viewed in the wild state, always seem to
-me to belong to another epoch--quietly browsing, with upstretched necks and
-delicate heads, among the branches of the spreading _mokala_, as the
-Bechuanas call this tree.
-
-The giraffe's upper lip is long and prehensile, and covered, no doubt as a
-protection against thorns, with a thick velvety coating of short hair. The
-tongue is long--some 18 inches in length--and is employed for plucking down
-the tender leafage on which the giraffe feeds. The eyes of the giraffe are
-most beautiful--dark brown, shaded by long lashes, and peculiarly tender
-and melting in expression. Singularly enough, the animal is absolutely
-mute, and never, even in its death-agonies, utters a sound. The hoofs are
-large, elongate, nearly 12 inches in length in the case of old bulls, and
-look like those of gigantic cattle. There are no false hoofs, and the
-fetlock is round and smooth. The skin of a full-grown giraffe is
-extraordinarily tough and solid, attaining in the case of old males as much
-as an inch in thickness. From these animals most of the _sjamboks_, or
-colonial whips, in use all over South Africa, are now made; and it is a
-miserable fact to record that giraffes are now slaughtered by native and
-Boer hunters almost solely for the value of the hide, which is worth from
-£3 to £5 in the case of full-grown beasts. So perishes the giraffe from
-South Africa.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-MALE SOUTHERN GIRAFFE.
-
-The coloration of these animals harmonises exactly with the dark and light
-splashes of their surroundings.]
-
-Giraffes live mainly in forest country, or country partially open and
-partially clothed with thin, park-like stretches of low acacia-trees. When
-pursued, they betake themselves to the densest parts of the bush and
-timber, and, their thick hides being absolutely impervious to the frightful
-thorns with which all African jungle and forest seem to be provided, burst
-through every bushy obstacle with the greatest ease. They steer also in the
-most wonderful manner through the timber, ducking branches and evading
-tree-boles with marvellous facility. I shall never forget seeing my hunting
-comrade after his first chase in thick bush. We had ridden, as we always
-rode hunting, in our flannel shirts, coatless. Attracted by his firing, I
-came up with my friend, who was sitting on the body of a huge old bull
-giraffe, which had fallen dead in a grassy clearing. He was looking
-ruefully at the remains of his shirt, which hung about him, literally in
-rags and ribbons. Blood was streaming from innumerable wounds upon his
-chest, neck, and arms. Always after that we donned cord coats, when running
-giraffes in bush and forest country.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rutland & Sons._
-
-A GIRAFFE GRAZING.
-
-Grazing is evidently not the natural mode of feeding of these animals,
-which are essentially browsers.]
-
-In regions where they have been little disturbed, giraffes no doubt wander
-across open plains, and are to be seen well away from the denser forests,
-feeding among scattered islets of acacias, easily exposed to the human eye.
-But in South Africa they are now seldom to be met with out of the forest
-region. Once, and once only, have I seen giraffes in the open. This was on
-the outskirts of the forest, and the great creatures had been tempted to a
-little knoll of _mokala_ trees, rising like an islet from the sea of grass.
-
-One's first impression of these creatures in the wild state is very
-deceptive. I well remember first setting eyes upon a troop of five or six.
-As they swung away from the leafage on which they were feeding, my friend
-and I cantered easily, thinking that we should soon come up with them. We
-were completely deceived. With those immense legs of theirs, the great
-creatures, going with their easy, shuffling, but marvellously swift walk,
-were simply striding away from us. Discovering our mistake, we rode hard,
-and the giraffes then broke into their strange, rocking gallop, and a
-headlong, desperate chase began, to be terminated by the death of a fine
-cow. Like the camel, the giraffe progresses by moving the two legs upon
-either side of the body simultaneously. At this strange, rocking gallop
-these animals move at a great pace, and a good Cape horse is needed to run
-into them. By far the best plan, if you are bent on shooting these animals,
-is to press your pony, so soon as you sight giraffes, to the top of its
-speed, and force the game beyond its natural paces in one desperate gallop
-of a couple of miles or so. If well mounted, your nag will take you right
-up to the heels of the tall beasts, and, firing from the saddle, you can,
-without great difficulty, bring down the game. The giraffe, unlike the
-antelopes of Africa, is not very tenacious of life, and a bullet planted
-near the root of the tail will, penetrating the short body, pierce a vital
-spot, and bring down the tall beast crashing to earth. Having tasted the
-delights of fox-hunting and many other forms of sport, I can testify that
-the run up to a good troop of giraffes is one of the most thrilling and
-exciting of all human experiences. There is nothing else quite like it in
-the wide range of sporting emotions. Having enjoyed this thrilling pleasure
-a few times, however, the humane hunter will stay his hand, and shoot only
-when meat, or perhaps an exceptionally fine specimen, is absolutely needed.
-Giraffes are, of course, utterly defenceless, and, save for their shy, wary
-habits and remote, waterless habitat, have nothing to shield them from the
-mounted hunter.
-
-Giraffe-hunting on foot is a very different matter. In that case the
-giraffe has the better of it, and the stalker is placed at great
-disadvantage. These animals are in many places found in extremely waterless
-country, where even the mounted hunter has much trouble to reach them. Like
-elands and gemsbok and other desert-loving antelopes, they can exist for
-long periods--months together--without drinking. In the northern portions
-of the Kalahari Desert, where I have carefully observed their habits, as
-well as hunted them, it is an undoubted fact that giraffes never touch
-water during the whole of the dry winter season--for several months on end.
-Gemsbok and elands in the same waterless tract of country are complete
-abstainers for the same period. The flesh of a giraffe cow, if fairly
-young, is excellent, tender, and well tasted, with a flavour of game-like
-veal. The marrow-bones also, roasted over a gentle wood fire, and sawn in
-half, afford delicious eating, quite one of the supreme delicacies of the
-African wilderness.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Charles Knight_] [_Aldershot._
-
-A GIRAFFE BROWSING.
-
-Here the posture is seen to be thoroughly natural.]
-
-
-THE OKAPI.
-
-BY SIR HARRY JOHNSTON, K.C.B., F.Z.S.
-
-Readers of "The Living Animals of the World" are in all probability readers
-of newspapers, and it would therefore be affectation on the part of the
-writer of these lines to assume that they have not heard more or less of
-the discovery which he was privileged to make of an entirely new ruminant
-of large size, dwelling in the forests bordering the Semliki River, in
-Central Africa, on the borderland between the Uganda Protectorate and the
-Congo Free State. The history of this discovery, stated briefly, is as
-follows:--In 1882-83 I was the guest of Mr. (now Sir Henry) Stanley on the
-River Congo at Stanley Pool. I was visiting the Congo at that time as an
-explorer in a very small way and a naturalist. Mr. Stanley, conversing with
-me on the possibility of African discoveries, told me then that he believed
-that all that was most wonderful in tropical Africa would be found to be
-concentrated in the region of the Blue Mountains, south of the Albert
-Nyanza. This feeling on Stanley's part doubtless was one of the reasons
-which urged him to go to the relief of Emin Pasha. His journey through the
-great Congo Forest towards the Blue Mountains of the Albert Nyanza resulted
-in his discovery of the greatest snow mountain-range of Africa, Ruwenzori,
-and the river Semliki, which is the Upper Albertine Nile; of Lake Albert
-Edward, from which it flows round the flanks of Ruwenzori; and, amongst
-other things, in more detailed information regarding the dwarf races of the
-Northern Congo forests than we had yet received. Stanley also was the first
-to draw the attention of the world to the dense and awful character of
-these mighty woods, and to hint at the mysteries and wonders in natural
-history which they possibly contained. The stress and trouble of his
-expedition prevented him and his companions from bestowing much attention
-on natural history; moreover, in these forests it is extremely difficult
-for persons who are passing hurriedly through the tangle to come into
-actual contact with the beasts that inhabit them. Sir Henry Stanley,
-discussing this subject with me since my return from Uganda, tells me that
-he believes that the okapi is only one amongst several strange new beasts
-which will be eventually discovered in these remarkable forests. He
-describes having seen a creature like a gigantic pig 6 feet in length, and
-certain antelopes unlike any known type. In regard to the okapi, the only
-hint of its existence which he obtained was the announcement that the
-dwarfs knew of the existence of a creature in their forests which greatly
-resembled an ass in appearance, and which they caught in pits. This tiny
-sentence in an appendix to his book "In Darkest Africa" attracted my
-attention some time before I went to Uganda. It seemed to me so
-extraordinary that any creature like a horse should inhabit a dense forest,
-that I determined, if ever fate should lead me in that direction, I would
-make enquiries.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-MALE AND FEMALE GIRAFFES.
-
-Giraffes are said to be very affectionate animals.]
-
-Soon after reaching the Uganda Protectorate at the end of 1899, I came in
-contact with a large party of dwarfs who had been kidnapped by a too
-enterprising German impresario, who had decided to show them at the Paris
-Exhibition. As the Belgians objected to this procedure, I released the
-dwarfs from their kidnapper, and retained them with me for some months in
-Uganda, until I was able personally to escort them back to their homes in
-the Congo Forest. I had other reasons connected with my Government business
-for visiting the north-western part of the Congo Free State. As soon as I
-could make the dwarfs understand me by means of an interpreter, I
-questioned them regarding the existence of this horse-like creature in
-their forests. They at once understood what I meant; and pointing to a
-zebra-skin and a live mule, they informed me that the creature in question,
-which was called OKAPI, was like a mule with zebra stripes on it. When I
-reached Fort Mbeni, in the Congo Free State, on the west bank of the river
-Semliki, I put questions to the Belgian officers stationed there. They all
-knew the okapi, at any rate, when dead. As a living animal they had none of
-them seen it, but their native soldiers were in the habit of hunting the
-animal in the forest and killing it with spears, and then bringing in the
-skin and the flesh for use in the fort. One of the officers declared there
-was even then a freshly obtained skin lying about in the precincts of the
-fort. On searching for this, however, it was discovered that the greater
-part of it had been thrown away, only the gaudier portions having been cut
-into strips by the soldiers to be made into bandoliers. These strips,
-together with similar ones obtained from natives in the forest, I sent to
-England, to Dr. P. L. Sclater, for his consideration. Furnished by the
-Belgian officers with guides, and taking with me all the dwarfs whom I had
-brought from Uganda, I entered the forest, and remained there for some days
-searching for the okapi. All this time I was convinced that I was on the
-track of a species of horse; and therefore when the natives showed the
-tracks of a cloven-footed animal like the eland, and told us these were the
-foot-prints of the okapi, I disbelieved them, and imagined that we were
-merely following a forest-eland. We never saw the okapi; and as the life in
-the forest made the whole expedition extremely ill, and my time was
-required for official work elsewhere, I was obliged to give up this search.
-Meantime, I had elicited from the natives, whom I questioned closely, that
-the okapi was a creature without horns or any means of offence, the size of
-a large antelope or mule, which inhabited only the densest parts of the
-forest, and generally went about in pairs, male and female. It lived
-chiefly on leaves. The Belgian officers, seeing that I was disappointed at
-not obtaining a complete skin, offered to use their best efforts to obtain
-one for me, and send it on to Uganda after my departure.
-
-[Illustration: _Copyright to "The Sphere."_
-
-THE OKAPI OF THE CONGO FOREST.
-
-Previous to the discovery of this ruminant the giraffe stood alone among
-the mammals of the world. It has now at least one living relative.]
-
-This promise was eventually redeemed by Mr. Karl Eriksson, a Swedish
-officer in the Belgian service. Mr. Eriksson sent me a complete skin and
-two skulls. The skin and the bigger of the two skulls belonged to a young
-male. This is the skin which is now set up in the Natural History Museum at
-South Kensington, and of which a photographic illustration accompanies this
-notice. Upon receiving this skin, I saw at once what the okapi was--namely,
-a close relation of the giraffe. From the very small development of the
-horn-bosses, I believed that it was nearer allied to the helladotherium
-than to the living giraffe. In forwarding the specimens to Professor Ray
-Lankester, I therefore proposed that it should be called _Helladotherium
-tigrinum_. Professor Ray Lankester, having examined the specimens with a
-greater knowledge than I possessed, decided that the animal was rather more
-closely allied to the giraffe than to the helladotherium, but that it
-possessed sufficient peculiarities of its own to oblige him to create for
-its reception a new genus, which he proposed to call _Ocapia_.
-
-[Illustration: _Copyright photograph by Hutchinson & Co._
-
-HEAD OF OKAPI.
-
-The enormous size of the ears is very noteworthy.]
-
-Meantime, the original strips of the skin (which apparently belonged to an
-older and larger animal than the specimen mounted at South Kensington) had
-been pronounced by experts to whom they were submitted to be the skin of an
-undiscovered species of horse, and this supposed new horse had been
-tentatively named by Dr. P. L. Sclater _Equus johnstoni_. The full
-discovery obliged Professor Ray Lankester to set aside any idea of the
-okapi being allied to the horse, but he was good enough to attach Mr.
-Sclater's specific name of _johnstoni_ to his newly founded genus of
-_Ocapia_.
-
-Up to the time of writing this is all that is known of this extraordinary
-survival in the Congo Forest of the only living relation of the giraffe. We
-know by palæontological discoveries in Europe and in Asia that there
-existed a large family of ruminants which in their development and features
-were neither of the Ox group nor of the Deer, but in some respects occupied
-a position midway between these two branches of cloven-hoofed, horned,
-ruminating Ungulates. To this family the Giraffe, the Okapi, the
-Helladotherium, the Samotherium, the Sivatherium, and the Bramatherium
-belong. In all probability bony projections arose from the skulls of these
-creatures similar in some measure to the prominent bony cores of the horns
-of oxen. From the top, however, of these bony cores there would seem to
-have arisen anciently antlers, possibly deciduous like those of the
-prongbuck. In time creatures like the giraffe lost any need for such
-weapons of offence, and ceased to grow antlers; but the bony cores from
-which these antlers once proceeded still remained, and in the case of the
-giraffe remain to the present day. In the helladotherium and in the okapi
-these bony cores have dwindled to mere bumps.
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVII.
-
-_THE DEER TRIBE._
-
-BY H. A. BRYDEN.
-
-Deer represent as a family the non-domesticated class of ruminants.
-Generally speaking, the males are distinguished by antlers, which are shed
-periodically, usually once a year, and again renewed. Comprising as it does
-some of the noblest mammals to be found on the face of the earth, this
-large and important tribe is to be found distributed over a large portion
-of the world's surface, from the Arctic North, the home of the wild
-reindeer, to Patagonia, in Southern South America. Deer are, however, not
-found in the continent of Africa south of the Sahara, nor in Madagascar or
-Australia. They are not indigenous to New Zealand; but the red deer,
-introduced there some years ago for purposes of sport, have thriven
-wonderfully well, and are now completely acclimatised.
-
-From the earliest times deer, especially those species known as the true or
-typical deer, of which red deer may be said to be a type, have been animals
-of considerable importance to mankind. Their flesh has been always eagerly
-sought after; deer-skin is still, even in these days of high civilisation,
-useful for many purposes; and the antlers are almost equally in request.
-
-It is more than probable that, in the vast and still little-explored
-regions of Central, East, and Northern Asia, new species of deer remain to
-be discovered. At the present time there are known to exist, in various
-parts of the world, close on a hundred species and varieties.
-
-Within the space allotted to these animals it is, of course, manifestly
-impossible to notice all these in anything like detail. Many of the
-varieties or sub-species closely resemble one another, so much so that the
-differences between them are only apparent to the eyes of naturalists or
-acute observers.
-
-
-THE REINDEER.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Valentine & Sons, Ltd._] [_Dundee._
-
-SCANDINAVIAN REINDEER.
-
-The spreading hoofs enable the reindeer to traverse snow and swamps without
-sinking.]
-
-REINDEER are distinguished from all other kinds of deer by the fact that
-antlers are borne by both males and females. The antlers, as may be seen by
-the illustration, differ materially from those of the red deer, elk, and
-other species; the brow-tines, especially, are often much palmated. These
-animals are heavily built, short-legged, and, as beseems dwellers in a
-snowy habitat, provided with round, short, and spreading hoofs. For ages
-reindeer have been domesticated by the Lapps of Scandinavia, the Samoyeds,
-and other primitive races of Northern Europe and Asia. Trained to harness,
-and drawing a sledge, they traverse long distances, while their milk,
-flesh, and hides are of great importance to the people who keep them. The
-Common or SCANDINAVIAN REINDEER ranges from Norway through Northern Europe
-into Asia, though how far eastward is not yet accurately determined. It is
-interesting to note that these animals were once denizens of Britain, and
-so lately as the twelfth century the Jarls of Orkney are believed to have
-been in the habit of crossing to the mainland for the purpose of hunting
-them in the wilds of Caithness. Wild reindeer are still to be found in the
-remoter parts of Norway, though, from much persecution, they are becoming
-comparatively scarce in most parts of the country.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of the New York Zoological Society._
-
-WOODLAND CARIBOU.
-
-This specimen has shed its horns, which are of the general type of those of
-the Scandinavian race.]
-
-Mr. Abel Chapman, in his "Wild Norway," gives some excellent accounts of
-sport with these fine deer. Speaking of a good herd of twenty-one,
-discovered in Ryfylke, he says: "Most of the deer were lying down, but both
-the big stags stood upright in dreamy, inert postures.... I now fully
-realised what a truly magnificent animal I had before me. Both in body and
-horn he was a giant, and his coat was no less remarkable; the neck was pure
-white, and beneath it a shaggy mane hung down a foot in length. This white
-neck was set off by the dark head in front and the rich glossy brown of his
-robe behind. Besides this the contrasting black and white bars on flanks
-and stern were conspicuously clean-cut and defined, and the long and
-massive antlers showed a splendid recurved sweep, surmounted by branch-like
-tines, all clean." For three long, agonising hours the stalker watched this
-noble prize, and then one of those lucky chances which occasionally gladden
-the hunter's heart occurred, and the reindeer approached within a hundred
-yards. "Half-a-dozen forward steps, and his white neck and dark shoulder
-were beautifully exposed. Already, ere his head had appeared, the rifle had
-been shifted over, and now the foresight dwelt lovingly on a thrice-refined
-aim. The .450 bullet struck to an inch, just where the shaggy mane joined
-the brown shoulder. The beast winced all over, but neither moved nor fell.
-A moment's survey, and I knew by the swaying of his head that he was mine."
-The weight of this big reindeer stag was estimated at 450 lbs., or 32
-stone. He carried twenty-five points to his antlers, which measured 51
-inches in extreme length.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-IMMATURE SCANDINAVIAN ELK.
-
-The largest of all the Deer Tribe, and has antlers of an altogether
-abnormal type.]
-
-In addition to the common or Scandinavian reindeer, there are closely
-allied races, showing, however, slightly varying characteristics, found in
-Spitzbergen and Greenland. In North America, where only wild reindeer are
-found, these animals are known as CARIBOU. Here several sub-species are
-known: among them, the NEWFOUNDLAND CARIBOU; the WOODLAND CARIBOU of the
-mainland; and the BARREN-GROUND CARIBOU, found in the arctic wastes of the
-Far North-west, towards the Polar Ocean.
-
-
-THE ELK, OR MOOSE.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of the New York Zoological Society._
-
-FEMALE AMERICAN ELK, OR MOOSE.
-
-The elk of the two hemispheres are so alike that they cannot be regarded as
-anything more than races of a single species.]
-
-This gigantic creature, the largest of all the numerous tribe of deer, is
-found, in the Old World, in Northern Europe, Siberia, and Northern China.
-Its range extends--for there is no real distinction between the elk of the
-Old and the New Worlds--to Northern America, where it is always known as
-the MOOSE. Its transatlantic habitat runs from the mouth of the Mackenzie
-River to the St. Lawrence. Wherever its abiding-place may be, it will be
-found that the elk is essentially a forest-loving creature, partial to the
-loneliest stretches of the woods and dreary marshes. Its fleshy, bulbous,
-prehensile muzzle shows plainly that the elk is a browsing beast, and not a
-grazing animal, like most other deer. The male carries vast palmated horns,
-measuring sometimes as much as 6 feet 1¼ inch in span from tip to tip; this
-measurement is from an American specimen in the possession of the Duke of
-Westminster. A fine Scandinavian bull will measure 18 hands at the withers
-and weigh as much as 90 stone, while the North American elk is said to
-attain as much as 1,400 lbs. In colour the elk is a dark brownish grey; the
-neck, body, and tail are short; while the animal stands very high upon the
-legs. Under the throat of the male hangs a singular appendage, a sort of
-tassel of hair and skin, known to American hunters as the "bell." The build
-of the elk is clumsy, and the mighty beast entirely lacks the grace
-characteristic of so many others of the deer kind. It has in truth a
-strangely primeval, old-world aspect, and seems rather to belong to
-prehistoric ages than to modern times.
-
-In Scandinavia elk are hunted usually in two ways--by driving, or with a
-trained dog held in leash. In the royal forests of Sweden great bags are
-made at these drives; and in the year 1885, when a great hunt was got up
-for the present King of England, forty-nine elk were slain. Except during
-the rutting-season these titanic deer are extremely shy and suspicious
-creatures, and the greatest precautions have to be taken in hunting them.
-
-In Canada moose are often shot during the rutting-season by "calling," a
-rude horn of birch-bark being used, with which the hunter simulates the
-weird, hoarse roar of the animals, as they call to one another, or
-challenge in the primeval woodlands and morasses of the wild North.
-Still-hunting or tracking--spooring, as it would be called in South
-Africa--is another and extremely fatiguing method; while yet another mode
-of hunting is that practised by Indian and half-breed hunters in winter,
-when, the sportsman being mounted on snow-shoes, the moose is followed, run
-into and shot in deep snow. In this sport the hunter has much the better of
-it. The moose, with its vast weight and sharp hoofs, plunges through the
-frozen snow-crust, over which the snow-shoes carry the biped easily enough,
-and, becoming presently exhausted, is shot without much difficulty. Elk
-usually run at a steady, slinging trot, and traverse extraordinary
-distances, apparently with little fatigue.
-
-
-RED DEER.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-PARK RED DEER.
-
-The typical representative of the entire Deer Tribe.]
-
-We come now to a group of what are called typical deer, the RED DEER, found
-in various parts of the world. The red deer, which once roamed over much of
-Britain, is now in the wild state confined chiefly to the Highlands of
-Scotland, Exmoor, part of County Kerry in Ireland, and various islands on
-the west coast of Scotland. A good male specimen will stand about 4 feet or
-a little less at the shoulder, carry antlers bearing twelve or fourteen
-points, and weigh from 10 to 20 stone clean--that is, with the heart,
-liver, and lungs taken out. The woodland stags of Perthshire, however, not
-infrequently reach 25 stone, while Mr. J. G. Millais mentions a stag,
-killed by Colonel the Hon. Alastair Fraser at Beaufort, Inverness-shire,
-which scaled 30 stone 2 lbs. clean. This seems to be the heaviest British
-wild stag of modern times. The summer coat is short, shining, and reddish
-brown in hue; in winter the pelage is thicker and rougher and greyish brown
-in colour. Stalking the red deer stag in its native fastnesses is beyond
-all doubt the finest wild sport now left to the inhabitants of these
-islands.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-AN ASIATIC WAPITI.
-
-All the races of the wapiti are easily recognisable by the large fourth
-tine of the antlers and the short tail.]
-
-Mr. J. G. Millais, author of "British Deer and their Horns" and other
-works, himself a first-rate sportsman in many parts of the world, compares
-the style of shooting red deer in vogue forty or fifty years ago with that
-obtaining in the Highlands at the present day. "A stalker in Black Mount,
-Argyllshire," he says, "told me of a typical day's sport in which he took
-part some forty years ago. Fox Maule and Sir Edwin Landseer were the two
-rifles (they frequently stalked in pairs at that time), and, on the side of
-Clashven, Peter Robertson, the head forester, brought them within eighty
-yards of two exceptionally fine stags. Maule fired and missed, as did also
-Sir Edwin as the stags moved away; then, on a signal from Robertson. Peter
-McColl, the gillie, slipped the hounds--the two best ever owned by the late
-Marquis of Breadalbane, and whose portraits are still preserved in the
-famous picture of 'The Deer Drive'--and away they went in hot pursuit of
-the deer. An end-on chase now ensued, the line taken being due east down
-the great glen towards Loch Dochart, and at last the stalkers were brought
-to a standstill, being fairly exhausted both in wind and limb. At this
-moment, however, four dark spots, like small rocks, standing out at the
-point of a little promontory in the lake, attracted their attention, and,
-on drawing nearer, they saw, to their surprise, each of the big stags being
-held at bay by a gallant hound. A couple of shots then settled the
-business, and so ended what was then considered a grand day's sport. No
-doubt it was most exciting to see the struggle of bone and sinew between
-two such noble quadrupeds, but it was not rifle-shooting. To-day the
-gallant but disturbing deer-hound has given place to the cunning and
-obedient collie, and the success of the stalker depends, for the most part,
-on the accuracy of his rifle and his skill in using it."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-AMERICAN WAPITI.
-
-The giant deer of the Rocky Mountains, formerly very plentiful, now
-scarce.]
-
-Here are a couple of sketches of modern stalking taken from Mr. Millais'
-own diary:--
-
-"_Wednesday, October 4th._--Started for the big corrie with McColl, and saw
-nothing till we got to the Eagle Hill. On this were three stags and about
-twenty hinds, the property of a magnificent fellow carrying one of the best
-heads I have ever seen on Black Mount. For some time McColl thought he was
-just a bit too good to shoot, for the very best in this forest are
-generally left for stock purposes. Finding, however, that, he was not Royal
-[a twelve-pointer], my companion agreed to a shot--that is, if he got
-within shooting distance, which was not too likely, the Eagle Hill being
-one of those queer places where back eddies are carried down from almost
-every 'airt' from which the wind is blowing. Luck is apparently entirely my
-way this week, so far at any rate. The big stag was very 'kittle,'
-frequently roaring and keeping his hinds moving before him along the
-hillside, in the direction of another corrie running at right angles, the
-entrance to which, if reached, would checkmate us. A quick, stiff climb,
-and a clashing piece of stalking on the part of McColl, brought us in front
-of the herd only just in time, for I had hardly got into position when the
-first few hinds moved past a hundred yards below us. They were very uneasy
-and highly suspicious, but fortunately did not stop; and in another moment,
-to my joy, the big stag came slowly behind them, and offered a fair
-broadside in the very spot where I should have wished him to stand. The
-bullet took him through the ribs, certainly a trifle too far back, but he
-gave in at once, and rolled 150 yards down the hill, fortunately without
-hurting his horns. A really fine Highland stag in his prime; weight, 16
-stone 2 lbs., with a good wild head of ten points, and good cups on the
-top."
-
-"_Thursday, October 5th._--We negotiated the stiff climb, and McLeish,
-leaving me behind a rock on the summit, returned some distance to signal
-directions to the pony-man. He came back just as the stag returned roaring
-down the pass he had ascended; and as the mist was blotting out the
-landscape, I feared he would come right on to us without being seen, but,
-as luck would have it, he stopped and recommenced bellowing within seventy
-yards. I never heard a stag make such a row, but nothing of him could we
-see. It was most exciting, lying flat on a slab of rock, hoping devoutly
-that the mist would rise, if only for a few seconds. The tension had grown
-extreme, when there was a momentary lift in the gloom, and I made out the
-dim forms of the deer just as a big hind, which I had not noticed,
-'bruached' loudly within twenty yards of us. The outline of the stag was
-barely visible when, after carefully aiming, I pressed the trigger, knowing
-that a moment later there would be no second chance. At the shot the deer
-at once disappeared, but I felt sure I had hit him, and, on following the
-tracks for some fifty yards, there he lay as dead as a door-nail. Weight,
-13 stone 6 lbs.; a wild head of ten points; thin, and evidently that of a
-deer on the decline."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Mr. W. Rau_] [_Philadelphia._
-
-AMERICAN WAPITI.
-
-The dark head, fore-quarters, and under-parts, so distinctive of the
-wapiti, are here well displayed.]
-
-In England the wild red deer are hunted with stag-hounds on Exmoor, and
-first-rate sport is obtained on the great moorlands of Somerset and Devon.
-During the last fifty years the deer have much increased in numbers, and no
-less than three packs--the Devon and Somerset, Sir John Heathcoat-Amory's,
-and Mr. Peter Ormrod's--are now engaged in hunting them. In the five years
-ending in 1892, 276 deer were killed by the Devon and Somerset hounds.
-
-The young of the red deer are in Europe usually dropped in June. The fawn
-is dexterously concealed by the hind amid the heather, and is left in
-concealment during the day. Scrope, a great authority on these animals,
-states that the hind induces her fawn to lie down by pressure of the nose:
-"It will never stir or lift up its head the whole of the day, unless you
-come right upon it, as I have often done; it lies like a dog, with its nose
-to its tail. The hind, however, although she often separates herself from
-the young fawn, does not lose sight of its welfare, but remains at a
-distance to windward, and goes to its succour in case of an attack of the
-wild cat or fox, or any other powerful vermin."
-
-On the Continent far finer examples of red deer are to be found than in the
-British Isles, and the antlers and records of weights preserved at the
-Castle of Moritzburg in Saxony, and elsewhere, show that two hundred years
-ago the stags of Germany were far superior even to those of the present
-day, which are much heavier and afford finer trophies than do the Highland
-red deer. Even in Germany, however, marked deterioration has taken place
-during the last two centuries. A stag, for example, killed by the Elector
-of Saxony in 1646 weighed not less than 61 stone 11 lbs.; while from the
-Elector's records between 1611 and 1656 it appears that 59 stags exceeded
-56 stone, 651 exceeded 48 stone, 2,679 exceeded 40 stone, and 4,139
-exceeded 32 stone. These figures are given by Mr. W. A. Baillie-Grohman, a
-distinguished sportsman, in a very interesting chapter contributed to the
-"Big Game Shooting" volumes of the Badminton Library.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of the New York Zoological Society._
-
-AMERICAN WAPITI.
-
-In the United States this species is universally miscalled the Elk.]
-
-This deterioration among the red deer of the forests of Central and
-Northern Europe is, however, not traceable among the red deer of the wild
-mountainous regions of Austria-Hungary and South-eastern Europe. Here, at
-the present day, stags of enormous size and weight are still to be found.
-In the Carpathian Alps, for example, red deer stags are still to be shot
-scaling more than 40 stone (clean) in weight. Climate and feeding have, of
-course, much to do with the weight of stags and the size and beauty of
-their antlers. The Carpathian stags have enormous range, rich food, and, as
-Mr. Baillie-Grohman points out, are suffered during the summer to "make
-undisturbed raids upon the rich agricultural valleys ... the feudal sway
-exercised by the great territorial magnates permitting the deer to trespass
-upon the crops with impunity, and thus grow to be the lustiest of their
-race."
-
-In addition to the British Islands, the red deer of Europe is found on the
-island of Hitteren on the western coast of Norway, in the south of Sweden,
-and in Germany, Russia, France, Spain, Austria-Hungary, Turkey, and Greece.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-ALTAI WAPITI.
-
-This is one of several Asiatic forms of the wapiti.]
-
-In Corsica and Sardinia a local and smaller race is found, probably closely
-allied to the stag of North Africa. The BARBARY STAG is somewhat smaller
-than its first cousin of Europe, and carries antlers which usually lack the
-second, or bez, tine. The colour of this stag is "a dark sepia-brown, a
-little lighter and greyer on the back. Faint yellowish spots can
-occasionally be distinguished on the fur in the adults," says Sir Harry
-Johnston. The hinds are of the same colour as the stags, but lack the grey
-tint on the back. These fine deer are found in Algeria and Tunis, their
-habitat being chiefly in pine and cork forests. They are found also in
-parts of Morocco, near the frontiers of Algeria and Tunis, where their
-range extends from near the Mediterranean to the verge of the Sahara
-Desert. Formerly the Barbary stag was hunted by the Arabs on horseback by
-the aid of greyhounds. In Tunis, where it is protected by the French, it is
-now fairly abundant.
-
-
-THE MARAL AND KASHMIR STAG.
-
-The CASPIAN RED DEER, or MARAL, is a magnificent sub-species, incomparably
-the finest representative of the red deer species. Standing about 4 feet 6
-inches at the shoulder, a good stag will weigh as much as 40 stone clean,
-in exceptional specimens probably a good deal more. The range of this noble
-beast includes the Caspian provinces of North Persia, Transcaucasia, the
-Caucasus, and the Crimea. There can be little doubt that the great stags
-shot in the Galician Carpathians are Caspian red deer, and not the ordinary
-red deer of Western Europe. The red deer of Turkey is, too, no doubt
-referable to this sub-species.
-
-Continuing our survey of typical deer, we come to the KASHMIR STAG, which
-is a magnificent beast, standing as much as 4 feet 4 inches at the
-shoulder, and carrying antlers approaching the red deer type, which measure
-in fine specimens from 45 to 48 inches. The Kashmir stag, often miscalled
-Barasingh by Indian sportsmen, makes its home in the forest regions of the
-north side of the Kashmir Valley, ranging chiefly on altitudes of from
-5,000 to 12,000 feet. The summer coat is rufous; in winter the pelage is of
-a darkish brown. The Yarkand stag is an apparently allied species, found in
-the forests bordering on the Yarkand or Tarim River.
-
-Two more stags close the list of those Asiatic deer which approximate more
-or less closely to the red deer type. These are the SHOU, or SIKHIM STAG,
-and THOROLD'S DEER, concerning neither of which animals is much known at
-present. The shou, of which only the head has yet been brought to England,
-appears to be a very large stag, in size approximating to the gigantic
-wapiti. The antlers are very large, extending to as much as 55 inches over
-the outer curve. So far as is at present known, this great deer is found in
-the country "north of Bhutan and the valley eastward of Chumbi, which
-drains northward into the Sangpo." No European hunter, it is believed, has
-ever yet levelled a rifle or even set eyes on this noble deer.
-
-In England Thorold's deer is known from two specimens shot by Dr. W. G.
-Thorold, during a journey across Tibet, at an elevation of about 13,500
-feet. The high Tibetan plateau and other adjacent parts of Central Asia
-form the habitat of this species. In size Thorold's deer is about on a
-level with the Kashmir stag: the coat is dark brown; the antlers are
-distinctive in their backward curve, in the lack of the bez tine, and their
-flattened appearance. The muzzle and chin are pure white, as is the inner
-surface of the ears.
-
-
-WAPITI.
-
-Wapiti are the giants of the red deer group, carrying enormous antlers, and
-attaining as much as 1,000 lbs. in weight. The true wapiti of North
-America, known in that country chiefly by the local name of Elk, carry by
-far the finest and the heaviest heads of any of the typical deer kind. Mr.
-Rowland Ward, in his book "Records of Big Game," gives the length of
-antlers of a twelve-pointer shot in the Olympic Mountains, Washington
-State, as 70 inches over the outer curve; while another specimen, also a
-twelve-pointer, taken from a wapiti shot in Wyoming, measures 66 inches.
-Occasional heads bear as many as 17, 19, and even 20 tines, or points, but
-from 12 to 14 points are more usual in fine average heads. A good stag will
-stand from 5 feet 4 inches to 5 feet 8 inches at the shoulder.
-Magnificently shaped, splendid in form and bearing, as in the size of its
-antlers, a more lordly creature than the stag wapiti does not pace the
-earth.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-MANCHURIAN WAPITI CALLING.
-
-The great size of the fourth tine, characteristic of the species, is very
-noticeable.]
-
-"The wapiti," says Colonel Theodore Roosevelt in "The Encyclopedia of
-Sport," "is highly polygamous, and during the rut the master bulls gather
-great harems about them and do fierce battle with one another, while the
-weaker bulls are driven off by themselves. At this time the bulls are
-comparatively easy to approach, because they are very noisy, incessantly
-challenging one another by night and day. Settlers and hunters usually
-speak of their challenge as 'whistling,' but this is a very inadequate
-description. The challenge consists of several notes, first rising and then
-falling. Heard near by, especially among unattractive surroundings, it is
-not particularly impressive, varying in tone from a squeal to a roar, and
-ending with grunts; but at a little distance it is one of the most musical
-sounds in nature, sounding like some beautiful wind instrument. Nothing
-makes the heart of a hunter leap and thrill like the challenge of a wapiti
-bull, as it comes pealing down under the great archways of the mountain
-pines, through the still, frosty, fall weather; all the more if it be at
-night, under the full moon, and if there is light snow on the ground."
-
-Wapiti in North America have suffered much from persecution, and it is now
-difficult indeed to secure fine heads like those that fell to hunters
-twenty or thirty years since. Twelve or fifteen years ago, during
-winter-time, bands of wapiti in Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana were to be
-seen gathered together to the number of thousands; now a score or two is
-the rule, where these animals are to be found at all. However, by those who
-know where to go for their game, and can hold a rifle straight, wapiti are
-still to be obtained.
-
-Mr. Selous, in his "Sport and Travel, East and West," thus describes a
-recent experience: "After a few seconds of agonising suspense a
-noble-looking monarch of the mountains walked slowly from the shelter of
-the pine-trees and followed the ladies of his household, who had now halted
-about fifty yards down the slope, passing in quite open ground not more
-than sixty or seventy yards below me; and as the stag followed them, I
-waited until he came past, though he had been well within shot ever since
-he came out from among the trees. As he did not know where I was, and
-probably had not the least idea why the hinds had trotted off, he came
-along very leisurely, looking magnificent; for although his antlers were
-but moderate in size, there were no others of larger proportions near to
-dwarf them, and even a very ordinary wapiti stag, seen at short range in
-its native wilds, is a glorious sight to look upon. I let him get a little
-past me, and then put one of Holland's peg-bullets just behind his
-shoulder, low down. I saw by the convulsive rush forwards that he made that
-he was struck through the heart, but I did not expect so large an animal to
-collapse so quickly. He had not gone twenty paces after being hit, when he
-fell suddenly right on to the prostrate stem of a large tree, which did
-not, however, stop him, as the impetus of his fall carried him over it, and
-he then went sliding at a terrific pace down the steep snow-slope below,
-and disappeared from sight almost immediately." The dead wapiti was
-ultimately found 500 feet below, with the antlers, strangely enough,
-scarcely injured, but the body and quarters much bruised by the fall. He
-was "a very pretty fourteen-pointer of moderate size."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-AN AXIS HIND.
-
-A species spotted at all seasons.]
-
-A fight between two wapiti stags is a terrific encounter. "With heads
-lowered between their fore feet," says Mr. Perry, "the two adversaries walk
-around, waiting for an opening; and when one is thrown off his guard, the
-other makes a savage rush; but his opponent instantly recovers, counters
-the charge, and as they rush together the antlers strike each other with
-such terrific force that the report can be heard for a long distance.
-Slowly retreating, bellowing, grumbling, and grinding their teeth in a
-paroxysm of rage, they again circle round.... The challenging wapiti
-usually does most of the offensive fighting until he finds (if such be the
-case) that he is the weaker; then he suddenly retires, bellowing as he
-goes." In the old days the Indians of North America were in the habit of
-organising great wapiti drives. Entire herds were surrounded by a ring of
-mounted men, and forced over precipices.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of the New York Zoological Society._
-
-A STAG AXIS, OR INDIAN SPOTTED DEER.
-
-One of the most common animals in an Indian jungle scene.]
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Professor Bumpus_] [_New York._
-
-A SPOTTED ORIENTAL DEER.
-
-One of the numerous Philippine species.]
-
-In recent years it has been discovered that wapiti are also denizens of
-certain parts of Asia. At least two sub-species--the ALTAI WAPITI and the
-MANCHURIAN WAPITI--have thus far been identified. The former, sometimes
-known as the Thian-shan Stag, is found in the forests of the Altai and
-Thian-shan Mountains, west of the Mongolian Desert. Compared with its
-American congener, it is inferior in stature, has shorter legs, a longer
-body, and proportionately larger antlers, though none have yet approached
-those of the longest American specimens. These splendid stags, of which
-living specimens have been maintained by the Duke of Bedford at Woburn, are
-captured alive by the Altai natives, and kept in domestication for the sake
-of their antlers, which are sold in China for purposes of medicine at as
-much as the value of £10 apiece.
-
-The MANCHURIAN WAPITI, or LUEHDORF'S STAG, is a well-marked local race of
-the wapiti, which turns reddish in summer. It has received several names,
-and is well characterised by the form of its antlers. It has been kept
-alive in the Duke of Bedford's park at Woburn Abbey. It seems probable that
-the Siberian stags will eventually be referred to the wapiti group.
-
-
-BOKHARA DEER.
-
-A fine deer from Russian Turkestan is at present known as the BOKHARA DEER.
-It is said to resemble the shou of Northern Bhutan more than any other
-species, and, standing about 4 feet at the shoulder, is of an ashen-grey
-colour, tinged with yellow. A living specimen has been exhibited at Moscow,
-and it is believed that specimens in the collection of the Duke of Bedford
-belong to this form.
-
-
-SIKAS.
-
-The SIKAS, as typified by the JAPANESE DEER, are a group of deer of
-moderate size, distinguished from the preceding assemblage by antlers of
-simpler type, each antler having usually four points, and lacking the
-second, or bez tine. The coat is spotted with white, and white markings
-appear about the tail. The tail is much longer than in the red deer group.
-The Japanese deer, found in Japan and North China, is a beautiful creature,
-somewhat smaller than the fallow deer of Europe, having a coat of brilliant
-chestnut, thickly spotted with white in curious longitudinal markings. This
-is the summer pelage; in winter the colour changes to dark brown, and the
-spots mostly disappear. When in the velvet, the antlers are of a bright,
-chestnut-red, with black tips, and at this season the bucks look their
-handsomest. A good head measures from 26 to 31 inches, and carries usually
-eight points.
-
-The MANCHURIAN SIKA may be looked upon as a larger variety of the Japanese
-deer, with a somewhat darker coat.
-
-Another closely allied form is the FORMOSAN SIKA, which bears a rather
-paler summer coat, and carries spots in its winter pelage. This deer is
-found on the mountains of the island from which it takes its name. The few
-antlers which have reached this country seem to indicate that in this
-respect this deer is inferior to the other sikas. The longest pair yet
-recorded measure not more than 19¾ inches.
-
-The PEKIN SIKA, sometimes known as Dybowski's Deer, is considerably larger
-in size than the rest of the group, standing well over 3 feet at the
-shoulder. The horns are large and rugged, and measure as much as 27 inches
-in length. The coat is thick and shaggy, and well adapted for life in a
-harsh climate. The habitat of this species is North-eastern Manchuria and
-the borders of Korea.
-
-
-FALLOW DEER.
-
-FALLOW DEER are, perhaps, to English people, the most familiar of all the
-cervine race, forming as they do, in the semi-domesticated state, the
-adornments of most of our parks. The flesh of this handsome deer furnishes
-the well-known venison of this country, and is perhaps the best-tasted of
-all deer-meat. A good fallow buck stands about 3 feet at the shoulder, and
-weighs (clean) about 150 lbs., though specimens have been shot weighing as
-much as 204 lbs., but this is exceptional. The horns are strongly palmated.
-Originally this deer was not indigenous to Britain, but is often said to
-have been introduced by the Romans from Eastern Europe.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by C. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-A YOUNG FALLOW BUCK OF THE BROWN BREED.
-
-The favourite park-deer of England.]
-
-The COMMON FALLOW DEER is found in the wild state in Spain, Portugal,
-Greece, Austria, Rhodes, Sardinia, Asia Minor, and North Palestine. It is
-doubtful whether, as has been stated, this deer ever existed in modern
-times in the wild state in North Africa. This is a highly gregarious
-species, delighting to move in considerable herds. In some parts of
-Scotland fallow deer have reverted completely to the wild state, and afford
-excellent sport. And even park-deer, once they are shot at, exhibit
-extraordinary wariness and cunning, so much so that curious tricks and
-disguises have often to be resorted to when a fat buck has to be shot for
-venison.
-
-The beautiful MESOPOTAMIAN FALLOW DEER, found in the mountains of Luristan,
-in Mesopotamian Persia, is somewhat larger than the common species, while
-its coat is much more brightly coloured. The antlers bear little
-resemblance to those seen in the park-deer of this country, being far less
-palmated and spreading, and more vertical.
-
-The enormous horns of the extinct deer once known as IRISH ELK are now
-considered by naturalists to be those of a gigantic species of fallow deer.
-By the kindness of Mr. J. G. Millais, I am enabled to give the dimensions
-of a pair of antlers of one of these wonderful beasts from his museum.
-These antlers measure in spread, from tip to tip, 9 feet 4 inches; length
-round inside of right horn, 6 feet; round left horn, 5 feet 8 inches,--a
-marvellous trophy, truly. This specimen was dug up in County Waterford.
-These colossal fallow deer, which roamed the wastes of Ireland in
-prehistoric times, must have afforded fairly exciting sport to the feebly
-armed human beings who then existed.
-
-
-THE SAMBAR, OR RUSINE DEER.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Miss E. J. Beck._
-
-A SAMBAR STAG.
-
-The only Indian deer of which the fawns are unspotted.]
-
-SAMBAR may be shortly described as large deer, having rough, shaggy coats,
-and big, rugged antlers of simple type, usually displaying but three tines.
-They belong to the group known as Typical Deer, although they are but
-distantly connected with the red deer. The colour of the coat is usually
-dark umber-brown, marked with chestnut about the rump and under-parts. The
-well-known sambar of India stands as much as 5 feet 4 inches at the
-withers, and weighs, before being cleaned, some 600 lbs. The longest pair
-of antlers yet recorded (Rowland Ward's "Records of Big Game") measure 48
-inches in length over the outer curve. Usually to be found among jungly,
-wooded hills and mountains in many parts of India and Ceylon, this fine
-stag affords first-rate sport, and is much sought after by shikaris. It is
-to be met with in small troops of from four to a dozen, or singly, while
-during the rutting-season the animals rove in more considerable herds. In
-jungle and thickly forested regions it is a hard matter to come up with the
-sambar on foot, and it is there usually shot from elephant-back, by the aid
-of beaters. In more open hill country it affords good stalking. In Ceylon
-it is hunted with hounds, and yields in this way also capital sport. These
-animals seem to revel in heat, and love to shelter themselves in hot,
-stifling valleys; they drink only once in two or three days. It is a
-noticeable feature in connection with the antlers of the sambar that they
-are not invariably shed annually, as with most of the deer kind. In Ceylon,
-according to Sir Samuel Baker, they are shed "with great irregularity every
-third or fourth year."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Miss E. J. Beck._
-
-FORMOSAN SIKA STAG.
-
-Like its Japanese kindred, this deer is spotted only in summer.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-JAVAN RUSA STAG.
-
-This deer is a near relative of sambur, but has a somewhat different type
-of antler.]
-
-Lieutenant-Colonel Reginald Heber Percy thus writes concerning the sambar,
-or sambur: "Compared with the Kashmir stag, red deer, or wapiti, he looks
-an ugly, coarse, underbred brute.... As the sambur is almost entirely
-nocturnal in its habits, it is most commonly shot in drives, and in many
-places it is almost impossible to obtain sambur otherwise; but where it can
-be managed, stalking is, of course, far better fun. The sportsman should be
-on his ground just before daylight, and work slowly through the forest at
-the edge of the feeding-grounds, taking the bottom of the hill if there are
-crops on the plain below, or, failing these, the edges of the open glades
-in the forest. Presently, if there are any sambur about, he will hear their
-trumpet-like call, and, creeping on, see two or three dark forms moving
-among the trees. In the grey of the morning it is often very hard to
-distinguish a stag from a hind, and the writer has on several occasions had
-to wait, after viewing the herd, till there was light enough to pick his
-stag. Even in broad daylight it is difficult to judge the size of a stag's
-horns as he stands motionless in the deep gloom of the forest, and what
-little can be seen of them makes them look three times their real size--the
-beam is so massive and the tines so long. The stag, too, is such a big
-beast, standing nearly a hand taller than a barasingh, that if seen in the
-open he looks as big as our Irish elk.... All driving should be done during
-the heat of the day, when the animals are lying down; trying to drive when
-beasts are naturally on the move generally results in the game leaving the
-beat before the men are in their places. It may sound ridiculous for a man
-to get up a tree in a sambur drive, but he is far more likely to get an
-easy shot in this position, as the deer will neither see nor wind him; he
-commands more ground, and he runs no risk of heading back the wary old hind
-which often leads the herd, the chances being that if he is rightly posted
-the herd will come right under his tree. Another advantage is that, his
-fire being plunging, he can shoot all round without danger to the beaters.
-In some parts of the Himalaya native shikaris declare that they often shoot
-sambur by selecting a likely path and improvising a salt-lick, after the
-fashion of Laplanders when they want to catch their tame reindeer." The
-flesh of this deer is coarse and only moderately good eating.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-HOG-DEER.
-
-The smallest Indian representative of the sambar group.]
-
-The MALAYAN SAMBAR, found from Assam, through Burma, to the Malay
-Peninsula, and in Siam, Hainan, Borneo, and perhaps Sumatra, is slightly
-less in size than its Indian prototype; the antlers vary somewhat, and are
-shorter and stouter. The longest antlers yet recorded measure 30-7/8 inches
-over the outer curve; these come from Borneo.
-
-The FORMOSAN SAMBAR, sometimes called Swinhoe's Deer, is, again, closely
-connected with the Malayan sambar, and may be looked upon as purely a local
-race. The antlers appear to run smaller, the best recorded examples only
-extending to 19¾ inches.
-
-The LUZON SAMBAR (Philippines), a small sub-species, and the SZECHUAN
-SAMBAR (North-west China), are also local races of the same species. This
-last seems thus far to occupy the most northerly habitat of this group.
-
-The BASILAN SAMBAR (Philippines) is, like its congener of Luzon, a small
-sub-species, standing no more than from 24 to 26 inches at the shoulder, of
-slender build, and with the hindquarters higher than the withers. The best
-antlers yet recorded measure no more than 15½ inches. It is interesting to
-note that as the island of Basilan is the smallest of the Philippines, so
-is this sambar by far the smallest of its group. Its restricted habitat has
-no doubt conduced, during long ages, to bring about this result.
-
-The JAVAN SAMBAR, or RUSA, is a distinct species, found, as its name
-implies, in the island of Java. The antlers are somewhat slender, but are,
-next to those of the sambar of India, the longest of the group. The best
-recorded pair measure 35½ inches, while another pair from Mauritius, where
-this animal has been introduced, measure half an inch longer. This sambar
-is smaller than the great sambar of India, and is about on a par with a
-good red deer.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by The Duchess of Bedford, Woburn Abbey._
-
-FALLOW DEER.
-
-There are two breeds of these beautiful deer in the British Isles; in the
-one the summer coat is fawn dappled with white; in the other the colour is
-dark brown at all seasons.]
-
-The MOLUCCAN RUSA, a sub-species somewhat smaller than the Javan deer, is
-found in Celebes and certain islands--Boru, Batchian, and Amboina--in the
-Moluccan group; while the TIMOR RUSA, a closely allied congener, is found
-on the islands of Timor, Semao, and Kambing. It is possible--nay, even
-probable--that the Malays may, in times gone by, have introduced certain of
-these rusine deer from one habitat to another. Such, at least, seems to be
-the presumption among naturalists.
-
-Dr. Guillemard, in that charming book "The Cruise of the Marchesa" (p.
-357), gives some interesting information concerning Moluccan sambar in the
-little-known island of Batchian. The inhabitants, "living for the most part
-in the hills, kill and smoke the deer, and bring the meat into the villages
-for sale. We were fortunate enough to assist at one of their hunts, in
-which no other weapon than the spear is used. The side of a large ravine,
-which had been partially cleared, and presented a confused jumble of fallen
-trees and low brushwood, was assigned to us as our post, and, from the
-extensive view it commanded, we were able later in the day to watch one run
-almost from start to finish, although at first the sport appeared to be
-successful in every direction but our own. At length a stag broke covert
-about five hundred yards above us, and descended the slopes of the ravine,
-but shortly afterwards turned and made for the forest again. He was met by
-some of the hunters and driven back; but the dogs were now in full cry, and
-pressed him hard, the hunters meanwhile racing at their utmost speed above,
-in order to prevent his regaining the jungle. He now altered his direction,
-and turned down once more towards us; but the fallen trees were so thick
-that the dogs gained rapidly on him. He made one more effort for his life
-by doubling, but it was too late, and in another minute the dogs and
-hunters had fairly run him down."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-YOUNG MALE SWAMP-DEER.
-
-This species is the Barasingh of the natives of India. It is by no means
-addicted to swampy localities.]
-
-Deer were probably the earliest animals of the chase. Their bones are found
-in the cave-dwellings of prehistoric man, and some of the earliest efforts
-at drawing represent these animals.
-
-
-OTHER TYPICAL DEER.
-
-So numerous are the typical deer that they are not concluded even by the
-long list of animals already enumerated. We proceed now to glance briefly
-at the remainder of this important group.
-
-The PHILIPPINE SPOTTED DEER, or PRINCE ALFRED'S DEER, is a small but
-extremely handsome species, found in the islands of Samar and Leyte. The
-height is under 30 inches; the colour very dark brown, spotted with white,
-the under-parts, chin, and upper portion of the legs also white.
-
-Another small cervine from the Philippine group is the CALAMIANES DEER, a
-darkish brown beast, found in the island of that name.
-
-The little BAVIAN DEER, another island-deer, from the Bavian group, between
-Borneo and Java, should also be mentioned. Very little is known of the
-habits of these three deer, and few specimens even of their skins and horns
-have reached Europe.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-INDIAN MUNTJAC.
-
-Sometimes called the Barking-deer. The Indian species stands only 2 feet
-high.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford, Woburn Abbey._
-
-YOUNG MALE CHINESE WATER-DEER.
-
-One of the few deer which have no antlers.]
-
-The HOG-DEER, allied to the last-named species, is an animal much better
-known, found as it is in many parts of India and Burma. This handsome
-little deer stands from 24 to 28 inches at the shoulder, and carries
-antlers which average from 10 to 15 inches, and reach occasionally as much
-as 21 or 22 inches--one specimen is recorded measuring 23¼ inches. It has a
-yellowish or reddish-brown coat, minutely speckled with white. The summer
-coat is paler and marked with white or palish-brown spots. This sturdy
-little deer is found usually in long grass, and affords excellent
-snap-shooting; it is also run into with dogs and speared by mounted
-sportsmen. Major Fitz-Herbert thus describes a chase of this kind: "He [the
-little stag] stood at bay, with head down and bristles raised like a
-miniature red deer of Landseer's, but broke away when I came up. Once he
-charged the bitch and knocked her over. He stood at bay two or three times,
-but I could never get a spear into him for fear of hurting the dogs. At
-last one time, as he was breaking bay, I came up, and he charged me with
-such force as to break one of his horns clean off against the spear.
-However, I struck him in the spine, and rolled him over." These little deer
-have quite extraordinary pluck, and have been known even to charge and
-wound a horse.
-
-The CHITAL, or INDIAN SPOTTED DEER, often called the Axis Deer, a very
-beautiful species, is the common jungle-stag of India. Standing about 3
-feet or a little over, its lovely coat of bright reddish fawn is thickly
-spotted with white at all seasons of the year. The horns are somewhat of
-the sambar type, and measure as much as 36 or 38 inches in length in fine
-specimens. These exquisite deer are often found in considerable herds, and
-are a forest-loving species.
-
-The SWAMP-DEER, the true Barasingh of India, as distinguished from the
-Kashmir stag, which is often loosely called Barasingh, is a plain-loving
-species, found in various parts of India, and characterised by handsome
-antlers, bearing as many as from 10 to 16 points. This is a big, heavy
-deer, standing nearly 4 feet at the withers, and weighing as much as 40
-stone. The summer coat is light rufous, more or less spotted with white.
-The winter coat is yellowish brown. A near relative to this deer is
-SCHOMBURGK'S DEER, found in Northern Siam. The antlers of this stag are
-most curiously forked and bifurcated.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-MALE SIBERIAN ROE.
-
-A very huge species of roebuck, with more rugged antlers than the
-European-roe.]
-
-The THAMIN, or ELD'S DEER, sometimes called the Brow-antlered Deer, is
-another plains-deer, found chiefly from Manipur, through Burma, to the
-Malay Peninsula. It is a good-sized species, standing about 3 feet 9 inches
-at the shoulder, and weighing as much as 17 stone. The large antlers are
-simple in type, the brow-tines curving down curiously over the forehead;
-the tail is sharp, and the neck provided with a mane, the young being
-spotted. A Siamese race of Eld's deer, found in Siam and Hainan, differs
-somewhat from the Burmese type.
-
-
-THE MUNTJACS.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-FEMALE SIBERIAN ROE.
-
-The absence of a tail, characteristic of all roes, is well shown.]
-
-The MUNTJACS, or BARKING-DEER, are a group of small deer found in India,
-Burma, and the Malay region. The INDIAN MUNTJAC stands about 2 feet in
-height, and weighs some 28 lbs. The antlers, which average 5 or 6 inches in
-length, bear two points--brow-tine and beam; the lower portions, or
-pedicles, are curiously covered with hair, and the front of the face is
-ribbed or ridged in V fashion. The general colour is a golden bay, the face
-and limbs brown, and the lower parts white. The buck has sharp tusks in the
-upper jaw, and, at a pinch, knows how to make use of them. A shy, stealthy
-little creature, the muntjac loves dense cover, and the sportsman usually
-obtains but a quick snapshot at this active and wary little deer as it
-flashes across him much as does a bolting rabbit scuttling across a narrow
-drive. Local Indian names for the barking-deer are Jungle-sheep, Red
-Hog-deer, and Rib-faced Deer. Other muntjacs, varying somewhat from the
-Indian form, are the HAIRY-FRONTED, the TENASSERIM, the TIBETAN, and the
-CHINESE MUNTJACS.
-
-
-TUFTED DEER.
-
-Near relatives of the odd little muntjacs are the TUFTED DEER, of which two
-species, the TIBETAN and MICHIE'S, are known to naturalists. The former,
-found in Eastern Tibet, is about the size of the Indian muntjac, and has a
-coat of dark chocolate-brown, curiously speckled on the face, neck, and
-fore parts; the frontal tuft is nearly black. The antlers of the bucks of
-both this and Michie's deer are extremely small, scarcely observable at a
-first glance. Both species have long curving tusks projecting from the
-upper jaw. Michie's tufted deer is of a greyish-black or iron-grey colour,
-the face and neck dark grey. This animal is found in the reed-beds
-bordering the Ningpo and other rivers in Eastern China.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Carl Hagenbeck_] [_Hamburg._
-
-SIBERIAN ROEBUCK.
-
-Shows a magnificent pair of antlers.]
-
-
-WATER-DEER.
-
-The CHINESE WATER-DEER is another diminutive deer, standing no more than 20
-inches at the shoulder. The body-colouring is pale rufous yellow, the head
-and the back of the ears being darker in hue than the rest of the body. The
-males carry no antlers. This tiny deer is found in North-east China, and is
-well known on the islands of the Yangtse-kiang River. It loves thick cover,
-especially reeds and long grass. So apt is it at concealment, that at
-Woburn Abbey, where specimens are kept in a paddock of long tussocky grass,
-hours may be spent without catching a glimpse of it. When disturbed, it
-scurries off with short, quick leaps, very much after the manner of the
-hare. The males of the Chinese deer, like the muntjacs, carry long curved
-tusks in the upper jaw.
-
-
-ROE DEER.
-
-The EUROPEAN ROE, one of the handsomest of all the smaller deer, is still
-happily found in many parts of Scotland. In England, where it had at one
-time become well-nigh extinct, it has been here and there reintroduced with
-some success. In Ireland it seems never to have been found. On the
-Continent its range is wide, extending from the south of Sweden, through
-France and Germany, to Italy, Greece, Turkey, Austria-Hungary, and Spain.
-Found in Southern Russia and the Caucasus, it makes its way eastward as far
-as North Palestine and Persia. The roe stands, in good adult specimens, 26
-inches at the shoulder, and weighs about 60 lbs. The handsome and very
-characteristic horns measure in good specimens from 10 to 13 inches over
-the outer curve. The summer coat of this beautiful little deer is a bright
-rufous brown; in winter a darker and duller brown, with a notable white
-patch about the tail. The roe is always more or less a wood-loving
-creature. In winter, especially, it seldom cares to quit the shelter of the
-forest; in summer, however, the deer wander into more open localities. The
-fawns are born generally towards the end of May, and two young are usually
-produced. In the rutting-season the males fight savagely with one another.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-FEMALE EUROPEAN ROE DEER.
-
-Though common in the Scotch woods, these deer are rarely seen, keeping
-close in cover all day.]
-
-Mr. J. G. Millais gives an instance of a buck killed in one of these
-desperate battles, in which one antler of the victor, having penetrated the
-brain of the vanquished buck, had been broken clean off and remained
-embedded in the skull, firmly wedged between the ears and the antlers.
-"When wounded and brought to bay by a dog," says Mr. Millais, "a roebuck
-brings into play both head and fore legs in his defence, using his horns as
-described, and striking out with his legs, more as if to push off his
-antagonist than to cause a forcible blow, for he gives no shock, as a hind
-can. A doe, too, uses her fore legs and boxes with her head; and Mr. Steel,
-who has had wide experience in roe-shooting, tells me that he has seen a
-doe use her hind legs as well. The bark of the buck is loud, sharp, and
-deep in tone, not unlike what a single call might be from an old collie. At
-this season, too, the female gives an amorous call when she wishes the male
-to come to her. If he is within hearing, he puts his neck out straight and
-comes full speed to her. In Germany many roebucks are shot by alluring them
-in this manner, and calls exactly imitating her voice are made for the
-sportsman's use. One who has shot roe in this manner tells me it is most
-exciting sport, for the buck comes straight for the sound at full speed,
-and will only stop startled for a second when he discovers the fraud, and
-as often as not he passes right on without giving a chance."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-PÈRE DAVID'S DEER.
-
-Nineteen of these deer are at Woburn Abbey; three are at Berlin. It is
-believed that these are the only deer of this species in existence.]
-
-Roe have a curious trick of chasing one another in play, and certain
-roe-rings in the woods near Cawdor Castle, according to Mr. Millais,
-demonstrate the fact that for ages the deer have been in the habit of
-disporting themselves in these strange circles over the same pieces of
-ground. The fact is very singular. "These curious circles are most used in
-early summer; and Sutherland, the head keeper, tells me," says Mr. Millais,
-"that hardly a morning passes without there being one or two roe playing in
-the rings, and sometimes there is quite a party of them." Roe feed chiefly
-on grass; they will eat also rowan (mountain-ash) berries, of which they
-are especially fond, as well as turnips, grain, heather tops, and various
-other roots and plants. Certain fungi, to which they are partial, they take
-much pains to dig out with their sharp hoofs. "A roebuck that I once kept,"
-says Mr. Millais, "was a good Scotchman, though he had a beastly temper,
-for he liked nothing so much as oatmeal porridge." Roe make delightful
-pets, but the bucks are not to be trusted after the third year. One of
-these animals, supposed to be tame, has been known to kill a lad. In
-Scotland and on the Continent roe deer are usually killed by driving, and
-large bags are often made. Even within recent times, as many as sixty-five
-roebucks and thirteen hinds have been shot at Beaufort, Lord Lovat's place
-in Inverness-shire, during a day's driving. Shot-guns are employed for this
-kind of sport. Stalking the roe is not so much pursued in Scotland as it
-might be. It is a first-rate and most interesting form of sport, and in
-certain districts the rifle might very well be substituted for the
-shot-gun. "Roe-stalking," says Mr. Millais, "possesses many charms of its
-own. In the first place, you can enjoy it at a season when there is no
-other shooting going on; secondly, it takes you out in the early morning,
-when all nature is full of life and beauty, and before the heat of the day
-commences; and, thirdly, where the chase of the animal is systematically
-conducted, as with red deer, the nature of the sport is everything that can
-be desired. I would therefore put forward a plea that tenants and owners of
-part-wood, part-forest lands in Argyll, Inverness, Ross, and Aberdeen
-should turn their attention to stalking the roe in preference to killing
-them during the usual winter wood-shoots." Roe deer are exceedingly
-abundant in the great forest regions of Germany and Austria-Hungary. In
-Austria alone, not including Hungary, during the year 1892, no less than
-68,110 of these beautiful little deer were shot on various estates.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-GROUP OF VIRGINIAN DEER (TWO BUCKS, FOUR DOES).
-
-These are the common deer of the Eastern United States.]
-
-The SIBERIAN ROE, found from the mountains of the Altai and Turkestan to
-Siberia, is a somewhat larger species than its European cousin, measuring
-from 28 to 34 inches at the shoulder. The antlers are also larger,
-extending to as much as 16 and even 18 inches in measurement. As beseems
-its habitat, the coat of this species is also thicker and rougher than is
-the case with the European roe. Mr. Lydekker gives some interesting
-particulars regarding this animal: "When the snows of November fall, the
-roe themselves commence to collect in herds, which may number from 300 to
-500 head, and soon after migrate southwards into Manchuria, whence they
-return about the end of March or beginning of April. On the Ussuri, which
-they must cross, they are at this season slaughtered in thousands by the
-hunters, without regard to age or sex."
-
-One other species, the MANCHURIAN ROE, found chiefly in mountainous
-habitats, whence it never descends, should be noted. This is a smaller deer
-than the Siberian roe, and approximates in size and length of horn to the
-European race.
-
-
-PÈRE DAVID'S DEER.
-
-This remarkable animal, which apparently bears little or no resemblance to
-any of the other deer of the Old World, has been placed by some naturalists
-between the roe deer and the American deer. Its habitat is North China,
-and, strangely enough, it seems to be unrecognised in the wild state, being
-apparently only known in China in the Imperial Park at Pekin. This deer
-approaches in size the red deer of Europe. The general colouring is greyish
-brown, white about the eyes, ears, rump, and under-parts; the horns, which
-lack the brow-tine, are very singular in shape, and measure as much as 32
-inches in length; the tail is long, reaching to the hocks; the gait is
-"lolloping" and mule-like. This is a marsh-loving species, and at Woburn
-Abbey, where specimens are kept, "they may be seen wading far into the
-lakes and even swimming in the deeper water."
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Professor Bumpus_] [_New York._
-
-A MULE-DEER FAWN.
-
-The large ears, from which the American species takes its name, are
-noticeable even in the young.]
-
-
-THE AMERICAN DEER.
-
-Excepting always the elk, wapiti, and reindeer, which have been already
-described, the deer of North and South America stand quite apart from those
-of the Old World, and are placed in a genus of their own. Usually the tail
-is long, and the brow-tine is always wanting. The most familiar species is
-the common AMERICAN DEER, of which the VIRGINIAN or WHITE-TAILED DEER is
-the type. This deer is found in varying forms in both continents, and was
-regularly hunted by the ancient Mexicans with trained pumas.
-
-The well-known VIRGINIAN DEER, found in Eastern North America, and believed
-to range as far south as Louisiana, stands a trifle over 3 feet in height,
-and weighs, clean, about 12 stone 7 lbs. The coloration is chestnut in
-summer, bluish grey in winter. The antlers are of good size, and measure as
-much as 27½ inches in length. As a sporting animal the white-tailed deer is
-not popular. Mr. Clive Phillipps-Wolley describes him as "an exasperating
-little beast." possessing every quality which a deer ought not to, from the
-sportsman's point of view. "His haunts are river-bottoms, in choking,
-blinding bush, and his habits are beastly. No one could ever expect to
-stalk a white-tail; if you want to get one, you must crawl." Mr. Selous, in
-1897, bagged one of these deer somewhat curiously. "He was coming," he
-writes, "through the scrubby, rather open bush straight towards me in a
-series of great leaps, rising, I think, quite four feet from the ground at
-every bound. I stood absolutely still, thinking to fire at him just as he
-jumped the stream and passed me. However, he came so straight to me that,
-had he held his course, he must have jumped on to or over me. But when
-little more than the width of the stream separated us--when he was
-certainly not more than ten yards from me--he either saw or winded me, and,
-without a moment's halt, made a prodigious leap sideways. I fired at him
-when he was in the air, and I believe quite six feet above the ground." The
-deer, an old buck with a good head, was afterwards picked up dead. In
-different parts of America, as far south as Peru and Bolivia, various local
-races of this deer are to be found.
-
-TRUE'S DEER is a small species, not unlike the Virginian deer, found from
-South Mexico to Costa Rica. The antlers are "in the form of simple spikes
-directed backwards," and the body-colouring is in summer light chestnut, in
-winter brownish grey. Little is at present known of this species.
-
-The MULE-DEER, found in most parts of North America west of the Missouri,
-as far south as Southern California, stands about 3 feet 3 inches at the
-shoulder, and weighs over 17 stone clean. It carries good antlers,
-measuring as much as 30 inches, and in colour is tawny red in summer,
-brownish grey in winter. It is a far better sporting animal than the
-sneaking white-tailed deer, and affords excellent stalking. These deer are
-still abundant in many localities. Mr. Phillipps-Wolley writes thus of them
-in "Big Game Shooting": "Some idea of the number of these deer in British
-Columbia may be gathered from the fact that in one district I have had a
-chance of killing seventeen separate stags in an hour's still hunt, whilst
-one settler in the Similkameen country fed his hogs on deer-meat through a
-whole winter." Four races of mule-deer--the TYPICAL, the CALIFORNIAN, the
-LA PAZ, and the WESTERN DESERT race--have been identified by naturalists.
-
-The BLACK-TAILED DEER is another well-known cervine of Western North
-America, closely allied to the mule-deer, but distinguished from that
-species by its inferior size and its much blacker tail. The antlers, as a
-rule, run somewhat smaller than in the case of the mule-deer. This, too, is
-a very abundant species, affording fairly good sport (considering its
-liking for timber and dense bush) and excellent venison.
-
-In South America are to be found several kinds of marsh-deer, of which the
-best known is the handsome MARSH-DEER, having its range from Brazil to the
-forest country of the Argentine Republic. Little is known of this and other
-South American deer by British sportsmen. The marsh-deer is almost equal in
-size to the red deer of Scotland, but somewhat less stout of build; the
-colouring is bright chestnut in summer, brown in winter; the coat is long
-and coarse, as befits a swamp-loving creature; the antlers usually display
-ten points, and measure in fine specimens as much as 23 or 24 inches.
-
-The PAMPAS-DEER, a species closely allied to the marsh-deer, is of small
-size, standing about 2 feet 6 inches at the shoulder. The antlers, usually
-three-pointed, measure no more than from 12 to 14 inches in fine specimens.
-This deer is found from Brazil to Northern Patagonia.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Professor Bumpus_] [_New York._
-
-VIRGINIAN DEER.
-
-This deer is the best-known representative of a species displaying
-extraordinary local variation in size and colour.]
-
-The PERUVIAN and CHILIAN GUEMALS are small deer, found on the high Andes,
-and are somewhat inferior in size to the Virginian deer. The males carry
-simple antlers forming a single fork, and measuring about 9 inches. The
-coat, yellowish brown in hue, is coarse, thick, and brittle. The Chilian
-guemal is found also in most parts of Patagonia; unlike its congener of
-Peru, which delights in altitudes of from 14,000 to 16,000 feet, its
-habitat lies chiefly in deep valleys, thick forest, and even the adjacent
-plains, to which it resorts in winter.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of the New York Zoological Society._
-
-MULE-DEER STAG.
-
-Shows the large blackish-brown patch on the forehead, so distinctive of the
-species.]
-
-The BROCKETS, of which seven species are found in South and Central America
-and Trinidad, are small deer, having spike-like antlers and tufted crowns.
-The largest is the RED BROCKET, found in Guiana, Brazil, and Paraguay,
-which stands 27 inches at the shoulder. The body-colouring is brownish red.
-Like most of the group, this brocket is extremely shy; although fond of
-dense covert, it is found also on open campos. The PYGMY BROCKET, a tiny
-dark brown deerlet, less than 19 inches in height, found in Central Brazil,
-is the smallest of these very small deer.
-
-Two other diminutive deer, known as PUDUS, closely allied to the brockets,
-are found in South America. These are the CHILIAN and ECUADOR PUDUS, of
-which the former is no more than 13½ inches in height, the latter about 14
-or 15 inches. Little is known of the history and life habits of these
-charming little creatures, one of which, the Chilian species, has
-occasionally been seen in the Zoological Society's Gardens.
-
-
-THE MUSK-DEER.
-
-This brief account of the deer of the world closes with the MUSK-DEER,
-which differ from almost all others of their kind--the Chinese water-deer
-being the sole exception--in the absence of antlers. In place of these
-defensive and offensive weapons, nature has provided the musk-deer with
-long canine tusks, projecting downwards from the upper jaw. The musk, from
-which these curious deer take their name, is secreted during the
-rutting-season--in the male only--in a pouch or gland contained in the skin
-of the stomach.
-
-The well-known HIMALAYAN MUSK-DEER is a stout, heavily made deer for its
-size, measuring 20 inches at the shoulder, about 2 inches higher at the
-rump, and having a coat of coarse, brittle hair of a dark brown colour.
-This musk-deer, which is nowadays by no means common, is found in the
-forests of the Himalaya, Tibet, Siberia, and Western China, often at
-altitudes of about 8,000 feet. These animals are extraordinary
-mountaineers, active, daring, and apparently quite unconscious of or
-indifferent to danger.
-
-Another species, the KANSU MUSK-DEER, found in the province of Kansu,
-China, has only been discovered within the last ten years. Concerning this
-deer very little is at present known. In general characteristics it
-resembles its more familiar congener of the Himalaya.
-
-A WORD should be said upon the subject of the acclimatisation of various
-members of the Deer Tribe in countries which are distant from their native
-ground, but in which they are found to thrive and breed, some with greater
-and some with less success. It will be seen that several of the
-illustrations in this chapter are taken from deer living in natural
-conditions at Woburn Abbey, the seat of the Duke of Bedford. Others were
-photographed out of doors in zoological parks or private menageries. There
-is a considerable degree of transferability among deer, not only among
-those found in temperate or northern regions, but also those which inhabit
-the tropical jungles of Southern India.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-YOUNG MARSH-DEER.
-
-A very elegant South American species. The main colour is a bright
-chestnut, with the lower part of the legs black. The insides of the ears
-are filled with white hair, looking like silver filigree.]
-
-The Axis, or Chital Deer of India, is the most striking example. It lives
-in the hot jungles, where it is the usual food of the tiger. Yet it has
-been transferred to the forests of France and to English parks, and not
-only lives, but breeds and increases in numbers. It is kept in this country
-mainly at Woburn Abbey, and at Haggerston Castle, in Northumberland. In
-France and Germany herds of axis deer have been maintained long enough to
-observe a curious and noteworthy incident in acclimatisation. The axis deer
-breeds naturally in October, after the Indian rainy season. This habit, if
-persisted in in Europe, would expose the fawn to the rigours of the French
-or English winter. Gradually and after some time the herds become irregular
-in the time of reproduction, and later produce the fawns in June, at the
-time which is best suited to their survival. This is a real instance of
-acclimatisation.
-
-The Japanese Deer, or Sika, was introduced into the park at Powerscourt by
-Viscount Powerscourt some thirty years ago. Now it is one of the commonest
-of recently introduced park-deer both in this country and in France. The
-venison is excellent, and the herds are prolific. The stags are small, but
-very strong, and at Powerscourt always get the better of the red deer
-stags, and sometimes carry off their hinds. Wapiti Deer are kept in several
-English parks, but so far the Sambar has proved a failure. Hog-deer and
-Chinese Water-deer do very well both in England and France.
-
-But it is in New Zealand that the best results have been obtained with
-imported deer. The English Red Deer, some of which were originally sent out
-by the Prince Consort, reinforced by some of the same species bred in
-Australia, have become indigenous. They grow far faster and to a larger
-size than those on the Scotch moors, and rival the great stags of the
-Carpathians. The antlers also increase in size at an abnormal rate.
-Licences are regularly issued to stalk and shoot these deer, which, like
-the brown trout and the pheasant, are now among the stock of established
-wild fauna. Moose and a few Sambar stags and herds have also been turned
-out in New Zealand. The latter are said to be doing well.
-
-There is no particular reason why the deer of cold countries should not be
-interchanged; they seem to have the natural adaptability of oxen. But it is
-not a little surprising that the species from warm climates should flourish
-in damp and cold ones. The axis deer would be a real addition to the fauna
-of the great European forests, if it is found that it survives the winter
-snows without some form of artificial shelter. No one seems to have
-considered the advisability of introducing the mule-deer into the Central
-European woods. It is a much finer animal than the fallow buck, and the
-venison is excellent. In those woods where fallow deer are preserved in a
-wild state, as on many of the German Emperor's sporting-estates, the
-mule-deer would be a far more ornamental animal. Few people know what
-immense herds of red and fallow deer, as well as of wild boars, still
-exist, under careful preservation, in the forests of the great German,
-Austrian, and Russian princes, and in the royal forests of their respective
-countries.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-YOUNG HIMALAYAN MUSK-DEER.
-
-The male carries a pouch on the abdomen, from which the musk is obtained.
-There are no antlers.]
-
-When the Kaiser holds his great Court hunting-parties, to which the guests
-all come dressed in the uniform of the Order of St. Hubert, as many as 200
-deer are shot in a day. They are driven past the guns by beaters. After the
-day's sport is over all the antlers are wreathed with boughs of spruce fir,
-and the stags laid out like rabbits after an English battue.
-
-It is rather surprising that only one species of deer has been entirely
-domesticated--viz. the Reindeer. Deer's meat is as highly prized as that of
-any other game, perhaps even more so. There is almost no part of the animal
-which is not useful. The horns are valuable for knife-handles, and always
-command a good price; they were prized even by prehistoric man, who
-converted them into pick-axes, and made spear-heads and daggers of them.
-The leather of the hide makes the softest and best of all hunting-garments:
-the American Indian or trapper always wears, or used to wear, a deer-skin
-shirt and deer-skin leggings, made as exquisitely soft as chamois leather
-by a process known to the squaws. At the present time all the best gloves
-are made of doe-skin; they are far the most costly of any gloves. Doe-skin
-breeches are also a luxurious garment to ride in. For ornamental rugs few
-skins beat those of the Dappled Deer, laid on the floor of some finely
-furnished hall or room.
-
-Thus we have the curious spectacle of the wild men of the Far North, the
-Lapps and Ostiaks, taming and keeping in domestication great herds of deer,
-milking them, using them as beasts of draught, and feeding on their flesh,
-while far more civilised races in the South have not taken the trouble to
-do so. The reason is not easy to surmise, unless it be that the idea of
-making use of the Deer Tribe solely as beasts of the chase was so rooted in
-the European ruling races, and their kings and nobles, that the
-agriculturist never had a chance of trying to tame and use them for other
-purposes. It is certain that during the Middle Ages law and custom made any
-such attempt quite impossible. The deer were a valuable sporting asset, so
-hedged round with an atmosphere of feudal privilege, that to convert them
-into something useful to the common people would have been regarded as an
-insult to the powers that were.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Neurdein Frères_] [_Paris._
-
-THE CAMEL-PLOUGH, USED IN ALGIERS.
-
-Camels are often used for agricultural purposes in North Africa, Syria, and
-India. In this particular case a special kind of plough is employed.]
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XVIII.
-
-_THE CAMEL TRIBE AND THE CHEVROTAINS._
-
-BY W. P. PYCRAFT, A.L.S., F.Z.S.
-
-The Camels and Llamas, constituting the present group, form a very distinct
-section of the great assemblage of animals known as the Ruminants, or
-Cud-chewers. The Camel Tribe are peculiar amongst the Ruminants in that
-they never possess horns, and in that the stomach is only divided into
-three instead of four compartments--this division into compartments being
-intimately connected with the ruminating habit. Furthermore, the upper jaw
-bears cutting-teeth, or "front teeth," as they are popularly called: though
-the full set (three pairs) is only complete in the young, in the adult but
-one pair remains, the others being shed. The canine or "eye" teeth are also
-peculiar in their position, those of the lower jaw being separated from the
-cutting-teeth by a very considerable gap.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor_] [_Ealing._
-
-A WHITE CAMEL.
-
-A light sandy is the common colour, though white, grey, brown, and black
-occur; but black camels are held by the Arabs to be worthless.]
-
-In the structure of the feet the Camel Tribe are no less peculiar; indeed,
-it is on this character that the scientific name of the group is founded.
-Only two toes are present; these are of equal size, and, instead of being
-protected by hoofs, are provided with a hardened skin, covering a
-cushion-like pad, which expands when the weight of the body is thrown upon
-the foot, as in walking. This is an admirable adaptation for walking on
-soft and yielding sands. Hoofs are represented only by a pair of broad
-nails.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Charles Knight_] [_Aldershot._
-
-ARABIAN CAMEL.
-
-This individual belongs to the heavy breed employed for carrying
-merchandise and baggage.]
-
-The three-chambered stomach is remarkable because the chamber known as the
-"paunch" lodges in its walls a large collection of "water-cells," in which
-can be stored as much as a gallon and a half of water. This faculty of
-storing water is invaluable to an animal which has often to subsist for
-days on absolutely waterless deserts.
-
-Note the slit-like nostrils in the illustration of the Bactrian Camel on
-page 306. These can be closed at the will of the animal, a useful
-precaution against the entrance of sand during the violent sand-storms
-which often arise in the desert.
-
-The True Camels are distinguished by the possession of a hump or humps:
-there are never more than two. It is in these humps that the camel was
-popularly supposed to store water; in reality they are huge masses of fat,
-serving as a reserve store of food. The accumulation of fat for this
-purpose is a common feature amongst the Mammalia. Most animals which
-hibernate, or lay up and sleep during the winter, store up fat; but, except
-in the camel, it is distributed more or less evenly over the body. With
-hard work or bad feeding the camel's hump dwindles almost to nothing. When
-on the eve of a long journey, the Arab looks anxiously to the state of this
-hump, for on the size of this depends the animal's condition and ability to
-undertake the march.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-A CAMEL.
-
-A half-breed between the Arabian and Bactrian species.]
-
-The Arabian camel as a wild animal has long since been extinct. Of the
-hordes of so-called wild camels which abound in the desert regions of
-Central Asia (Gobi Steppe), some are probably descendants of domesticated
-animals which have escaped from captivity, but others may be aboriginally
-wild. From the evidence of fossil camels, there seems little doubt that
-this animal originated in North America--one branch of the family (the
-Llamas) migrating into South America, and the other (the Camels) crossing
-Bering Sea into the Old World.
-
-
-THE TRUE CAMEL.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-A STRING OF CAMELS NEAR PORT SAID.
-
-These are the typical desert-camels of the East.]
-
-Before proceeding further, it may be well to refer to the confusion which
-exists in the use of the names Camel and Dromedary. The latter name seems
-popularly to be applied to the two-humped species, the name Camel being
-reserved for the one with a single hump. This is a mistake. The DROMEDARY
-is a swift breed of riding-camel of the one-humped species, and is so
-called to distinguish it from its slower brother, the Pack-camel, or
-Baggage-camel. The pack-camel, it is interesting to note, has been
-introduced into Australia, where it has proved invaluable in crossing the
-vast waterless deserts, on account of its power to exist for long periods
-without drinking.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-HEAD OF BACTRIAN CAMEL.
-
-The hair of this species is used to felt into material for tents. It is
-longest on the top of the head, neck, humps, and parts of the fore limbs.]
-
-The TRUE or ARABIAN CAMEL is found in a domesticated state in Africa and
-Asia, and, as we have just indicated, belongs to the one-humped species. It
-is a long-limbed, short-haired animal, standing as much as 7 feet high. As
-a wild animal it is extinct. Much mystery, indeed, surrounds the question
-of its origin. It has been suggested that the Arabian camel, or its
-immediate parent, may have sprung from an Indian ancestor, and thence made
-its way through Arabia and Syria into Northern Africa.
-
-Not only is the camel indispensable as a beast of burden, but it is
-esteemed also for its hair, its flesh, bones, and milk. The hair is woven
-into cloth. In some parts of India the bones are used instead of ivory for
-inlaid work. The milk is unusually thick and rich, so much so that it
-cannot be used for tea or coffee, as it curdles when mixed with either.
-
-The camel is popularly supposed to be a very docile animal; but those who
-speak from experience declare it to be stupid, surly, and vicious to the
-last degree. It is, however, not entirely void of understanding, and
-apparently cherishes feelings of revenge, as the following story shows: "A
-camel, working in an oil-mill, was severely beaten by its driver.
-Perceiving that the camel had treasured up the injury, and was only waiting
-a favourable opportunity for revenge, he kept a strict watch upon the
-animal. Time passed away; the camel, perceiving it was watched, was quiet
-and obedient, and the driver began to think the beating was forgotten, when
-one night, after the lapse of several months, the man was sleeping on a
-raised platform in the mill, whilst the camel, as is customary, was stabled
-in a corner. Happening to awake, the driver observed by the bright
-moonlight that, when all was quiet, the animal looked cautiously round,
-rose softly, and, stealing towards a spot where a bundle of clothes and a
-bernous, thrown carelessly on the ground, resembled a sleeping figure, cast
-itself with violence upon them, rolling with all its weight, and tearing
-them most viciously with its teeth. Satisfied that revenge was complete,
-the camel was returning to its corner, when the driver sat up and spoke. At
-the sound of his voice, perceiving the mistake it had made, the animal was
-so mortified at the failure and discovery of its scheme, that it dashed its
-head against the wall and died on the spot."
-
-It is said that when camels pass a mounted man in a narrow path they will
-turn their heads suddenly round and endeavour to inflict a bite on the
-rider's arm or shoulder. This is naturally much dreaded, as a camel's bite
-is particularly severe.
-
-Much care has been spent in the breeding of the camel. "In the Sahara
-Desert," says Canon Tristram, "the Tourareg is as careful in the selection
-of his breeding mahari (a fine race of the dromedary) as the Arab is in
-that of his horse. The pedigrees are handed down, and many a dromedary can
-boast a genealogy far longer than the descendants of the Darley Arabian"
-(page 202).
-
-
-THE BACTRIAN CAMEL.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-AN OLD MALE BACTRIAN CAMEL.
-
-This animal is a magnificent representative of the two-humped species, so
-widely distributed in Central Asia.]
-
-This species is often called the Dromedary; but, as we have already
-remarked, this is an error. The dromedary is a swift breed of the Arabian
-camel. The BACTRIAN CAMEL may be distinguished from its Arabian relative by
-the fact that it has two humps, is shorter in the leg and heavier, and has
-longer hair and stouter and harder feet. The shorter legs are distinctly
-advantageous, enabling the animal to get about with ease and safety over
-rocky and hilly ground.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Charles Knight_] [_Aldershot._
-
-BACTRIAN CAMEL.
-
-The most useful transport animal of Central Asia.]
-
-The hordes of wild camels found in Turkestan, in the neighbourhood of
-Kashgar, are believed by Major C. S. Cumberland to be descended from camels
-which escaped when the district known as Takla Makan was buried in a great
-sand-storm 200 years ago. From the fury of that storm it is said no human
-being escaped alive. Some camels apparently did, perhaps owing their
-survival to the power they possess of closing the nostrils, and thereby
-keeping out the sand.
-
-The Bactrian camel lives upon the salt and bitter plants of the steppes,
-which are rejected by almost all other animals. It is further able to drink
-brackish water from the salt lakes by which it is surrounded. When pressed
-by hunger, it will even eat felt blankets, bones and skins of other
-animals, and fish!
-
-
-THE LLAMAS.
-
-THE LLAMAS are humpless camels, and confined to the western and
-southernmost parts of South America. Two wild and two domesticated species
-are known. The name Llama, it should be mentioned, properly belongs to the
-domesticated animal of that name.
-
-
-THE VICUÑA.
-
-This is the smaller of the two wild species. Vicuñas live in herds in the
-mountain-ranges of Peru, dwelling during the wet season high up amid rocks
-and precipices, near the region of perpetual snow. In the dry season they
-descend to the higher valleys. Their capture is a matter of great
-difficulty; for, apart from the inaccessible nature of their haunts, they
-are exceedingly shy and vigilant. They are clothed in a woolly coat of
-extremely delicate texture, much in demand for weaving purposes.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co._] [_Parson's Green._
-
-YOUNG BACTRIAN CAMEL.
-
-The two humps are just beginning to grow.]
-
-The baby vicuña, it is interesting to note, is able to run swiftly directly
-after its birth, and possesses great powers of endurance. This is the more
-noteworthy since the young of the camel are exceedingly helpless.
-
-Vicuñas are hunted by the Indians and captured by driving them into an
-enclosure of perhaps half a mile in diameter. This is hung round with bits
-of coloured rag, which, fluttering in the wind, appear to deter the
-captives from breaking through.
-
-
-THE GUANACO.
-
-This is larger than the vicuña, and is described as an elegant animal,
-being possessed of a long, slender, gracefully curved neck and fine legs.
-It ranges from the highlands of the Andes to the plains of Patagonia and
-the islands of Tierra del Fuego. As Mr. Darwin points out, the behaviour of
-guanaco when alarmed is very contradictory. At one time they will sound the
-danger-signal, and put themselves out of harm's way long before the enemy
-has perceived them; at another they exhibit the most extraordinary
-curiosity, and pay the death-penalty in consequence. "That they are curious
-is certain; for if a person lies on the ground and plays strange antics,
-such as throwing up his feet in the air, they will almost always approach
-by degrees to reconnoitre him. It was an artifice that was repeatedly
-practised by our sportsmen with success, and it had, moreover, the
-advantage of allowing several shots to be fired, which were all taken as
-part of the performance. On the mountains of Tierra del Fuego, I have more
-than once seen a guanaco, on being approached, not only neigh and squeal,
-but prance and leap about in the most ridiculous manner, apparently in
-defiance, as a challenge. These animals are very easily domesticated, and I
-have seen some thus kept in Northern Patagonia near a house, though not
-under any restraint. They are in this state very bold, and readily attack a
-man by striking him from behind with both knees. The wild guanacos,
-however, have no idea of defence; even a single dog will secure one of
-these large animals till the huntsmen can come up. In many of their habits
-they are like sheep in a flock. Thus, when they see men approaching in
-several directions on horseback, they soon become bewildered, and know not
-which way to run. This greatly facilitates the Indian method of hunting,
-for they are thus easily driven to a central point, and are encompassed."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. W. McLellan_] [_Highbury._
-
-GUANACO.
-
-The wild original of the llama and alpaca.]
-
-Guanacos readily take to the water, and have been frequently seen swimming
-from one island to another. Here again the llamas differ from the camels,
-for these can swim but little, if at all. Like the Bactrian camel, the
-guanaco can drink salt water with impunity.
-
-One of the most remarkable traits of the guanaco is that which induces it,
-when it feels its end to be near, to seek out the dying-place of the tribe,
-and there breathe out its last. "The guanacos," says Mr. Darwin, "appear to
-have favourite spots for lying down to die. On the banks of the St. Cruz,
-in certain circumscribed places, which were generally bushy and all near
-the river, the ground was actually white with bones. On one such spot I
-counted between ten and twenty heads.... The animals in most cases must
-have crawled, before dying, beneath and amongst the bushes."
-
-
-THE LLAMA.
-
-This is the first of the two domesticated offshoots of the guanaco, the
-other being the Alpaca. The LLAMA is a larger beast than the guanaco, and
-variable in colour. The ancient Peruvians bred it as a beast of burden or
-for riding, and before the Spanish conquest kept it in enormous numbers.
-Soon after the Spanish conquest "it was not uncommon to meet droves of from
-300 to 500, or even 1,000 llamas, each laden with silver ingots, and the
-whole in charge of a single native.... Only the male llamas were used as
-beasts of burden, while the smaller females were kept for their milk and
-flesh. In travelling along the roads, the droves marched in single file,
-under the guidance of a leader; and such a line would traverse the highest
-passes of the Cordillera, and skirt the most stupendous precipices with
-perfect safety.... The Spanish conquerors of Peru spoke of llama-flesh as
-being fully equal to the best mutton, and they established shops in the
-towns for its regular sale. At the time of the conquest it is estimated
-that upwards of 300,000 llamas were employed in the transport of the
-product of the mines of Potosi alone."
-
-
-THE ALPACA.
-
-This animal is bred solely for the sake of its wool, which is of great
-length and fineness. From it is made the well-known fabric which bears, in
-consequence, the name "alpaca."
-
-The alpaca is kept in herds on the high grounds of Bolivia and South Peru,
-whence it is annually driven down to be sheared. The Incas dyed the
-wool--which is of two qualities, a fine and a coarse--with bright colours,
-and made it up into cloth or blankets, as the occasion served.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
-
-LLAMAS.
-
-Largely used as beasts of burden in Peru, where these and the alpaca were
-formerly the only domesticated ruminants.]
-
-The earliest account of this animal is by Augustin de Zarate, the
-Treasurer-General of Peru in 1544. He speaks of the beast as a sheep; but
-since he describes it as camel-like in shape, though devoid of a hump,
-there can be no doubt that it is the llama he is describing. He says: "In
-places where there is no snow the natives want water, and to supply this
-they fill the skins of sheep with water, and make other living sheep carry
-them; for, it must be remarked, these sheep of Peru are large enough to
-serve as beasts of burden. They can carry about 100 lbs. or more, and the
-Spaniards used to ride them, and they would go four or five leagues a day.
-When they are weary, they lie down on the ground; and as there are no means
-of making them get up, either by beating or assisting them, the load must
-of necessity be taken off. When there is a man on one of them, if the beast
-be tired and urged to go on, he turns his head round and discharges his
-saliva, which has an unpleasant odour, into the rider's face. These animals
-are of great use and profit to their masters, for their wool is very good
-and fine ... and the expense of their food is trifling, as a handful of
-maize suffices them, and they can go four or five days without water. Their
-flesh is as good as that of the fat sheep of Castile. There are now public
-shambles for the sale of their flesh in all parts of Peru, which was not
-the case when the Spaniards came first."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Miss E. J. Beck._
-
-LLAMA.
-
-The larger of the two domesticated forms descended from the guanaco.]
-
-The particularly offensive habit of spitting in the face of people who may
-be obnoxious to it is well known to those who are in the habit of seeing
-much of this animal.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-ALPACA.
-
-A domesticated form, bred solely for its wool, which is of a dark brown or
-black colour.]
-
-
-THE CHEVROTAINS.
-
-Mention must be made, before passing to the Pig Tribe, of the smallest of
-hoofed mammals, the Royal Antelope excepted--the CHEVROTAINS. These little
-animals are hornless, and intermediate in character between the Deer,
-Camels, and Pigs. The males have large canine teeth, like those of the
-Musk-deer, with which the Chevrotains have long been confounded. The range
-of these animals, of which there are five species known, extends from India
-and Ceylon, through the Malayan countries, as far east as the island of
-Palawan, in the Philippine group. One species, the largest of the group,
-occurs on the west coast of Africa.
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XIX.
-
-_THE PIG AND HIPPOPOTAMUS._
-
-----
-
-THE PIG TRIBE.
-
-BY H. A. BRYDEN.
-
-Many species and varieties of swine are found in different parts of the
-world, most of them exhibiting strong traces of a general family
-resemblance, although widely sundered as to habitats and often markedly
-differing in outward appearance. All are omnivorous; all have the stomach
-simpler in type than in the Ruminants; and all have front or incisor teeth
-in the upper jaw. The two great families of swine proper are the Pigs and
-Peccaries.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-A DOMESTICATED SOW AND HER PROGENY.
-
-The absence of stripes and spots on the young is a feature in which they
-differ from those of nearly all wild swine.]
-
-There has been much discussion among scientists as to the early origin of
-the various breeds of domestic swine found in different parts of the world.
-There can be little doubt that, although selective breeding has produced
-extraordinary differences in outward appearance, even among the domestic
-pigs of our own islands, the origin of the numerous tame races is to be
-sought in the ancestry of the wild breeds of the countries in which they
-are found. Darwin has some very apposite remarks on the differences to be
-observed in domesticated swine. "The peculiar form of the skull and body in
-the most highly cultivated races is," he observes, "not characteristic of
-any one race, but is common to all when improved up to the same standard.
-Thus the large-bodied, long-eared English breed, with a convex back, and
-the small-bodied, short-eared Chinese breeds, with a concave back, when
-bred to the same state of perfection, nearly resemble each other in the
-form of the head and body. This result, it appears, is partly due to
-similar causes of change acting on the several races, and partly to man
-breeding the pig for one sole purpose--namely, for the greatest amount of
-flesh and fat; so that selection has always tended towards one and the same
-end. With most domestic animals the result of selection has been divergence
-of character; here it has been convergence."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz_] [_Berlin._
-
-WILD BOAR.
-
-In its long, bristly hair and powerful lower tusks, the wild boar is a very
-different animal from its domesticated descendants.]
-
-
-THE TRUE PIGS.
-
-True pigs are found only in the Old World, and even there in very widely
-different forms. Typical of these quadrupeds is the well-known WILD BOAR,
-found abundantly in many parts of Europe, North Africa, Asia Minor, and
-Central Asia. In the British Islands the wild boar must once have been
-extraordinarily plentiful, especially in Ireland, where its tame
-descendants still so greatly flourish. In the days of the Plantagenets wild
-swine fed and sheltered in the woodlands close to London. James I. hunted
-them near Windsor in 1617, and even down to the year 1683 these animals
-still had their haunts in the more secluded parts of England. Although now
-extinct in these Islands, the wild boar is to be found plentifully at the
-present day in France, Germany, Austria, Russia, and Spain, Greece,
-Albania, and other countries of the Mediterranean. In most parts of Europe
-the wild boar is shot during forest drives, but in the Caucasus and round
-the Black Sea the hardy peasants lie in wait for these animals by the
-fruit-trees on autumn nights or waylay them going to the water and shoot
-them single-handed. Many an old Cossack, writes Mr. Clive Phillipps-Wolley,
-bears the scars of some desperate encounter with these formidable foes. In
-Spain, where in the old days the boar was pursued by cavaliers with spear
-and pike, it is still, in the forests of Estremadura, followed with horse
-and hound, usually, says Mr. Abel Chapman, "during the stillness of a
-moonlight night, when the acorns are falling from the oaks in the
-magnificent Estremenian woods."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. Turner-Turner, Esq._
-
-DIVING-PIGS.
-
-Half-wild pigs, found in Florida, where they live on refuse fish. (See next
-page)]
-
-In India the wild boar of Europe and North Africa is replaced by a closely
-allied species (distinguished by a crest of long black bristles upon the
-neck and back), which furnishes some of the finest and most exciting sport
-in the world to mounted hunters armed with a sharp spear. There is not a
-pluckier or more fearless beast living than the boar; and as he carries
-long and extremely sharp tusks, and never scruples to use them, he is an
-exceedingly dangerous opponent when wounded and enraged. Severe and even
-fatal accidents have happened in the pursuit of this determined beast of
-chase. When at bay, the boar is absolutely reckless of life; and although
-pierced and mortally wounded by the spear, will yet force himself up the
-shaft, and with his dying effort inflict gaping wounds on the horse bearing
-his attacker. Indian shikaris, to illustrate the courage of the wild boar,
-say that he has the hardihood to drink at a river between two tigers; and
-Colonel R. Heber Percy mentions, in the Badminton volumes on "Big Game
-Shooting," that "several cases are on record in which an old boar has
-beaten off a tiger, and some in which the latter has been killed by a boar.
-The boar's extraordinary activity and sharp tusks make him no mean
-adversary, and his short neck makes it difficult for a tiger to seize it
-and give it that fatal wrench with which he likes to polish off his
-victims." A wild boar will stand as much as 3 feet at the shoulder--some
-sportsmen affirm considerably more--and weigh more than 300 lbs. The finest
-boar's tusk known is one mentioned in Rowland Ward's "Records of Big Game."
-This measures 11½ inches over the curve. It came from the Caucasus, and is
-in the possession of Colonel Veernhof.
-
-It is worthy of note that, while the full-grown individuals of the various
-species of wild swine are uniformly coloured, their young are
-longitudinally striped and spotted. In India, besides the common boar, a
-tiny wild swine, known as the PYGMY HOG, is found in the Bhutan Terai and
-the forests of Nepal and Sikhim. This pig, which is little bigger than a
-fox-terrier, runs in considerable troops, or sounders, and is said to
-attack intruders into its domain much in the same fearless way in which the
-peccary of America defends its sanctuaries. The height of this diminutive
-species is given as from 8 to 10 inches--the weight at 10 lbs.
-
-Wild swine are nocturnal in their habits, frequenting moist and marshy
-country, loving the shade of forests, and making their lairs in tall grass,
-reed-beds, and similar covert. They go far afield for their food-supplies,
-and do a great deal of damage to crops in cultivated districts. The
-European wild sow produces from six to ten young, and at least two litters
-are usually brought forth in the year.
-
-It is remarkable how quickly pigs, as well as other domesticated animals,
-revert to a semi-feral state of existence, and develop habits suited to a
-fresh environment. Mr. J. Turner-Turner sends us the following interesting
-note in connection with this trait: "DIVING-PIGS.--These pigs live in an
-almost wild condition on certain of the islands off Florida, and subsist
-chiefly upon the refuse fish cast away by the netsmen. To obtain this, the
-pigs dive under water, walking on the land at a depth of 5 feet below the
-surface."
-
-Among other Asiatic wild swine are to be mentioned the COLLARED PIG, found
-in Java, Sumatra, and Borneo; the WHITE-WHISKERED JAPANESE PIG; the PAPUAN
-and FORMOSAN PIGS; the WARTY PIG of Java and Borneo; the CERAM PIG; the
-CELEBES PIG; and the BEARDED PIG of Borneo, a species distinguished by a
-quantity of long hair carried upon the cheeks. In the Andaman Islands a
-small, shaggy wild pig, standing about 20 inches at the shoulder, is found
-in the forests. Although distinguished from the well-known wild boar of
-India by certain peculiarities, there is a strong family resemblance to
-that well-known species in most of these various Asiatic species and races.
-
-Among the many kinds of domesticated swine found in Asia, perhaps the
-strangest and most curious is the JAPANESE MASKED PIG. This animal is
-described by Darwin as having "an extraordinary appearance, from its short
-head, broad forehead and nose, great fleshy ears, and deeply furrowed skin.
-Not only is the face furrowed, but thick folds of skin, which are harder
-than the other parts, almost like the plates on the Indian rhinoceros, hang
-about the shoulders and rump. It is coloured black, with white feet, and
-breeds true. That it has long been domesticated there can be little doubt;
-and this might have been inferred even from the circumstance that its young
-are not longitudinally striped."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co., Parson's Green._
-
-JAVAN WILD PIG.
-
-One of several nearly allied species inhabiting the Malay Islands.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co_.] [_Parson's Green_.
-
-MALE AND FEMALE BABIRUSA.
-
-The chief characteristic of this pig is the peculiar and enormous
-development of the tusks in the male, the upper pair of which grow through
-the lips and curve backwards.]
-
-In Africa, besides the European wild boar, which there extends its range to
-Algeria and Morocco, a little-known wild pig is the SENAAR BOAR, found in
-Senaar, Kordofan, and the Soudan region. In the late Dr. Gray's "Catalogue
-of Carnivora" this wild pig is described as having the fur dense and
-bristly, and being in colour dull olive-black, varied with yellow. Possibly
-this little known swine may prove to be merely a sub-species of the common
-wild boar of Europe and North Africa. Now that the Soudan regions have once
-more been opened up to Europeans, we may expect shortly to hear more of
-this wild swine, as well as of other rare and interesting animals.
-
-Still dealing with the true pigs, we come now to the Bush-pigs of Africa
-and Madagascar. These differ somewhat from the typical wild boars of Europe
-and India in the structure of the teeth, the long pencilled ear-tufts, the
-elongated snout, and other characteristics. The tusks are considerably
-smaller, and seldom exceed 6 or 7 inches in length. The RED RIVER-HOG, or
-WEST AFRICAN BUSH-PIG, is decidedly the most striking of this group.
-Smaller than the bush-pig of South Africa, and seldom exceeding 2 feet in
-height at the shoulder, the colour of this animal is a brilliant reddish
-brown, with tints of yellow. Noticeable streaks of white are found round
-the eyes and on the cheeks. The ear-tufts, forehead, and limbs are
-blackish; more white markings are seen at the tips of the ear-tufts, along
-the thick mane, and round the margins of the ears. The under-parts are
-whitish grey in colour. This very handsome pig runs in considerable herds,
-and is found chiefly in forest and jungle near the banks of the various
-rivers in West Africa. Its range extends from Angola to Senegambia, and
-eastwards into the continent as far as Monbuttu.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Miss E. J. Beck_.
-
-WART-HOG.
-
-Shows the great size of the head in proportion to the body.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co_.] [_Parson's Green_.
-
-ÆLIAN'S WART-HOG.
-
-Displays the broad muzzle and huge tusks, which are nearly as large in the
-sows as in the boars.]
-
-The well-known BUSH-PIG OF SOUTH AFRICA, the BOSCH-VARK of the Boers, is a
-fine species, having a wide range over much of the southern and
-south-eastern parts of the continent, extending as far north as Central
-Africa. In the Eastern Transvaal and Swaziland these animals attain their
-greatest size, an adult boar standing from 2 feet 4 inches to 2 feet 7
-inches in height, and weighing as much as from 150 to 170 lbs. The usual
-colour is brownish red, the face and mane greyish; but in different
-specimens and at different ages great variations are to be noticed. Pale
-greyish brown or mottled brown are colours often to be found. These
-bush-pigs are formidable-looking creatures, with thick bristling manes,
-small deep-set eyes, and sharp if somewhat short tusks, which they know
-well how to use. Among the old-fashioned Boers cured hams from these
-animals were, when they were more plentiful in Cape Colony, often to be
-found in up-country farmhouses. The bosch-vark is a beast of shy, nocturnal
-habit, and, loving as it does the shade and protection of dense covert and
-bush, is, unless carefully sought for, not often seen by sportsmen. The
-herds range usually from half a dozen to as many as twenty in number. When
-once encountered and set up at bay, this wild swine will be found a most
-tough and courageous adversary, capable and willing to defend itself
-stoutly against all foes. "They are," says Mr. F. Vaughan Kirby, who has
-had much experience in hunting these animals, "expert swimmers and swift of
-foot, and can get over the roughest ground at a great pace. There is no
-pluckier beast in Africa than a bush-pig, and even a leopard will hesitate
-before attacking a full-grown boar. Like all wild creatures, they have an
-instinctive dread of man, and will always make their escape from him if
-possible; but if surrounded or wounded and brought to bay, they appear to
-accept the situation with stolid imperturbability, and die fighting with
-rare pluck, against all odds, grim and silent to the last.... Face to face
-in the middle of a 'fast' bush, and only a Swazi 'stabbing-assegai' with
-which to kill him, ... I have seen an old boar, after receiving nine
-thrusts from those terrible weapons, two of which were still fast in him,
-make a charge that scattered us like chaff, and in three consecutive lunges
-lame one of our number for life, and disembowel two of the finest
-'pig-dogs' I ever hunted with. In such encounters a boar inflicts terrible
-wounds with his teeth, as well as with his tusks." Few men care to face a
-wart-hog on foot.
-
-Another bush-pig is found in Madagascar, and is known as EDWARDS' BUSH-PIG.
-Its habits are very similar to those of its brethren in the neighbouring
-continent of Africa.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co_.] [_Parson's Green_.
-
-HEAD OF MALE WART-HOG.
-
-Profile showing the large conical warty growths on the side of the face so
-characteristic of these animals.]
-
-
-THE BABIRUSA.
-
-Quitting the true pigs, we come now to perhaps the very strangest and most
-singular of all the great tribe of swine. This is the Babirusa, that
-curious and grotesque creature found in the island of Celebes, in the Malay
-Archipelago. The name Babirusa signifies "pig-deer." It is of course a
-misnomer, and the animal has no kinship whatever with the cervine race. The
-babirusa is a wild swine, having a dark slate-grey skin, very sparsely
-covered with hair along the ridge of the spine. This skin is very
-extraordinarily wrinkled. The ears are much smaller than is the case with
-other members of the swine group, while the tail is short, straight, and
-lacks any semblance of tuft. The females have small tusks. In the boars the
-tusks are most singularly and abnormally developed. From the upper jaw,
-instead of curving from the side of the lips, the tusks grow from the
-centre of the muzzle, penetrate right through the skin, and curve backwards
-often till they touch the forehead. The lower tusks have also a strong
-curve, but are not so long as those of the upper jaw. Although thus
-superabundantly provided with tushes, the babirusa is, as regards the rest
-of its teeth, less well off, having only thirty-four, as against the
-forty-four of the European wild boar. In their habits these singular pigs
-much resemble other wild swine, going in herds and frequenting forest,
-jungle, and the banks of rivers. They are excellent swimmers. The young
-are, unlike other wild swine in the infant state, unstriped. These animals
-are often found domesticated about the dwellings of native chiefs in
-Celebes. The weight of a good male is as much as 128 lbs.; height at
-shoulder, 27½ inches. The longest tusk recorded measures 17 inches over the
-curve. These animals are driven into nets and speared by the natives of
-Celebes, and afford excellent sport, the boars especially charging
-viciously at their assailants.
-
-
-THE WART-HOGS.
-
-If the babirusa of the Malay Archipelago is a sufficiently bizarre-looking
-creature, the wart-hog of Africa yields to none of the wild pigs in sheer,
-downright hideousness of aspect. THE WART-HOG OF SOUTH AFRICA, the
-VLAKTE-VARK (Pig of the Plains) of the Boers, has long been familiar to
-hunters and naturalists. Standing some 30 inches in height, this wild swine
-is distinguished by the disproportionate size of the head, extreme length,
-breadth, and flatness of the front of the face and muzzle, smallish ears,
-huge tusks, and the strange wart-like protuberances from which it takes its
-name. Three of these wen-like growths are found on each side of the face.
-The tusks of the upper jaw, unlike the teeth of the true pigs, are much
-larger than those protruding from the lower jaw. The lower tusks seldom
-exceed 6 inches in length; those of the upper jaw occasionally reach as
-much as 20 inches over the curve. A pair from North-east Africa (Annesley
-Bay, on the Abyssinian littoral) measure respectively 27 and 26
-inches--truly gigantic trophies. The skin of this wild hog is nearly naked,
-except upon the neck and back, where a long, coarse main of dark bristly
-hair is to be observed. Wart-hogs, as their Dutch name implies, in the days
-when game was plentiful, were often found in open country, on the broad
-grass-plains and karroos. At the present day they are less often seen in
-the open. They run in small family parties, usually two or three sows and
-their litters. The old boars, throughout a great part of the year, prefer a
-more solitary existence. These animals, when pursued, usually betake
-themselves to an open earth, not of their own making, and, slewing round
-sharply just as they enter, make their way in hind end first. They afford
-no great sport to the hunter, and are usually secured with a rifle-bullet.
-The flesh is fairly good eating, especially that of a young and tender
-specimen. Speaking generally, wart-hogs are nothing like such fierce and
-determined opponents as the wild boars of Europe and India, or even the
-bush-pig. They will, however, charge occasionally, and have been known to
-attack and rip up a horse. A northern species--ÆLIAN'S WART-HOG--is found
-in Abyssinia, Somaliland, and other parts of East Africa, where--especially
-in Abyssinia--it roams the mountains and their vicinity, occasionally to a
-height of 9,000 or 10,000 feet. There is little difference between this and
-the southern form. Wart-hogs produce usually three or four young, and the
-sow makes her litter in a disused burrow. Unlike those of the majority of
-wild swine, the young of the wart-hog are uniformly coloured, having no
-white stripes or spots.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
-
-COLLARED PECCARY.
-
-Peccaries are the New World representatives of the Swine, and are
-characterised by a large gland on the back.]
-
-
-THE PECCARIES.
-
-Peculiar to the American Continent, the PECCARIES differ considerably from
-the wild swine of the Old World. They are of small size; the dentition is
-not the same, the stomach is more complicated in structure, and the hind
-feet have three instead of four toes. In general appearance peccaries are
-not unlike small dark-coloured pig, well covered with bristles, and having,
-as well as a prominent mane, a deep fringe of hair beneath the throat. They
-are essentially forest-loving animals, roaming over large tracts of country
-and making considerable migrations in search of food. Two species have been
-distinctly identified by naturalists--the COLLARED PECCARY, and the
-WHITE-LIPPED PECCARY. Of these, the former species is found from Texas, in
-North America, as far south as the Rio Negro, in Patagonia. The habitat of
-the white-lipped peccary is more circumscribed, and the animal is seldom
-found except in that part of South and Central America lying between
-British Honduras and Paraguay. No members of the Pig Family are fiercer or
-more tenacious of their sanctuaries than the white-lipped peccary, which
-roams the dense forests of Brazil and Paraguay in large herds. A human
-being, attacked and surrounded by a herd of these savage little creatures,
-would indeed stand but a poor chance of his life, and many a hunter and
-traveller has been compelled to seek refuge in a tree and sustain some
-hours of siege. Of the two species, the white-lipped peccary is somewhat
-the larger, standing from 15 to 17½ inches in height. The collared peccary
-averages from 13½ to 15½ inches. The flesh of these wild swine is not in
-much repute, and unless the back-gland is at once cut out a freshly killed
-specimen will become quickly spoiled as a human food-supply. Young
-peccaries appear to be easily tamed, fierce as is their nature in the wild
-state. In contrast with the abundant litters of other pigs, wild and
-domesticated, only one offspring is ordinarily produced at birth. In
-fighting, the peccary does not rip like the wild boar, but inflicts savage
-and severe bites.
-
-"Untrained dogs," says President Roosevelt, "even those of a large size,
-will speedily be killed by a single peccary, and if they venture to attack
-a herd will be literally torn into shreds. A big trained dog, however, can,
-single-handed, kill a peccary, and I have known the feat performed several
-times."
-
-Azara, the eminent Spanish naturalist of the end of the eighteenth century,
-had considerable experience of the peccaries of Central and Southern
-America, where the Indians are much addicted to taming wild animals, and
-keep both the peccary and the tapir in a state of semi-domestication. The
-peccary he found to be domesticated more easily than might be expected.
-Though so fierce in its wild state, it soon becomes troublesome from its
-familiarity.
-
-Mr. Schomburgk, the explorer of Central America, whose travels were so
-constantly quoted during the Venezuelan arbitration, saw much of the
-white-lipped species in the forests. He found the animals in large troops
-under the leadership of an old boar. When attacked, they were ready to
-surround man, dog, or jaguar; and if there were no means of escape, the
-enemy was certain to be cut to pieces. He himself had a narrow escape from
-an infuriated herd, the leader of which he shot in the act of rushing at
-him. As the herd approached the sound was like that of a whirlwind through
-the bushes.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co._] [_Parson's Green._
-
-A YOUNG COLLARED PECCARY.
-
-In this specimen the white collar from which the species takes its name is
-very clearly displayed.]
-
-
-THE HIPPOPOTAMUS.
-
-BY F. C. SELOUS.
-
-Two species of the Hippopotamus Family exist on the earth to-day, both of
-which are inhabitants of Africa, and are not found in any other country;
-but the remains of many extinct forms of this genus which have been
-discovered in various parts of Europe and Asia show that in Pleistocene and
-Pliocene times these strange and uncouth animals must have been widely
-distributed throughout the greater part of the Old World. The fossil
-remains of the large form of hippopotamus which once frequented the lakes
-and rivers of England and Western Europe cannot be distinguished from the
-bones of the common African species of to-day, which latter is possibly the
-only animal in the world which has undergone no change in form or structure
-since the prehistoric savages of the Thames Valley threw stone-headed
-spears at their enemies.
-
-The COMMON HIPPOPOTAMUS, though it has long been banished from the Lower
-Nile, and has more recently been practically exterminated in the British
-colonies south of the Limpopo, was once an inhabitant of every lake and
-river throughout the entire African Continent from the delta of the Nile to
-the neighbourhood of Cape Town. Now it is not found below Khartum, on the
-Nile; but in Southern Africa a few hippopotamuses are said still to exist
-in the lower reaches of the Orange River. When Van Riebeck first landed at
-the Cape, in 1652, he found some of these animals in the swamp now occupied
-by Church Square, in the centre of Cape Town, and the last in the district
-was only killed in the Berg River, about seventy miles north of that city,
-as recently as 1874. This animal, which had been protected for some years,
-was at last shot, as it had become very savage, and was in the habit of
-attacking any one who approached it. In my own experience I have met with
-the hippopotamus in all the large rivers of Africa where I have travelled,
-such as the Zambesi, Kafukwe, Chobi, Sabi, Limpopo, and Usutu, and also in
-most of the many large streams which take their rise on the plateau of
-Matabililand and Mashonaland, and flow north, south, and east into the
-Zambesi, the Limpopo, or the Sabi. I have also seen them in the sea, at the
-mouth of the Quillimani River, and have heard from natives that they will
-travel by sea from the mouth of one river to another.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Carl Hagenbeck, Hamburg._
-
-A THREE-YEAR-OLD HIPPOPOTAMUS.
-
-In this specimen the great lower tusks are not yet developed.]
-
-Hippopotamuses live either in families of a few individuals or in herds
-that may number from twenty to thirty members. Old bulls are often met with
-alone, and cows when about to calve will sometimes leave their companions
-and live for a time in seclusion, returning, however, to the herd soon
-after the birth of their calves. Although, owing to the shortness of its
-legs, a hippopotamus bull does not stand very high at the shoulder--about 4
-feet 8 inches being the average height--yet its body is of enormous bulk. A
-male which died some years ago in the Zoological Gardens of London measured
-12 feet in length from the nose to the root of the tail, and weighed 4
-tons; and these dimensions are probably often exceeded in a wild state.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. W. McLellan_] [_Highbury._
-
-HIPPOPOTAMUS DRINKING.
-
-The enormous breadth of the muzzle, as well as the small nostrils, which
-can be closed at will, are clearly displayed in this posture.]
-
-The huge mouth of the hippopotamus (see Coloured Plate), which the animal
-is fond of opening to its widest extent, is furnished with very large
-canine and incisor teeth, which are kept sharp by constantly grinding one
-against another, and thus enable their possessor to rapidly cut down great
-quantities of the coarse grass and reeds upon which these animals
-exclusively feed when living in uninhabited countries. When, however, their
-haunts are in the neighbourhood of native villages, they often commit great
-havoc in the corn-fields of the inhabitants, trampling down as much as they
-eat; and it was their fondness for sugar-cane which brought about the
-destruction of the last herd of hippopotamuses surviving in Natal.
-
-The lower canine teeth or tusks of the hippopotamus grow to a great size,
-and in bulls may weigh from 4 lbs. to 7 lbs. each. They are curved in
-shape, and when extracted from the jaw form a complete half-circle, and
-have been known to measure upwards of 30 inches over the curve. In life,
-however, not more than a third of their length protrudes beyond the gums.
-
-During the daytime hippopotamuses are seldom met with out of the water.
-They lie and doze all day long in the deep pools of the rivers they
-frequent, with only their eyes, ears, and nostrils above the surface, or
-else bask in the sun on the tail of a sandbank, looking like so many
-gigantic pigs with their bodies only partially submerged. Sometimes they
-will lie and sleep entirely out of water amongst reeds. I have seen them
-feeding in the reed-beds of the great swamps of the Chobi just at sundown,
-but as a rule, they do not leave the water until after dark. At night they
-often wander far afield, especially in the rainy season, in search of
-suitable food; and after having been fired at and frightened, I have known
-a herd of hippopotamuses to travel at least five-and-twenty miles along the
-course of a river during the ensuing night, in order to reach a larger and
-deeper pool than the one in which they had been molested.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Lord Delamere_] [_Northwich._
-
-HIPPOPOTAMUSES BATHING.
-
-A hippopotamus stays under water for about 2½ minutes at a time, and then
-just shows part of its head above water while it draws a fresh breath.]
-
-Although the hippopotamus is thoroughly at home in the hottest parts of
-Africa, and appears to thrive in the tepid waters of all the rivers which
-flow through the malarious coast regions of the tropical portions of that
-continent, it is also found at a considerable altitude above the sea, and
-in quite small streams where the temperature of the water during the winter
-months cannot be many degrees above freezing-point. I have personally met
-with hippopotamuses in the Manyami River, not far from the present town of
-Salisbury, in Mashonaland. The country there has an altitude of about 5,000
-feet above sea-level; and the water was so cold on the last occasion on
-which I came across the animals in question--July, 1887--that, if a
-basinful was left out during the night, ice quite an eighth of an inch in
-thickness would be formed over it before morning. There was, however, never
-any ice on the river itself. During the rainy season, when the grass and
-reeds are green and succulent, hippopotamuses become enormously fat,
-especially in the higher and colder portions of their range, and retain a
-good deal of their fat right through the driest season of the year. Old
-bulls are usually very lean; but I have seen cows the greater part of whose
-carcases, after the skin had been stripped off, was covered with a layer of
-fat from 1 inch to 2 inches in thickness. The meat of these animals is dark
-red in colour, and more like beef than pork. To my mind, that of a young
-animal is most excellent in flavour, and far preferable to that of a lean
-antelope. The fat, when prepared, is as good as the best lard, from which,
-indeed, it is hardly distinguishable. The skin of the hippopotamus is
-smooth and hairless, and in adult animals quite 1½ inch in thickness on the
-upper parts of the body.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. W. McLellan, Highbury._
-
-A HIPPOPOTAMUS GAPING.
-
-The position of the animal displays the enormous capacity, and likewise the
-powerful lower tusks; the shortness of the limbs is also well exhibited.]
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Carl Hagenbeck_] [_Hamburg._
-
-BABY HIPPOPOTAMUS, AGED SIX MONTHS.
-
-The flesh of a young hippopotamus is said to have an excellent flavour.
-Natives often follow shooting expeditions in order to secure some of its
-meat.]
-
-Hippopotamuses are said to be capable of remaining under water for ten or
-twelve minutes. Should, however, a herd of these animals be watched but not
-fired at from the bank of a river in which they are passing the day, they
-will all sink below the surface of the water as soon as they become aware
-of and more or less alarmed by the presence of the intruder, but each
-member of the herd will come up to breathe at intervals of from one to two
-minutes. I have seen hippopotamuses so tame and unsuspicious of danger that
-they allowed me--the first human being probably with any kind of hat or
-clothes on him that they had ever seen--to take up a position within fifty
-yards of them on the edge of the deep rock-bound pool in which they were
-resting without showing any signs of alarm. They simply stared at me in an
-inquisitive sort of way, raising their heads higher out of the water, and
-constantly twitching their little rounded ears; and it was not until a
-number of natives came up and began to talk loudly that they took alarm,
-and, sinking out of sight, retreated to the farther end of the pool. I once
-took the length of time with my watch for more than an hour that a
-hippopotamus which I was trying to shoot remained under water. This animal,
-a cow with a new-born calf, had made an attack upon one of my canoes. It
-first came up under the canoe, tilting one end of it into the air and
-almost filling it with water. Then it made a rush at the half-swamped
-craft, and, laying its huge head over it, pressed it down under the water
-and sank it. There were four natives in the canoe at the time of the
-attack, all of whom swam safely to an island in the river--the Zambesi.
-After the accident--which caused me a good deal of loss and
-inconvenience--I tried to shoot this unprovoked aggressor, but
-unsuccessfully, as the river was too broad to allow me to get anything but
-a long shot at her. The shortest time she remained under water during the
-seventy minutes I was paying attention to her was forty seconds, and the
-longest four minutes and twenty seconds--the usual time being from two to
-two and a half minutes. She always remained a long time under water after
-having been fired at.
-
-The capsizing of canoes by these animals is quite a common occurrence on
-most African rivers, and the great pains the natives will take in certain
-districts to give these animals a wide berth seem to prove that they have
-good reason to dread them. Solitary bulls and cows with young calves are
-the most feared. Such animals will sometimes, I have been assured by the
-natives, tear out the side of a canoe with their teeth, and even crunch up
-some of its occupants whilst they are trying to save themselves by
-swimming. Sipopo, a chief of the Barotse tribe, who was deposed by his
-nephew Mona Wena in 1876, was said to have been attacked and killed by a
-hippopotamus whilst lying wounded amongst the reeds on the southern bank of
-the Zambesi, but I cannot vouch for the truth of the story.
-
-Bull hippopotamuses must be rather quarrelsome, as I have shot several
-whose hides were deeply scored with wounds, no doubt inflicted by the tusks
-of their rivals. Once I killed a hippopotamus in a shallow lagoon amongst
-the swamps of the Chobi, whose enormously thick hide had been literally cut
-to pieces from head to tail. The entire body of this animal was covered
-with deep white scores, and we were unable to cut a single sjambok from its
-skin. We found, on examination, that this poor beast had been wounded by
-natives, and then in its distress most cruelly set upon by its fellows, and
-finally expelled from their society. It was in the last stage of
-emaciation, and a bullet through the brain must have been a welcome relief.
-On another occasion a hippopotamus bull, which I had wounded in the nose,
-became so furious that it dived down and attacked one of its fellows which
-had already been killed and was lying dead at the bottom of the pool.
-Seizing this latter animal by the hind leg, it brought it to the surface of
-the water with such a furious rush that not only half the body of the dead
-animal it had attacked was exposed, but the whole of its own head and
-shoulders came above the water. A bullet through the brain killed it
-instantly, and it sank to the bottom of the pool, still holding its
-companion's hind leg fast in its jaws.
-
-[Illustration: DENTAL OPERATIONS ON A HIPPOPOTAMUS--NO. I.
-
-This and the next two photographs probably constitute the most remarkable
-series of animal photographs ever seen. No 1 shows a hippopotamus about to
-be trapped, preparatory to having its teeth attended to.]
-
-When a hippopotamus is killed in the water, the carcase sinks to the
-bottom, and in the cold water of the rivers of Mashonaland will not rise to
-the surface till six hours after death. In the warmer water of the Lower
-Zambesi a dead hippopotamus will come up in about half that time. When it
-rises, the carcase comes up like a submerged cork, with a rush as it were,
-and then settles down, only a small piece of the side showing above the
-surface. As decomposition sets in, it becomes more and more swollen, and
-shows higher and higher above the water. When the body of a dead
-hippopotamus has been taken by the wind or current to the wrong side of a
-river, I have often climbed on to it and paddled it with a stout stick
-right across the river to a spot nearer camp. A dead hippopotamus is not
-the easiest or the pleasantest thing to sit on in deep water with
-crocodiles about, especially in a wind, as it is very much like sitting on
-a floating barrel, and unless the balance is exactly maintained one is
-bound to roll off.
-
-[Illustration: DENTAL OPERATIONS ON A HIPPOPOTAMUS--NO. II.
-
-This shows the process of filing one of the lower tusks.]
-
-[Illustration: DENTAL OPERATIONS ON A HIPPOPOTAMUS--NO. III.
-
-Sawing off one of the lower tusks.]
-
-Although it is often necessary for an African traveller to shoot one or
-more of them in order to obtain a supply of meat for his native followers,
-there is not much sport attached to the killing of these animals. The
-modern small-bore rifles, with their low trajectory and great penetration,
-render their destruction very easy when they are encountered in small lakes
-or narrow rivers, though in larger sheets of water, where they must be
-approached and shot from rickety canoes, it is by no means a simple matter
-to kill hippopotamuses, especially after they have grown shy and wary
-through persecution. As these animals are almost invariably killed by
-Europeans in the daytime, and are therefore encountered in the water, they
-are usually shot through the brain as they raise their heads above the
-surface to breathe. By the natives hippopotamuses are killed in various
-ways. They are sometimes attacked first with harpoons, to which long lines
-are attached, with a float at the end to mark the position of the wounded
-animal, and then followed up in canoes and finally speared to death.
-Sometimes they are caught in huge pitfalls, or killed by the fall of a
-spear-head fixed in a heavy block of wood, which is released from its
-position when a line, attached to the weight and then pegged across a
-hippopotamus's path a few inches above the ground, is suddenly pulled by
-the feet of one of these animals striking against it. A friend of mine once
-had a horse killed under him by a similar trap set for buffaloes. His
-horse's feet struck the line attached to the heavily weighted spear-head,
-and down it came, just missing his head and entering his horse's back close
-behind the saddle. Where the natives have guns--mostly old muzzle-loading
-weapons of large bore--they often shoot hippopotamuses at close quarters
-when they are feeding at night. The most destructive native method,
-however, of killing these monsters with which I am acquainted is one which
-used to be practised by the natives of Northern Mashonaland--namely,
-fencing in a herd of these animals and starving them to death. As there is
-a very rapid fall in the country through which all the rivers run to the
-Zambesi from the northern slope of Mashonaland, these streams consist of a
-series of deep, still pools (called "sea-cow holes" by the old hunters),
-from a hundred yards to more than a mile in length, connected with one
-another by shallow, swift-flowing water, often running in several small
-streams over the bed of the river. A herd of hippopotamuses having been
-found resting for the day in one of the smaller pools, all the natives in
-the district, men, women, and children, would collect and build strong
-fences across the shallows at each end. At night large fires would be kept
-blazing all round the pool and tom-toms beaten incessantly, in order to
-prevent the imprisoned animals from escaping. Day after day the fences
-would be strengthened, and platforms sometimes built to command naturally
-weak places, and from these points of vantage the poor animals were speared
-when in their desperation they tried to leave the pool. Gradually the whole
-herd would be speared or starved to death.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-FEMALE HIPPOPOTAMUSES.
-
-Exhibits a very characteristic attitude of the animal.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-A HIPPOPOTAMUS FAMILY--FATHER, MOTHER, AND YOUNG.
-
-Hippopotamuses are very sociable animals, and are often to be met with in
-large herds.]
-
-Once, in August, 1880, I came upon a native tribe engaged in starving to
-death a herd of hippopotamuses in a pool of the Umniati River, in Northern
-Mashonaland. When I came on the scene, there were ten hippopotamuses still
-alive in the pool. Eight of these appeared to be standing on a sandbank in
-the middle of the river, as more than half their bodies were above the
-water. They were all huddled up together, their heads resting on each
-other's bodies. Two others were swimming about, each with a heavily shafted
-assegai sticking in its back. Besides these ten still living hippopotamuses
-two dead ones were being cut up on the side of the pool, and many more must
-already have been killed, as all round the pool festoons of meat were
-hanging on poles to dry, and a large number of natives had been living for
-some time on nothing but hippopotamus-meat. Altogether I imagine that a
-herd of at least twenty animals must have been destroyed. Much as one must
-regret such a wholesale slaughter, it must be remembered that this great
-killing was the work of hungry savages, who at any rate utilised every
-scrap of the meat thus obtained, and much of the skin as well, for food;
-and such an incident is far less reprehensible--indeed, stands on quite a
-different plane as regards moral guilt--to the wanton destruction of a
-large number of hippopotamuses in the Umzingwani River, near Bulawayo,
-within a few months of the conquest of Matabililand by the Chartered
-Company's forces in 1893. These animals had been protected for many years
-by Lo Bengula and his father Umziligazi before him; but no sooner were the
-Matabili conquered and their country thrown open to white men than certain
-unscrupulous persons destroyed all but a very few of these half-tame
-animals, for the sake of the few paltry pieces of money their hides were
-worth!
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-HIPPOPOTAMUS.
-
-The skin of the hippopotamus is often as much as an inch and a half in
-thickness on the upper parts of the body.]
-
-Gradually, as the world grows older, more civilised, and, to my thinking,
-less and less interesting, the range of the hippopotamus, like that of all
-other large animals, must become more and more circumscribed; but now that
-all Africa has been parcelled out amongst the white races of Western
-Europe, if the indiscriminate killing of hippopotamuses by either white men
-or natives can be controlled, and the constant and cruel custom of firing
-at the heads of these animals from the decks of river-steamers all over
-Africa be put a stop to, I believe that this most interesting mammal, owing
-to the nature of its habitat, and the vast extent of the rivers, swamps,
-and lakes in which it still exists in considerable numbers, will long
-outlive all other pachydermatous animals. Hideous, uncouth, and unnecessary
-as the hippopotamus may seem when viewed from behind the bars of its den in
-a zoological garden, it is nevertheless true that, when these animals have
-been banished from an African river by the progress of civilisation, that
-river has lost one of its highest charms and greatest ornaments.
-
-The PYGMY or LIBERIAN HIPPOPOTAMUS is confined to Upper Guinea, and,
-compared with its only existing relative, is a very small animal, not
-standing more than 2 feet 6 inches in height, and measuring less than 6
-feet in length. In weight a full-grown specimen will scale about 400 lbs.
-But little is known of the habits of this rare animal, specimens of which,
-I believe, have never been obtained, except by the German naturalists Herrn
-Büttikofer and Jentink. When alive, the colour of the skin of the pygmy
-hippopotamus is said to be of a greenish black, changing on the under-parts
-to yellowish green. The surface of the skin is very shiny. This species,
-unlike its giant relative, does not congregate in herds, nor pass its days
-in rivers or lakes, but lives in pairs in marshes or shady forests. It
-sleeps during the day, and at night wanders over a great extent of country,
-eating grass, wild fruits, and the young shoots of trees. Its flesh is said
-to be very succulent and much esteemed by the natives.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-MALE AND FEMALE HIPPOPOTAMUSES.
-
-A hippopotamus is almost inseparable from the water; it never goes farther
-away than possible from a river or lake.]
-
-A hippopotamus, apparently of the same species as that now found in Africa,
-formerly inhabited the Thames Valley. Great quantities of fossil remains of
-another species are also found in the island of Sicily. The bones found in
-England are mainly in the river gravel and brick earth of the south and
-midland districts of England. This seems to show that at the time when the
-animal existed our rivers must have been open all the year, and not
-ice-bound, for it is certain that no hippopotamus could live in a river
-which froze in winter. Yet among the remains of these animals are also
-found those of quite arctic species like the Musk-ox and the Reindeer,
-together with those of the Saiga Antelope, an inhabitant of the cold
-plateau of Tibet. The problem is: How could these creatures, one a dweller
-in warm rivers and the others inhabitants of cold arctic or sub-arctic
-regions, have existed together, apparently on the same area of ground? The
-answer, which does not seem to have occurred to naturalists who have
-discussed the question, seems to be plain enough. Any one who knows the
-conditions of the great rift valleys of Central Africa has the key to the
-solution of the puzzle. There was probably a very great difference in the
-vertical plane. Deep in the rift was probably a warm river, while above it
-may have been mountains from 10,000 to 20,000 feet high, with snow on the
-summits and glaciers in their valleys. On these cold and arctic heights the
-reindeer and the musk-ox would find congenial homes. Thousands of feet
-below, in the hot and narrow valley, the hippopotamus would revel in a warm
-and steamy climate. This is what actually occurs in the rift valleys of
-Central Africa, where the hippopotamus swims in rivers that are at no great
-distance from snow-covered and ice-capped mountains.
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XX.
-
-_THE DUGONG, MANATEES, WHALES, PORPOISES, AND DOLPHINS._
-
-BY F. G. AFLALO, F.Z.S.
-
-----
-
-THE DUGONG AND MANATEES.
-
-These curious creatures, which seem to have been the basis of much of the
-old mermaid legend, have puzzled many eminent naturalists. Before they were
-placed in an order by themselves, Linnæus had classed them with the Walrus,
-Cuvier with the Whales, and another French zoologist with the Elephants.
-They are popularly regarded as the cows of the sea-pastures. Their habits
-justify this. I have often watched dugongs on the Queensland coast browsing
-on the long grasses, of which they tear up tussocks with sidelong twists of
-the head, coming to the surface to breathe at short intervals.
-
-Omitting the extinct Rhytina, otherwise known as Steller's Sea-cow, which
-was exterminated in the Bering Strait not very long after civilised man had
-first learnt of its existence, we have to consider two distinct groups, or
-genera, of these sirenians. The DUGONG is the representative of the first,
-and the two MANATEES belong to the other.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-DUGONG.
-
-A vegetable-feeding sea-mammal from the Indian Ocean and North Australian
-waters.]
-
-The dugong is found on the coasts of Northern Australia, in many parts of
-the Indian Ocean (particularly off Ceylon), and in the Red Sea. It is
-easily distinguished, by even superficial observation, from the manatees.
-Its tail is slightly forked, somewhat like that of the whales: the tail of
-manatees, on the other hand, is rounded. The dugong's flippers, to which we
-also find a superficial resemblance in those of the whale, show no traces
-of external nails: in those of the manatees, which show projecting nails,
-there is a considerable power of free movement (the hands being, in fact,
-used in manipulating the food), which is not the case in the limbs of the
-whale. The body of the dugong is almost smooth, though there are bristles
-in the region of the mouth: that of the manatees is studded with short
-hairs. The male dugong has two large tusks: in neither sex of the manatees
-are such tusks developed. Finally, a more detailed examination of the
-skeletons would reveal the fact that, whereas the dugong has the usual
-seven bones in the neck, that of the manatees has only six.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-AMERICAN MANATEE.
-
-Found in the Amazons River. The Manatees differ remarkably from the Dugong
-in the number and structure of their teeth.]
-
-When we come to the Whales, we shall encounter that very characteristic
-covering known as "blubber"; and, though it is present in smaller quantity,
-these sirenians have blubber as well. Complex stomachs they also have, like
-the whales, only in their case both the nature of the food and the
-structure of the teeth point clearly to a ruminating habit, which, for
-reasons that will be given in the right place, seems inadmissible in the
-whales. In both dugong and manatees the mouth is furnished with singular
-horny plates, the precise use of which does not appear to have been
-satisfactorily determined; and the upper lip of the manatee is cleft in two
-hairy pads that work laterally. This enables the animal to draw the grass
-into its mouth without using the lower lip at all.
-
-In their mode of life the dugong and manatees differ as widely almost as in
-their appearance; for the former is a creature of open coasts, whereas the
-manatees hug river-estuaries and even travel many miles up the rivers. Of
-both it has been said that they leave the water at night, and the manatees
-have even been accused of plundering crops near the banks. The few,
-however, which have been under observation in captivity have always been
-manifestly uncomfortable whenever, by accident or otherwise, the water of
-their tank was run off, so that there is not sufficient reason for
-believing this assertion.
-
-This group of animals cannot be regarded as possessing any high commercial
-value, though both natives and white men eat their flesh, and the
-afore-mentioned rhytina was, in fact, exterminated solely for the sake of
-its meat. There is also a limited use for the bones as ivory, and the
-leather is employed on a small scale,--a German writer has, in fact, been
-at great pains to prove that the Tabernacle, which was 300 cubits long, was
-roofed with dugong-skin, and the Red Sea is certainly well within the
-animal's range.
-
-
-THE WHALES, PORPOISES, AND DOLPHINS.
-
-Although anatomists have good reason for suspecting that all the members of
-the Whale Tribe are directly descended from river-dwelling forms, if not
-indeed, more remotely, from some land animal, there is something
-appropriate in the fact of the vast ocean, which covers something like
-three-quarters of the earth's surface, producing the mightiest creatures
-which have ever lived. There should also be some little satisfaction for
-ourselves in the thought that, their fish-like form notwithstanding, these
-enormous beings really belong to the highest, or mammalian, class of animal
-life.
-
-One striking feature all these many-sized cetaceans have in common, and
-that is their similarity of form. Though they may vary in length from 70 to
-7 feet, their outline shows a remarkable uniformity. Important internal and
-even external differences there may be. A whale may be toothed or
-toothless; a dolphin may be beaked or round-headed; either may be with or
-without a slight ridge on the back or a distinct dorsal fin; but no
-cetacean could well be mistaken for an animal of any other order. It is as
-well to appreciate as clearly as possible this close general resemblance
-between the largest whale and the smallest dolphin, as the similarity is
-one of some interest; and we may estimate it at its proper worth if we bear
-in mind that two species of cetaceans, outwardly alike, may not, perhaps,
-be more closely allied than such divergent ruminant types as the elephant,
-the giraffe, and the gazelle.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-NARWHAL.
-
-An Arctic whale, with one or rarely two long spears of bone projecting from
-the head.]
-
-Reference has already been made to the fact that the whales are true
-mammals, and we must now clearly set before us the justification for
-separating them from the Fishes--to which any one with a superficial
-knowledge of their habits and appearance would unhesitatingly assign
-them--and raising them to the company of other mammals. Let us first
-separate them from the Fishes. The vast majority of fishes, with some
-familiar exceptions like the conger-eel, are covered with scales: whales
-have no scales. The tail of fishes, often forked like that of whales, is
-set vertically: in whales the tail is set laterally, and for this a good
-reason will presently be shown. Fishes have anal fins: whales not only have
-no anal fins, but their so-called pectoral fins differ radically from the
-fins of fishes. Fishes breathe with the aid of gills: whales have no gills.
-Fishes, in the vast majority of cases, reproduce their young by spawning,
-the eggs being left to hatch out either in gravel-beds or among the
-water-plants, lying on the bottom (as in the case of the herring), or
-floating near the surface (as in that of the plaice): whales do not lay
-eggs, but bear the young alive. This brings us to the simple points of
-resemblance between them and other mammals. When the young whale is born,
-it is nourished on its mother's milk. This alone would constitute its claim
-to a place among the highest class. Whales breathe atmospheric air by means
-of lungs. Hair is peculiarly the covering of mammals, just as scales are
-characteristic of fishes and feathers of birds. Many whales, it is true,
-have no hair; but others, if only in the embryonic stage, have traces of
-this characteristic mammalian covering. It must, moreover, be remembered
-that in some other orders of mammals the amount of hair varies
-considerably--as, for instance, between the camel and rhinoceros.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-GRAMPUS, OR KILLER.
-
-A carnivorous cetacean with large teeth, often found in British seas.]
-
-Having, then, shown that whales are mammals, we must now determine the
-chief features of the more typical members of the order. The extremities of
-whales are characteristic: a large head, occupying in some species as much
-as one-third of the total length; and the afore-mentioned forked, or lobed,
-tail set laterally. The flippers, which bear only a slight resemblance to
-the pectoral fins in fishes, are in reality hands encased in
-swimming-gloves. In some whales these hands are five-fingered, in others
-the fingers number only four, but many of the fingers contain more bones
-than the fingers of man. In some whales we find a dorsal fin, and this, as
-also the flippers, acts as a balancer. In no whale or porpoise is there any
-external trace of hind limbs, but the skeleton of some kinds shows in
-varying stages of degradation a rudimentary bone answering to this
-description. Perhaps however, the most distinctive feature of whales is the
-blow-hole, situated, like the nostrils of the hippopotamus, on the upper
-surface of the head, and similarly enabling the animal to breathe the air
-without exposing much of its head above the surface of the water. The
-blow-hole (or blow-holes, for whalebone-whales have two) may be said to
-take the place of nostrils as regards the breathing, though perhaps no
-sense of smell is included in its functions. In the Sperm-whale, or
-Cachalot, there is a single S-shaped blow-hole near the end of the snout.
-The well-known spouting of whales is merely the breathing out of warm
-vapour, which, on coming in contact with the colder air--and it should be
-remembered that most whaling is carried on in the neighbourhood of
-icebergs--condenses in a cloud above the animal's head. I have seen many a
-sperm-whale spout, and the cloud of spray, often mixed with a varying
-volume of water if the whale commences to blow before its blow-hole is
-clear of the surface, drifts forward over the forehead. This is due to the
-forward position of the blow-hole. I never to my knowledge saw a
-whalebone-whale spouting, but its double jet is said to ascend vertically
-over its back, and this would in like manner be accounted for by the more
-posterior position of the blow-holes. Having filled its lungs, which are
-long and of simple structure, with fresh air, in enormous draughts that
-fill the great cavities of its chest, the whale sinks to the depths. There,
-in ordinary circumstances, it will lie for a quarter of an hour or more,
-but the pain of the harpoon and the knowledge that there is danger at the
-surface may keep it below for as much as an hour. When it has to breathe
-again, a few powerful strokes from the laterally set tail suffice to bring
-it quickly to the surface. This is not the place for a detailed anatomy of
-the whale, but no one can fail to notice with admiration such parts of its
-equipment for the battle of life as the structure of its windpipe, which
-enables it to breathe with comfort with its mouth full of water, the
-complicated network of blood-vessels that ensures the slow and thorough
-utilising of all the oxygen in its lungs while it remains at the bottom,
-and the elastic cushion of blubber that makes this gigantic animal
-indifferent to extremes of pressure and temperature. Thanks mainly to its
-coat of blubber, the whale exists with equal comfort at the surface or
-hundreds of fathoms below it; in the arctic or in tropical seas.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-SHORT-BEAKED RIVER-DOLPHIN.
-
-In this type the head is produced into a beak, supported in the upper jaw
-by a mass of ivory-like bone.]
-
-It is not perhaps in keeping with the plan of this work that we should
-consider in detail the soft parts of the whale's inside. One or two parts
-of its feeding and digestive mechanism may, however, offer some points of
-passing interest. The complex stomach, which is divided into chambers, like
-that of the ruminants already described, has suggested that the latter
-function may in a modified process be performed by whales. It is, however,
-evident that the teeth of toothed whales are in no way adapted to the act
-of mastication, which is inseparable from any conception of ruminating,
-while the toothless whales have as complicated a stomach as the rest. Mr.
-Beddard, writing on the subject in his interesting "Book of Whales," takes
-the more reasonable view that the first chamber of the stomach of whales
-should be regarded rather as a storehouse in which the food is crushed and
-softened. The teeth of whales, the survival of which in the adult animal
-offers the simplest basis of its classification under one or other of the
-two existing groups, or sub-orders, are essentially different from the
-teeth of many other kinds of mammals. It cannot, perhaps, be insisted that
-the distinctive terms employed for these two categories of whales are
-wholly satisfactory. For instance, the so-called "toothless" whales have
-distinct teeth before birth, thus claiming descent from toothed kinds. On
-the other hand, the so-called "toothed" whales are by no means uniformly
-equipped in this respect, some of the porpoises having as many as
-twenty-six teeth, distributed over both jaws, while the bottlenoses have no
-more than two, or at most four, and these in the lower jaw only. Only the
-lower jaw, in fact, of the great sperm-whale bears teeth that are of any
-use, though there are smaller and functionless teeth in the gums of the
-upper. The teeth of whales, by the way, are not differentiated like our
-canines and molars, but are all of one character. Although, in "toothless"
-whales, the foetal teeth disappear with the coming of the baleen, or
-whalebone, the latter must not, in either structure or uses, be thought to
-take their place. The plates of whalebone act rather as a hairy strainer.
-Unless we seek a possible analogy at the other end of the mammalian scale,
-in the Australian duckbill, the feeding of the whalebone-whales is unique.
-They gulp in the water, full of _plankton_, swimming open-mouthed through
-the streaks of that substance. Then the huge jaws are closed, and the
-massive tongue is moved slowly, so as to drive the water from the angles of
-the mouth through the straining-plates of baleen, the food remaining
-stranded on these and on the tongue. The size and number of the
-baleen-plates appear to vary in a degree not yet definitely established;
-but there may, in a large whale, be as many as between 300 and 400 on
-either side of the cavernous mouth, and they may measure as much as 10 or
-12 feet in length and 7 or 8 feet in width.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-SOWERBY'S BEAKED WHALE.
-
-One of the rarest of British whales, and very scarce elsewhere. It probably
-inhabits the open seas.]
-
-An enumeration of such whales and porpoises and dolphins as have at one
-time or other been stranded on the shores of the British Isles may serve as
-an epitome of the whole order. Only one interesting group, in fact--the
-River-dolphins of the Ganges and Amazons--is unrepresented in the British
-list. Whales, either exhausted or dead, are periodically thrown up on our
-coasts, even on the less-exposed portions--one of the most recent examples
-in the writer's memory being that of a large specimen, over 60 feet long,
-stranded on the sands near Boscombe, in Hampshire, and the skeleton of
-which at present adorns Boscombe Pier. It was one of the rorquals, or
-finbacks, probably of the species called after Rudolphi; but the skeleton
-is imperfect, though its owner, Dr. Spencer Simpson, appears to have
-preserved some details of its earlier appearance. It should be remembered
-that many of the following can only be regarded as "British" with
-considerable latitude, the records of their visits being in some cases as
-rare as those of the rustic bunting and red-necked nightjar among birds, or
-of the derbio and spotted dragonet among fishes.
-
-British zoologists, however, usually include the
-following:--WHALEBONE-WHALES: Southern Right-whale; Humpback; Finbacks, or
-Rorquals. TOOTHED WHALES: Sperm-whale, or Cachalot; Narwhal; Beluga, or
-White Whale; Grampuses; Beaked Whale; Broad-fronted Whale; Cuvier's Whale;
-Sowerby's Whale; Pilot-whale; Porpoise; Dolphin; White-sided Dolphin;
-White-beaked Dolphin; Bottlenose.
-
-A selection may therefore be made of five of the most representative of
-these species--the SOUTHERN WHALE, the CACHALOT, the NARWHAL, the PORPOISE,
-and the DOLPHIN.
-
-The SOUTHERN WHALE, which, in common with the closely allied polar species,
-whaling-crews call "right," seeing that all other kinds are, from their
-point of view, "wrong," is probably the only right-whale which has ever
-found its way to our shores. Some writers include the Greenland
-Right-whale, but their authority for this is doubtful. It is said to grow
-to a length of at any rate 70 feet, though 55 feet would perhaps be more
-common for even large specimens. In colour it is said to be dark above,
-with a varying amount of white or grey on the flippers and under-surface.
-The head and mouth are very large, occupying in some cases one-third of the
-total length, and the baleen-plates measure as much as 8 or 10 feet in
-length and 5 or 6 feet in width. The species has no back-fin, but there is
-a protuberance on the snout, known technically as the "bonnet." This whale
-appears to give birth to its single calf some time in the spring months,
-and the mother shows great affection for her offspring. The HUMPBACK is
-distinguished from the right-whales externally by its longer flippers and
-the prominence on its back, and internally by the fluted skin of the
-throat. The FINNERS, or RORQUALS, have a distinct back-fin. They feed on
-fishes and cuttles, and I have more than once known a rorqual, which looked
-fully 50 feet long (comparing it roughly with my 24-foot boat), to swim
-slowly round and round my lugger, down on the Cornish coast, puffing and
-hissing like a torpedo-boat on its trial trip, rounding up the pilchards in
-a mass, and every now and then dashing through them open-mouthed with a
-terrific roar, after several of which helpings it would sink out of sight
-and not again put in an appearance.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-COMMON PORPOISE.
-
-From 4 to 5 feet long. It lives in "schools," or companies, and pursues the
-herrings and mackerel.]
-
-The SPERM-WHALE, or CACHALOT, may serve as our type of the toothed whales.
-It attains to the same great dimensions as the largest of the whalebone
-group. A more active animal for its size could scarcely be conceived; and I
-have seen one, in the Indian Ocean, fling itself three or four times in
-succession out of water like a salmon, striking the surface each time as it
-fell back with a report like that of a gun. No one appears to have
-explained whether performances of this sort are due to mere playfulness,
-or, as seems more probable, to the attacks of parasites or such larger
-enemies as sharks or "killers." I have also seen four thresher-sharks
-leaping out of water, and falling with a loud blow on the whale's back; but
-the victim lay quite still in this case, and may in fact have been worn out
-before we came upon the scene. I wish to add that I took the word of the
-skipper, himself an old whaling-captain, for their identity as threshers.
-The dazzling sun shone full on them, and on the sea between, and it was
-impossible, even with the ship's telescope, to recognise them with any
-accuracy. The cachalot has a very different profile from what any one who
-had seen only its skull in a museum would be led to expect, for the
-sperm-cavity in the forehead is not indicated in the bones. The structure
-of the head enables the animal to drop the lower jaw almost at right angles
-to the upper; and Mr. Frank Bullen quotes, in his fascinating "Cruise of
-the Cachalot," the current belief that it does so to attract its prey by
-the whiteness of its teeth and palate. Although both fishes and cephalopods
-are very curious, even to their own destruction, it is doubtful whether the
-whale could not catch its food more rapidly by swimming open-mouthed
-through the acres of floating squid encountered all over the warmer waters
-of the ocean.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-ELLIOTT'S DOLPHIN.
-
-One of the commoner Indian species.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-RISSO'S DOLPHIN.
-
-About 13 feet in length, found in almost all oceans.]
-
-The NARWHAL, an arctic type, may be distinguished from all other cetaceans
-by the single spiral tusk in the left side of the head of the male.
-Sometimes the right tusk grows as well, and either may attain a length of
-as much as 8 feet; but in the female both teeth remain undeveloped.
-
-The COMMON PORPOISE of our own seas, distinguished by its rounded head from
-the equally common beaked dolphin, is too familiar to need much
-description. It grows to a length of 5 or 6 feet, and is dark in colour on
-the back and white beneath. Its conspicuous back-fin is always recognisable
-when it gambols with a herd of its fellows; and a line of these sea-pigs, a
-mile or so in length, is no uncommon sight, their presence inshore being
-indicative on some parts of the coast of the coming of east wind. The
-porpoise, which has, like many of its group, teeth in either jaw, is a
-voracious feeder, preying in estuaries on salmon and flounders, and on more
-open parts of the coast on pilchards and mackerel. It is occasionally a
-serious nuisance in the Mediterranean sardine-fisheries, and I have known
-of the fishermen of Collioure, in the Gulf of Lyons, appealing to the
-French Government to send a gunboat from Toulon that might steam after the
-marauders and frighten them away. One of the most remarkable cases of a
-feeding porpoise that I can recall was that of one which played with a
-conger-eel in a Cornish harbour as a cat might play with a mouse, blowing
-the fish 20 or 30 feet through the air, and swimming after it so rapidly as
-to catch it again almost as it touched the water.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-BOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHIN.
-
-From 8 to 9 feet long, found from the Mediterranean to the North Sea.]
-
-The DOLPHIN, which is in some seasons as common in the British Channel as
-the more familiar porpoise, is distinguished by its small head and long
-beak, the lower jaw always carrying more teeth than the upper. It feeds on
-pilchards and mackerel, and, like the porpoises, gambols, particularly
-after an east wind, with its fellows close inshore. There are many other
-marine mammals somewhat loosely bracketed as dolphins. RISSO'S DOLPHIN, for
-instance, a rare visitor to our coasts, has a striped skin, and its jaws
-are without teeth, which distinguish it from the common dolphin and most of
-the others. It cannot therefore feed on fishes, and most probably eats
-squid and cuttle-fish. The BOTTLE-NOSED DOLPHIN, a species occurring in the
-greatest numbers on the Atlantic coast of North America, is regularly
-hunted for its oil. HEAVYSIDE'S DOLPHIN, which hails from South African
-waters, is a smaller kind, chiefly remarkable for the curious distribution
-of black and white on its back and sides.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-HEAVYSIDE'S DOLPHIN.
-
-A small, peculiarly coloured species from the Cape.]
-
-A word must, in conclusion, be said on the economic value of the whales.
-Fortunately, as they are getting rarer, substitutes for their once
-invaluable products are being from time to time discovered, and much of the
-regret at their extermination by wasteful slaughter is sentimental and not
-economic. For whalebone it is not probable that a perfect substitute will
-ever be found. It therefore maintains a high price, though the former
-highest market value of over £2,000 per ton has fallen to something nearer
-the half. The sperm-oil from the sperm-whale, and the train-oil from that
-of the right-whales, the spermaceti out of the cachalot's forehead and the
-ambergris secreted in its stomach, are the other valuable products.
-Ambergris is a greyish, fatty secretion, caused by the irritation set up in
-the whale's inside by the undigested beaks of cuttle-fish. Its market price
-is about £5 per ounce. A lump of 240 lbs. sold for nearly £20,000.
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXI.
-
-_THE SLOTHS, ANT-EATERS, AND ARMADILLOS._
-
-BY W. P. PYCRAFT, A.L.S., F.Z.S.
-
-The very remarkable assemblage of animals we are now about to consider
-includes many diverse forms, bracketed together to constitute one great
-group; and this on account of the peculiarities of the structure and
-distribution of the teeth, which are never present in the front of the jaw,
-and may be absent altogether. Of the five groups recognised, three occur in
-the New and two in the Old World. All have undergone very considerable
-modification of form and structure, and in every case this modification has
-tended to render them more perfectly adapted to an arboreal or terrestrial
-existence. Flying or aquatic types are wanting. Whilst one great group--the
-Sloths--is entirely vegetarian, the others feed either on flesh or insects.
-
-
-THE SLOTHS.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-NORTHERN TWO-TOED SLOTH (COSTA RICA).
-
-This is also known as Hoffmann's Sloth. The appellation "two-toed" refers
-to the fore limb only. The hind foot has three toes.]
-
-In the matter of personal appearance Nature has not been kind to the SLOTH,
-though it is certainly true that there are many uglier animals--not
-including those, such as some of the Monkey Tribe and certain of the Swine,
-which are positively hideous. The mode of life of the sloth is certainly
-remarkable, for almost its whole existence is passed among the highest
-trees of the densest South American forests, and passed, too, in a
-perfectly topsy-turvy manner, inasmuch as it moves from bough to bough with
-its legs up in the air and its back towards the ground. It walks and sleeps
-suspended beneath the boughs instead of balanced above them, securely
-holding itself by means of powerful hooked claws on the fore and hind feet.
-This method of locomotion, so remarkable in a mammal, coupled with the
-deliberate fashion in which it moves, and the air of sadness expressed in
-its quaint physiognomy--large-eyed, snub-nosed, and earless--on which there
-seems to dwell an ever-present air of resignation, led the great Buffon to
-believe that the sloth was a creature afflicted of God for some hidden
-reason man could not fathom! His sympathy was as certainly wasted as his
-hasty conclusion was unjustified. There can be no doubt but that the life
-led by the sloth is at least as blissful as that of its more lively
-neighbours--the spider monkeys, for instance. Walking beneath the boughs
-comes as natural to the sloth as walking on the ceiling to the fly.
-
-The sloth sleeps, as we have already remarked, suspended from a bough.
-During this time the feet are drawn close together, and the head raised up
-and placed between the fore legs, as in the cobego, which we depicted
-asleep on page 170, as our readers will remember. In the sleeping position
-the sloth bears a striking resemblance to the stump of a lichen-covered
-bough, just as the cobego resembles a fruit. Thus is protection from
-enemies gained. The resemblance to lichen is further aided by the fact that
-the long, coarse hair with which the sloth is clothed becomes encrusted
-with a peculiar green alga--a lowly form of vegetable growth--which lodges
-in certain grooves or flutings peculiar to the hair of this animal. Such a
-method of protection is unique amongst the Mammalia. As the sloths sleep by
-day and feed by night, the usefulness of such a method of concealment is
-beyond question.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-THREE-TOED SLOTH.
-
-A remarkable peculiarity about the three-toed sloths is the fact that they
-have no less than nine vertebræ in the neck, instead of seven, as is usual
-among mammals.]
-
-The strange form of locomotion of the sloths renders separate fingers and
-toes unnecessary, and so the fingers and toes have come to be enclosed in a
-common fold of skin, extending down to the base of the claws.
-
-The sloths stand out in strong contrast to the volatile spider monkeys,
-with whom they share the forest; these have added a fifth limb in the shape
-of a prehensile tail, by which they may suspend themselves at will. The
-sloths, on the contrary, have no tail; they move deliberately, and do not
-require it. The monkeys move by prodigious leaps, taken not seldom by
-gathering impetus by swinging on their tails.
-
-The great naturalist Bates writes of the sloth: "It is a strange sight to
-watch this uncouth creature, fit production of these silent shades, lazily
-moving from branch to branch. Every movement betrays, not indolence
-exactly, but extreme caution. He never loses his hold from one branch
-without first securing himself to the next.... After watching the animal
-for about half an hour, I gave him a charge of shot; he fell with a
-terrific crash, but caught a bough in his descent with his powerful claws,
-and remained suspended. Our Indian lad tried to climb the tree, but was
-driven back by swarms of stinging ants; the poor little fellow slid down in
-a sad predicament, and plunged headlong into the brook to free himself."
-
-On another occasion the same writer tells us he "saw a sloth swimming
-across a river at a place where it was 300 yards broad. I believe it is not
-generally known that this animal takes to the water. Our men caught the
-beast, cooked and ate him."
-
-In past ages gigantic ground-sloths roamed over South America. The largest
-of these, the Megatherium, rivalled the elephant in size. Descendants of
-these giants appear to have lingered on till comparatively recent times, as
-witness the wonderful discovery by Moreno, made during last year (1900) in
-a cave in Patagonia. This was nothing less than a skull and a large piece
-of the hide of one of these monsters in a wonderful state of preservation,
-showing indeed undoubted traces of blood and sinew. That the hide was
-removed by human hands there can be no doubt, for it was _rolled up_ and
-turned inside-out. Immediately after this discovery was announced, an
-expedition was dispatched from England to hunt, not so much for more
-remains, but for the animal itself. Time will show whether these efforts
-will prove successful.
-
-
-THE ANT-EATERS.
-
-Unlike as the ant-eaters are to the sloths, they are nevertheless very
-closely related thereto. This unlikeness at the present day is so great
-that, were it not for "missing-links" in the shape of fossils, we should
-probably never have discovered the relationship. The head of the typical
-ant-eaters has been drawn out into a long tubular muzzle, at the end of
-which is a tiny mouth just big enough to permit the exit of a long
-worm-like tongue, covered with a sticky saliva. This tongue is thrust out
-with great rapidity amongst the hosts of ants and termites and their larvæ,
-on which they prey. These victims are captured by breaking open their
-nests. At once all the active inhabitants swarm up to the breach, and are
-instantaneously swept away by the remorseless tongue. The jaws of the
-ant-eaters are entirely toothless, and the eyes and ears are very small.
-
-The largest species of ant-eater is about 4 feet long. It lives entirely
-upon the ground. Generally speaking, it is a harmless creature; but at
-times, when cornered, it will fight furiously, sitting up on its hind legs
-and hugging its foe in its powerful arms. Bates, the traveller-naturalist,
-relates an instance in which a dog used in hunting the GREAT ANT-EATER was
-caught in its grip and killed. The tail of this large species is covered
-with very long hair, forming an immense brush. The claw on the third toe of
-each fore limb is of great size, and used for breaking open ants' and other
-insects' nests.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co._] [_Parson's Green._
-
-THE GREAT ANT-EATER.
-
-In walking the ant-eater turns its toes inwards, so that the claws turn
-upwards and inwards, the weight of the body being borne by a horny pad on
-the fifth toe, and the balls of the third and fourth toes.]
-
-But besides the great ground ant-eater there are some tree-haunting
-species. These have a shorter muzzle, and short hair on the tail, which is
-used, as with the spider monkeys, as a fifth limb. Curled round the bough
-of a tree, its owner is free to swing himself out on to another branch.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-TAMANDUA ANT-EATER.
-
-This species, which is a smaller animal than the Great Ant-eater, lives
-almost entirely in the trees, instead of on the ground.]
-
-The smallest of the tree-dwelling species is not larger than a rat, and is
-a native of the hottest parts of the forests of South and Central America.
-The muzzle in this species is quite short, not long and tubular, as in the
-larger species. It is a very rare animal, or is at least very seldom seen,
-a fact perhaps due to its small size. It is known as the TWO-TOED
-ANT-EATER, only the second and third fingers of the fore feet bearing
-claws.
-
-Von Sack, in his "Narrative of a Voyage to Surinam," tells us that the
-natives of Surinam call this little animal "Kissing-hand"--"as the
-inhabitants pretend that it will never eat, at least when caught, but that
-it only licks its paws, in the same manner as the bear; that all trials to
-make it eat have proved in vain, and that it soon dies in confinement. When
-I got the first, I sent to the forest for a nest of ants; and during the
-interim I put into its cage some eggs, honey, milk, and meat; but it
-refused to touch any of them. At last the ants' nest arrived, but the
-animal did not pay the slightest attention to it either. By the shape of
-its fore paws, which resemble nippers, I thought that this little creature
-might perhaps live on the nymphæ of wasps, etc. I therefore brought it a
-wasps' nest, and then it pulled out with its nippers the nymphæ from the
-nest, and began to eat them with the greatest eagerness, sitting in the
-posture of a squirrel. I showed this phenomenon to many of the inhabitants,
-who all assured me that it was the first time they had ever known that
-species of animal take any nourishment."
-
-
-THE ARMADILLOS.
-
-Readers of this book will doubtless have noticed long ere this how manifold
-are the devices for the purpose of defence adopted by the Mammalia. The
-ARMADILLOS have certainly selected the most complete, having encased
-themselves in an impenetrable bony armour as perfect as the coat of mail of
-the warrior of the Middle Ages. Concerning this and the variations thereon
-adopted by the different members of the group we shall speak presently.
-
-Armadillos are mostly confined to South America, and occur both in the open
-pampas and the shady depths of the forest. They live in burrows, which they
-dig with incredible speed. These burrows are generally found in the
-vicinity of the nests of ants and termites, which form their staple diet.
-One species, however, at least feeds apparently with equal relish upon
-vegetable matter, eggs, young birds, mice, snakes, and carrion.
-
-The bony armour is disposed over the crown of the head, back, and flanks.
-It is made up of numerous small, bony plates, buried deep in the skin, and
-each overlaid by a horny scale. The tail is protected by bony rings. The
-plates covering the shoulders and those directly over the hindquarters fuse
-into a solid mass, thus forming chambers into which the limbs can be
-withdrawn. In the region of the body, between these two shields, the plates
-are arranged in rows encircling the body, thus permitting the animal to
-roll itself up as occasion may require. Hairs grow out between the plates,
-and in some cases give the animal quite a furry appearance.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-TWO-TOED ANT-EATER.
-
-Although the fore feet have four toes, only the second and third bear
-claws; hence the name "Two-toed" Ant-eater.]
-
-Speaking of the burrowing powers of the armadillo, Darwin, in his most
-fascinating "Voyage of the Beagle," tells us that "the instant one was
-perceived, it was necessary, in order to catch it, almost to tumble off
-one's horse; for in soft soil the animal burrowed so quickly that its
-hinder quarters would almost disappear before one could alight. It seems
-almost a pity to kill such nice little animals; for as a Gaucho said, while
-sharpening his knife on the back of one, 'Son tan mansos' (They are so
-quiet)." As a rule, armadillos are regarded as animals loving dry, sandy
-wastes; nevertheless, they are said to be able to swim both well and
-swiftly. The flesh of the armadillo is apparently by no means unpalatable.
-
-
-THE PICHICIAGO.
-
-One of the most remarkable of the armadillos is the PICHICIAGO, or FAIRY
-ARMADILLO. It is a tiny creature of some 5 inches long, found in the sandy
-wastes of the western part of the Argentine Republic. The horny covering of
-the bony plates is pinkish colour, and the hair is silky in texture and
-snow-white. But it is not on this account that the fairy armadillo is
-remarkable: its claim to notoriety rests on the peculiar arrangement of the
-bony plates constituting the armour. These bony plates are small and thin,
-and covered, as in other species, with a horny coat; but instead of being
-embedded in the skin, they are attached only along the middle of the back,
-and project freely over the body on either side, leaving a space between
-the shield and the body. The hinder end of the body is specially protected
-by a nearly circular vertical shield, firmly fixed to the hip-girdle. This
-shield, it is said, is used as a plug to fill up its burrow with.
-
-
-THE PELUDO.
-
-Armadillos of the normal type, wherein the body armour is embedded in the
-skin, are represented by numerous species. Of one, known as the PELUDO, Mr.
-Hudson has given us some interesting details. "It feeds," he tells us, "not
-only upon insects, but also upon vegetable matter, eggs, young birds, and
-carrion. Its method of capturing mice was certainly ingenious. It hunted by
-smell, and when nearing its prey became greatly agitated. The exact spot
-discovered, the body was raised slowly to a sitting posture, and then flung
-suddenly forwards, so that the mouse or nest of mice was imprisoned
-beneath, and promptly dispatched." "Still more remarkable," says Mr.
-Lydekker, "is the manner in which a peludo has been observed to kill a
-snake, by rushing upon it and proceeding to saw the unfortunate reptile in
-pieces by pressing upon it closely with the jagged edges of its armour, and
-at the same time moving its body backwards and forwards. The struggles of
-the snake were all in vain, as its fangs could make no impression upon the
-panoply of its assailant, and eventually the reptile slowly dropped and
-died, to be soon afterwards devoured by the armadillo, which commenced the
-meal by seizing the snake's tail in its mouth, and gradually eating
-forwards."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-WEASEL-HEADED ARMADILLO.
-
-The weasel-headed armadillos have from six to eight movable bands in the
-bony armour in which they are encased.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-HAIRY-RUMPED ARMADILLO.
-
-This species, like the Peba Armadillo, varies its diet with carrion.]
-
-
-THE PANGOLINS.
-
-The PANGOLINS, or SCALY ANT-EATERS, are perhaps even more curious creatures
-than the armadillos. They have been likened in appearance to animated
-spruce fir-cones, to which indeed they bear a strange resemblance. This
-resemblance is due to the wonderful armature of the skin, which takes the
-form of large overlapping, pointed, horny plates or scales. The pangolins
-are confined to the Old World, occurring in South Africa and South-eastern
-Asia. Like the American Ant-eaters, teeth are wanting, and the tongue is
-long and worm-like, being employed in the capture of insects, as in the New
-World ant-eaters.
-
-The scales of the MANIS are formed by the fusion together of fine hairs.
-Like the spines of the hedgehog and porcupine, they serve the purpose of
-offensive defence; for when the manis rolls itself up, these pointed scales
-project at right angles to the body, and offer a formidable resistance to
-any enemy whatsoever. They also serve to break the force of a fall, which,
-indeed, is often voluntary; for should the animal wish to descend from the
-branch of a tree, it will often take a short cut to the ground by
-deliberately dropping, the force of the fall being entirely broken by the
-elastic scales.
-
-In climbing, the tail is of the greatest service, its under-surface being
-clothed with pointed scales, which serve as so many climbing-hooks. The
-grasp of a tree-trunk gained by the hind legs and tail is so secure that
-the body can be moved to a horizontal position with ease. In a specimen
-kept in captivity by Mr. Fraser, this horizontal movement was a form of
-exercise which appeared to afford the greatest pleasure.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-PEBA ARMADILLO.
-
-This species lives largely upon carrion, which it buries in its burrow till
-wanted.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-KAPPLERS' ARMADILLO.
-
-This is a variety of the Peba Armadillo, inhabiting Surinam.]
-
-
-THE AARD-VARK.
-
-The custom of naming newly discovered animals after well-known forms to
-which they are supposed to bear some resemblance, physically or otherwise,
-is a common one. The animal now under consideration shows this once more,
-having originally received the name of AARD-VARK (Earth-pig) from the Boers
-of the Cape. The aard-vark is a most decidedly ugly animal, and justifies
-its name in several particulars. It is hunted for the sake of its hide,
-which is of great thickness and resembles that of the pig, but is sparsely
-covered with hairs, the general shape of its body being not unlike that of
-a long-headed, short-legged, heavy-tailed pig. The whole animal is about 6
-feet long. In a wild state, or even in captivity, it is but rarely seen,
-since it is a night-feeder, and passes the day in sleep deep down in a
-burrow. This burrow it digs for itself with the aid of powerful claws borne
-on the fore feet. It lives principally on ants and termites, breaking down
-their nests, and remorselessly sweeping up the frightened occupants with a
-long, sticky tongue, as soon as they rush to the seat of the disturbance
-which has broken up the harmony and order of their community. At one time
-it was believed that the aard-vark was a close ally of the pangolin, but
-later researches have disproved this, and have furthermore thrown doubt
-upon the probability of its relationship with any of the members of this
-group of mammals at all.
-
-There are two species of this animal--the CAPE AARD-VARK of South and
-South-east Africa, and the ETHIOPIAN AARD-VARK of North-east Africa.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of the Hon. Walter Rothschild_] [_Tring._
-
-CAPE AARD-VARK.
-
-The ants upon which the aard-vark largely subsists appear to be very
-fattening, and impart a delicate flavour to the flesh, especially to the
-hams, which are greatly esteemed.]
-
-Where the nest-building ants are most common, there will the aard-vark--or
-Innagus, as the Boers sometimes call it--be most plentiful. The nests of
-these ants are huge structures of from 3 to 7 feet high, and often occupy
-vast areas of ground, extending as far as the eye can reach. They are
-substantially built, and swarm with occupants, and consequently are quite
-worth raiding. But the aard-vark has become much less common since a price
-has been set upon its skin. The powers of digging of these animals are so
-great that they can completely bury their large bodies in a few minutes,
-even when the ground has been baked by the sun into something like
-adamantine hardness. In excavating their burrows, the ground is thrown out
-by the fore feet, in huge lumps, through or rather between the hind legs.
-Shy and suspicious, the least unusual sound will send them scuttling to
-earth, for their sense of hearing is very keen. They seem to change their
-minds somewhat frequently, when engaged in digging out a new burrow; for
-half-excavated burrows in the side of ant-hills are very commonly met with.
-A fully grown aard-vark is about 6 feet long--generally rather more.
-Although this animal is frequently kept in captivity, it is but rarely seen
-by visitors, owing to its nocturnal habits, of which we have already
-spoken.
-
-The teeth of the aard-vark are sufficiently remarkable to justify notice
-here. Only the crushing teeth are represented--that is to say, the front or
-cutting teeth are conspicuous by their absence. These crushing teeth number
-from eight to ten in the upper and eight in the lower jaw, on each side;
-but in the adult fewer would be found, the number being reduced to five in
-each side of the jaws--that is to say, there are but twenty all told. In
-structure these teeth are quite remarkable, differing entirely from those
-of all other mammals, and resembling those of some fishes; furthermore,
-they have no "roots," but instead grow continually throughout life, which
-"rooted" teeth do not.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Billington_] [_Queensland._
-
-THE GREAT GREY KANGAROO.
-
-The massive hind limbs and tail of the animal constitute, in its
-characteristic resting pose, a most efficient supporting tripod.]
-
-----
-
-
-
-CHAPTER XXII.
-
-_MARSUPIALS AND MONOTREMES._
-
-BY W. SAVILLE-KENT, F.L.S., F.Z.S.
-
-----
-
-MARSUPIALS.
-
-With the order of the Pouched Mammals we arrive--with the exception of the
-Echidna and Platypus, next described--at the most simply organised
-representatives of the Mammalian Class. In the two forms above named,
-egg-production, after the manner of birds and reptiles, constitutes the
-only method of propagation. Although among marsupials so rudimentary a
-method of reproduction is not met with, the young are brought into the
-world in a far more embryonic condition than occurs among any of the
-mammalian groups previously enumerated. There is, as a matter of fact, an
-entire absence of that vascular or blood connection betwixt the parent and
-young previous to birth, known as placentation, common to all the higher
-mammals, though certain of the more generalised forms have been recently
-found to possess a rudiment of such development. In correlation with their
-abnormally premature birth, it may be observed that a special provision
-commonly exists for the early nurture of the infant marsupials. In such a
-form as the Kangaroo, for example, the young one is placed, through the
-instrumentality of its parent's lips, in contact with the food-supplying
-teat, and to which for some considerable period it then becomes inseparably
-attached. Special muscles exist in connection with the parent's mammary
-glands for controlling the supply of milk to the young animal, while the
-respiratory organs of the little creature are temporarily modified in order
-to ensure unimpeded respiration. The fact of the young in their early life
-being commonly found thus inseparably adhering to the parent's nipple has
-given rise to the falacious but still very widely prevalent idea among the
-Australian settlers that the embryo marsupial is ushered into the world as
-a direct outgrowth from the mammary region.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Billington_] [_Queensland._
-
-SILVER-GREY KANGAROO.
-
-In general form the kangaroos are so like one another that one figure would
-almost serve for all.]
-
-At the present day, with the exception of the small group of the American
-Opossums and the Selvas, the entire assemblage of marsupials, comprising
-some 36 genera and 150 species, are, singularly to relate, exclusively
-found in Australia, New Guinea, and the few neighbouring islands recognised
-by systematic zoologists as pertaining to the Australasian region. What is
-more, this region of Australasia produces, with some few insignificant
-exceptions, chiefly rodents, no other indigenous mammals.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor_] [_Ealing._
-
-BLACK-STRIPED WALLABY.
-
-Female with half-grown young in her pouch.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by J. T. Newman_] [_Berkhamsted._
-
-BENNETT'S WALLABY AND THE GREAT GREY KANGAROO.
-
-This photograph illustrates the relative sizes of these two species.]
-
-It is interesting to note that within the limits of this isolated and
-anciently founded marsupial order we have an epitome, as it were, of many
-of the more important groups of an equivalent classificatory value that are
-included among the higher mammalia previously described. In this
-relationship we find in the so-called Tasmanian Wolf, the Tasmanian Devil,
-and the "Native Cats" carnivorous and eminently predatory forms whose
-habits and general conformation are immediately comparable to those of the
-typical Carnivora. The Bandicoots, Banded Ant-eater, and Phascogales recall
-in a similar manner the higher Insectivora. In the tree-frequenting
-Opossums and Phalangers the external likeness and conformity in habits to
-the arboreal rodents is notably apparent, several of the species, moreover,
-possessing a parachute-like flying-membrane essentially identical with that
-which is found in the typical Flying-squirrels. An example in which the
-ground-frequenting or burrowing rodents are closely approached is furnished
-by the Australian Wombat, an animal which may be appropriately likened to
-an overgrown and lethargic Marmot. In this form, moreover, the rodent-like
-character of the dentition is especially noteworthy. The higher
-grass-eating mammals find their counterparts in the family group of the
-Kangaroos, in which, in addition to their essentially herbivorous habits,
-the contour of the head and neck, together with the expressive eyes and
-large expanding ears, are wonderfully suggestive of the various members of
-the Deer Family. The Cuscuses of New Guinea and the adjacent islands, both
-in form and habits, somewhat resemble their geographical neighbours, the
-Lorises, belonging to the Lemur Tribe, compared with which higher mammals,
-however, they possess the advantage of an eminently serviceable prehensile
-tail. The Australian Koala, or so-called "Native Bear," has been commonly
-compared by zoologists with the Edentate Sloths; while in the most recently
-discovered marsupial, the Pouched Mole, we have a counterpart, in both form
-and habits, of the familiar European species. Finally, in the small
-American section of the Marsupialia, we meet with a type--the so-called
-Yapock, or Water-opossum--in which the resemblances to an Otter, in both
-aspect and its aquatic habits, are so marked that the animal was originally
-regarded as a species only of the Otter Tribe.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by D. Le Souef_] [_Melbourne._
-
-ALBINO RED KANGAROOS.
-
-Albino kangaroos and other Australian animals have been observed to be the
-product of special, narrowly limited locations.]
-
-The character of the _marsupium_, or pouch, differs materially among the
-various members of their order. It presents its most conspicuous and normal
-development in such animals as the Kangaroos, Wallabies, and the Australian
-Opossums or Phalangers. In the Tasmanian Wolf and the Bandicoots the pouch
-opens backwards. In such forms as the Phascogale, or Pouched Mouse, the
-pouch is reduced to a few rudimentary skin-folds, while in the Banded
-Ant-eater its position is occupied by a mere patch of longer hairs, to
-which the helpless young ones cling. On the same _lucus a non lucendo_
-principle there is no trace of a pouch in the Koala, nor in those smaller
-species of the American Opossums which habitually carry their young upon
-their back. Even in these pouchless marsupials, however, the peculiar
-marsupial bones are invariably present, and in all other essential details
-their accord with the marsupial type of organisation and development is
-fully maintained.
-
-
-THE KANGAROOS.
-
-The typical and most familiar member of the Marsupial Order is the
-KANGAROO--the heraldic mammal of that vast island-continent in the South
-Seas, whose phenomenal advance by leaps and bounds, from what scarcely a
-century since was represented by but a few isolated settlements, has been
-aptly likened to the characteristic progression of this animal. Of
-kangaroos proper there are some twenty-four known species distributed
-throughout the length and breadth of Australia, extending southwards to
-Tasmania, and to the north as far as New Guinea and a few other adjacent
-islands.
-
-In point of size the GREAT GREY KANGAROO and the RED or WOOLLY species run
-each other very closely. A full-grown male of either species will weigh as
-much as 200 lbs., and measure a little over 5 feet from the tip of the nose
-to the base of the tail, this latter important member monopolising another
-4 or 4½ feet. The red or woolly species more especially affects the rocky
-districts of South and East Australia, while the great grey kind is
-essentially a plain-dweller and widely distributed throughout the grassy
-plains of the entire Australian Continent and also Tasmania. It is to the
-big males of this species that the titles of "Boomer," "Forester," and "Old
-Man Kangaroos" are commonly applied by the settlers, and the species with
-which the popular and exciting sport of a kangaroo hunt--the Antipodean
-substitute for fox-hunting--is associated. The pace and staying power of an
-old man kangaroo are something phenomenal. Our home country fox-hounds
-would have no chance with it; consequently a breed of rough-haired
-greyhounds, known as kangaroo-dogs, are specially trained for this sport. A
-run of eighteen miles, with a swim of two in the sea at the finish, and all
-within the space of two brief crowded hours, is one of the interesting
-records chronicled. The quarry, when brought to bay, is, moreover, a by no
-means despicable foe. Erect on its haunches, with its back against a tree,
-the dogs approach it at their peril, as, with a stroke of its powerful
-spur-armed hind foot, it will with facility disembowel or otherwise fatally
-maim its assailant. Another favourite refuge of the hunted "boomer" is a
-shallow water-hole, wherein, wading waist-deep, it calmly awaits its
-pursuers' onslaught. On the dogs swimming out to the attack, it will seize
-them with its hand-like fore paws, thrust them under water, and, if their
-rescue is not speedily effected, literally drown them. Even man, without
-the aid of firearms, is liable to be worsted in an encounter under these
-conditions, as is evidenced in the following anecdote.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Reid_] [_Wishaw, N.B._
-
-TASMANIAN WALLABY.
-
-Has softer and thicker fur than its relative of the Australian mainland.]
-
-A newly arrived settler from the old country, or more precisely from the
-sister island, ignorant of the strength and prowess of the wily marsupial,
-essayed his maiden kangaroo hunt with only a single dog as company. A fine
-grey boomer was in due course started, and after an exciting chase was
-cornered in a water-hole. The dog, rushing after it, was promptly seized
-and ducked; and Pat, irate at the threatened drowning of his companion,
-fired, but missed his quarry, and thereupon jumped into the water-hole,
-with the intention, as he afterwards avowed, "to bate the brains out of the
-baste" with the butt-end of his gun. The kangaroo, however, very soon
-turned the tables upon Pat. Before he had time to realise the seriousness
-of the situation he found himself lifted off his feet, and soused and
-hustled with such vigour that both Pat and his dog most narrowly escaped a
-watery grave. A couple of neighbours, by good luck passing that way,
-observed the turmoil, and came to the rescue. Between them they beat off
-and killed the kangaroo, and dragged Pat to land in a half-drowned and
-almost insensible condition. Pat recovered, and vowed "niver to meddle with
-such big bastes" again.
-
-The doe kangaroos, while of smaller size and possessing much less staying
-power than their mates, can nevertheless afford a good run for horses and
-dogs, and are commonly known as "flyers." When carrying a youngster, or
-"Joey," in her pouch, and hard pressed by the dogs, it is a common thing
-for the parent to abstract her offspring from the pouch with her fore paws,
-and to throw it aside into the bush. The instinct of self-preservation
-only, by the discharge of hampering impedimenta, is usually ascribed to
-this act; but it is an open question whether the maternal one of securing a
-chance of escape for her young, while feeling powerless to accomplish it
-for herself, does not more often represent the actual condition of the
-case.
-
-In proportion to the size of its body the kangaroo yields but a limited
-amount of meat that is esteemed for food. The tail represents the most
-highly appreciated portion, since from it can be compounded a soup not only
-equal to ordinary ox-tail, but by gourmands considered so superior that its
-conservation and export have proved a successful trade enterprise. The
-loins also are much esteemed for the table, but the hind limbs are hard and
-coarse, and only appreciated by the native when rations are abnormally
-short. "Steamer," composed of kangaroo-flesh mixed with slices of ham,
-represented a standing and very popular dish with the earlier Australian
-settlers; but with the rapid disappearance of the animal before the advance
-of colonisation this one time common concoction possesses at the present
-day a greater traditional than actual reputation.
-
-The hunting of the kangaroo is conducted on several distinct lines, the
-method of its pursuit being varied, according to whether the animal is
-required for the primary object of food, for the commercial value of its
-skin, as a matter of pure sport, or to accomplish its wholesale destruction
-in consequence of its encroachments on the pasturage required for sheep-
-and cattle-grazing.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by D. Le Souef_] [_Melbourne._
-
-ALBINO RED-BELLIED WALLABY.
-
-Many of the Marsupials, including Kangaroos and the Opossum-like
-Phalangers, exhibit a tendency to albinism.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Billington_] [_Queensland._
-
-ROCK-WALLABY.
-
-The Rock-Wallabies, in contradistinction to the Kangaroos, are for the most
-part nocturnal in their habits.]
-
-The greatest measure of healthy excitement in hunting the kangaroo, from
-the standpoint of pure sport, is no doubt to be obtained when running the
-marsupial down with horse and hounds in congenial company, as referred to
-on a previous page. The stalking of the animal single-handed on horseback
-or on foot, much after the manner of the deer, has also its enthusiastic
-votaries, and calls into play the greatest amount of patience and
-_savoir-faire_ on the part of the sportsman. It has been affirmed by a
-Queensland writer, "To kill kangaroos with a stalking-horse requires the
-practice of a lifetime, and few 'new chums' have the patience to learn it.
-It is, in fact, only stockmen, black-fellows, and natives of the bush who
-can by this method expect to make kangaroo-shooting pay." The horse which
-is successfully employed by experienced bushmen for stalking purposes is
-specially trained to its work, and, walking apparently unconcernedly in the
-direction of the selected quarry, brings the gunners, if they are experts
-in the art of keeping themselves well concealed, within easy range. In this
-manner two or three kangaroos are not infrequently shot in the same stalk,
-the animals having a tendency, on hearing the report of the gun, but not
-locating the direction from which it was discharged, to rush about in an
-aimless manner, and, as frequently happens, in the immediate direction of
-the hidden sportsman. In the good old times it is recorded that an
-experienced hand might kill as many as seventy or eighty kangaroos in a day
-by this stalking method. The marsupials are at the present date, however,
-so severely decimated that even in the most favourable settled districts a
-bag of from twelve to twenty head must be regarded as exceptional. Stalking
-the kangaroo on foot without the horse's aid is more strongly recommended
-to those to whom an occasional shot is considered sufficiently
-remunerative. Taking full advantage of intervening bushes and other
-indigenous cover, an approach to within a hundred yards or so of the quarry
-may be usually accomplished, though not quite so easily, perhaps, as might
-be at first anticipated. It is the habit of the kangaroo to sit up
-waist-high in the midst of the sun-bleached grass, which corresponds so
-closely in colour with its own hide that unless the animal is silhouetted
-against the sky-line it readily escapes detection.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by D. Le Souef_] [_Melbourne._
-
-PARRY'S WALLABY.
-
-In attitude of listening.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by D. Le Souef_] [_Melbourne._
-
-PARRY'S WALLABY.
-
-Characteristic feeding attitude.]
-
-The conditions under which the kangaroo is obtained for the main purpose of
-supplying the human commissariat is perhaps most aptly illustrated in
-connection with its chase as prosecuted by the Australian aborigines. In
-Tasmania and the Southern Australian States the primeval man is either
-extinct or more rare than the kangaroo. In the extreme north and far
-north-west, however, he still poses as "the lord of creation," and conducts
-his hunting expeditions on a lordly scale. The food-supply of the
-Australian native is essentially precarious. Long intervals of "short
-commons" are interspersed with brief periods of over-abundance, in which he
-indulges his appetite to its fullest bent. A kangaroo drive on native lines
-represents to the Australian mind one of these last-named superlatively
-memorable occasions. The entire tribe, men, women, and all capable youths,
-participate in the sport. Fires are lit by one section of the tribe,
-according to the direction of the wind, encircling a vast area of the
-country, while the other section posts itself in detachments in
-advantageous positions to intercept the terrified marsupials as they fly in
-the presumed direction of safety to escape the devouring element. Spears
-and waddies and boomerangs, in the hands of the expert natives, speedily
-accomplish a scene of carnage, and the after feast that follows may perhaps
-be best left to the imagination of the reader. The encroachments of
-neighbouring natives on the happy hunting-grounds that time and custom have
-conceded to be the sole monopoly of any one particular tribe is most
-strenuously resented, and constitute one of the commonest sources of their
-well-nigh perpetual inter-tribal battles.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by D. Le Souef, Melbourne._
-
-FOOT OF TREE-KANGAROO.
-
-Underside, showing peculiar skin-corrugations and the united second and
-third toes.]
-
-A kangaroo battue, as carried into practice by European settlers in those
-few remaining districts where the animal is sufficiently abundant to
-constitute a pest by its wholesale consumption of the much-prized
-pasturage, is far more deadly in its results to the unfortunate marsupials.
-Existing sheep-fences, supplemented by a large suitably enclosed yard, are
-first specially prepared for the reception of the expected victims. All the
-settlers, stockmen, and farm hands from the country round are pressed into
-service, and assemble on horseback or on foot at the appointed rendezvous
-at break of day. A widely spreading cordon of beaters being told off, a
-systematic drive is then commenced, which results in all the animals being
-driven towards and collected within the enclosed yard. The culminating
-scene is one of wholesale slaughter with club and gun. From these battues
-none of the unfortunate animals escape, as they are so closely hemmed in.
-
-The first record of the existence of the kangaroo, coupled with its
-characteristic name, is found associated, it is interesting to observe,
-with the history of one of the earlier voyages of Captain Cook. The
-neighbourhood of Cooktown, in Queensland, claims the honour of supplying
-the first example of the animal which was brought to Europe and astonished
-the zoologists of that time by the singularity of its form and reported
-habits. Captain Cook happened--in July, 1770--to be laying up his ship, the
-_Endeavour_, for repairs, after narrowly escaping total wreck on the
-neighbouring Great Barrier Reef, in the estuary of the river subsequently
-coupled with his ship's name. Foraging parties, dispatched with the object
-of securing, if possible, fresh meat or game for the replenishment of the
-ship's well-nigh exhausted larder, returned with reports of a strange
-creature, of which they subsequently secured specimens. Skins were
-preserved and brought to England, but it was some little time before the
-zoological position and affinities of the creature were correctly
-allocated. By some naturalists it was regarded as representing a huge
-species of Jerboa, its near relationship to the previously known American
-Opossums being, however, eventually substantiated. The closer
-acquaintanceship with the peculiar fauna of Australia that followed upon
-Captain Cook's memorable voyage of discovery along the coast-line of that
-island-continent soon familiarised naturalists with many other of the
-allied species of which the kangaroo constitutes the leading
-representative.
-
-Some considerable amount of obscurity is associated with the prime origin
-of the animal's almost world-wide title of "Kangaroo." It is most commonly
-accepted as representing the native name for the creature in that
-Queensland district from whence it was first reported by Captain Cook. No
-later investigations and enquiries have, however, in any way established
-the correctness of this hypothesis, those explorers who have made a special
-study of the dialects and habits of the aboriginal inhabitants entirely
-failing to elicit anything even remotely coinciding with the name in
-question. It has, in fact, been reluctantly concluded by one of the most
-experienced Queensland authorities on these matters that the name
-originated as a mere miscomprehension of the information elicited from the
-natives. Verbal communication with the native tribes under the most
-favourable circumstances is liable to a vast amount of misunderstanding,
-and where other than linguistic experts are present it frequently happens
-that much mongrel or "pidgin English" gets mixed up with the native terms.
-Assuming this to have been the case in the present instance, it has been
-suggested that the name of Kangaroo, or "Kanguroo," as it was originally
-spelt, implied some form of negation of the knowledge which the enquiring
-white man was seeking to elicit, or, maybe, partly even a phonetic and
-parrot-like repetition of the constantly recurring query that was doubtless
-current among the "handy men" of the _Endeavour's_ commission, such as "Can
-you" tell me this or that concerning the many unfamiliar objects that
-greeted the eyes of the new arrivals in this strange land. The writer
-retains a vivid recollection of a closely analogous manner in which the
-rural inhabitants of Vigo Bay, on the Spanish coast, appropriated a common
-phrase used by the crew of the yacht with whom he landed there. Having
-evidently noted that the two words "I say" prefaced the majority of
-Jack-tar's speeches, this catch-phrase was adopted and applied by them as a
-greeting and as a reply to almost every interrogation in dumb-show or
-otherwise that was addressed to them. An unknown animal submitted to these
-rustic Solons would doubtless have been dubbed the "I say"; and had the
-land been a new one--say, somewhere in the South Seas--that name would
-probably have stuck to it. Applying this interpretation to the kangaroo,
-and bearing in mind the fondness of the Australian native to duplicate his
-name-words or syllables--e.g. _wagga-wagga_, _debil-debil_, and so
-forth--the "Kang-you-you" or a closely resembling phonetic expression would
-present itself to the native mind as a much more correct rendering of the
-simpler "Can you" or "Kang you" which he had picked up as a catch-phrase
-from the _Endeavour's_ crew. In the absence, at all events, of any more
-rational interpretation of the mystery, this one would seem to merit
-consideration.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-BROWN TREE-KANGAROO.
-
-This species represents the group in North Queensland.]
-
-While the kangaroo is being speedily dethroned from the dominant position
-it originally occupied in the indigenous Australian fauna, praiseworthy and
-highly successful attempts have been made to acclimatise this marsupial on
-British soil. At Tring Park, Lord Rothschild's estate, Woburn Abbey, and
-elsewhere, troops of these graceful creatures may be seen under conditions
-of happiness and liberty scarcely inferior to those by which they are
-environed in their native "bush."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Ottomar Anschütz, Berlin._ _Printed at Lyons,
-France._
-
-THE GREAT KANGAROO LEAPING.
-
-In the posture in which this animal is represented the extraordinary size
-and strength of the hind limbs and tail are displayed to the best
-advantage. Both features are connected with the animal's marvellous powers
-of leaping.]
-
-Of smaller members of the Kangaroo Family, there are some thirty distinct
-forms, popularly known in Australia as WALLABIES, WALLAROOS, PADDY-MELONS,
-POTOROOS, KANGAROO-HARES, KANGAROO-RATS, etc. The wallabies, which
-represent the most important group with regard to their larger size and
-economic utility, number some fourteen or fifteen species, and are
-distinguished, with relation more especially to their habitats or peculiar
-structure, as ROCK-, BRUSH-TAIL, and SPUR-TAIL WALLABIES, etc. Among the
-rock-wallabies the yellow-footed species from South Australia is
-undoubtedly one of the handsomest as well as the largest member of its
-group, the uniform grey characteristic of the majority of its members being
-in this instance represented by an elegantly striped and banded form, in
-which the several tints of brown, yellow, black, and white are pleasingly
-interblended. A very fine example of this wallaby was included in the
-valuable collection of animals, formerly at Windsor, recently presented to
-the Zoological Society by His Majesty King Edward, and is now on view at
-the Regent's Park. The successful stalking of rock-wallabies in their
-native fastnesses entails no mean amount of patience and agility. Although
-these animals are so abundant in favoured localities as to make hard-beaten
-tracks to and fro betwixt their rock-dwellings and their pasture-grounds,
-one may traverse the country in broad daylight without catching a glimpse
-of a single individual. One species, about the size of a large rabbit, is
-very plentiful among the rocky bastion-like hills that border the Ord
-River, which flows into Cambridge Gulf, in Western Australia. Efforts to
-stalk examples in broad daylight proved fruitless; but by sallying out a
-little before daybreak, so as to arrive at their feeding-grounds while the
-light was still dim, the writer succeeded in securing several specimens.
-Many of these rock-wallabies are notable for the length, fine texture, and
-pleasing tints of their fur, their skins on such account being highly
-esteemed for the composition of carriage-rugs and other furry articles.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by D. Le Souef_] [_Melbourne._
-
-TREE-KANGAROOS.
-
-Examples acclimatised in the Melbourne Zoological Gardens.]
-
-Of the larger brush or scrub varieties, the species known as the BLACK
-WALLABY is the most familiar form. It is particularly abundant in the
-Southern Australian States, and also in Tasmania. Its flesh is excellent
-eating, and, dressed and served up in the orthodox manner of jugged hare,
-can scarcely be distinguished from that toothsome dish. Some of the smaller
-species, such as the hare- and rat-kangaroos or potoroos, are, as their
-names denote, of no larger dimensions than the familiar rodents from which
-they are popularly named. Several of these smaller species, including
-notably the potoroo, or kangaroo-rat of New South Wales, are addicted to
-paying marked attention to the settlers' gardens, and, being to a large
-extent root-feeders, have acquired a special predilection for the newly
-planted or more fully matured potato crops.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-GAIMARD'S RAT-KANGAROO.
-
-A species named after the French naturalist, Gaimard.]
-
-The most abnormal group of the Kangaroo Family is undoubtedly that of the
-TREE-KANGAROOS, formerly supposed to have been limited in its distribution
-to the island of New Guinea, but which has within recent years been found
-to be represented by one or more species in Northern Queensland. At the
-Melbourne Zoo they have been found, except in the coldest weather, to
-thrive well in the open--a moderate-sized tree, with a small fenced-in
-enclosure around it, being admirably suited to their requirements, at the
-same time providing a most instructive exhibition of their peculiar forms
-and idiosyncrasies. Seen at its best, however, the tree-kangaroo, or
-"boongarry," as it is known amongst the Queensland natives, is a most
-clumsy, melancholy-looking beast, which has apparently found itself "up a
-tree," not as the outcome of its personal predilections, but owing to the
-_force majeure_ of untoward pressure in the form either of relentlessly
-persecuting enemies or the failure of its normal terrestrial commissariat.
-Compared with the graceful and superlatively agile tree-frequenting
-phalangers, between whom and the ordinary kangaroos it has been sometimes,
-but erroneously, regarded as representing a connecting-link, the boongarry
-presents a most ungainly contrast. Its climbing powers are of the slowest
-and most awkward description, the whole of its energies being concentrated
-on its endeavour to preserve its balance and to retain a tight hold upon
-the branches of the trees it frequents, and to which it clings with such
-tenacity with its long sharp claws that it can with difficulty be detached.
-In its wild state, moreover, these claws can be very effectively used as
-weapons of defence; and hence the natives, with whom the animal is highly
-esteemed as an article of food, are careful to give it its quietus with
-their clubs or waddies before venturing to handle it. The tree-kangaroos
-inhabit the densest parts of the forests or "scrubs" of New Guinea and
-tropical Queensland, and appear to confine their movements chiefly to the
-trees of moderate size, or the lower branches only of the taller ones.
-
-The species which constitutes the most natural known connecting-link
-between the typical Kangaroos and the family of the Phalangers, next
-described, is the FIVE-TOED RAT-KANGAROO, or POTOROO. As its name implies,
-it is a small creature of rat-like aspect and dimensions, and possesses,
-like a rat, a long, cylindrical, naked, scaly tail. It is the structure of
-the feet, however, that constitutes the important distinction. In place of
-the four toes only to the hind limbs it possesses the full complement of
-five, and the first toe, moreover, is set farther back, and is opposable
-for grasping purposes. This animal is from Queensland.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S., Milford-on-Sea._
-
-RAT-KANGAROO FROM NEW SOUTH WALES.
-
-One of the small jerboa-like species.]
-
-
-THE PHALANGERS.
-
-The Phalanger Family of Marsupials, which next invites attention, is
-constituted of animals especially adapted to lead an arboreal life, though
-among themselves they exhibit very considerable structural variations. The
-species usually placed at the head of this group is the essentially droll
-and in many respects abnormal form known as the KOALA, or AUSTRALIAN NATIVE
-BEAR. Its little podgy tailless body, short thick-set head, and round
-tufted ears lend some countenance perhaps to the ursine analogy; but there
-the likeness ends.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-KOALA, OR AUSTRALIAN NATIVE BEAR AND CUB.
-
-An excellent illustration of the way in which the female koalas carry their
-young securely perched on their backs.]
-
-The koala is limited in its distribution to the south-eastern region of the
-Australian Continent, and is there found inhabiting the loftiest gum-trees,
-on the leaves and flowers of which it almost exclusively feeds. Compared
-with the opossum and squirrel-like phalangers, the koala is a very slow and
-sedentary little animal, remaining stationary in and browsing upon the
-leaves of the same gum-tree for days or even weeks at a stretch. Taking
-advantage of this home-staying propensity, examples are established, with
-full liberty to wander at will among the large gum-trees, in the Melbourne
-Zoological Gardens, and have never abused the confidence reposed in them by
-surreptitiously absconding. The young koalas in particular make the most
-droll and delightful of household pets, speedily becoming attached to and
-following their owners about the premises, or contentedly settling down to
-the possession of an allotted corner of the verandah, in which an
-improvised perch has been erected and a constant supply of its favourite
-gum-leaves is daily assured. One such example, kept in Brisbane,
-Queensland, furnished the writer with the material for the photograph on
-this page; also of another one that illustrated in an interesting manner
-the very singular attitude assumed by the animal when asleep. Instead of
-creeping into the hollow trunk or spout of a gum or other tree, as the
-opossums and other phalangers are wont to do, the little "bear" simply
-sticks tight to his supporting branch, and, tucking in his head and ears
-and limbs, converts himself into an apparently homogeneous rounded mass of
-fur or moss, and, thus disguised, peacefully sleeps. Seen at some little
-distance, in fact, none but a trained eye could distinguish this sleeping
-bear from one of the round woody excrescences or bunches of misletoe-like
-parasitic growths that are of common occurrence on the trees in every gum
-forest. In this way the little creature secures immunity from the attacks
-of enemies by mimicking the characteristic peculiarities of its
-environment, as obtains so generally among insects and other of the lower
-orders of animated nature. A closely analogous sleeping attitude, it may be
-mentioned, is assumed by one of the African lemurs or pottos, which have
-been dealt with in a previous chapter.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-KOALA, OR AUSTRALIAN NATIVE BEAR.
-
-The koala has no tail, and is a stout, clumsily built animal, about 32
-inches in length, with thick woolly fur of a greyish colour.]
-
-Although in captivity the koala takes kindly to a mixed diet in which
-bread-and-milk and fruit may form substantial elements, it can rarely be
-induced to altogether dispense with its customary gum-leaf regimen, and it
-is this circumstance that mainly accounts for its rarity in European
-menageries. Time and again, however, this interesting animal has put in an
-appearance at the Regent's Park; but in spite of Kew Gardens and other
-sources being laid under contribution for a supply of gum-tree leaves, its
-sojourn there has been but brief. As a matter of fact, the common or blue
-gum-tree, which is alone cultivated and available in any quantity in this
-country, and which is indigenous to Tasmania, is not the species on which
-the koala is accustomed to feed. Of gum-trees there are some hundred
-species, every one differing in the peculiarity of its aromatic scent and
-flavour, and having its special clientèle among the ranks of leaf-browsing
-animals. So far as the writer's observations extended, it was the big
-Queensland "white" and "swamp" gums that were especially patronised by the
-Australian bears, and these are not grown in England.
-
-Although at first sight, and normally so far as the younger individuals are
-concerned, the koala would appear to represent the most perfect embodiment
-of peace and goodwill among mammals, he is accredited at a maturer age,
-when crossed in love or goaded to resentment by some other cause, to give
-way to fits of ungovernable rage. These temporary lapses are, however, very
-transient, and our little friend soon recovers his customary bland
-placidity. While it is being threshed out, nevertheless, the "burden of
-song" delivered by rival claimants for a partner's favours is a remarkable
-phenomenon. The circumstance that the vocal duet is commonly executed high
-up among the branches of the loftiest gums no doubt adds very considerably
-to both the timbre of the "music" and the distance to which it is carried.
-The old-time phrase of "making the welkin ring" would undoubtedly have been
-applied with alacrity and singular appropriateness by the poets of the
-departed century to the love-song of the koala, had they been privileged to
-hear it.
-
-Among the examples of the koala which have been in residence at the Zoo,
-one of them came to a pathetic end. As told to the writer by Mr. A. D.
-Bartlett, the late superintendent, it appears that the little animal, on
-exhibition in the gardens during the day, was brought into the house at
-night, and allowed the run of a room which, among other furniture, included
-a large swing looking-glass. One morning the little creature was found
-crushed to death beneath the mirror, upon which it had apparently climbed
-and over-balanced. The information that the animal was a female evoked the
-suspicion that personal vanity and the admiration of its own image in the
-glass had some share in compassing its untimely end. Possibly, however, it
-hailed in the reflection the welcome advent of a companion to share its
-lone banishment from the land of the gum-tree, and in its efforts to greet
-it thus came to grief.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-KOALA, OR AUSTRALIAN NATIVE BEAR.
-
-These animals make a peculiarly plaintive cry when molested in any way by
-human beings.]
-
-The female koala produces but one cub at a time. At an early period after
-its birth this is transferred to its mother's back, and is thus transported
-until its dimensions are about one-half of those of its parent. The pair as
-shown in the illustration on page 355 presents, under these conditions, an
-essentially grotesque aspect.
-
-It is a noteworthy circumstance that, compared with the male, the female
-koala is but rarely to be observed wandering abroad during broad daylight.
-As with the typical phalangers food is consumed chiefly at night or during
-the brief Australian twilight hours. While the male at certain periods,
-more especially the months of March and April, is much in evidence in
-daytime to both the senses of sight and hearing, as attested to on a
-previous page, the female spends the whole or greater portion of the day
-clinging as an inert sleeping mass to a convenient branch. "Bear"-shooting
-in Australia, as might be anticipated from the description here given of
-the animal's habits and temperament, affords but sorry sport. It may
-further be remarked that those who have shot at and only disabled one of
-these inoffensive little creatures are scarcely likely to repeat the
-experiment. The cry of a wounded koala has been aptly compared to that of a
-distressed child, but still more pathetic. When fatally shot, it also more
-frequently than otherwise clings tenaciously back-downwards, like the South
-American sloths, to the supporting tree-branch, and is thus frequently
-irrecoverable. With the non-sentimental Australian furrier the koala's pelt
-of soft, crisp, ashy-grey fur is unfortunately in considerable demand,
-being made up mostly, with the quaint round head and tufted ears intact,
-into, it must be confessed, singularly attractive and warm rugs.
-
-The correspondence of the koala in form and habits to the sloths among the
-higher mammalia has been previously mentioned. The parallelism might be
-pursued in yet another direction. In earlier times the small
-tree-inhabiting South American sloths were supplemented by
-ground-frequenting species, such as the Megatherium, which were of
-comparatively titanic proportions. The epoch of the accredited existence of
-these huge ground-sloths was so comparatively recent--the later
-tertiaries--that it is even yet not regarded as altogether improbable that
-some existing representative of the race may yet be discovered in the
-fastnesses of the South American forests, and thus claim a niche in the
-pages of a subsequent edition of "LIVING ANIMALS." In a like manner the
-little sloth-like tree-frequenting "Australian Bear" had his primeval
-ground-dwelling colossi, and there is yet a lurking hope among enthusiastic
-zoologists that some surviving scion of the little koala's doughty
-forebears may yet turn up in the practically unexplored Central Australian
-wildernesses. Some such anticipations, as a matter of fact, stimulated the
-hopes and aspirations of the participators in one of the latest of these
-exploring expeditions, which, while not successful in this instance in
-obtaining so great a prize, secured for science that most interesting and
-previously unknown marsupial mammal the Pouched Mole.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-SQUIRREL-LIKE FLYING-PHALANGER OF VICTORIA.
-
-This animal has soft grey fur like that of the chinchilla.]
-
-
-THE TYPICAL PHALANGERS.
-
-The typical PHALANGERS, or OPOSSUMS, as they are familiarly known
-throughout Australia, include a very considerable number of
-representatives, ranging in size from that of a small mouse to that of a
-full-grown cat. All are essentially arboreal in their habits, feeding
-principally on the leaves and flowers of the various gums. They are for the
-most part strictly nocturnal in their habits, and make their homes and
-retiring-places during the day in the hollow trunks and limbs that are of
-such abundant occurrence in the periodically fire-swept Australian forests.
-Almost all the larger species are notable for the length, thickness, and
-exquisitely fine texture of their fur, a circumstance for which they are
-consequently laid under heavy penalties for the sake of their pelts. The
-island colony of Tasmania, in the extreme south, with its colder climate,
-as might be anticipated, produces the finest qualities of these furs, that
-of the BLACK or SOOTY OPOSSUM, which is peculiar to the island, being most
-highly prized. The length and furry character of their in many instances
-prehensile tails also form a conspicuous feature of this group. Nature, in
-fact, apparently distributed caudal material so over-liberally among these
-marsupials that the little koala had to make shift without.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-LARGER FLYING-PHALANGER.
-
-A nearly pure white example.]
-
-The group of the Phalanger Family popularly known as FLYING-SQUIRRELS, or
-more correctly as FLYING-PHALANGERS, is almost universally admitted to
-include some of the most beautiful of living mammals. In external
-structure, so far as their peculiar so-called "flying" mechanism is
-concerned, these animals coincide in a remarkable manner with the true
-flying-squirrels, belonging to the Rodent Order, indigenous to the Asiatic
-and American Continents. In neither instance is there flight, in the true
-sense of the term, similar to that of birds and bats, but the fore and hind
-limbs are connected by a parachute-like membrane, which, outstretched when
-the animal leaps from tree to tree, buoys it up and enables its owner to
-traverse, in a straight and gradually descending line only, very
-considerable distances.
-
-The smaller squirrel-like form common to the south-eastern districts of
-Australia, and on account of its predilection for sweets commonly known as
-the SUGAR-SQUIRREL, makes a most charming little pet. For the most part
-addicted to sleep, and impatient at being disturbed during the day, towards
-sundown it wakes up, and is full of frolic. One such example was the
-writer's travelling companion for a considerable interval in Western
-Australia. While remaining packed conveniently away in a small box
-throughout the day, it was accustomed to enjoy the liberty of whatever
-apartment its owner occupied in the evening and throughout the night,
-returning of its own accord to its sleeping-box with the approach of dawn.
-On one exceptional occasion, however, Master Tiny, as this individual was
-named, was missing in the morning from his accustomed crib, and a prolonged
-search and examination of every corner and article of furniture that could
-afford shelter failed to recover him. That the little creature was lost
-through some one having unwittingly left the door of the apartment open,
-permitting its escape, was the only and much-deplored conclusion that could
-be arrived at. Towards evening, however, there was a slight rustle close at
-hand, and Master Tiny was discovered emerging, like Minerva from the head
-of Jupiter, from the top of one of the old-fashioned china dogs that
-decorated the hotel-room mantelpiece. The ornament, seemingly intact from
-the front, had the back of the head battered in. Through the resulting
-crevice the little animal had managed to squeeze itself, having come to the
-conclusion, doubtless, that this newly chosen retreat more nearly resembled
-the cavernous shelter of its native tree-spout than its accustomed
-artificially constructed box. This singular domicile Master Tiny was
-permitted to monopolise for the remainder of his sojourn at that hostelry.
-One of the favourite diversions of this little phalanger during the
-evenings was to climb up the curtain and cornice of the room he occupied,
-and thence hurl himself through the air with outspread parachute to the
-writer at the opposite end. The apartment, happening to be the commercial
-room of the hotel, some thirty feet in length, gave him good scope for
-exercising his characteristic flying leaps. The attitude invariably
-maintained during these flights is aptly illustrated in the accompanying
-photograph; the body is never poised with the head inclined downwards, as
-is commonly depicted in artists' fancy sketches of the animal contained in
-popular natural histories. A friend of the writer's in Tasmania, who kept
-one of these flying-phalangers as a household pet, was accustomed to leave
-a crevice of the window open at night, so that the little fellow could go
-in and out as it liked. After the manner of most pets, however, a day
-arrived upon which its box was found vacant, a marauding cat or other
-disaster having apparently compassed its untimely end.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-LESSER FLYING-PHALANGER.
-
-Illustrating position maintained during its remarkable flying leaps.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-PYGMY FLYING-PHALANGER.
-
-A life-size photograph. The hairs of the tail in this animal are arranged
-in two parallel lines, like the vanes of a bird's feather.]
-
-The larger flying-phalanger, the dimensions of our domestic tabby, and with
-fur as long and as soft as the Persian variety, is less frequently
-domesticated. It has, in fact, an evil reputation for scratching, biting,
-and general untamableness. One that was kept for some little time by the
-late Dr. Bennett, of Sydney, and brought to England, never entirely lost
-its innate savagery. On the voyage from Australia it became sufficiently
-tame as to be allowed occasionally to run about on the deck, and was so far
-amiable as to lay on its back and permit itself to be tickled. On
-attempting to handle it, however, "it displayed its usual savage
-disposition, digging its sharp claws and teeth into the bands of its
-captor." The writer was fortunate in being the recipient in Queensland of a
-couple of these large phalangers which were exceptions to the usual rule.
-These specimens--a mother and its young male offspring--also varied in
-colour from normal examples, which are usually dark slate or blackish brown
-above and whitish underneath. The mother in this instance was a beautiful
-cream-white throughout; and her young one, while dark chinchilla-grey upon
-the back, limbs, and tail, had white ears and breast. Both were very
-friendly, and would of their own accord climb over their owner's person,
-seeking in his pockets for hidden lumps of sugar and other acceptable
-dainties. As with the smaller squirrel-like forms, they slept throughout
-the greater portion of the day, waking to activity and making excursions in
-search of their food as soon as the sun went down. The tail of this species
-of phalanger is abnormally long and furry, but not prehensile. It was
-observed of them that when feeding leisurely on the gum-tree leaves this
-appendage was permitted to hang or rest loosely, but that when walking
-along the branches they would very frequently coil this member into a tight
-spiral coil, like a watch-spring or the proboscis of a butterfly, against
-their hindquarters. This phenomenon is apparently unique among mammals.
-Although generally seeking the darker retreat of their box for their long
-daylight sleep, the female, more particularly, would frequently simply curl
-herself up into a furry white ball in one corner of the cage, the head,
-limbs, or other features being at such times altogether indistinguishable.
-The aid of the magnesium flash-light was successfully called into service
-to secure the photographic likeness of this animal, here reproduced, which
-was taken while it was enjoying its evening meal.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-COMMON GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.
-
-The fur of this species is in great demand for the manufacture of
-carriage-rugs.]
-
-As previously mentioned, some representatives of the flying-phalanger group
-are no larger than mice, and are furnished in a similar manner with a
-parachute-like membrane that enables them to take abnormally long flying
-leaps, or as it were to sail horizontally through the air. The PYGMY
-FLYING-PHALANGER, whose length of body does not exceed 2½ inches, is one of
-the most interesting. The tail in this form is also adapted for aerial
-flotation, the long hairs that grow upon this appendage being arranged in
-two parallel lines like the vanes of a feather. Its distribution is limited
-to the south and eastern districts of the Australian Continent. There are
-also a number of mouse- and squirrel-like phalangers destitute of the
-flying-membrane, which in this respect very closely resemble in external
-aspect more typical members of the Rodent Order. One form in particular,
-the STRIPED PHALANGER of New Guinea, decorated with broad longitudinal
-black and white stripes, is singularly suggestive of some of the variously
-striped American squirrels. This interesting island of New Guinea also
-produces a little PYGMY PHALANGER with a feather-like tail which, except
-for the absence of a parachute or flying-membrane, is the very counterpart
-of the Australian kind. Another species, which in shape, size, and more
-especially with reference to its long, pointed snout, closely resembles a
-shrew-mouse, is found in Western Australia. The tail of this species, known
-as the LONG-SNOUTED PHALANGER, is highly prehensile; and it is also
-provided with a long, slender, protrusile tongue, with which it abstracts
-the honey from Banksias and other flowers, upon which it customarily feeds.
-
-The two large phalangers known as the BLACK and GREY or VULPINE OPOSSUMS,
-which are chiefly laid under contribution for the Australian fur supplies,
-are provided with prehensile tails, the under side of the extremity of
-which grasps the supporting fulcrum and is devoid of hair. The adaptation
-of the tail for use as a fifth hand--as in the New World monkeys--is,
-however, much more conspicuously manifested in what are known to the
-colonists as the RING-TAILED OPOSSUMS, and to zoologists as
-CRESCENT-TOOTHED PHALANGERS. In these the tail tapers to a fine point, and
-the hair throughout the terminal third of this appendage is so fine and
-short that it at first sight presents the appearance of being entirely
-naked. This terminal third of the tail, moreover, in the greater number of
-species, contrasts with the remaining portion by being white in hue. It
-occasionally happens, however, that individuals occur which are entirely
-white. One such which came into the writer's possession was obtained from
-the Bruni Islands, in the Derwent Estuary, Tasmania, and afterwards became
-a great pet with the young people at Government House, Hobart. It is an
-interesting circumstance that the Bruni Islands were noted for the
-production of albino animals of various descriptions, white kangaroos and
-white emus having also been obtained from this locality. Probably some
-peculiarity of the soil, and its action on the vegetable food the animals
-consumed, played an important part in the unusually frequent occurrence of
-this phenomenon.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Henry King_] [_Sydney._
-
-AUSTRALIAN GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.
-
-On account of its "foxy" appearance, this species is also known as the
-Vulpine Phalanger.]
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-FRONT VIEW OF GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.
-
-Displays the bare under-surface of the prehensile tail.]
-
-The ring-tailed opossums differ essentially from the common opossum or
-phalanger and its allies in their life habits. While these latter
-habitually take up their abode and bring forth their young in hollow trees,
-the ring-tailed species construct a regular nest of interlaced sticks,
-leaves, grass, or any other available material for their domicile. The
-structure much resembles the nest, or "drey," of our own familiar European
-squirrel, and may be perched high up among the tree branches or within only
-a few feet from the ground among the scrub thickets. In New Guinea a
-variety of these ring-tailed phalangers occurs, not found in Australia,
-which has no white tip to its tail, and the ears are very short and wide.
-The group as represented by this species leads to the consideration of the
-so-called CUSCUSES or typical phalangers indigenous to New Guinea and North
-Queensland, though but rarely seen there, which, as an exception to the
-Marsupial Tribe, are distributed among the Indo-Malay Islands as far
-westward as Celebes. In the cuscuses the tail is altogether naked, and
-pre-eminently prehensile throughout almost its entire terminal moiety; the
-ears are round and, proportionately, exceedingly small; while the fur is
-very short, thick, and woolly. Compared with the opossums or phalangers,
-the cuscuses are very dull and sluggish in their movements, creeping slowly
-among the branches of the trees to browse on the fruit and leaves which
-constitute their principal diet. Like the opossums, however, or even to a
-greater extent, they vary this vegetarian regimen with insects or an
-occasionally captured bird.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-PROFILE VIEW OF GREY OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER.
-
-The opossums are usually shot by moonlight, as seen silhouetted against the
-sky.]
-
-
-THE CUSCUSES.
-
-The familiar SPOTTED CUSCUS of New Guinea is the most ornate marsupial
-mammal. The males, more especially, are as variegated in colour as a
-tortoiseshell cat, their tints, moreover, closely corresponding in hue with
-those of the feline. No two individuals, however, are precisely alike in
-this respect. Usually the ground-colour of the back is a dirty or creamy
-white, interspersed with various-shaped blotches of nut-brown or black; the
-chin, breast, and under-parts are a purer white, and the limbs grey or
-reddish brown, or, as shown in the photograph over-leaf, mottled like the
-body. The BLACK CUSCUS of Celebes is, as its name denotes, a much more
-sombre-looking animal, and is also the largest species, its dimensions
-equalling or exceeding those of a large cat. The uniformly tinted GREY
-CUSCUS of Timor, Amboina, and other of the Indo-Malay Islands is very
-similar in size and aspect, excepting for the half-naked tail, to the
-common ring-tailed phalanger. All the cuscuses are of rare occurrence in
-even their most favoured habitats. On one occasion the writer came across
-an example of the grey species in the scrub forest of Thursday Island,
-Torres Straits. In this instance, however, it is doubtful if the animal was
-not an escaped pet brought over from the neighbouring coast of New Guinea.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of S. Sinclair, Esq._] [_Sydney._
-
-RING-TAILED OPOSSUM, OR PHALANGER, AND NEST.
-
-This is the only Australian opossum which builds a regular nest.]
-
-Much interesting information concerning different varieties of the cuscus
-is contained in Dr. Alfred Wallace's interesting work "The Malay
-Archipelago." An anecdote of one which was brought to this naturalist
-during his residence in the Aru Islands--the headquarters of the great bird
-of paradise--is thus related: "Just as we had cleared away and packed up
-for the night, a strange beast was brought, which had been shot by the
-natives. It resembled in size and in its white woolly covering a small fat
-lamb, but had short legs, hand-like feet with large claws, and a long
-prehensile tail. It was a Spotted Cuscus, one of the curious marsupial
-animals of the Papuan region, and I was very desirous to obtain the skin.
-The owners, however, said they wanted to eat it; and though I offered them
-a good price, and promised to give them all the meat, there was great
-hesitation. Suspecting the reason, I offered, though it was night, to set
-to work immediately, and get out the body for them, to which they agreed.
-The creature was much hacked about, and the two hind feet almost cut off,
-but it was the largest and finest specimen of the kind I had seen; and
-after an hour's hard work I handed over the body to the owners, who
-immediately cut it up and roasted it for supper."
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Croydon._
-
-SPOTTED CUSCUS.
-
-The cuscuses are sleepy animals, with soft, woolly fur, which in this
-species is curiously variegated in colour.]
-
-The remarkable tenacity of life possessed by the cuscus is fully attested
-to by Dr. Wallace. He says: "They move about slowly, and are most difficult
-to kill, owing to the thickness of their skins and tenacity of life. A
-heavy charge of shot will often lodge in the skin and do them no harm, and
-even breaking the spine or piercing the brain will not kill them for some
-hours. The natives everywhere eat their flesh; and as their motions are so
-slow, easily catch them by climbing; so that it is wonderful that they have
-not been exterminated. It may be, however, that their dense woolly fur
-protects them from birds of prey, and the islands they live in are too
-thinly inhabited for man to be able to exterminate them."
-
-One of the most notable circumstances respecting the cuscus is the fact
-that it is one of the few marsupials whose geographical distribution
-extends so far east in the Malay Archipelago as to be found associated with
-many of the higher mammalia which are altogether unrepresented in Australia
-or New Guinea. The Moluccas, including notably the islands of Silolo,
-Ceram, Boru, and many smaller ones, for example, produce no less than three
-species of cuscus, and are also the home of a species of baboon, a
-civet-cat, a deer, and that remarkable pig the babirusa. One other
-marsupial, a little flying-phalanger, is likewise a denizen of these
-islands. It has been suggested by Dr. Wallace that none of the foregoing
-higher mammals are possibly indigenous to the Moluccas. The baboon, he
-remarks, is only found in the island of Batchian, and seems to be much out
-of place there. It probably originated from some individuals which escaped
-from confinement, these and similar animals being often kept as pets by the
-Malay inhabitants and carried about in their praus. The civet-cat, which is
-more common in the Philippines and throughout the Indo-Malay region, is
-also carried about in cages from one island to another, and not
-infrequently liberated after the civet has been abstracted from them. The
-deer, which is likewise tamed and petted, its flesh also being much
-esteemed for food, might very naturally have been brought by the Malays
-from Java with the express object of its acclimatisation. The babirusa,
-whose headquarters are in the island of Celebes, is only found in Boru, its
-nearest neighbour in the Moluccan group. Dr. Wallace anticipates that these
-two islands were in former times more closely connected by land, and that
-under such conditions the babirusa may have swum across the intervening
-channel. Should these several hypotheses be correct, the Molucca Islands
-must be regarded, from a zoological standpoint, as an essentially
-Australasian or marsupial-producing region.
-
-
-THE WOMBATS.
-
-The Wombat Family, claiming the next position in the marsupial galaxy,
-constitutes the very antithesis to the light and graceful arboreal
-phalangers. There are but three known species, one of these inhabiting
-Tasmania and the adjacent islands, while the other two are peculiar to the
-southern region of the Australian Continent. In forms and gait their
-thick-set tailless bodies suggest a cross between a small bear and a
-capybara, and as "bears" and "badgers" they are familiarly known by the
-Australian colonists. The badger simile is perhaps the most pertinently
-applied with reference to their habit of excavating huge earth-burrows as
-dwelling-places, and out of which they customarily emerge only at night to
-feed. The TASMANIAN WOMBAT, at all events, is essentially gregarious in its
-habits; In the neighbourhood of Swansea, on the east coast, it is, or was,
-particularly abundant, forming regular warrens among a light undergrowth of
-vegetation, through which travelling on horseback is a distinctly risky
-proceeding. The temperament of the wombat is peculiarly placid; and hence,
-as it might be anticipated, they are essentially long-lived. One, Charlie
-by name, which has been domiciled at the Zoo for the past thirty years, is
-still hale and hearty, and evidently disinclined yet awhile to immolate
-himself on the altar of fame as a much-needed successor to the antique
-effigy which has for so long represented his species in the British Natural
-History Museum. Waiting for dead men's shoes is a proverbially tedious
-task, and for a coveted wombat's skin evidently more so.
-
-The tough hide, with its thick, harsh fur, of the Tasmanian wombat, or
-"badger," as it is locally dubbed, is somewhat highly prized in the land of
-its birth. For floor- and door-mats and rugs the pelt is practically
-indestructible; and as such, though scarcely a thing of beauty, the special
-pride of the thrifty housewife. This animal is also not infrequently made a
-household pet, and will waddle as complacently as an over-fed poodle around
-the premises after its owner. The wombat, like the large majority of the
-marsupial animals, is for the most part nocturnal in habits, and a strict
-vegetarian.
-
-The wombats present several interestingly distinct structural
-peculiarities. In the first place, their teeth, which are twenty-four in
-number, all grow uninterruptedly throughout life, and are consequently
-devoid of roots. The incisor teeth are represented by but a single pair in
-each jaw, and, having enamel only on their front surfaces, wear away in a
-chisel-like form, as in the beavers and other rodents. Superficially in
-both form and habits, as well as in the character of their dentition, the
-wombats may in fact be aptly likened to some unwieldy representative of the
-Rodent Order. Another structural peculiarity of the wombat is that it is
-the proud possessor of two more pairs of ribs than any other marsupial.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor_] [_Ealing._
-
-COMMON WOMBAT.
-
-A burrowing animal about the size of a small pig.]
-
-Of the three known species, the COMMON WOMBAT of the South and Eastern
-Australian States is the largest, attaining to a length of as much as 3
-feet. The colour of this form is subject to considerable variation, being
-sometimes yellow, yellow more or less mixed with black, or completely
-black. Albinism, as in the kangaroos and phalangers, is of apparently rare
-occurrence. The hair, while coarse, is less so than in the Tasmanian
-species. What is known as the HAIRY-NOSED WOMBAT, inhabiting South
-Australia, is intermediate in size between the common and the Tasmanian
-varieties; its most distinctive features are the soft and silky character
-of its brownish hair, and its longer and more pointed ears. The coarseness
-of the hair of the Tasmanian species has been previously referred to; in
-colour it is most usually a dark greyish brown, while the ears are small
-and rounded.
-
-The flesh of the wombat is somewhat esteemed for food, being regarded by
-some as equal to pork, and much resembling it in flavour. The predilection
-of tame specimens for milk is very strong, and it has been recorded of one
-animal that it was not only in the habit of seeking out the milk-pans and
-pushing off the covers in order to drink the contents, but afterwards of
-taking a bath in what was left.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor_] [_Ealing._
-
-HAIRY-NOSED WOMBAT.
-
-A form peculiar to South Australia.]
-
-A remarkable habit has been accredited to the wombat which invites
-scientific investigation. It is said to be capable of sustaining life for
-an abnormally long period under water, and that when in the course of its
-travels it meets with a pond or river it does not attempt to swim, but,
-deliberately entering the water, walks along the bottom, and so emerges on
-the opposite bank.
-
-The animals of Australia living in not very remote geological times
-included a near ally of the wombat which equalled a tapir in dimensions.
-
-
-THE BANDICOOTS.
-
-The Australian BANDICOOTS--not to be confounded with their namesake of
-India, which is a big rat--constitute a very distinct little family group.
-They number in all some eight or nine species, distributed throughout the
-length and breadth of Australia and Tasmania, and found also in New Guinea.
-The largest member is about the size of a rabbit; and as its general shape,
-long ears, and soft silky hair impart some slight resemblance to that
-rodent, it is commonly known as the RABBIT-BANDICOOT. With the
-above-enumerated points, however, the likeness ceases--its possession of a
-moderately long tail, pointed snout, and feet modified on a plan closely
-resembling those of the kangaroo's indicating its essentially distinct
-nature. In a second variety, having somewhat the same external contour, but
-smaller in size, the fore limbs are very short, and the feet so modified
-that only two toes are visible externally. With reference to this peculiar
-feature, it is known as the PIG-FOOTED BANDICOOT. In a third kind of
-similar dimensions, with harsh brown fur, the ears are comparatively short,
-and the snout is so abnormally prolonged that, it has been appropriately
-named the LONG-NOSED BANDICOOT. Superficially, in point of fact, this and
-other allied species so closely resemble certain of the long-snouted
-insectivorous mammals, such as the Tenrec and Solenodon, that they might be
-excusably mistaken by the non-scientific for members of the same group. The
-bandicoots are chiefly nocturnal, and at all events incorrigible
-"sun-downers," turning up for their meals when the evening shadows fall,
-and taking a heavy and unwelcome toll of the farmers' potatoes, beets, or
-other root, crops. Like the wombat, already described, they are
-earth-burrowers. Some of them, however, construct nests above-ground in
-long coarse grass or low tangled shrubs, which are so ingeniously built in
-accord with their environment as to readily escape detection. Insects and
-worms, in addition to a main diet of vegetable matter, contribute to the
-bandicoot's somewhat heterogeneous menu.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
-
-COMMON WOMBAT.
-
-The Wombats may be said to hold the place occupied in other parts of the
-world by the Badgers.]
-
-The wood- and root-boring larvæ of a moth which infests the Australian
-wattle- or acacia-trees are a very favourite food with several of the
-species, and it is worthy of remark that the bandicoots are not alone in
-displaying a penchant for this delicacy. Under the title of "bardies" they
-are collected and highly esteemed for food by the natives of Western
-Australia, who eat them either cooked or raw. These larvæ are, moreover,
-acceptable to many European palates, and the writer has witnessed little
-faggot-like bundles of them brought round by the natives to the hotels at
-Geraldton, Western Australia, for sale or barter to chance customers. It
-may be observed in this connection that the analogous wood-boring larvæ of
-the goat-moth, which were kept and specially fattened for the occasion,
-constituted one of the dainty dishes of the luxurious Romans.
-
-One of the commonest species found in Tasmania is known as the BANDED or
-STRIPED-BACKED BANDICOOT, being so named on account of the characteristic
-markings of its fur. The general ground-colour of the coat is an almost
-equal admixture of black and yellow hairs, the black tint, however,
-prevailing on the back, and the lighter one on the sides. The hindquarters
-are, however, variegated by the presence of some three or four broad
-transverse stripes that are almost entirely black, while the intervening
-spaces are a light whitish yellow. A few shorter stripes are sometimes
-continued as far as the root of the tail, this appendage also having a dark
-line running along its upper surface. The head is of a somewhat lighter
-tint than the remainder of the body, while the breast, abdomen, and feet
-are white, slightly tinged with grey. The transversely striped pattern of
-ornamentation of the hindquarters of this bandicoot is of interest with
-relation to the circumstance that a similarly located banded variegation of
-the fur occurs also in the Tasmanian wolf, or thylacine, and in the banded
-ant-eater, described in a following section. As a colour-pattern it would
-appear to be quite peculiar to these marsupials, no such restriction of the
-markings occurring among the higher or placental mammals. In the South
-African suricate, a member of the Ichneumon Tribe, in which the nearest
-approach to this dorsal banding is met with, the stripes are equally
-developed as far forward as the base of the neck.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-LONG-NOSED AUSTRALIAN BANDICOOT.
-
-Bandicoots, although larger, have somewhat the appearance of shrews.]
-
-Both the banded and other species of bandicoots are extremely swift and
-active in their movements, and are at the same time noted for the
-singularity of their gait. This consists of a half-running and half-jumping
-action, induced by the peculiar structure of their feet and greater length
-of the hind legs, which are modified on a plan intermediate between that of
-the kangaroos and the dasyures, or native cats. The back of the animal
-while running being highly arched, adds to the grotesqueness of its
-appearance. Like the native cats, the pouch in the bandicoots opens
-backwards; it is furnished with eight teats, but not more than two young
-are usually produced at a birth.
-
-The striped-backed bandicoot is not infrequently adopted as a household
-pet, in spite of its notorious garden depredations. When thus domesticated,
-it appears to be capable of developing a strong attachment for its owner.
-One that was owned by friends of the writer especially attached itself to
-the lady of the house. It was acquired when quite young, having escaped
-from the pouch of an adult female which the dogs had killed, and being then
-about the size of a mouse. It speedily learned to lap milk, and throve on a
-diet of bread and raw potato. As it grew larger it was allowed the run of
-the house, and also of the garden, but habitually returned to the
-sleeping-quarters selected by itself, and represented by the woolly depths
-of its mistress's work-basket. In this haven of rest it slept all day,
-scolding and snapping at any intruding hand. Towards dusk it would waken up
-and bustle about in a most energetic manner, with the air, in fact, of
-having an immense amount of business to transact within the very shortest
-limits of time. Its first dart was always towards a corner where a supper
-of bread-and-milk and potato was usually placed. This meal discussed, its
-evening's occupation commenced of scampering around the room and over every
-accessible article of furniture. Nor was it shy of climbing up and resting
-for a few seconds on the shoulders of its human friends, being always,
-however, in too great a hurry to prolong the visit. Finally, as with all
-pets, "Coota," as he was familiarly named, came to an untimely end--not a
-cat, however, on this occasion, but, if rumour whispers true, through
-over-indulgence in a too liberally furnished meal of custard pudding.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-RABBIT-BANDICOOT.
-
-The largest of the bandicoots; about the size of a rabbit.]
-
-The flesh of this and other species of bandicoots is esteemed for food both
-by the natives and the white settlers in Australia. It is noteworthy of the
-banded variety, more especially, that the skin adheres so tightly to the
-flesh that its removal is a matter of some considerable difficulty. When
-full grown, this species measures as much as 18 inches in total length, and
-is little inferior to a rabbit with regard to the amount of good meat it
-provides for the larder.
-
-
-THE POUCHED MOLE.
-
-A still more essentially insectivorous marsupial is represented by the
-little mammal discovered only a few years since in the wild sandy wastes of
-Central Australia. In form and habits it so nearly resembles the familiar
-European mole that the title of the POUCHED MOLE has been very suitably
-given to it. At the same time, with regard to its remarkable organisation,
-it constitutes the sole representative of its peculiar family group. The
-first suspicions of the existence of this singular little animal were
-raised by the observation of peculiar sinuous three-lined tracks at
-irregular intervals on the surface of the sandy regions it inhabits.
-
-After a long quest, with the aid of the aborigines, the first specimen was
-discovered reposing under a tuft of coarse porcupine-grass. A further
-investigation elicited the fact that its burrowing proclivities were much
-less pronounced than those of the ordinary moles, the little creature
-progressing alternately over the surface of the sand, and then ploughing
-its way, for several feet or yards, two or three inches only beneath the
-surface. All efforts to preserve examples of this marsupial alive for
-longer periods than three or four days proved abortive; for though the
-remains of ants and other insects were found within its viscera, it refused
-to feed upon the living supplies that were provided for it. In fact, the
-animal itself apparently ran the greater risk of being eaten.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons._
-
-POUCHED MOLE.
-
-This animal is of a pale golden-red colour, and about 5 inches long. It
-spends most of its time burrowing, which it can do with great rapidity, in
-the sand of the Australian deserts in search of insects.]
-
-The colour of the pouched mole is for the most part light fawn, varying in
-parts to golden yellow. One of its most conspicuous features, as
-illustrated in the accompanying photographs, is the abnormal size of the
-third and fourth toes of the fore limbs, their peculiar scoop-like
-character proving of eminent service to the animal in its customary
-sand-burrowing habits.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S., Milford-on-Sea._
-
-UNDER SURFACE OF POUCHED MOLE.
-
-Notice the abnormal size of the third and fourth toe of the fore limbs, and
-their peculiar scoop-like shape.]
-
-
-THE TASMANIAN WOLF.
-
-The remaining family of the Australian marsupials constitutes a parallel to
-the carnivorous order of the higher mammalia, all its members being more or
-less flesh-eaters, and having their dentition modified with relation to
-such habits. One of these (the TASMANIAN WOLF, or TIGER of the colonists,
-better known to zoologists as the THYLACINE) is an animal of considerable
-size. Its dimensions equal those of a wolf or mastiff, with which the
-contour of its body and more especially that of the head very nearly
-correspond. In common with the true dogs, the thylacine hunts its prey by
-scent. This is well attested to by the following incident, as related by
-eye-witnesses. While camping out among the hills in Tasmania their
-attention was attracted very early one morning by a brush-kangaroo hopping
-past their fire in an evidently highly excited state. Some ten minutes
-later up cantered a she thylacine with her nose down exactly on the track,
-evidently following the scent, and in another quarter of an hour her two
-cubs came by also in the precise track. While not very swift, the Tasmanian
-"tigers" possess immense staying power, and will keep up a long, steady
-canter for many hours on end. Accustomed in its primitive state to run down
-and prey upon the kangaroos, wallabies, and other weaker marsupial mammals
-indigenous to the regions it inhabits, the Tasmanian wolf speedily acquired
-a predilection for the imported flocks of the settlers, and proved almost
-as destructive to them as its Old World namesake. To check its ravages, a
-price was put upon its head by the Tasmanian Government; and this measure,
-in conjunction with the rapid advances towards the complete settlement of
-the country which have been accomplished within later years, has compassed
-this animal's extermination in all but the wildest and most inaccessible
-mountain districts. The colour-markings of this animal are somewhat
-striking, the grey-brown tints which characterise the ground-hues of the
-body and limbs being varied by a series of dark bands traversing the
-buttocks, these being widest in this region, and continued forwards to the
-middle of the back. A somewhat similar cross-stripe pattern of
-ornamentation occurs in the relatively small member of the same family
-described later on as the Banded Ant-eater.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S., North Finchley._
-
-TASMANIAN WOLF.
-
-This photograph shows the great width of gape of this ferocious animal.]
-
-Examples of the Tasmanian wolf have frequently been on view at the Regent's
-Park Gardens, a very fine young male specimen being at present located in
-the marsupial section. Within a few weeks of its arrival it was on
-excellent terms with its keeper, though, owing to its somewhat imperfect
-sense of vision during the daytime, it was apt to snap somewhat
-promiscuously at those attempting to cultivate its close acquaintanceship.
-That a bite from its formidable teeth is not to be lightly risked will be
-made abundantly apparent by a glance at the successful yawning pose
-photograph secured of this example by Mr. Medland, and here reproduced.
-Although the thylacine is at the present time entirely limited in its
-distribution to Tasmania, it occurs in the fossil state on the Australian
-mainland; while, singularly to relate, the remains of a closely allied form
-have within recent years been unearthed in Patagonia. This circumstance,
-taken in conjunction with the fact that many other fossil types with
-Australian and New Zealand affinities have been discovered in the same
-South American strata, has strengthened the supposition maintained by many
-zoologists that in bygone ages a vast Antarctic continent, spreading
-through the areas now occupied by the Southern Indian and Pacific Oceans,
-temporarily united the now distinct lands of South America and Australasia.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
-
-TASMANIAN WOLF.
-
-In this photograph are shown nearly all the chief characteristic points of
-the Tasmanian wolf.]
-
-
-THE TASMANIAN DEVIL.
-
-Next in size to the thylacine, but possessing a more unenviable notoriety
-for the uncompromising sulkiness and savagery of its disposition, is the
-animal which, in virtue of the aforesaid qualities, is known by the title
-of the TASMANIAN DEVIL. In shape and dimensions this marsupial carnivore
-somewhat resembles a badger; but the head is abnormally large, the masseter
-muscles which control the action of the powerful jaws monopolising a very
-considerable share of the face area. The limbs are short and also very
-powerful, the front paws being well adapted to its burrowing habits. There
-is some slight variation in the colours of this marsupial Apollyon; and, as
-the aphorism runs concerning his sable namesake, he is not always so black
-as he is painted. More or less or in fact mostly black he always is, but
-there is usually a redeeming thread or patch of white upon his coat. This
-may take the form of a small star-like spot only on the front of its chest,
-which not infrequently extends to a narrow crescent-shaped band or line
-continued round the neck almost to the shoulders. One or more supplementary
-spots of white may also be developed upon the flanks and hindquarters.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
-
-TASMANIAN DEVIL.
-
-A small, but stout and powerful animal, very destructive, and absolutely
-untamable.]
-
-The destructive propensities of the Tasmanian devil, wherein the farmers'
-sheep and poultry are concerned, are in no way inferior to those of the
-Tasmanian wolf, and in consequence of their former much greater abundance
-the havoc these animals committed was the more serious. Placed, like the
-last-named type, under Government ban, these native devils have, in
-comparison with the earlier days of colonisation, very considerably ceased
-from troubling, and with the ever-progressing march of settlement and
-civilisation will probably be altogether exterminated at a no very distant
-date. A bag of no less than 150 of these marauders, in the course of one
-winter, was recorded from an upland sheep-station some twenty or thirty
-years ago. In common with the thylacine, it has been observed that the
-Tasmanian devil has a marked predilection for prowling along the seashore
-in search apparently of crabs, fish, or any acceptable flotsam and jetsam
-that may be cast up by the waves.
-
-Examples of this most unamiable of mammals were brought in alive on several
-occasions to the Hobart Museum during the writer's residence in Tasmania,
-but in all cases obstinately resisted every attempt towards the
-establishment of a friendly footing. Their ultimate relegation to the
-specimen-cases was, under the circumstances, unattended by any very
-poignant manifestations of regret. A fact brought into prominent notice
-during subsequent post-mortem investigations was the extraordinary extent
-to which these animals are infested with vermin. Possibly this circumstance
-is to a considerable extent accountable for the creature's unconquerable
-irritability. The experiment as to whether a course of disinfecting
-treatment, by baths or otherwise, would not conduce towards the taming of
-this native devil, where all other applied methods have failed, would at
-all events be worth the trial. The bath pure and simple is a wonderful
-soporific for unruly tempers. As most schoolboys know, a pail of water,
-from which the patient is withdrawn when a watery grave is apparently
-inevitable, is an unfailing specific for the taming of mice and other
-"small deer." The writer's experience with a villainously savage cat which
-one night fell incontinently into an uncovered cistern, and was rescued by
-him at almost the last gasp, will not be readily forgotten. That cat,
-though still a vixen to the ordinary members of the household, forthwith
-attached itself affectionately to its rescuer, and would sit for hours
-awaiting his arrival on the doorstep when the business of the day was over.
-Other fierce creatures, including the Tasmanian devil, would possibly prove
-amenable to the judicious application of the "water cure."
-
-
-THE NATIVE CATS.
-
-The animals common in Tasmania and throughout the greater portion of the
-Australian Continent, and familiarly known as SPOTTED or NATIVE CATS, and
-to zoologists as DASYURES, enjoy also an unenviable reputation for their
-depredations among the settlers' hen-roosts. To look at, these native cats
-are the most mild-mannered and inoffensive of creatures. Actually, however,
-they possess the most bloodthirsty proclivities, and may be aptly compared
-in their habits to the stoats, weasels, polecats, and other Old World
-carnivora. There are some five known species, the largest being equal to an
-ordinary cat in size, and the smaller ones about half these dimensions. All
-of them are distinguished by their spotted pattern of ornamentation, such
-spots being white or nearly so, and more or less abundantly sprinkled over
-a darker background which varies from light grey to chocolate-brown. In the
-commonest form, represented in the accompanying photograph, the ears and
-the under surface of the body are also often white. No two individuals,
-however, are to be found precisely alike in the pattern of their markings.
-The dasyures differ from the two preceding types, the Tasmanian wolf and
-the devil, in being essentially arboreal in their habits, living by day and
-breeding, as the majority of the Australian opossums, in the hollow
-gum-tree trunks, from which they emerge at nightfall to seek their food.
-This, in their native state, when hen-roosts are not accessible, consists
-mainly of birds and such smaller marsupial forms as they can readily
-overpower.
-
-[Illustration: _By permission of S. Sinclair, Esq._] [_Sydney._
-
-SPOTTED DASYURES, OR AUSTRALIAN NATIVE CATS.
-
-This species is rather smaller than an ordinary-sized cat. All the dasyures
-are arboreal in their habits, and very destructive to birds.]
-
-
-THE POUCHED MICE.
-
-The so-called POUCHED MICE represent a group of smaller-sized carnivorous
-mammals which have much in common with the dasyures, but are devoid of
-their spotted ornamentation. None of them exceed a rat in size. They number
-about twelve or fourteen known species, and are distributed throughout the
-greater part of Australia and New Guinea, and extend thence to the Aru
-Islands. They are said not to occur in the extreme north of the Australian
-Continent. The writer, however, obtained an example of the brush-tailed
-species, here illustrated, from the neighbourhood of Broome, in the
-farthest north or Kimberley district of Western Australia. This specimen,
-which was caught alive in a rat-trap, exhibited astonishingly potent
-gnawing powers, almost succeeding one night in eating its way through the
-wooden box in which it was temporarily confined. The habits of this species
-are omnivorous, and chiefly akin to those of the ordinary rats, it being
-accustomed to prowl round the out-buildings at night, picking up any
-unconsidered trifles in the way of food that may be left unprotected.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-BRUSH-TAILED POUCHED MOUSE, OR PHASCOGALE.
-
-A slender and graceful animal, the largest of the thirteen known species,
-and about the size of an ordinary rat.]
-
-Many of the smaller members of this tribe are no larger than mice; and in
-one form, known as the JERBOA POUCHED MOUSE, inhabiting Queensland and New
-South Wales, the hind limbs are abnormally prolonged, and the animal
-progresses by leaps and bounds, after the fashion of the true jerboas, or
-its nearer relatives, the ordinary kangaroos and rat-kangaroos.
-
-
-THE BANDED ANT-EATER.
-
-One of the most interesting from the zoologist's standpoint, and the last
-on our list of the Australian marsupials, is the little creature, limited
-in its habitat to Western Australia, locally known as the SQUIRREL. The
-BANDED ANT-EATER, with reference to its striped ornamentation and
-ant-eating habits, is the name by which it is usually chronicled in natural
-history works. In size and shape, except for its more pointed snout, its
-squirrel-like aspect is certainly somewhat striking. Like the true
-ant-eaters of the Edentate Mammalian Order, it, however, possesses a long
-protrusile tongue, with which it is accustomed in a similar manner to lick
-up the ants which constitute its main food-supply.
-
-The most interesting biological peculiarity of this animal is the abnormal
-development of its teeth. These number as many as from fifty-two to
-fifty-six, and exceed the dental formula of any other known existing
-marsupial. The usual colour of this interesting little animal is a warm
-chestnut-brown, banded transversely over the back with white, these stripes
-being widest and most conspicuous over the hindquarters. This somewhat
-paradoxical marsupial possesses no pouch, the young, when first born and
-attached to the nipples in the manner characteristic of ordinary
-marsupials, being covered over and concealed among the longer hairs that
-clothe the abdominal region. In the dasyures, or native cats, previously
-described, the pouch exists only in a rudimentary condition, its function
-being fulfilled by merely a few skin-folds; while in the "tiger" and native
-devil the pouch, contrary to that of the kangaroos, opens backwards.
-
-In disposition the banded ant-eater presents a marked contrast to that of
-many of the preceding types. Caught in its native habitat, it does not
-attempt to bite, and soon becomes reconciled to captivity. The peculiar
-nature of its diet, however, militates against its being easily transported
-over-sea from the Antipodes.
-
-
-THE AMERICAN OPOSSUMS.
-
-The little group of the American marsupials contains some three or four
-generically distinct types whose relationship with the Australian members
-of the order is in the direction of the dasyures and bandicoots rather than
-with the kangaroos and phalangers. Included in one family, they are
-popularly known as Opossums, but differ among themselves very considerably
-both in aspect and habits. The most remarkable among them is undoubtedly
-the so-called YAPOCK, or WATER-OPOSSUM, an inhabitant of South America, and
-ranging in its distribution from Guatemala to Brazil. In both form and
-habits this animal so closely resembles an otter that it was referred by
-the earlier naturalists to the Otter Tribe. It tunnels holes in the banks
-of the rivers it frequents, and feeds entirely upon fish, crustacea, and
-aquatic insects. The feet, and more especially the hind ones, are
-distinctly webbed; the tail is naked, scaly, and non-prehensile; and the
-fur is short and thick, as in the ordinary otters. The ground-tint of the
-fur is a light grey: this is diversified by a black or dark brown stripe
-that runs down the centre of the back, and expands over the shoulders,
-loins, and hindquarters into saddle-shaped patches or bands of the same
-dark hue.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-BANDED ANT-EATER.
-
-From an anatomical point of view, this is one of the most remarkable of the
-pouched mammals.]
-
-The COMMON or VIRGINIAN OPOSSUM, while the only representative of the
-Marsupial Order found in the temperate latitudes of the North American
-Continent, has a very considerable range of distribution, occurring in
-equal abundance throughout the tropical regions of South America. In these
-warmer latitudes it differs to such an extent in the character of its fur
-and other minor points that it was for some time regarded as a distinct
-species, and was distinguished by the title of the CRAB-EATING OPOSSUM.
-Biologists are, however, now agreed that the supposed species is only a
-local variety. As a matter of fact, a very considerable amount of variation
-in the colour and markings is found to exist among the individuals of the
-most familiarly known northern race. In form the animal may be suitably
-compared to a huge rat, nearly equalling a cat in size, with an abnormally
-large head and pointed snout. The tail is long, almost naked for the
-greater portion of its length, and pre-eminently prehensile. The fur is of
-a mixed character, consisting of an undergrowth of a fine, close, woolly
-texture, through which protrudes a less dense series of long bristle-like
-hairs. The colour of the fur ranges from black to white, and includes all
-varieties of intermixture. The face, more especially in the northern race,
-is usually much the lightest or altogether white, while in the tropical
-South American examples it is more often darker, or it may be completely
-black.
-
-The opossum, like the rat, is an omnivorous feeder; and being of so much
-larger size, and possessing an insatiable appetite, constitutes itself a
-veritable pest to the fruit-grower, the agriculturist, and the
-poultry-farmer. In effecting its entrance to hen-roosts or other
-food-yielding enclosures, it exhibits an amount of cunning and pertinacity
-possessed by no other mammal. Caught red-handed in these depredations, it
-has recourse to stratagems which have won for it a reputation that has long
-since passed into a household word. Feigning death, or "playing 'possum,"
-is a game at which it is well known to be a past-master, but by which it
-still frequently succeeds in hoodwinking the unwary, and so saves its skin.
-Discovered thieving, and receiving perhaps a haphazard but by no means
-disabling blow, it at once collapses, and with film-covered eyes and
-protruding tongue is to all intents and purposes dead. It may be kicked
-round the premises, and finally probably taken up by the tail and flung
-ignominiously outside, without betraying vitality by even so much as a
-wink. But no sooner is the coast thoroughly clear of the avenger than the
-stiffened limbs relax, the eyes reopen, and Brer 'Possum trots off, as
-fresh as ever. Maybe it is the ripening maize or the persimmon-patch that
-next engages his attention, and in either case he walks in and feeds right
-royally, laying up a goodly store of fat against the approaching winter
-months of scarcity.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-YAPOCK, OR WATER-OPOSSUM.
-
-In habits, although not in size and colour, this marsupial may be compared
-to a wolf.]
-
-Away from human habitations the opossum is an essentially arboreal animal,
-living and breeding for the most part, like his Australian cousins, in
-hollow trees, and making excursions therefrom in all directions in quest of
-food. His much-mixed natural diet may consist of tender shoots and leaves,
-and the wild grapes and the many other berries and fruits the forest
-produces. He craves, however, after a due admixture of animal pabulum, and
-birds and their eggs, insects, lizards, and the smaller mammals furnish
-their quota to his menu. Crustacea, such as crabs and the crayfish which
-abound in the American streams and marshes, have an irresistible attraction
-for him; and it is on this account that, in the southern area of his
-distribution, where these crustacea are so plentiful as to constitute his
-main diet, and his face is browned by the more glowing sun, he is known by
-the title of the Crab-eater.
-
-Although fattening up against the winter, he, even in his most northern
-limits, does not hibernate, but may even be seen leisurely picking his way
-over the snow, probably tracking some unfortunate squirrel to its lair,
-which in due time is located, dragged out, and devoured. While assimilating
-his meal of flesh or fruit, Brer 'Possum likes to have all four hands at
-liberty, his hind feet being also graspers; and so he twists his tail round
-a convenient branch, and, hanging _perdu_, leisurely enjoys his feast. The
-opossum, like the rat--to which it has in aspect and many of its habits
-been likened--is a most prolific breeder, as many as from six to sixteen
-young being comprised in the litter. When born, they are immediately
-transferred to the somewhat capacious pouch, and remain there without
-venturing outside until they are about the size of an ordinary mouse.
-
-A third and very distinct type of American opossums is the one represented
-on page 380, which, from its mouse-like size and aspect, is commonly known
-as the MURINE OPOSSUM. The most distinct feature of this little animal is
-that, though a genuine marsupial, it has no pouch, but carries its young on
-its back, the little creatures twining their tails round that of their
-mother, and so securing a stable anchorage. Although thus loaded up and
-transformed for the time being into a sort of combination perambulator and
-feeding-flask, the happy but anxious parent pursues the even tenor of her
-way among the tree-branches and thicket-growths with almost unabated
-agility. This species, in common with MERIAM'S OPOSSUM and the WOOLLY
-OPOSSUM and several others which carry their young, to as many as a dozen
-in number, on their backs, are denizens of tropical South America. One of
-these, named the PHILANDER OPOSSUM, attains to the somewhat larger size of
-about 2 feet in total length, the long prehensile tail representing,
-however, the greater moiety of these dimensions.
-
-
-THE SELVA.
-
-South America has one other marsupial--the SELVA--an animal which, while
-possessing the dimensions and much of the aspect of an ordinary rat, is
-remarkable as differing so materially in the character of its teeth and
-other structural points that it cannot be referred to any existing
-marsupial family. On the other hand, this type is found to coincide in the
-above particulars with species hitherto only known in the fossil state, and
-excavated from the same tertiary deposits in Patagonia which have been
-productive of the distant ally of the Tasmanian wolf. It is yet hoped by
-zoologists that the discovery of other interesting and possibly some
-supposed extinct mammals may reward the thorough exploration of the vast
-South American forests. The capture in the flesh of some form allied to the
-huge ground-sloths, such as the Mylodon and Megatherium, is, however, now
-considered to be quite beyond the pale of possibility.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by Dr. R. W. Shufeldt_] [_Washington._
-
-YOUNG OPOSSUM (NATURAL SIZE).
-
-This is an interesting photograph, as it is reproduced life-size, and gives
-an excellent idea of the animal in its native land.]
-
-
-MONOTREMES, OR EGG-LAYING MAMMALS.
-
-With this group or order of the Mammalian Class we arrive, as it were, on
-the borderland between the mere typical Mammals and Reptiles. In the last
-group, that of the Marsupials, it was observed that the young were brought
-into the world at an abnormally early and helpless phase of their
-existence, and usually consigned, until able to see and walk, to a
-variously modified protective pouch. With the Monotremes a yet lower rung
-in the evolutional ladder is reached, and we find that the young are
-brought into the outer world as eggs, these being in the one case deposited
-in a nest or burrow, and in the other carried about by the parent in a
-rudimentary sort of pouch until they are hatched.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-WOOLLY AMERICAN OPOSSUM.
-
-This animal is about the size of a large mouse. It carries its young on its
-back, their tails being entwined round that of their parent.]
-
-The living representatives of this singular mammalian order are but few in
-number, being restricted, in point of fact, to only two distinctly
-differentiated family types--the Echidna or Porcupine Ant-eater, and the
-Platypus. These monotremes, moreover, like the majority of the existing
-marsupials, are limited in their distribution to the Australasian region.
-The single species of the Platypus is only found in Tasmania and the
-southern and eastern districts of the Australian Continent, while the
-Echidna numbers some three recognised species, two of which belong to
-Australia and Tasmania and the third to New Guinea.
-
-
-THE ECHIDNA.
-
-The ECHIDNA, PORCUPINE ANT-EATER, or "PORCUPINE," as it is commonly called
-by the Australian colonists, would seem at first sight to represent an
-animal in which the characters of the hedgehog and the common porcupine are
-interblended, the innumerable spines being longer than those of the former,
-but less in length than those of the last-named animal. The head, with no
-externally visible ears and remarkable elongated beak-like snout, however,
-at once proclaims it to be altogether distinct from these. The animal has
-no teeth, and the tiny mouth at the termination of the beak-like snout
-simply constitutes an aperture for the extrusion of the worm-like glutinous
-tongue, wherewith, after the manner of the true ant-eaters, it licks up the
-inhabitants of the ants' nests upon which it feeds. For tearing down the
-ants' nests and obtaining its customary food, as also for its inveterate
-burrowing propensity, the feet, and more especially the front ones, are
-provided with strong, blunt, and very powerful claws. The male animal is in
-addition armed on the hind feet with a peculiar supplementary spur, which
-is, however, still more conspicuously developed in the platypus.
-
-Three distinct species of the echidna are recognised by zoologists. The one
-peculiar to the cooler climate of Tasmania is remarkable for its more
-slender spines, the much greater abundance of the long bristle-like hairs,
-and the thickness of the seal-brown under-fur, as compared with the typical
-Australian form. In North-west New Guinea the largest and most aberrant
-form is met with. Normally it has only three toes in place of five to each
-foot, the spines are very long and thick, the body is deeper and more
-compressed, and the animal stands comparatively high upon its feet.
-
-The writer, during his residence in Tasmania, had several examples of the
-local species as domestic pets. For the first few days they were very shy
-and untractable, burrowing into the earth and seeking to escape, or
-presenting an impenetrable _cheval de frise_ of sharp-pointed spines to the
-hands that sought to caress them. After a short interval, however, the
-creatures became entirely reconciled to human society and the small amount
-of restraint to which they were subjected. They would follow their owner
-about the garden, or, flattening their bodies and spreading out their limbs
-to the greatest extent, lie basking in the sun close to where he might be
-seated. They also apparently appreciated being carried, slung across their
-owner's arm after the manner of a lap-dog. Living in the near vicinity of
-unreclaimed bush-land, it was found possible to keep these echidnas well
-supplied with their customary food; they were, in fact, permitted to forage
-on their own account. Liberated amidst their normal surroundings, they
-would walk leisurely from one ant-hill to another, tearing down the side of
-it with their powerful front claws, and appropriating its living contents
-with the greatest relish. It was observed, however, in this connection that
-the echidna paid attention entirely to the succulent white larvæ and pupal
-phases of the insects with which the inner chambers of the ant-hills are
-customarily crowded, and that adult ants, as they abounded in the tracts
-near at hand or elsewhere, were altogether neglected. In addition to this
-natural food these animals were supplied daily with a saucer of either
-well-softened bread or porridge and milk, for which they evinced a decided
-appreciation, assimilating this food dexterously, though somewhat slowly,
-with the aid of their long protrusile tongues. Allowed to wander about the
-house, they displayed a most inquisitive turn of mind, peering into every
-crevice, and climbing upon every accessible article of furniture.
-
-The echidna usually produces only one egg at a time; it is relatively
-small, not larger than a sparrow's egg, but equally and obtusely rounded at
-both extremities, and with a white leathery shell like that of a reptile.
-For some time previous to hatching, this egg is carried in a skin-fold or
-rudimentary pouch in the parent's abdomen, much similar to that possessed
-by many of the marsupials. The young one is also retained in this pouch for
-some weeks after escaping from the egg. When finally leaving the pouch, it
-is between three and four inches in length, and the spines are in an
-altogether rudimentary condition.
-
-Examples of the Australian echidna have on several occasions been "in
-residence" at the Zoo; while the Hon. Walter Rothschild has been fortunate
-in keeping living specimens of both this and the very rare three-toed New
-Guinea variety in his admirably appointed menagerie at Tring.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-COMMON OR VIRGINIAN OPOSSUM.
-
-The only marsupial animal found north of Mexico.]
-
-
-THE PLATYPUS.
-
-The egg-laying mammal known as the DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS differs very
-essentially from the echidna both in aspect and habits. It is adapted
-especially for an amphibious life, and for feeding on molluscs, worms, and
-insects, which it abstracts from the muddy bed or banks of the rivers that
-it frequents. The somewhat depressed ovate body is covered with short dense
-fur much resembling in colour and texture that of an otter. The tail is
-short and flattened like that of a beaver, but in place of being naked and
-scaly, as in that animal, is covered, on the upper surface more
-particularly, with long, coarse, bristle-like hairs that intercross one
-another in all directions. Neither is this tail used, as with the beaver,
-as a mason's trowel, it being simply subservient as a steer-oar. The feet
-are all four distinctly webbed, the membranes of the front feet in
-particular projecting to some distance beyond the extremities of the claws,
-and so communicating to these members a singular resemblance to the feet of
-a duck. The head of the platypus tapers off from the body without any
-conspicuous neck, and terminates in a most remarkable duck-like beak,
-having at its base a supplementary membranous ferrule-like structure which
-would seem to serve the purpose of limiting the distance into which the
-beak of the animal is thrust into the mud during the quest for its
-accustomed food, and at the same time protecting the creature's eyes. The
-mouth of the adult platypus contains no teeth, simply a few horny plates;
-but, singularly to relate, rudimentary teeth exist temporarily in the young
-animals. These provisional teeth, moreover, correspond in a marked manner
-with those of some ancient types of mammals which occur as fossils in the
-tertiary deposits of North America. The platypus, with relation to the
-obliteration of its teeth in the adult state, is regarded as a very
-exceptionally modified form and not as the immediate prototype of the
-ordinary mammals.
-
-The platypus is found in Tasmania and in the south and eastern districts of
-Australia only, being altogether unknown in the west and north. Being
-especially shy and retiring, and to a large extent nocturnal in its habits,
-it is not frequently seen even in districts where it may be rather
-abundant. The animal excavates burrows of so great a length as from thirty
-to fifty feet in the river-banks that it frequents, and at the extreme end
-of these burrows it constructs a loose nest of weeds and root-fibres, which
-it uses as its retreat, and also for the production of its eggs and young.
-There are invariably two entrances to these burrows, the one being under
-water, and the other usually opening into a tangle of brushwood at some
-little distance from the water's edge. As many as from one to four eggs and
-young may be produced at a time, but two is the more general number. From
-the first it would appear that the eggs and young are deposited and nursed
-in the nest, not being retained or carried about in a pouch, as observed of
-the echidna.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by D. Le Souef_] [_Melbourne._
-
-ECHIDNA, OR ANT-EATING PORCUPINE.
-
-The female echidna can carry two eggs in her pouch, which in due course are
-hatched by the heat of her body.]
-
-The late Dr. George Bennett, of Sydney, New South Wales, has probably
-placed on record the most detailed account of the ways and life-habits of
-these remarkable animals, though it did not fall to him to solve the
-much-vexed question as to whether or not they were oviparous. This
-discovery, as applied also to the like phenomenon in the case of the
-echidna, was the outcome within quite recent years of the researches of Mr.
-Caldwell. After much indefatigable exploration, in which he was ably
-assisted by the natives, Dr. Bennett obtained from the extremity of an
-exceptionally long burrow a mother and pair of half-grown young. The young
-ones survived several weeks, and proved most droll and interesting pets. In
-playful habits they much resembled puppies, chasing and rolling one another
-over, and pretending to bite with their toothless bills. They were also
-much addicted to climbing every scalable article of furniture, including
-even a tall book-case, which they would negotiate by "swarming" up behind
-it as a sweep climbs a chimney, with their backs to the wall and their feet
-against the back of the book-case. The sleeping and waking hours that both
-these and other examples kept were observed to be very irregular; for while
-usually most lively and disposed to ramble after it grew dusk, they would
-at other times come out of their own accord in the daytime, or perhaps one
-would ramble about while the other slept. When going to sleep, they would
-roll themselves up in a perfect ball, the head, tail, and limbs being
-closely folded over the abdomen.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-TASMANIAN ECHIDNA, OR PORCUPINE ANT-EATER.
-
-This is the largest variety of the five-toed species; it grows to a length
-of 20 inches, and has the fur so long as almost to conceal the spines.]
-
-The food question appears to have presented almost insurmountable
-difficulties so far against the permanent acclimatisation of these
-interesting animals in any of our European zoological gardens. At the
-Melbourne Zoo some considerable success was obtained by fencing off a small
-pond abounding with insects and well-established water-plants for their
-reception, and in this instance they had also the advantage of being
-brought speedily and within a few hours of their capture to their new home.
-For their long voyage to Europe the provision of an adequate quantity of
-living insects or other aquatic organisms is a by no means easy task. They
-have, however, been known to thrive on broken-up river-mussels for the
-space of two or three weeks, and would probably have done so for a longer
-period. This material might easily be stored for their use on board ship.
-
-An incident concerning the natural predilections of the platypus that fell
-within the writer's observation in Tasmania might also be utilised in their
-experimental transportation. At the trout- and salmon-rearing establishment
-on the river Plenty--of which the writer was at the time
-superintendent--the platypuses proved to be most destructive to the spawn
-both deposited in the hatching-boxes and upon the natural spawning-beds, or
-"redds," and they had in consequence to be systematically destroyed. This
-being the case, it is probable that they would be found to thrive well on a
-diet consisting to a large extent of the preserved roes or spawn of any
-easily procurable fish--such as the Murray perch and cod--and of which
-adequate supplies might with facility be stored aboard ship. The admixture
-in all cases of a certain amount of sand or mud with their provided pabulum
-would appear to be essential for digestive purposes, such material being
-always found in considerable quantities in their stomachs when dissected.
-
-A distinguishing feature which the male platypus shares in common with the
-echidna is the peculiar spur developed on its hind foot. It is in this
-case, however, much larger and sharper, and has been accredited with
-aggressive functions and poisonous properties. There can be little doubt,
-however, that they are normally used by the animal only as clasping or
-retaining instruments during intercourse with the female at the
-breeding-season. At the same time, undoubted cases of persons receiving
-severe wounds from these animals' spurs have been placed on record. One
-such that fell within the writer's cognisance happened on the Murray River,
-on the Victorian and New South Wales boundary. A young fisher-lad, on
-taking up his nets, found a half-drowned platypus entangled in them, and,
-whilst disengaging it, it convulsively gripped his hand between the two
-spurs, the points penetrating deeply into the flesh on either side. The
-result was a festering wound that refused to heal for many months, and for
-such time entirely deprived the lad of his use of that hand.
-
-[Illustration: _Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S._] [_Milford-on-Sea._
-
-DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS.
-
-This curious egg-laying mammal, the only representative of its family, is
-mainly nocturnal in habits.]
-
-The fur of the platypus, dressed so as to remove the outer and longer
-series of hairs, nearly resembles that of the fur-seal in both colour and
-texture, and as a rare local product is highly prized for the manufacture
-of carriage-rugs and other articles.
-
-
-
-With the egg-laying Echidna and Platypus we terminate the Mammalian Series,
-and they pave the way to the typical egg-laying animals which follow.
-
-
-END OF VOL. I.
-
-
-Note
-
-[1] Since this was in type, Sir Harry Johnston has reported the existence
- in the Congo forest, on the borders of Uganda, of a large unknown type
- of ruminant, the Akapi of the natives.
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Living Animals of the World,
-Volume 1 (of 2), by C. J. Cornish and F. C. Selous and Harry Johnston and Louis Wain and and others
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