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New York 14609 USA (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone (716) 288- 5989 - Fox m wi •; ^ ■f-'^iK'*' A^?>M-: iv,.-'J'i i^.- >, ^,1?^' /--.ii''- ^^' vt '•• :V/ 11 ^? II \,^/.. ji ■;. ))ANIM> )K./^ i&'j^w^ '^^ .1., •.••;» •" , 2ib pages, 13 Collotype Plates. 36 full-page cut! in duo tone, charming end papers. Farther Afield in Birdland. By Oliver G. Pike. F.Z.S.. F.R.P.S. Dem;, 8vo. over aoo pages. i» Collotype Plates. 36 full-page cuts in duo tone, charming end p.tpers. Wild Animab and the Camera* By W. P. Dando. F.Z.S. Demy 8vo. 176 pages. 13 Collotype Pl.ites. and 58 cuts in duo tone, charming end papers. Mr. Dando needs no introduction ; his m.irvellou^ photographs of wild animal lite are known all over the world. This book includes some of his best photo- graphs, with accurate and attractively written letter- press. >*t^ MORE WILD ANIMALS AND THE CAMERA WALTER P. DANDO, FZS TORONTO BELL & COCKBURN so 1-^ '"f . ! DEDICATED TO HENRY GRAY. M.R.C.V.S. WHOSE LABOURS AND RESEARCHES IN CONNECTION WITH ANIMAL AILMENTS HAVE GREATLY HELPED TO RELIEVE THE SUFFERINGS OF OUR DUMB FRIENDS. I 5 PREFACE W"a^!1^ °^^'^J^ '° "«= public "Wild *» Animals and the Campr^ •• i i pended almost entir-lv fnr , ' ^ ''^" my humble efforts micrhV^ "^ '"'^'^^^^ the reproduct^n= T^ "^'^^'^^ "Pon of anSa? studies some^^f Photographs taken under circumstances , hi '•^''"'■:? me to hope thev wonM h ' '"'^•"'^^^ as combinhiff the Z^H ^' ^PP^^'ated technical sidf of ^otgU c" rt %hat ™i.is:r r °"Le'd-,H" -'^ '•>- congratulatoo^Tetters ^ "^h-, ''""'^" °^ from all parts of tL ^^"^ received adverse c.?t1 L re errerto Ih "^^ ""'^ Camera" Th ^^''•'^ ^"^^'^ ^nd the details. Technir. f^ ^ . ^""^ "^^^"1 Vlll PREFACE single species into minute details, and although prominence and space is given to the Canidcs, the excuse must be the popularity of the domesticated species of this interesting family. Little that is new to the science of zoology would be expected from the writer, but still I hope there will be found many instances in which the in- vestigations have been carried somewhat farther than is usually done in a book intended for the general reader, although it is hoped this volume will not be deemed unworthy f a place in the library of the professed naturalise. Style, in a popular work, is of secondary consideration, and the qualities that have been aimed at are simplicity and vigour, rather than polish and ornament. The introduction of the scientific names of the animals, which are printed in italics, is with a view to identifying the ar»imals by those foreign readers who may be unfamiliar with the English name of the animal. I should like to express my thanks to all those gentlemen who so kindly wrote to me on the publication of my previous efforts. W. P. D. CONTENTS PART I. MAMMALS CANID^: WOLVES THE PRAIRIE WOLF THE COMMON WOLF THE INDIAN WOLF THE TASMANIAN WOLF THE JACKAL THE FOX THE DINGO . WILD DOGS . THE CAPE HUNTING DOG THE INDIAN WILD DOG THE TIBET DOG THE DOMESTIC DOG . THE SIBERIAN SLEDGE DOG THE HAIRLESS DOG OF MEXICO 21 45 45 47 50 51 53 55 57 58 58 61 63 66 72 75 CONTENTS WILD CATS . THE INDIAN DESERT CAT THE JUNGLE CAT THE FISHING CAT THE FETTERED CAT . THE ZAMBESI CAT , THE SOUTH AMERICAN THE INDIAN CIVET CAT THE MAN-EATING TIGER OF THE LEOPARD THE ANTELOPES THE ELAND . THE SPRINGBOK THE INDIAN GAZELLE THE CHAMOIS THE GORAL ANTELOPE THE TAKIN . THE REINDEER THE WHITE-TAILED GNU THE KIANG . THE PRJEVALSKI HORSE THE BABY ELEPHANT THE ISAHELLINE BEAR TIGRINE CAT INDIA PACK 76 83 84 85 85 88 89 89 91 92 95 96 98 100 102 106 108 109 no 113 116 117 CONTENTS THE GLUTTON THE RACOON THE AMERICAN FLYING SQUIRREL THE KINKAJOU THE FAT DORMOUSE THE AMERICAN BISON THE YAK THE WALLABY AND YOUNG THE WILD BOAR THE BABIRUSSA THE ETHIOPIAN WAXT HOG . THE SEA-LION THE ELEPHANT SEAL PART n. BIRDS THE OSTRICH THE STANLEY CRANE THE HERON . THE MILKY EAGLE-OWL THE TAWNY OR WOOD-OWL THE CORMORANT THE GANNET, OR SOLAN GOOSE THE LAUGHING KINGFISHER. XI PAOB IIQ 123 128 130 138 141 142 144 148 157 164 166 168 169 171 176 181 xH CONTENTS THE COMMON KIN(;HSHER THE RUFF . THE OSPREY THE WEAVER BIRD . THE WYDAH HIRD . THE BOWER BIRD PA(iK 187 190 194 197 PART III. AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES FROGS THE EDIBLE FROG . THE AMERICAN BULL-FRO(; THE GOLDEN TREE FROG TOADS THE COMMON TOAD , THE ORNAMENTED CERATOPHER THE BLACK-PAINTED TEGUEXIN THE FRINGED GECKO THE GALAPAGAN LAND IGUANA THE CHAM/t;LEON LIZARD . THE HORNED LIZARD 205 207 209 21 I 212 212 217 219 221 223 224 THE SPINY OR THORNY-TAILED MASTIGURE . 226 INDEX 229 LIST OF PLATES THE REINDEER Frontispiece THE PKAIRIE WOLF . • 32 THE BLACK-BACKED JACKAL . . 48 THE WILD DOG OF TIBET . 64 THE CAMEL AND FOAL . 96 THE RACOON . .124 THE SEA LION • • • M4 THE OSTRICH . • 158 THE MILKY EAGLE OWL . 168 THE LONG-TAILED WHYDAH BIRD . 192 THE BOWER BIRD . 200 THE B: \CK POINTED TEGUEXINE . 216 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS THE TASMANIAN WOLF THE VARIEGATED JACKAL THE DINGO . THE CAPE HUN- :;g DOG THE STRIPED HY^NA . THE FOX-THE WILD RED DOG OF INDIA- THE SIBERIAN SLEDGE DOG - INDIAN WOLF— SIBERIAN WOLVES THE ENGLISH BULLDOG ("LUNA DE GEX ") THE HAIRLESS DOG OF MEXICO THE INDIAN JUNGLE OR FISHING CAT THE INDIAN CIVET CAT THE TIGRINE WILD CAT-THE ZAMBESI WILD CAT— THE FETTERED WILD CAT . rACINO PAOK • 50 • 54 • 54 • 58 • 58 60 68 68 80 84 84 XVI LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS THE BABY INDIAN ELEPHANT . H.M. .:iNG GEORGES LEOPARD THE ELAND THE SPRINGBOK THE CHAMOIS THE INDIAN GAZELLE THE GORAL ANTELOPE THE TAKIN THE BRINDLED GNU . THE WHITE-TAILED GNU THE KIANG PRIJAVALSKI S WILD HORSES THE ISABELLINE BEAR THE GLUTTON OR WOLVERINE THE FAT DORMOUSE THE FLYING SQUIRREL THE KINKAJOU FACING PAGE 92 92 98 102 102 106 106 108 112 I 12 •3 i 1 114 114 118 118 126 126 a :: 128 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xvu THE AMERICAN BISON OR BUFFALO THE FENNEC FOX TiiL YAK -ACING PACE . 132 THE RUFOUS -NECKED VVALLAKY WITH VOUNO IN POUCH THE WILD SWINE THE BABIRUSSA THE ELEPHANT SEAL THE WALRUS . THE STANLEY CRANE THE COMMON HERON THE CORMORANT CAPE GANNETS THE LAUGHING KINGFISHER (jACKASS) THE RUFF SHOWING OFF AND IN SPRING BEAUTY . . 186 . 142 . 142 . 148 • 150 . 164 . 166 . i;6 . 176 . 182 THE OSPREY . 186 XVIU LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS NESTS OF THE WEAVER BIRD THE AMERICAN BULL-FROG GOLDEN TREE FROGS . KACINO PAGE . 208 THE ORNAMENTED CERATOPHER — THE TI- GRINE FROG — THE COMMON ENGLISH TOAD — THE EDIBLE FROG . .212 THE GALAPAGAN LAND IGUANA — THE CHAM^- LION LIZARD — THE FRINGED GECKO — THE HORNED LIZARD — THE SPINY-TAILED MASTIGURE .... 224 > -■' i-..-« *r-i - ^'. .. ;- 1 ■r-s----, -• vet...- .'laK „:V^„' _ J PART I MAMMALS ! i i V. •^^^^ '?1t^ <-ii^ ' '"'-•X.irf'S- -"%?,*'' 1?^ PART I. MAMMALS CANID^ ]y|AN. naturalists are agreed that all xy± the various kinds of domestic or wild dogs, jackals foxes, wolves, and the dingo of beasts : Canid^. This family is bul order of 'Beasts of Prey," otherwise Ca.n>vora. which, with some sixteen oth r orders, constitute the class Mammal,! i.e.. ammals which suckle their young and the highest form of vertebrates. ^^The M^ offer most interesting study from the fact that the domestic do| shows very lit le analogy m its characteristics to the wild progenitors which are stated to be haVhrd r^^-^^-i-ier that Darwin has his doubts as to the n:enesis of the tuT^T:^ <1°^. -'fhov, his imm-Tta authority has traced almos „eyond dispute •i MORE WILD ANIMALS the descent of man, any infinitesimal fact which may lead to the solving of the origin of the one animal above all that is loved by man must be useful and interesting. Darwin, in his " Descent of Man," wTites as follows : " The majority of rising men will feel, no doubt, that all the races of man are descended from a single primitive stock ; whether or not they may think fit to designate the races as different species for the sake of expressing their amount of difference. With our domestic animals the question whether the various races have arisen from one or more pecies is some- what different. Although it may be admitved that all the races, as well as all the natural species within the same genus, have sprung from the same primitive stock, yet it is a fit subject for discussion whether all the domestic races of the dog, for instance, have acquired their present amount of difference since some one special was first domesticated by man ; or whether they owe some of their characters to inherit- ance from distinct species, which had already been differentiated in a state of nature. With man no such question can AND THE CAMERA 23 arise, for he cannot be said to have been domesticated at any particular period." No animal, if, indeed, all belong to one origmal genus, varies more than that which IS the most domesticated of any— the dog ; cf. the St. Bernard, weighing about 180 pounds, with its magnificent coat of curled hair almost as thick as the fleece of a sheep, with others weighing only a few pounds and perfectly hairless, such as the dog of Mexico and the Turkish ^o^{Canis famili. arts cegyptius). Others again are slender with long muzzles and legs, remarkable for their velocity and the quickness of their sight. Whoever studies the diversified functions which the dog exercises in our service as our faithful companion, watchful guardian and defender of our property, and the minister to our pleasure, must acknow- ledge the wisdom, goodness, and the power of the Creator in the production of so versatile a race, applicable in so many ways to such a variety of purposes, many of them of the first importance to man- kind. Without dogs some nations would have no means of conveyance from one place H MORE WILD ANIMALS to another,' and others would scarcely be able to supply themselves with food.^' Any facts, therefore, which may help to solve the problem of what was the first origin of the domestic dog must be interesting, when we consider the remarkable and curious abnormalities of structure and the distinct characteristics of the various breeds The term "dog" is used in a broad and general sense to designate such animals as wolves, foxes, jackals, the dingo of Australia, and the wild and domesticated dogs. However insoluble the origin of the latter may be, one remarkable fact is established (genealogically speaking)— that in a very brief period descendants of the same stock have become either extraordi- narily diversified from all those animals to which they are accredited with beintr most nearly allied in both form and habits or the "crossing" of the offspring of species originally distinct has resulted in the production of a race universally prolific divided into innumerable species, each of which breeds true to type. ' The Kaintchadales of Siberia. =■ North American Indians, Esquimaux, &c. I ^ h.--^' T-^^ AlVn THE CAMERA 25 The great variety in size and form of the domesticated dog gives manlcind a choice whereby every peculiarity of taste can be satisfied; whether it be as to shape colour, texture of coat, or other character^ jst,cs associated with sport, pleasure, usefulness, or the endurance of extremes in climatic temperatures, these characteristics render the dog the most esteemed, useful and interesting animal all the world over ' J}\ '■" d'g'-ession, an important analogy "hich to my mind goes to prove that domestication is not the primary factor "hich, as some naturalists ariruo is responsible for the domestic dog in ill 'ts varied phases, I call attention to the rnLl ^?'' "'°"^'' '^^^■•y^here domesti- cated, exhibits no other differences than in the textures and colour of her fur This favourite nocturnal quadruped, we must recollect, IS principally employed to destroy those minor animals that are noxious in and about our houses. Impelled and solely led by that instinct, domestication has that of her congeners, the Pelida. The thousands of years of domestication have :i 26 MORE WILD ANIMALS not instructed her to assist man like the dog, as the companion of his sports in various ways. No ; she only exercises her single function, always in the same way, and under the same influence. When we further recollect that the domestic cat all over the world resolutely follows the general habits of the genus to which she belongs, which appear subject to very trivial modification arising from altered circumstances, and that all animals that do follow in the train of man are equally constant, may we not infer that the Creator has gifted them with the capability of improvement and the develop- ment of latent qualities not apparent in them when in a wild state ? May not this reasoning prove that diverse environment and countless ages of domestication have done nothing for the feline animals, equally as intelligent as the wild Canidce, although naturalists assert that it has changed the wolf into the only true and faithful friend of man, whose love for his master is not shaken by ill usage, because the dog looks upon man as his god, whom he has followed all over the world. =«7:«RfiB!^ft',:?''ff "=^>h«<' In illustrating: and writing an.untl the leading the writer is placed in a son.e- the fnend of man " finds place as one of the Canuice, although the domestical dog herein referred to cannot be c, « w,M an.mal." The author, ha^.i„g I in for many years the Hon. Secretary of he oldest canme specialist clul, in the .rid l>be" 'Sh'c' "r«d5: r,::".'; of he Kenn fr, K^r" "^ ^^''^'"'■^'•■■"atives tie Kennel Club, has been requested bv many readers of his previous pubh^atlons to mclude a rhapter in this volume t^ the history of the domesticated dog • bu "s 'twould be impossible and out of^lae^ to g.ve prominence to more than oni breed 'n a book devoted to wild ani„,ak ?k .Tufd;t:;!':f"n"fr"^"''-''""S'^5 kc detail of what he considers the bes^ pal in the world. The Bulldog is known a I over the world as the national breed an l^^"^' '"'^ "'^ "'°^' affectionate and attached to man. There are multitudinous breeds have clubs or associations to watch fo/«^y>J«tf.M,.»«A(J»,\:? 38 MORE WILD AAT/AfALS over each variety and encourage the brced- inir up to the standard of points accepted by the particular " fancy," such as, for in- stance, the Hulldog Club (Incorporated), whose committee compiled and adopted "The Standard c." the Bulldog" in 1875. The popularity of the dog cannot be better exemplified than by quoting the figures at the London Crystal Palace Kennel Club Show, 191 1 : 3,346 entries were made in the seventy distinct classes open to the pub"', whose enthus'*:sm tor its pets may be gauged from the fact that the entry fee at this show is £1 each class. There are still some naturalists who believe that the domestic dog, with its numerous breeds, descended from a distinct species, which no longer exists in a wild state ; others have endeavoured to find its progenitors in some one of the wild or feral races. The question. What was the parent stock of the faithful friend of man ? still remains unanswered. One circum- stance should be borne in mind, and that is that none, even of the wild dogs which live apparently in a state of nature, have ever been found to throw back and return *. '^^D THE CAMERA ,g or fox. when taken during the period of its ten days puppy blin.lness, is \;en.le „nlv dunng that early perio,! of iK life Z even while a cub snarls and growls b ZLf,' V^'^'"^^'.^'^=* "P '" their natural appetites of rapine and cruelty One t'hfth""' 'ft '"'"'' ^"""'l' f^v"urinK he theory of the identity of the dog witt the vvolf, ,s the fact that the period o vi7 =t th. • ' ""-' ^^""e time, VIZ at the expiration of the tenth or twelfth ^■»>- The tongue is also soft, by which organ both animals perspire; the ears are erect, whereas m the domesticated dogs they are usually pendulous ; the forefce cCVoTbT: '"' '"^ ''■"'' ^-"•' -d1"e claws of both are non-retractile. „f X PJ"°'^ ^' ''^''^ "'^ domestication of the dog took place is wholly lost Z 's found m Scripture, and occurs during the sojourn of the Israelites in Egypt^ r^SP^^SR?^^ II wi ^lX5 30 MORE WILD ANIMALS '' But against Israel shall not a dog move Its tongue." Dogs are again mentioned in the Mosaic law in a manner which would seem to show that they were the common scavengers of the Israelitish camp, as they are still in many cities of the East : " Neither shall ye eat any flesh that is torn of beasts in the field ; ye shall cast it to the dogs." A similar office seems to be alluded to repeatedly in the course of the Jewish history : " Him that dieth in the city shall the dogs eat." A common curse, as it would appear, as it occurs verbatim in no less than three separate places in the ist Book of Kings, and evidently intimates a violent and disgraceful death, without the honour of sepulture. The expressions of scorn and contempt with which the dog is referred to in the Old Testament surely in- dicate that domestication had not at that period evolved an animal approaching in domesticity the dog as we know it ; it contrasts strangely with the reverence with which the dog was regarded by the ancient Egyptians, among whom the Jews sojourned so long. That the dog was held in great venera- AND THE CAMERA 31 the folloivmg : At one city, CvnoDoli it cv 1 uar between the inhabitants ar,i thos. of a neighbouring town, because th i .ttcr profanely killed and ate the sacred ani nai ho \ ^°l '^'^^ "" "'^ '""''I'es of the house shaved their heads and their whole body, and ,f any food happened to be ,n be aSS T "'' "■""■ " ^^^^ ^-'''''d- o ue applied to any use Contrast the above adoration for the dog, which, thousands of years ao-!? undoubtedly recognised bf he^^^c Int Hgyptians as the friend of'^nian, with the d-sgusting animal which the Israelites knew and described as the dog, and which they only mention with scorn and con em p^ and regarded as unclean 'contempt The story of Jezebel, the wife of Ahab dog of biblicJ^tiL^^tebellelt have undertaken the utter abolition Tf the "orship of the Lord in Israel, by pers cut ■ng H.s prophets, all of whom wou d havl' been destroyed had not some been saved ' ! 32 MORE WILD ANIMALS by good men. The people having killed four hundred and fifty of Baal's prophets, Jezebel sent to Elijah at Mount Carmel, declaring that she would the next day take .are that he was dispatched. Elijah prophesied that Jezebel should be eaten by the dogs in the field of Jezreel ; or according to the Hebrew, by the outward wall of Jezreel, where her body was thrown out of a window and left exposed : " and they went to bury her, but they found no more of her than the skull, and the feet, and the palms of her hands." So numerous were the " dogs " that at a single meal they speedily dispatched their disgusting business. It must not, however, be for- gotten that whe i burial was denied it was the custom to kill first by the sword, hew the body to pieces, and scatter them about the streets. To the English ear it sounds very sur- prising that so many dogs should be at one spot ready to devour so much at a single meal in the very midst of the royal city, close under the royal gateway, where a considerable train of people were constantly passing. It was, however, a common, every- •;4aB^s*iJwu ii-n»"MMii^ _ -^^V; THE CAMERA day occurrence in Eastern countries for human beings to be hewn to pieces and scattered about the streets. Mr James Bruce, the great explorer and discoverer of thesourceofthe Blue Nile (1770). writes: 1 was miserable and ahnost driven to despair at seeing my hunting dogs, twice let loose by the carelessness of my servants brtngt,.g into the courtyards the heads and arms of slaughtered men. I could in no way present this, but by the destruction of the dogs themselves." In those times few people in the East went out after dark ; the dogs therefore enjoyed the streets to themselves and seemed ready to dispute the possession of the city with the inhabitants. Bruce con- tinues :" Often when I went home late from the palace, and it was this time that was chiefly chosen for conversation, though I had but to pass the corner of the market- place had lanterns with me, and was sur- rounded with armed men, I heard them grunting by twos and threes, so near to me as to be afraid they xvould take some opportunity of seizing me by the le^r A pistol would have frightened them, but the 3 V A 34 MORE WILD ANIMALS I discharging of firearms in the night would have alarmed everyone in the town. I at last scarcely ever went out, my only thought being to escape from the bloody country." Can it reasonably be believed that the dogs above referred to, which the Israel- ites held in abomination and are never mentioned in Scripture except with disdain and disgust, and were classed among the unclean animals, were the progenitors of the domestic dogs of to-day ? Should we not look to the ancient Egyptians as possessing the first domestic dog, the origin of which was a distinct genus, of which we are still ignorant, and possessing the characteristics which have been de- veloped by man — characteristics which apparently are not latent in any degree in the wolf, and therefore could not be brought out or cultivated from the progeny of Cants lupus. Sir J. Gardner Wilkinson in his great work, " Ancient Egyptians," 1836, gives several illustrations and accounts of several varieties of hunting and pet dogs, some only used for the chase, others admitted AND THE CAMERA 35 into the parlour or as companions of their walks, and some, as at the present day. well chosen for their peculiar ugliness. The most common kinds were a sort of fox-doe and a hound. They also had a short- legged dog. not unlike our turnspit, which was a great favourite, especially in the reigns of the Osirtasens ; and as in latter days the choice of a king or some noted personage brought a particular breed into fashion. The reproduction on the next page of the Egyptian huntsman carrying home the game with his coupled dogs is from Thebes, in Upper Egypt, which is said to have been the magnificent capital of Egypt. 1600 B.C.. and was ruined by Cambyses, King of Persia, 525 b.c. As a subject intimately connected with zoology in general and leading to a very profitable study of the Animal Kingdom from a moral point of view, a few re- marks upon the division of animals into clean and unclean, observable in manv parts of Holy Writ, will not be out of place This distinction was originally made to indicate those animals which might or X.U ' VARIOUS KINDS (IF IiOMESTlCATKI) I)nf;s. From the nncirnl Ki^vftian siiilf'lurrs. AN EGYPTIAN HUNTSMAN CARRYING HOME THE GAME WITH HIS COUPLED DOGS. L r'3n<%.-i-Atf?)aHoaE3i'vri.Hr MORE WILD ANI^fALS ^7 niight not he offered up i„ sacrifice, and afterwards, uhen anin.al food u-ns per- mitted, to signify to the Jews tho.,e that might or n„f,.ht not be eaten. When Noah vvas commanded, "Of every clean beast thoi, sha t take to thee by seven.s. the male and his female ; and of bea.sts that are not clean, by two, the male and his female" (fien. vn. 2), it is evident that the distinction was familiar to the Patriarch 1 he unclean animals, with respect to their habits and food, belong to two great classes, namely ^oop/msous animal.s; or those which attack and devour fe/„,. animals and nccro/,Uago„s animals, 0" those which devour «'mrfones or any ,ther putrescent substances. Of the first descrip- tion are the Canidce and Fc/icfce among quadruped.,. The domestic dog is classed among tne former, but cannot be considered as an ammal which attacks and devours iving animals, yet the domestic cat of to-day has not lost this propensity. The mystery of the origin of the dog as we recognise it is not solved by Darwin in his Origm of Species." On the contrary this great authority suggests that there \,\^.jmai ' . . i5i^;¥ae^>«: 38 MORE WILD ANIMALS existed some distinct species as the pro- j^^enitors of certain domestic dogs. Harly in \'oI. II. he writes as follows: " If we turn to varieties produced, or supposed to have been produced, under domestication, we are still involved in some doubt. I-'or when it is stated, for instance, that certain South American indigenous domestic dogs do not readily u...ie with European dogs, the explanation which will occur to every- one, and probably the true one, is that they are ih.scended from nborighiail^ distinct speciesr Again he writes, also in \'ol. II.: "Some authors who have written on dogs maintain that the greyhound and the bulldog, though so different, are really closely allied varieties, descended from the same wild stock ; hence I was curious to see how far their puppies differed from each other. I was told by breeders that they differed just as much as their parents, and this, judging by the eye, seemed almost to be the case ; but on actually measuring the old dogs, and then six-day-old puppies, I found that the puppies had not acquired nearly their full amount of pro- portional difference." Who could dispute 'B'L'TF^ ■ AND run CAMERA 39 Darwin on his "Laws govcrnin- the Stcrihty of First Crosses and Hybrids"? It is a most rcniarkajjlc fact that the domestic do- has learnt to bark in at least half a dozen different tones : there is the bark of ea«rcrness, as in the chase; the Krowi of anger ; the howl or yelp of despair, as when abandoned or kept in confinement ! the bark of contentment or joy. familiar to all who take their dogs out on a walk ; and the mexplicable baying at night, which Shakesp'-are observes in the following words : " I had rather be a dog and bay the moon than such a Roman " ("Jul. Caesar," »v. 3); and the supplicating cry when asking for a dooi be opened, which is distinct from all other sounds emitted by the dog. There is also a peculiar me2::a voce screech which I have observed effuse from my dog on seeing some strange and unfamiliar object move in the distance, as if animated by that spiritual or living essence which savages imagine animates all natural objects and agencies. A dog that fears no living animal, be It man or beast, will show signs of extreme nervousness, and absolutely tremble with 40 MORli inij) AMMA/.S fear on seeing, at the "witching time of night, when churchyards yawn, and \U\\ Itself breathes out contagion to the world " forms imaginary or invisible to man, or maybe some inanimate object moved by a slight breeze on an otherwise still night or appearing in the moonlight, in some uncanny shape which strikes terror to the fcrtde brain of the " friend of man.' whose fal acy of vision conjures up some form unknown to us at which to take affright Darwin observed that the dogs mental faculties were easily unbalanced by the mere movement of an inanimate object when no human being is standing by it Must not the dog have reasoned to himself, m a rapid and unconscious manner that movement without apparent cause indicated the presence of some strange and invisible living agent ? The dog possesses a feeling of religious devotion for his master, consisting of love, complete submission to his exalted and mysterious superior, combined with dependence, fear, reverence, gratitude, and perhaps other elements. The behaviour of a dog on the return of its master after 1! ^i?r*" 'Mm^^. AXn THE CAMERA 4' an absence is widely different from that exhibited towards its kind, even thoiudi It be one with which it is on the most friendly terms, that returns to its kennel companion and mate. There are not the same signs of adoration exhibited— nothing, in fact, to show more than a promiscuous tolerance, in contrast with reverence shoxvn by the dog to its master. which IS certainly a propensity previous to experience and quite independent of instruction, yet permanent and unaffected by years of absence, as many trustworthy records will show. The courage of the dog is unbounded, a property not possessed by the wolf. He- appears never to forget a kindness, but soon loses the recollection of an injury if received from the hands of the one he loves, but resents it if offered by a stranger His docility and mental pliability exceed those of any other animal ; his habits are social and his fidelity not to be shaken- hunger cannot weaken nor old age impair It. His discrimination is equal in many respects to human intelligence, and should he commit a fault he does not try to hide 42 MORE WILD ANIMALS it, but sho\A's pleasure only when forgiven. These and many other qualities which might be enumerated did space permit are distinct from those possessed by the wolf. It will, I know, be argued that domestica- tion and the effect arising from artificial habits and breeding through a long succession of years have produced these characteristics in the dog. This may be doubted, and is not likely to be proved. The fact is, the dog would appear to be a precious gift to man from a benevolent Creator, to become his friend, companion, protector, and the indefatigable agent of his wishes. While all other canine animals have the fear and dread of man implanted in them, the poor dog alone looks up to his master with affection, and the tie once formed is never broken. It is accredited to Buffon that he success- fully mated the wolf an*.' the dog for four generations. This assertion is really of no value, from the fact that the experi- ments have not been carried sufficiently far, and we have no recent evidence that the hybrids were fertile inter se. Professor Jeitteles contends that what- .'^;i,^if .m. AND THE CAMERA 43 soever otherwise may have been the ori|:^in of the dog, the jackal and wolf (the variety Canis pallipses) have been the parents respectively of the domestic dogs of neo- lithic and stone periods of human existence m Europe (see Proc. Asiat. Soc. of Bengal, ^^11. p. 114). The worthy Professor grounds his opinion on a consideration of the teeth and formation of the skull. Mivart, in his great work on dogs, jackals, and wolves and foxes, in commenting on the above assertion, states : " Such evidence is to us profoundly unsatisfactory; and therefore, while we have no reason or dis- position to dispute the truth of his view, we can only regard it as conjecture." Take again the opposite opinion of that great naturalist. Professor Dr. John Waldrich : he thinks that the " domestic dog of Europe can no more be traced to existing wild European species of jackal, wolf, or fox, than the existing European races of man can be traced to wild tribes." He thinks that the ancestors of the European dog no longer exist in Europe, and suggests the probability of their derivation from diluvial predecessors. 44 MORE WILD ANIMALS Rengger states, in speaking of the domestic dogs of America : " It is certain that at the time of its discovery the natives of America had already a race of domestic dogs. Such were found by Alonso Herera in New Granada and by Garcilasso in i^eru. Mivart sums up the opinions of the greatest authorities of the world by statmg: "It seems to us. however, impossible to determine whether such races really originated from the wild species of the New Continent or were brought by man from Asia in very ancient times." It must be remembered that the wolf has oblique eyes, whereas the eyes of dogs have never retrograded to that position. ^\ the dog descended from the wolf a constant tendency would have been observed in the former to revert to the original type of species. This is the law of other cross species, but among all the varieties of dogs this tendency does not exist. It is known, too, that the number of teats of the female dog vary, some having more and other'- less than the she-wolf, the teats of which have never so AND THE CAMERA 45 far as I can ascertain, been known to vary. The arguments and opinions which I have brought forward to show that the dog is a breed sui generis will, I hope, lead to expressions of opinion from naturalists of to-day and establish the theory I am ventilating, and elevate our faithful friend above the stigma cast upon its grand nature, by associating its origin with that opprobrious, rapacious, and detestable creature the wolf WOLVES The Prairie Wolf {Canis latrens) or Coyote, as the Mexicans call this small species of wolf, is met with, even to-day, over a very large range of country. At one time these cynoid carnivora were to be found all over North America, from Costa Rica to Canada. They have been exterminated from the greater portion of the United States, and have entirely dis- appeared from Kansas and along the plains, where they were found in abundance seventy-five years ago. Its extreme cun- nmg and wariness make it a very difficult 46 MORE WILD ANIMALS animal to trap, and many are the records of its dexterity in evading the most ingenious methods employed for its capture. Hunters therefore consider all means for destroying these animals sportsmanlike, and even poison them with meat or with the dead carcasses of animals into which strychnine has been inserted. To attract the prairie wolves to the poison laid for them the Mexicans employ that Eastern gum-resin asafoetida, the fetid odour of which will attract the coyote fo miles, its alliaceous or garlic-like flavour, combined with its eflluvium, being much liked by them. By such means thousands are caged annually, and as the fur is readily marketable, the above and any other methods are adopted to capture them. The young are born in midsummer, five to ton forming a litter, and but for their destruction they would overrun the territory. Their bad name for howling habits accounts for their extirpation in America. The howling of a few of these wolves is most piercing and continuous, for the sustained and uninterrupted howl by one is joined on without break by another, AND THE CAMERA 47 giving the impression that scores of these animals are congregated, whereas the tumult may be the work of only three or four wolves. Authenticated accounts conclusively show that these wolves hunt m packs, and feed greedily on all kinds of animal substances ; they have been known to follow for days in the trail of travelling parties. If they cannot obtain animal food they will eat vegetables— in the autumn the fruit of the prickly-pear, and in the winter the berries of the evergreen juniper shrub The prairie x/olf is a very distinct and smaller species of Canidce than the next described. The Common Wolf [Caiiis lupus) is a much larger animal than the Prairie Wolf, and although our text-books give the habitat of the Common Wolf as Europe I am certainly of the opinion that the wolves found in Asia are of the same species. It must be considered that the influence of climate, the quality and condition of pasturage, the due supply and nature of the food, combined with environment generally, contribute towards the cultiva- tion or degeneration of certain character- 48 MORF. WILD ANIMALS istics, such as the length, thickness, and colour of the fur and the noticeable diversities of size. These differences have led naturalists to multiply the species, or supposed species, and name them after certain localities and other minor differences such as colour, but whether the wolf of Asia and the wolf of Europe are distinct species or merely local varieties should be settled by some one whose dictum would be accepted. I have studied the outward characteristics, and consider that several so called species should be classed under the one heading Canis lupus, or Common Wolf. That wolves infested the British Isles is known to all, and their extirpation has been fully investigated by Mr. J. E. Harting in his work on " Extinct British Animals." To judge by the osteological remains which the researches of geologists have brought to light, there was perhaps scarcely a county in England or Wales in which, at one time or another, wolves did not abound, while in Scotland and Ireland they were still more numerous. Wolf-hunting was a favourite sport of the ancient Britons as ^■■% ifcAJ^ -■f'0 f W- V y^* 2i»-'i%. AND THE C^iMERA 49 well as the Anglo-Saxons. In Athelstan's reign the wolves infested Yorkshire to such ar extent that a retreat was built at Mixton. near Filey, by one Acehorn, where- in travellers might seek refuge if attacked by them. Great efforts were made by King Edgar to reduce the number of wolves and a tribute of 300 skins was paid him' during several years. Three hundreds of years after (the similarity of the numbers can only be a coincidence) Henry III. found the number of wolves sufficiently lar^e to induce him to make grants of land to those who destroyed them. In Edward II's time the King's forest of the Peak, in Derbyshire, ,s especially mentioned as infested with wolves, and, contrary to the accepted opinions of early En^ish historians it was not until the reign of Henry VII. (1485-1509) that wolves became hnally exterminated in England. As might be supposed, the nature of the country in Scotland gave the wolf she ter for a much longer period. The well-known story of the last of the race being killed by Sir Ewen Cameron of Lochiel m 1680 is worth looking up by M SO MORE IV/LD ANIMALS ll those who desire full details. In Ireland the wolves made their last stand in 1766, but doubt is thrown upon this date, which is based upon the evidence of somewhat uncertain tradition. The Indian Wolf {Cams pallipey), of which an illustration is given of the head, is confined to India south of the Himalayas. It is, according to authorities, distinguished from the common wolf by its smaller size and slighter build, and by its shorter fur, which has little or no woolly growth or under-fur. It is rare in Bengal, and is r-placed by the common species to the west of the Indus. Sheep, goats, and antelopes are its chief food. It hunts in small packs of six or eight, and on occasions will attack adult human beings, for which purpose two or more will combine together ; in certain districts a great number of children p.re carried off annually. Sir W. Elliot writes that he has seen a small park in the South Mahratta country "steal round a herd of antelopes anJ conceal themselves on different sides till an oppor- tunity of seizing one occurs, as the herd approaches, whilst grazing, to one or other THK TASMAMAN Wo IK. w^^'^.itM«^;si»i :>i AND THE CAMERA 5, of the hidden assailants. On one occasion these wolves were seen to chase a herd of gazelles across a ravine, in which two others were lying in wait. They succeeded in seizinrr a female gazelle, which was taken from them. Where there is no cover or concealment they scrape a hole in the earth in which one of the pack lies down and remams hidden, while the others drive the herd of antelopes over him. Their chief prey is, however, sheep." The TA.SMANIAN Wolf {Thylacinits cynocep/ialus), as this animal is named in the Official List of Animals of the Geo- logical Society, is not a wolf at all, nor a meinber of the Canidce family ; it belonjrs to the family Dcisyuna\v, and is the only known existing species of its genus Its true name is the Thylacine, and. though smaller than the common wolf, it is the largest predaceous marsupial (carryinir young in a pouch like the kangaroo) at present living. It is now entirely confined to the island of Tasmania, where it is only found in the remote parts. The colonists used to call it ''tigie,' on account of the transverse black bands on the hinder part 52 MORE WILD ANIMALS of the back and loins. It is also called by the name of " wolf," owing to the havoc it commits among the sheepfolds, and by some it is less appropriately cal'^d " hyaena." It has become nearly ex_i- minated on account of the losses by the farmers. It now confines itself to the rocky glens and caverns of the almost impene- trable mountainous regions of Tasmania. The female produces four young at a time, which are placed in the pouch or marsupium formed by the folds of the skin of the abdomen, covering the mammary glands with their four nipples. In this pouch the young, measuring under an inch in length, are placed immediately they are born, in the manner explained in my notes concerning the Rufous-necked Wallaby (q.v.\ where their growth and development proceeds. For some time after the young are able to run about and feed in the same manner as their mother they use the pouch for the purpose of shelter, concealment, or transport. As we are considering some animals of the Australian regions, it is as well to include an animal which, although a native y< AND THE CAMERA S3 of Australia, is not a marsupial, and. most remarkable to relate, is unique in this respect. THE JACKAL {Canis variegatus) The variegated Jackal, found by RUppell in Abyssinia, can no longer be considered as a distinct species, the discoverer himself having given up any claim to it being other than a variety of the North- African Jackal. Mivart goes so far as to state " it is only with much doubt and hesitation that we provisionally separate the African Jackal from its Indian analogue." The species given as an illustration is to be found, in common v/ith the others, in the heights of the districts of their habitat, though it makes its appearance in populous cities, where it takes up the place of the wolf, which is not so common. Although the species of the wolf approaches very near to that of the dog, yet the jackal seems to be the dividing link between them : to the savage fierceness of the wolf it adds the impudent familiarity 54 MORE WILD ANIMALS of the dog. The jackal has been popularly called the lion's provider. The connnon notion that he is in confederacy with the lion for the chase of their mutual prey is but another traveller's story. The cry of the jackal is described by Mr. Blandford as con- sisting of two parts— a long wailing howl, three or four times repeated, each repetition in a note a little higher than the preceding, followed by a succession of (usually) three quick yelps, also repeated two or three times. It has also a very distinguishable cry when it finds itself in the vicinity of one of the large cat tribe. At the cry of the jackal, echoed, as it is, by hundreds of similar voices through the woods and arid plains, the lion, whose ear is dull, rouses himself to action. The jackal is a useful scavenger, although it only clears off garbage, but it will steal a fowl or other small domestic animal. When outside the towns the jackal will eat any animal he can manage to subdue ; though they may be met with singly or in pairs, they sometimes hunt in troops, especially at night. nil; v\i;ii.ii \i i:i, | \, k \i llll- hINCii. AND THE CAMERA 55 THE FOX {Cams fulvur) The Fox above named is the one illus- trated, and readers need not trouble about slight variations as being an emphatic indi- cation, because many naturalists have been pleased to distinguish specimens of a different colour by a distinct scientific name, that these species are distinct. It is proved without doubt that the Red Fox and the Grey Fox are identical, as both varieties may be found in the same litter. The Animal Kingdom is divided into too many species, and but for the fact that the bulldog is a " domestic dog," and thereby ignored as unworthy of a scientific name other than Canis familiaris (com- mon dog) by those who classify animals, it is quite possible and most probable that, under scientific naming, the brindle, white and fawn, and pied bulldogs, had they been " wild " animals, would be classed under a distinctive name, whereas all these varieties may be born in one litter, from parents which may not be the colour of any one of them. ^i ! Eli 1 5« MORE WILD ANIMALS One of the characteristics of the fox is the process above the bony projection form- ing the hinder portion of the socket of the eye, which ,s hollow. The pupil of the eye when contracted is elliptical, whereas in the other Camdce, including the domestic dog, % '5 circular. The fox is so familiar to English readers, and the tales of its cunninc so numerous and well known, that I win not take up space by narrating any. The Fennec Fox (illustrated) is also an African variety, characterised by the length of its ears, and is also called Asse Fox (Cams chama). It is essentially a desert animal. Its coloration blending in complete harmony with the pa e colour of the sand. At sunset the fennec leaves its burrow and makes for Its dnnking-place; after satisfying its thirst It seeks Its food, which consists of small birds, lizards, jerboas, insects, or fruit. The craftiness and cunning of the fox is egion. Our Lord called Herod Antipas that fox •: " Go ye and tell that fox, Be- hoM, I cast out devils " (St. Luke xiii. 32). ^ox was the name given to the Old tnglish broadsword, through mistaking for a fox a little dog used as a trade-mark by ii AND THE CAMERA 57 the famous sword-maker, Julian del Rei of Toledo. The usual derivation is the Latin falx, ¥vQnch/aHchon, ouvfalchwn. " O Signieur Dew, thou diest on point of fox " (Shakespeare, " Henry V.," iv. 4). THE DINGO {Cants dingo) This animal is particularly distinguished as being the only mammal not belonging to the group of marsupials (kangaroos, wombats, &c.) found in Australia. It is called the Australian Dog, but was in all probability an importation and not a true native. It approaches the shep- herd's dog in appearance; the head is elongated, the forehead flat, and the ears short and erect or slightly inclined forward. The body is covered with hair of two kinds —the one woolly and grey, the other silky and of a deep yellow or fawn colour. It seldom barks or growls if irritated, but erects the hair of the whole body like bristles (after the manner of the hya^^na) and becomes fuiious. Many attempts have been made to extir- 58 MORE WILD ANIMALS minate this wild race of dogs, on account of the devastation a single dingo can make on a sheep farm, with the result that they are now to b- found only in the interior. Sir John Seabright kept a dingo for about a year, and had it almost always in his room. He fed it with his own hands, and tried every means he could think of to reclaim the beast, but without effect. The animal never appeared to distinguish Sir John from any other person. It was insensible to caresses and would not follow him from one room to another. Wolves and foxes have shown much more sociability, and the above instance seem^ to show that the propensities so marked in every breed of the domestic dog are lacking in the dingo, at all events in its natural state, although it must be con- fessed better results have been obtained in cases of the dingo bred in captivity. WILD DOGS The Cape Hunting Dog {Lycaon pictiis). — This exceedingly savage and for- bidding creature has the distinction of being t Till'. I AIT. IIIN I IN(, iKii; THE STKlI'l.D IIV.KNA. 'wnf:m:ii AND THE CAMERA 59 named after Lycaon, a King of Arcadia, said, in Greek legend, to have been turned into a wolf because he offered human sacri- fice to Jupiter ; or, according to Ovid (Met. i. 163-239), because he tried to murder Jupiter, who was his guest. This repulsive animal presents a remark- able resemblance to the hyaena, and its vernacular name is Hy^na Dog. It may be argued that it is not a descendant from the Hycenidce, and that the external marking and other resemblances are merely super- ficial. It is true that the dentition is dog-like, yet it has been generically separated from the other Canicice, probably on account of the absence of the fifth toe or thumb. The range of these pests is from the vicinity of the Cape through Eastern Africa to Kor- dofan. Its size is about that of the Dal- matian or "carriage" dog, and its coat is a yellowish grey, strangely marked (without any symmetry) with splashes of black. It goes in packs of about twenty and hunts down its prey in relays ; part of the pack will make the running, and when the leaders are tired they will fall back and the reserves will come in and relieve them. ■r';./^''^ .' 6o MORE WILD ANIMALS Not content xvith makin.tr a meal off the sheep, they will rip open, tear, and mangle hfty more than they can devour. They never bark, but give utterance to a weird shnll shriek resembling ho— ho— ho— ho —ho, run one into the other. In order to enable readers to compare the Cape Hunting Dog with the HycTna. an Illustration of this beast of prey is in- cluded, which latter, to the mind of the writer, is the most loathsome and dis- gusting mammal in the entire Animal Kingdom. The hyx^na was known to the ancients who regarded it with superstition and awe' Its nocturnal habits include the grubbing up of corpses from graveyards, and it has also carried off children. Moore calls its cry a "moan," but others compare it to a sardonic laugh, whence the brute was named the " laughing hy^na." No descrip- tion could give an adequate idea of this animal's deformed and unsymmetrical shape or its cruel fierceness. More savage and untamable than any other quadruped, its incessant growling and rage, accompanied with arched and bristling back, its head jr- J ■w-P f. Bi -.ti- "Ji\ AND THE CAMERA 6i hanging low, combine to give this fiend a most frightful aspect, which is heightened by its wailing howl, such as might be emitted by some poor soul in purgatory. This cry of distress, we are told, has attracted the inquisitive steps of travellers, who become victims to this, the most re- pulsive of quadrupeds, whose ferocity is such that it has been known to fight with and conquer the " King of Beasts." The Indian Wild Dog {Cyon dukhii- ?/^;/5/>).— This insignificant animal has the distinction of belonging to a separate genus under the name of Cyan, on account of having fewer molar teeth on each side of the lower jaw, so that the total number of teeth is forty instead of forty-two. It also possesses a comparatively short muzzle and its profile is slightly convex. Another great distinguishing point of difference is the possession of twelve or fourteen teats instead of the usual ten, and the presence of long hairs between the padi, of the feet. These exceedingly wild dogs are some- times called Dholes or Red Dogs (as in Mr. Rudyard Kipling's vivid story), and are to be found throughout the forest-clad if,\^^^:^^M^ii£Htr^C)^M:^ 62 MORE WILD ANIMALS portions of the Himalaya, from Kashmir to Assam and Eastern Tibet, and in the larger forests of India south of the Himalayas. Like the lynx, it adapts itself to the forest regions of the Himalayas, as well as the treeless districts of Tibet. These dogs are very fleet and good leapers, and prey both by night and day. Many of the larger deer and antelopes fall victims to these untam- able beasts, and in marked contrast to the wild CanidcB (the wolf or jackal) it has been found absolutely impossible to render them tame in the slightest degree, which should be su/ficient proof that they have nothing to do with the ancestry of the domesticated dog. Fortunately for the sportsmen of India the dhole is not common, or the jungle would soon be cleared of game, if not by annihilation, at least from the abandonment of their haunts by the deer and other game, so terrified are these timid creatures of these bloodthirsty dogs. They also prey upon wild swine, and have been known to pull down a buffalo, although these wild dogs are only about the size of a terrier. •-' '-^ AND THE CAMERA 63 THE TIBET DOG {Canis familiaris var.) When King George was Prince of Wales, in the course of his tour in India in 1905 and 1906 he arranged to visit the Native State of Nepal, and a most inte- resting collection of native animals was presented to his Royal Highness, many of which, illustrated by photographs and descriptive matter, appear in "Wild Animals and the Camera." Among that collection was a specimen of one of the, or may I say ^/le, most ancient breeds of what naturalists, for want of a better description, are pleased to call Cams familiaris var., cr, in plain English, a variety of the domestic dog, which centuries ago attracted the attention of travellers by its size and ferocity. The scarcity of this animal can be judged by the fact that really large adult specimens are rarely seen out of their native country. Many long residents in India have never seen this dog at all, and some few have only seen third or fourth-rate specimens. The specimen that arrived in June, 1906, 64 MORE WILD ANIMALS disappointed all dog fanciers who went to see the Tibetan Mastiff, that magnificent dog which our great travellers have elevated to the highest rank as the grandest ah- round guard of any dog in the world, remarkable for its strength and ferocity, points which are needed in an animal which has to guard the sheep and the cattle from the ravages of wolves, leopards, and other four-footed marauders, and pro- tect the camps from robbers when women only are left in charge. The specimen above referred to had been " clipped " in Calcutta, with a view of en- abling it to withstand the heat of the journey, which it did fairly well. The red tape of quarantine regulations required this scarce animal to be isolated and kept in one spot, and the twenty feet of ground facing south allotted to the animal, with the blazing sun of hot summer playing upon its kennel, resulted in its death a i&w weeks after arrival. This specimen gave the impression of being a short-coated retriever, and was not recognisable as the Tibet dog, either by appearance or dis- position. The unsuitable quarters in which ii mm wssmmam m^^ j^'-fi. ~^-/fi w ''■i^' mniM^-^ L .:. r'jfc^'^A— 1 AND THE CAMERA 65 it was housed, following on a long sea voyage in a cage of small dimensions, had taken all the courage out of the poor beast, which very soon succumbed to the environment of unsuitable housing. The typical specimen, which forms part of King George's collection which arrived in the latter part of the spring of 191 2, shows all the outward points described by Eastern travellers, and the ferocious disposition for which the dog of Tibet is notorious. A careful examination of the photograph reproduced will convey to the reader the general appearance of this faithful guard, historically celebrated, and in the opinion of the writer the best specimen seen in Europe. I am of the opinion that this scarce animal is exposed to too much direct sunlight, and that the sandy gravel with which his kennel run is covered is a mis- take, as the sharp grit must become at- tached to the meat which is thrown to him and swallowed. There is nothing so good for dogs as a well-drained concrete floor plus a grass run for exercise. I am sure no breeder of dogs he expected to keep any length of time would advocate a 5 66 MORE WILD ANIMALS kennel on the lines of the one in which the most valuable and scarcest speci- men of the domestic dog is housed, con- sidering that the Tibet Dog is used to the e ernal snow of the Himalayas. I shall be pleased to acknowledge I am wrong. The ^e Kmg Edward VII.. when pfince of Wales, brought a specimen of the Tibet dog from India in the seventies, which was also an excellent specimen and was named "Siring." THE DOMESTIC DOG ( Canis familiaris) As these animals find place in the family C««.^^ a short description of the breed for which England is famous all over the world should not be out of place in a voume whose title suggests wild animals only Having bred many celebrated prize- wmnmg bulldogs, preference is given to this, the national breed, the emblem of courage strength, and endurance, without less r?^L°' aggressive pugnacious- th?^ ^^,^'i°"'dn' like to meet him in the dark I • " What an ugly beast I" and AND THE CAMERA 67 Other such expressions have fallen on the ear of every man who ever kept a bulldog. Exclamations of terror and absolute fright by persons encountering a typical specimen are common, whereas those who know the grand disposition of the breed will stop and admire, and often caress, the most formidable-looking example of the national breed. Many, or I may say the majority of people unacquainted with the bulldog, have the opinion that this particular breed IS the incarnation of unreasoning savage- ness, treachery, and vice. So implanted IS this supposition that a notice " Beware of the Bulldog •• fixed on the side door of the garden leading up to the house of a friend of mine who only kept birds was sufficient to deter tramps or hawkers from even opening the door. How this impression was first made can be judged by a short investigation of the history of the bulldog, why he was bred and the uses to which he was put, which, as his name implied, was the baiting of the bull, in which the bulldog displayed the most extraordinary courage, determination, and tenacity, such as has no parallel in the ■f-u*~ 68 MORE W/IJ) ANIMALS entire Animal Kingdom. There are many who assert that the present-day bulldog does not possess the same characteristics as the type of dog shown in the old prints of " Crib and Rosa," " Ball," and " Lucy," &c. I do not agree with this statement, for I have witnessed all the propensities attributed to the bulldogs above referred to exhibited in twentieth-century dogs. It must not be forgotten that the dogs for bull-baiting have happily ceased to exist for very many decades, and the purpose for which the bulldog was originally bred is not one of the propensities that breeders of the last thirty or forty years have desired to perpetuate. The dogs immortalised by the prints and accounts in the early nine- teenth century were trained for their mordacious work from puppyhood, and set on to kill dogs whose teeth had been drawn or broken off, or cats whose claws had been cut off — in fact, no brutality was too cruel in the days when dog and cock- fighting were recognised sports in Eng- land, and the Westminster pit, which was patronised by the nobility, was in the height of popularity. II I lu, ^,scll nil mi I i.O'.. I ' /.UK, I ,t. I,, 1 i TUB IIA1KI1>> DOi; OK MIAIiO. ■■■ .rvsHC tiuaui :s vnaaor-'am •; MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.0 I.I I 45 ■ 50 ■ 40 2.5 2.2 2.0 1.8 ^ ^IPPLIED IM^GE Inc S^ '653 £osl Uain Street S^S Rochester, New Vcrk 14609 USA '■as (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone I^S (716) 28P - 5989 - Fa» AND THE CAMERA 69 In the " Sports of England " we read of the " Eastern fierce hunts when foaming boars fought for their heads, and lusty bulls and huge bears were baited with dogs." Near the Clink ' was the Paris or Bear Garden, so celebrated in the time of Elizabeth for the exhibition of bear- baiting, which wa^ then a fashionable amusement. A Bill to abolish bull- baiting was thrown out of the Commons in 1802, and it was not until 1835 that this cruel and disgusting sport was made illegal. Bull-baiting will be little more than a name to most of my readers, and those who wish to read the best account of the bulldog and glance at the repro- ductions of the best of the old prints, celebrated prize-winners and their owners, and many other most interesting illustra- tions, should consult a copy of "The Bulldog," by Edgar Farman, which, how- ever, is quite out of print, or " Bulldogs and Bulldog Men," by H. St. John Cooper. I refrain from repeating any of the * A prison which was situate at one end of Bankside, London. It belonged to the " Liberty of the Clink," and was burned down in the riots of 178a 70 MORE WILD ANIMALS 1^ harrowing records of the pluck and endur- ance of the bulldog in baiting and fighting days ; we can, however, by the short reference I have made to the "sport," see the reason for developing what I should call the four great distinguishing points of a bulldog out- side of the general appearance, which stands first and foremost, in the following order of merits : The nose should be deeply set back, almost between the eyes, broad and black' and the nostrils large and wide apart in order that the dog can breathe freely while holding on to the bull. The front legs should be very stout and strong in bone muscular and straight, set well apart, so that the dog has a better chance of landing on his feet and remaining there. He should be short in the back and abnor- mally thick, deep, and strong in the neck which might otherwise be broken by the tossing of the bull— for, being compara- ^'-ely narrow at the loins, he would be t^^sed up in one piece, and there being little weight behind, the tremendous jerk of the violent lever-like action of tossing IS minimised. The powerful and wide "turn-up" of the underjaw enables him ^Jll AND THE CAMERA 71 to get a good grip and retain it. These salient points and many s! .w points are well defined in the illustration of "Luna de Lex," one of the most successful prize-winners at the classical shows, and the kindest and most faithful bulldog I ever bred, weighing about forty pounds. Unlike other dogs, the bulldog attacks without uttering a sound, and will bear any amount of punishment from his assailant, or those who try to beat him off, in silence; he invariably goes for the head, and will not let go until he is killed or made insen- sible by strangulation, or partly asphyxiated by strong ammonia. An utter disregard of pain, undaunted pluck, combined with a tenacious instinct, still remain in specimens of to-day as a natural characteristic without any training, and are invariably exhibited when the dog is attacked in earnest by another dog, or when he is protecting his master. A really savage domestic dog of any breed, large or small, showing a pugnacious or treacher-ous nature had better be de- stroyed before a judge's order compels its owner to pay damages and make away i 72 MORE WILD ANIMALS uith the animal. I could mention many breeds which are not trustworthy, and one has only to visit a representative dog show to form an opinion as to whether the bull- dog in general is other than a most docile and affectionate creature, and the one whioh I would trust before any other breed with children ; those people who have no sym- pathy with dogs, and particularly dislike bulldogs, are not reliable arbiters, and should not prejudice others against a race by ventilating unauthenticated stories, and thereby interfere with the pleasure enjoyed by those who love to have dogs around them. Once a man has kept a bulldog he will confess there are few among the numerous varieties of domestic dogs that approach, as a pal and companion, a thoroughbred specimen of the national breed of England. The Siberian Sledge Dog.— The Arc- tic dogs, whether Siberian, American, or Kam chatkan, very closely resemble each other in size, shape, coat, and general character, the only difference being one of colour. These dogs are the most wolf-like m appearance of all the domestic breeds, AND THE CAMERA 71 and are commonly called the Eskimo Dog. Their small upright ears, long and pointed muzzles and rough coats, combined with their general build and their inability to bark, has led travellers actually to mistake a pack of them for wolves. When the Antarctic Expedition was being organised by Commander R. F. Scott, two packs of trained sledge dogs were sent over to Eng- land en route to Australia, where they would be picked up by the Discovery. The reason for first sending them to England was in order that they might be sent out in a "mutton boat," which enabled them to be kept cool and thereby acclimatised them to the intense cold they would have to endure in the Antarctic regions around the South Pole. This was no doubt a wise precaution, as a journey in an ordinary steamer passing through the Red Sea would have been very risky. Sledge dogs are trained for their work as soon as they can walk, and being tied up, soon acquire the habit of pulling, in their attempt to recover their liberty or to roam in quest of their mother. When about two months old they arc put into the 74 MORE WILD ANIMALS Sledge with grown dogs, and sometimes eight or ten httle ones arc under the charire of some steady old animal. Every doer is distmguished by a particular name! and'the angry repetition of it has an effect as instan- taneous as an application of the whip. aught to he down, and they will remain m this position for hours until their master returns to them. Captain Lyon, who had so many oppor- tunities of studying the habits of these dogs, asserts that cold has very little effect upon them ; for although the dogs at the huts slept within the snow passages, his slept without any shelter alongside the Ship. These dogs were of inestimable ser- vice to their masters in discovering by their scent the winter retreats which the bears make under the snow. Their endur- ance never tires, and their devotion to their master IS never shaken by blows or starv- ing. They are most obedient, and, with the exception of their disposition to fi^ht one with the other give very little trouble Like the chow, they are strongly attached to the one being they look upon as their AND THE CAMERA 75 master, and an angry word will, in nearly every instance, except during a fight, bring them to absolute subjection. This strong love for their master is a peculiar charac- teristic, and however kind others may be towards them, they never can gain their affection, either by coaxing with food or otherwise, and whenever set at liberty they rush towards the spot where the individual of their attachment is. It should be observed that there is one great point in the sledge dog, which is its strong resemblance to the wolf. It will be seen, however, that it differs materially in the carriage of the tail, which is pendu- lous in the wolf and other wild animals ; but, as will be noticed in the photograph, the sledge dog carries its tail curled ove the back. The Hairless Dog of Mexico. — This weird-looking specimen of a dog is not only found in Mexico, but also in China and Japan. Those found in the latter countries have a crest or top-knot, while others have ti msferred these hairs to the tip of the tail ; in all other respects they are perfectly hair- less. They have been shown as a freak 76 MORE WILD ANIMALS dog, and qiute a large sum was amassed by an itinerant showman with his " India Rubber Dog." The skin of these pecuhar dogs IS exccedmgiy elastic to the touch, and bemg as black as ink, except for the spots which are white, gave the showman the idea of the name, and in the showman's business a good name is everything. The width the legs are apart is undoubtedly the result of rickets, which it is a pity to see IS becoming prevalent in bulldogs especi- ally the light-weight specimens which by some are called "Miniature bulldogs'" The dentition of the hairless dog is very curious, only one molar tooth being pos- sessed on each side of the mouth, plus the incisors and canines. Mrs. H. G. Brooke has successfully bred specimens in Eng- land. Her " Paderewski Junior " and his sire, the " Hairy King " (droll names for hairless dogs), both won prizes at shows. WILD CATS {Family Felidce) Having given 3 number of illustrations of the larger wild cats ir " Wild Animals 1^ ft. ^ AND THE CAMERA 77 and the Camera," including the lion, tiger, leopard, jaguar, cheetah, and lynx, with a lengthy description of each animal, it will interest readers generally to include now some of the smaller wild cats, which, by their size and general ? ;pearance, approach nearest to the domestic cat. Another reason for the inclusion of cats in this volume is the recurrence to my memory that it was at the suggestion of my friend Mr. Louis Wain, that inimitable portrayer of cats, that I was induced to produce "Wild Animals and the Camera." Any one who has taken an interest in cats must have observed the skilful freedom of line employed ty Mr. Wain in combining ex- pression as well as technique in his cat studies, 'id tV ise who have the pleasure of conversing ith this artist on any point he small cats cannot but lis enthusiasm for "poor u-i most original ideas in ais invitation to all the catsmeat men ot London to a dinner given at the City of ; v York Hotel, at which over two hundrec mrvcvors of horseflesh sat down to dinnc ^nd were entertained bearing upon have observe pussy." Ont this respect w 78 MORE WILD ANfMALS h. n K '''f """"^ °"- ■• 'han her Grace the^Duchess Of Bedford who presided ;::: Digressing from tlic head of this section and consrdering for a few minute the 1' t.on of the don,estic cat to its orign there" can be no qu-.tion that the ancesf a|' st^k from which the domesticated cat of EutL tigyptians. It has, ho^vever, been sugjrested by that great authority, Mr. BIyth? ttat here has been, at least in manv districts a large amount of subsequent crossir' of the ongmai domestic breed with the d cat It .s also suggested that the domesticated cats of India may have had a total' d' ■ncfve origin from those of Eu^opTi there are many reasons in favour'^of the belief that either the desert cat or the waved cat (if either of these be a truly wUd peaes) may have been the originafpaS stock from which they were derived very rare occasions m Europe, is the spotted _ '*f^ THE CAMEK.l " ' „ domestic cat. which strengthens the clief m .ts err; .,n from one or more of the spotted wild species now inhabiting that country • whereas the prevalence of " tabbies " i„' Europe points towards the caffra cat as its ongin. Onr thing must maly the ancient Egyptians. Thi- i demonstrated by a \ lintin^^ i Museiim representing a Commenting upon this pictu Goss observes that it appear'^ t the custom for the fowler 0 enter upon such expeditions accompanied by s >me of the female members of his family, "em- barking on board a boat, with a few decoy birds and a trained cat, they pro- ceeded to such parts of the river as were idoubtedly ihe British ii)g scene. Mr. P. H. have been I 88 MORE WILD ANIMALS fringed with dense masses of the tall papy- rus-reed. Waterfowl of various species swarmed in these rushy covers, and by the numbers of nests with eggs and yomg usually represented, we are doubtless to hifer that the possession of this sort of stock was no less desired than that of the birds themselves. The cat, strange as it appears, was certainly taught to seize upon the bird ; in the picture she has just caught one in her mouth, while she holds another with her two fore paws and a third between her hind paws. It is probable also that, the repugnance of this animal to wet her feet having been overcome by training, she was accustomed to fetch such birHs as fell into the water." In a footnote, ivlr. Goss adds that it is interesting to find the cat domesticated at so early a period. The diminutive black-footed cat which forms the centre picture of the plate hails from that part of Africa through which the Zambesi River flows, and is named the Zam- besi Cat. If appearances could be considered as an indication of character or disposition, one would feel inclined to approach this plump, kittenish-looking cat without fear. I AND THE CAMERA 89 but the indiscretion would leave its mark, for a more savage little beast than this innocent-looking creature it would be dififi- cult to find. This is another of the African "tabby" marked cats, which being black- footed is in all probability one of the pro- genitors of the domestic cat of Europe. The South American Tigrine Cat (Felis l^ignmi) is indeed a most formidable- looking creature, with large, round-pupiled eyes that pierce through the gloom and seem to flash with a phosphorescent glow that would transfix with terror the poor birds upon which it preys. This, again, is of the spotted kind, the " rosettes " being similar to those which distinguish the " spots " on the American jaguar from those on the Indian leopard. The Indian Civet Cat (l^iverra zibethd) is one of the larger members of the genus, and although it is named "cat" is uot classed as one, although it exhibits the nearest affinity to that family. The true civets, of which the one illustrated is a typical specimen, differ considerably in the distri- bution and number of their teeth. They have a larger number of cheek teeth than ;;r, '^Pt>i:ij!^mk'mz^'\^^ss^ 90 MORE WILD ANIMALS III any of the existing cats, and the total number is forty ; the flesh teeth are like those of the dog, and thus different from those of the cats. The civets are further characterised by their long flattened bodies, narrow and elongated heads, small and rounded feet, each furnished with five toes, of which the claws are only partially re- tractile, and the hairy soles of the feet are without pads. It is stated on the authority of those who have lived in India that this civet is generally a solitary animal, and that it hides in woods, bushes, and thick grass during the day, wandering into open countiy and often coming about houses at night. Not infrequently civets are found in holes, but whether these are dug by them is doubtful. It is said to be very destructive, killing any kind of small mammals it can capture and also feeding on snakes, frogs, insects, eggs, fruits, and some roots. Unlike the cats, civets take readily to water, and the young are born with their eyes open. Should hounds or other dogs come across the trail of a civet, they will leave that of any other .^nimal they may be pursuing and follow this trail. HL AND THE CAMERA 91 THE MAN-EATING TIGER OF INDIA {Felis Tigris) The shocking mortality in India caused by wild animals is almost incredible, the tiger alone being responsible for the greater number, which, sad to relate, has nearly reached a total of i ,000 deaths per year, to say nothing of terrible wounds inflicted upon those who have had the misfortune to come within the reach of a man-eater, a good example of which forms the end papers to this volume. It appears almost incredible that 24,887 human beings suffered a terrible death in India alone during 1910 through the ravages of wild animals or the bite of poisonous snakes. There is, however, no doubt as to the accuracy of the numbers given, the statement just published by the Home Department of the Govern- ment of India quoting the following figures : — In 1910 the total number of persons killed outright by wild animals was 2,400, which shows a diminution of only 96 on the number killed in 1909. The 'r^nAi-y'. ■■•»■."- 93 MORE WILD ANIMALS man-eating tigers were alone responsible for the death of no less than 853 persons in 1910, and were particularly aggressive in the Sundarbans — that impenetrable jungle and marshland on the coast of the Ganges delta. The ravages of the man- eaters in the Khulna district are attributed to the scarcity of their natural food supply, considerable numbers of deer having been swept away by the great storm wave which visited this part of India during the cyclone of 1909. m THE LEOPARD {Felis pardus) The Leopard illustrated is a most typical specimen of this, the third in size of the Old World Cc.ts, and distinguished by its coloration and beautiful markings, formed by spots or rosettes, which are somewhat smaller, though similar to those of the New World jaguar. The leopard was responsible for no less than 351 deaths in India in 1910, and 462 in 1909. The illustration is of his Majesty the King's specimen, which arrived in il.M. KIN', (.l.iikl.l-. -. I l.iM \Kli. i ^^. II11-; llAKV INIlIAN l;l l.l'll Wl . i AND THE CAMERA 93 England this (191 2) summer, and exhibits great ferocity. Wild pigs were an absolute terror to the natives of Eastern Bengal and Assam during 1909, killing outright no less a number than 120 persons. These figures were happily not maintained during 1910, the victims of these unclean beasts de- creasing to 50. Another thankful diminu- tion in the number of deaths by the man-eating tiger during 1910 was in the Central Provinces and Berar. The victims were considerably less compared with 102 in 1909. This may in some degree be accounted for by the fact that six notorious man-eating tigers and two leopards which had been creating great havoc in the district were killed. Large sums of money are offered annually by the Government of India in order to prevent this terrible loss of life, and last year the amount was consider- ably increased, rewards amounting to Rs. 144,289 being paid to those who killed the destructive wild animals. Deaths in India by snake bites in 19 10 exceeded the mortality in 1909 by 1,123, and were 94 MORE WILD ANIMALS 2,749 in excess of the fatal cases recorded in 1908. The actual number of human beings who were fatally bitten by snakes during 1910 reached the enormous total of 22,487, which is remarkable, consider- ing the fact that 91,104 snakes were killed in that year, and rewards amounting to Rs. 2,875 were paid. The floods in 1910 are accredited as having driven the snakes to seek refuge in the raised village sites of East Bengal and Assam, where the mortality from snake bites increased. A considerable number of cases were treated in the last-mentioned provinces and the United Provinces with the Burton lancet and permanganate of potash, and it is recorded that a high proportion of the patients recovered. The great difficulty of proving that the cases successfully treated with the lancet were bites by really poisonous snakes unfortu- nately throws some doubt on the reliability of this treatment. In addition to the great sacrifice of human lives, an enormous amount of money is lost annually by the destruction of cattle by wild animals. The wholesale 'PMM^ ^^W^^^:;ir2s% AND THE CAMERA 95 slaughter during 1910 amounted to no less than 93,074 head of cattle, whereas in 1909 the numbers slain were even greater, totalling 94,207. The following table gives the numbers of persons killed by wild animals and snakes during the three years 1908-1910. Hyenas ... Wild p ; Elephants Bears Wolves . . . Leopards... Tigers Other animals Snakes ... 1910. 25 50 55 109 319 351 853 638 22,487 1909. 24,887 57 120 63 96 256 462 896 546 ! 1,364 ^3,860 1908. 17 100 269 302 909 ♦469 19,738 21,877 * Including wild pigs. THE ANTELOPES Naturalists do not divide all the rumin- atmg mammals with hollow horns (in contradistinction to the deer, all of which have solid horns) into a variety of groups. 96 MORE WILD ANIMALS With the exception of the sheep, oxen, goats, and the curious pron^-buck of America, these upgulates are called Ante- lopes, which zoologically, in many respects, come very closely to the goats. One most important distinction must always be re- membered in classing an animal among the antelopes, and that is the curious fact that the horns of antelopes are permanent, whereas those of the deer a-e renewed periodically. There are more than a hundred species of antelopes, most of which are confined to Africa and Arabia ; some, however, of the smaller forms, such as the gazelle, which rank among the antelopes, come from Asia. The gland beneath the eye also distinguishes the antelopes from the oxen. For the pur- poses of this work only seven species are here illustrated and dealt with. THE ELAND {Taurotragus oryx) The Eland is a native of South Africa and the largest of all the antelopes. The specimen herein reproduced stands about -W%f^^_ftf» '^Sisamimt^ i:-*** ' ''v„^r?:-'. ->-S-^ AND THE CHIMERA 97 19 hands hij^h at the withers, and vveitrhs close on i,6oolb. One peculiarity of the horns of this antelope is the spirally twisted form, and, with the sole exception of the eland, the carrying of horns by ante- lopes IS restricted to the males. The flesh of the eland is most hi-lily esteemed as food, and its hide is much valued- in consequence, its natural range is rapidly dimmishing. In fact, the eland is now rarely seen in Cape Colony, and unless some preserves are set apart for this animal in East Africa, the advance of civilisation is likely to prove fatal, and Its complete extermination is probably merely a question of time. The exces- sive development of the dewlap, which IS sometimes furnished with a partial throat-mane of coarse hair, is well defined in the photograph. Although elands have been successfully bred in confinement in the par'-'s of m^ private owners in England, no .omme^ ^". success has been achieved with the many attempts to acclimatise this fine beast in this country, although it requires little more protection or care than that given 7 'i'wrxxi'^tTam WI^T^kTT^ v:' ...k" iW Tf^ 98 MORE WILD ANIMALS to the finer breeds of cattle. When it is considered that specimens have been known to turn the scale at 2,000 lb., it is remarkable that no one has attempted to take up the marketing of the eland as a commercial enterprise in Kngland. THE SPRINGBOK {Gazella euchore) This South African antelope, called the Springer antelope, or Springbuck, is, like the gazelle described above, one of the beautiful species of the genus. Its name as shown in the title was given it by the Dutch colonists, on account of the bound- ing leaps which it takes ; Pronkbok (showy or beautiful buck) was also applied by reason of the colours which it discloses when leaping. The latter effect is caused by two folds of the skin, which, ascending from the root of the tail and terminating upon the croup, dilate when the animal is bounding and expose a large triangular space, otherwise concealed, covered with white hair, edged by two dark streaks. The head of the animal is rather short, with rilK EI.AND. AND THE CAMERA 99 somewhat of the expression of the lamb The neck is slender, the body comparatively bulky, and the legs slender and elegantly turned. It is larger than the true gazelle, but of the same make and colour Colonel Hamilton Smith's description of the sprmgbok is vivid and interesting •;it resides." he tells us, "on the plains of South Africa, to an unknown distance in the mterior, in flocks assembling in vast herds, and migrating from north to south and back with the monsoons. These migra- tions, which are said to take place in thdr most numerous form only at intervals of several years, appear to come from the north- east and in masses of many thousands devouring like locusts every green herb' The foremost of these vast columns are fat, and the rear exceedingly lean, while the direction continues one way ; but with the change of the monsoon, when they return towards the north, the rear become the leaders, fattening in their turn, and leaving the others to starve and to be devoured by the numerous enemies who follow in their march. At all times when impelled by fear, either of the hunter or '• A*3^P«^; • a ■,:wm- Tl ■"•SB! lOO MORE WILD ANIMALS m the beasts of prey darting among the flock, but principally when the herds are assembled in countless multitudes, so that an alarm cannot spread rapidly and open the means of the flight, they are pressed against each other, and their anxiety to escape impels them to bound up in the air, showing at the same time the white spot on the croup, which is dilated by the efl"ort of springing, closing again in their descent, and producing the beautiful effect from which they hav:. obtained the name of Springer- and Showy-bok. THE INDIAN GAZELLE {Gazella bennetti) As the prefix to this gazelle denotes, the habitat of this animal, the most graceful and delicately built in the Animal King- dom, is Asia. The Gazelles are character- istically a distinct group of Antelopes ; the muzzle is invariably hairy in the true gazelle {i.e., there is no wet, naked nose and muzzle) ; the horns are curved backwards, and towards the tips are bent i*.- V't.rr «4n the goat and the deer; or to be correct, thev form a distinct kind by themselves Of all animals in the world, the gazelle brilliant, and yet so meek that all the bastern poets compare the eyes of their mistresses to those of this animal. Moore m his •• Lalla Rookh," took advantage of the hne eyes of the gazelle :— ■%f^m^^?^mii-^s^et^m'wm'Sm: %^?sti^<&ii«i« I i ro2 MORE WILD ANIMALS " Oh, ever thus, from childhood's hour, I've seen my fondest hopes decay '; I never loved a tree or riower. But 'twas the first to fade away. I never nursed a young gazelle. To glad mc with its soft black eye, But when it came to know me well, And love me, it was sure to die." THE CHAMOIS {Rupicapra tragus) The Chamois, though a wild animal, may be easily tamed, when it becomes p( fectly docile. It is only to be found in rocky and mountainous places and is of a most active and lively disposition, its agility being beyond expression. In the elevated dis- tricts of the Alps, as well as the Pyrenees, the chamois dwells in small herds, croppim^r the herbage of the mountain-sides! In size it may be compared to a large goat ; its colour is a dark chestnut-brown, ^vith the exception of the forehead, the sides of the lower jaw, and the muzzle, which are white. Its horns, rising just above the eyes, are black, smooth, and straight for about two-thirds of their length, when they suddenly curve backwards. Its hoofs are INK ( l|AMii|> '1 HK ~IKI.\(,li(>K. wi;::jssr£/^L.taissiKi:rr f' .'j-.'«rv .■«:•■ ^jm^^''fii^immifm''yss^~i:^is<^iMn^t^^-4^-f t j^^m ^fr^^^^imnms^mssis^K^Bm AND THE CAMERA 103 admirably adapted to avail themselves of any little roughness or projection, either of the naked granite or the icy glacier, and its hair is thick, long, and coarse, serving not only as a defence against cold, but as a provision against the bruises to which the chamois is constantly liable. Schiller described Werni as saying — " Beasts have reason, too, And that we know, wc men that hunt the chamois ; They never turn to feed — sagacious creatures! — Till they have placed a sentinel ahead, Who pricks his ears whenever we approach, And gives alarm with clear and piercing pi[)e." This is not merely poetry, but fact. Only let man or beast of prey appear and the sentry that has been chosen from the herd makes a loud hissing noise as a warn- ing of danger ; the herd now gaze intently, as if to see for th'^mselves if there is i-eally peril, and when they are satisfied of this they bound from ledge to ledge, where the human eye can mark no footing — spring from crag to crag, clearing the crevasse, sweep over the glaciers, even throw them- selves down the precipice and find safety where death would seem to be inevitable. ■J:'y^A. ^:«""I>i ■Ml Si I04 MORE WILD ANIMALS Provided with ^un, a bag of provisions, an iron-shod staff to assist in climbing and leaping, an axe to cut steps in the towering parapets of ice, and shoes studded with iror points, the chamois-hunter traverses the mountains and prowls warily for his prey, not only during the day. but the night also. Wherever the chamois flees he follows. A hunter, for instance, had been for some days endeavouring to dis- cover the haunt of a chamois, and at length he saw two young ones sporting round their motner in a niche on top of a high rock, while she was glancing warily down the valley to watch for any hostile approach. To avoid being seen he made a great cir- cuit and so reached a path which led to the spot. Mxactly in front of the niche the rocks descended perpendicularly to an immense depth. At the back was another steep descent. Some fragments of rocks formed a kind of bridge between the large masses, but these were placed too high to be accessible to the little ones and could only be available to the mother. Escape, therefore, seemed impossible. Yet no sooner did she catch a glimpse of the '*:i'^z^.''J.-"' io6 MORH WILD ANIMALS making sure of his game, sprang into the niche, all three were off with the speed of the wind, and the bullets he instantly discharged were expended in vain, leaving him to exclaim — " My pains to-day will scarce ■My pains to-tiay win scarce Repay my breakneck toil." THE GORAL ANTELOPE {Ncmorhccdus goral) The Goral is a goat-like antelope an ' to a great extent connects the goats with the antelopes ; it is one of the "mountain-hunt- ing" ruminants. It will be observed, on referring to the illustration, that the animal has a more or less goat-like build. The teeth are also goat-like, the tail is short, the horns are small and cylindrical, but the goral has no beard. It is relatively small as an antelope, standing only about twenty- seven inches high at the shoulders ; its limbs are well-boned. The muzzle is nrked and the face, as in goats, has no gland below the eye. --■■^«^^^»»i.^ « I III iM.| \N ,, \/| , II I 111-; i--iKA!. .\>. iKi.iiil.. Ww: kt.. fUtMil)! M 1' 1 , 1 i i i f 1 ■ L i ^^ -.•^^^^^^M -^-i' w:.^: ■ AND THE CAMERA 107 The i^oral is distril)utcd throuj^hout the outer ridges of the Himalayas at an eleva- tion of from three to eight thousand feet, where it is found in groups of about four to eight individuals ; but it is not uncom- mon to find them associated only in pairs, and old bucks appear by all accounts to be generally solitary. Where one goral is seen, the other will almost certainly be found in the neighbourhood, and these animals but rarely forsake their feeding- grounds. When alarmed they are said to utter a kind of hissin<:j snort. General Macintyre writes that "goral stalking " in the precipitous and broken g.ound on the middle ranges (of the Hima- layas) is perhaps the most pleasant, though not the grandest, kind of mountain sport. The amount of si'ff climbing it entails is quite enough to give 't zest, without m.xking it excessively laboriovis. The sportsman can generally return to his tent to rest during the heat of the day, whilst the goral are doing likewise, hidden away among the shady recesses of the rocks, and he can always get back at night to a comfort- able bed. i 1 08 MORE WILD ANIMALS THE TAKIN {^Budorcas Taxicolor) The Takin is a native of the ahnost inaccessible mountains of Eastern Tibet and one of the most remarkable members of a group closely allied to the goat-like antelope previously described, although its horns are very differently shaped and its build is clumsy and heavy in comparison with the agile goral. Until within about two years ago most of the accounts written around this animal were conjecture, gleaned from reports given by those who professed to have seen and studied the habits of the animal. It is certainly one of the most scarce animals now in captivity, yet the public pass it by as of little or no impor- tance on account of it showing nothing novel or extraordinary in appearance ; being by habit inactive, it shows little to attract the public, the great majority of which only go to the Zoo to be amused. Until the arrival of this remarkable animal at Regent's Park few Europeans had ever seen, much less shot, the animal. :-iF*- *;***'■ '■- r-i- i! AND THE CAMERA 109 THE REINDEER {Rangifer tarandus) The above animal is the only domesti- cate i species of the family. It extends ovc.^ the boreal regions of both hemi- spheres, and runs into several well-marked varieties. Many authors consider the American reindeer (which has never been domesticated) as a distinct species, although the one named above belongs to the Northern Hemisphere of both the Old and N^w World, where wild herds are still to be found. The reindeer formerly had a much wider geographical range, and is probably the bos cervi figiira described by Caesar as inhabiting the Her- cynian forest. Both male and female have antlers, and these are not alike on both sides, the great palmated brow-antler being, as a rule, developed on one side only. In the winter the fur is long, greyish-brown on the body ; neck, hind quarters, and the belly white. In summer the grey hair darkens to a sooty brown, and the white parts become grey. That the i 1- no MORE WILD ANIMALS • European winters were much more severe !» than now may be gathered from Juvenal i i and Horace {q.v.). To the Laplander the reindeer is the only representative of wealth, and it serves him as a substitute for the horse, the cow, the sheep, and the 1 . i i,- i ' - I ' f : goat. It is extensively employed as a beast of draught and carriage, being broken to draw sledges or to carry men or packages on its back. A full-grown animal can draw a weight of 300 lb. and travel at the rate of a hundred miles a day, its broad, deeply cleft hoofs fitting it admirably for travelling over the broken snow. In winter the herds feed in the woods on the lichens which hang from the trees ; in summer they seek the moun- tains in order to escape the mosquitoes and gadflies. THE WHITE-TAILED GNU ! \ {Connoch(stes gnu) ■ , The Gnu stands about four feet six inches at the withers, and one of the i * distinguishing features of this antelope is ■1 1 if i^. ' AND THE CAMERA III the peculiar curved horns, which are non- deciduous. Some very interesting obser- vations have been published upon the mode of development of these curiously curved weapons of defence, from which it appears that in very young individuals of both sexes the horns gro\i/ straight and divergent, situated some inches below the vertex of the head, and separated by a wide hairy interval. These young horns form the straight tip of those of the adult, the basal downwardly curved portion being subsequently developed. Reference to the illustration will show that the base of the horns in the fully adult animal forms a helmet-like mass on the forehead which completely obliterates the hairy frontal space of the young. The external pony-like appearance of the gnu is certainly extraordinary, and led those naturalists of the nineteenth century who based their classification exclusively on their first impression of the general appearance of the animal into many difficulties and errors. The absence of mane along the throat seems to imply that it has been shifted to the brisket and 112 MORE WILD ANIMALS chest, and replaced by a hogmane along the ridge of the neck. The great width of its naked muzzle, from which long white bristles protrude, gives this antelope a peculiarly fierce appearance. The ears of the white-tailed variety are small, those of the brindled species being somewhat larger; this latter fact, combined with the horse-like hair of its long black tail, mane, and general pony-like build, induced the penny showman to exhibit the latter men- tioned species as the " Horned Horse." The white-tailed gnu is exclusively found in Africa south of the Zambesi, where it is exceedingly scarce, or shall I say almost extinct ? " Sport " and the ravages of the South African War practi- cally slaughtered the entire race out of existence. 1 e gnus have a very extra- ordinarily acute sense of smell, and are remarkable for their grotesque actions when alarmed. I advise all those interested in one of the scarcest animals, which may never be replaced, to visit the Zoo while they have the opportunity, and note care- fully the peculiarities of the white- 'ailed gnu and the takin. riii; i;i;i\iii i.ii (;\i MIK Willi I.- I AIl.IJi I, NT. 'J AND THE CAMERA "3 The Brindled Gnu {Connochcctes tanrina), which is distinguished by the absence of the long hair on the face and the presence of dark vertical streaks on the shoulders, is never found to the south of the Orange River. THE KIANG {Eguus Kiang) These Asiatic wild asses are quite dis- tinct from the African forms ; their colour is a rufous tint, whereas the Afriv^an asses are quite grey. Their ears are also smaller, and they have the dorsal stripe, but not the shoulder stripe. The Kiang is found in the vast open steppes in Syria, Persia, Afghan- istan, the Punjab, and Tibet, from which latter country it derives its name Kiang. It is the largest of the asses, reaching 14 hands. They are in the wild state very inquisitive animals, and when stalking more valuable game these animals are frequently a great nuisance, as they will ir.'st upon galloping down upon the sports 7ian to make out what he is. When the; are not molested, they show but little 8 114 MORE WILD ANIMALS fear of man, and will stand and gaze at him from ([Liitc a short distance. The rufous- coloured coat with its dark stripe down the middle of the back and the under parts white make the Kiang one of the best illustrations of colour protection Nature has l)estowed on animals, and is given as an example by Mr. R. Lydekker in an article on "Colour Protection applied to Animals." •' In one of the side galleries on the ground floor of the Natural History Museum is placed a very interesting exhibit, which too often fails to attract the attention it de- serves. A square box, with the front and top of glass, and lined with mottled drab cloth, contains two rough models of swim- ming ducks suspended on a horizontal bar running transversely through the centre. One of the ducks is covered with cloth similar to that with which the box is lined. The second is likewise covered with cloth of the same description ; but the back of the model has been painted brown and the under side white. To the visitor who takes up a position aoout a yard or two from the front of the box, the uniform drab duck II' 'K-l,-.. THE KIANG. - f *'! -V! ^^ i:^'^ 7ir\ -P^ 1 AND THE CAMERA 1 1 stands out most c )n.s|)icuously from the hackirroun'!. while the one whieh has been painted dark above and light below is prae- ticaliy invisible. The reason for this ditler- cnce IS not far to seek. Any solid and opaque objeet of more or less c\!indritaJ '"orm, such as the body of an aniiiial. sup- ported horLontaify in the o{xn some dis- tance above :he ground, receives on its upper sur-ace the light . i the sky, of which it reflects a larger or smaller proportion according to the nature of its xterior. On the other hand, its under sui.ice is thrown into deep shade, consequent ly the whoie object stands out conspicuously from the background, no matter what may be the nature of the laiter." Tl-.e kiang, therefore, is a typical example of colour protection in animals. THE PRJEVAL.SKI HORSE {Equus prjevaiskii) From the appearance of these inimals in the photographs they might be taken as a pair of very ordinary Hampstead Heath pon«es, costing a few pounds. They are, S'C^^-mi i t ii6 MORE WILD ANIMALS however, two of the scarcest animals ever se n in captivity, for which no less a sum than ;^8oo was paid. They were obtained in Mongolia, where such horses have been wild for hundreds of years. These horses can live without food or water for a considerable period, and should make ex- tremely valuable beasts of burden if inter- bred with hardy Shetlands or New Forest equines. But so far no one except the Duke of Bedford has to my knowledge taken the trouble and expense of experi- menting in this direction. In certain respects the Prjevalski horse is an inter- mediate between the domestic horse and kiang, the wild ass of Asia, both of which have callosities on the hind limbs as well as on the fore limbs, a characteristic non- existent in the African asses. THE BABY ELEPHANT {Ekphas Indicus) The baby elephant illustrated ii one of the gift animals forming the collection known as King George's Indian Collection. It is quite a baby, and still takes its food I AND THE CAMERA 117 through a tube, one end of which is inserted in a pail of milk and the other in " baby's " mouth. It is very amusing to watch this little pet draw its food after the manner of a child with its bottle. This elephant in miniature was captured in its native country quite by accident through falling down a tin mine from which it could not escape, and still bears the mark of its fall in the shape of a nasty wound. It is without doubt the smallest elephant in captivity. i THE ISABELLINE BEAR ( Ursus is ' bellinus) This bear is named after Isabel of Austria, the daughter of Philip II., who at the siege of Ostend vowed not to change her linen till the place was taken. As the siege lasted three years, we may well sup- pose that the colour of this bear (which is a peculiar shade of dirty brown) resembles somewhat the colour known as isabelline. The bear illustrated is an Old World form, and generally recognised as distinct, with the Syrian and Himalayan, all of which have the same general habits, Il8 MORE WILD ANIMALS feeding on berries, fruits, roots, grubs, insects, carrion, and any living creatures they can capture. Like all other bears, they are fond of honey, and being good climbers, ascend trees in search of the wild bees' nests. It is interesting to note that the buzzing vibrating noise caused by the telegraph wires attached to the tall posts in Siberia induces the bears of Russia to climb the telegraph posts, as they evi- dently imagine there must be nests of wild bees up there. Reports say that great damage and considerable inconvenience are caused by the destruction of the posts by the bears. The English name "bear" is given to the various species of plantigrade mammals belonging to the Ursus and some neighbouring genera. The term planti- grade applied thereto intimates that they walk on the soles of their feet, not, like the digitigrade animals, on their toes. Bears, like the rest of the Carnivora, have six incisor teeth in each jaw, yet the tubercular crowns of the molar teeth show that their food is partly vegetable. The proverbial expression of selling the skin before the bear is caught is no doubt ^ Vi*» TiiK i;i I I ION UK \voi,vi;kink IHK I.->AI:l.l I INi: l!i;.\R. =1 1 AND THE CAMERA 119 the origin of the cant phrase used on the Stock Exchange for one who contracts to sell certain stock not belonging to him at the market price then prevailing. THE GLUTTON {Gulo luscus) The Glutton, or, as it is called in America, Wolverene or Carcajou, is a remarkably scarce animal, and it will astonish my readers when they learn that this animal, though a native of America, has been seen but very rarely by Americans, as tne following letter which I received from that octogenarian naturalist, Mr. John Walls de Peyster, of " Rose Hill," New York, confirms : " You would be astonished at the labour and expense I have lavished in gathering and reproduc- ing information respecting this animal. I am astonished at the ferocity of your specimen, because I have read in several works that the carcajou becomes gentle and responsive to kindness, even affection- ate, and learns to moderate his gluttonous I20 MORE WILD ANIMALS 'I !( appetite in captivity. Through the kind- ness and courtesy of different officials of the principal museums of the world I have obtained photographs of the wolverine or carcajou or glutton, taken from stuffed specimens, but the photographs you kindly send me are unique, as your institution contains the only living specimen of which I have been able to learn in any institu- tion in America or on the continent of Europe." The legendary tales of Ysbrandt, Blaus, Magnus, Buffon, and many others in reg-rd to the gluttonous habits of this animal should alone make this unique specimen a source of attraction and wonder, and it will interest readers to know that I spent many weary days in obtaining the picture shown, as the animal would get into a violent rage and foam at the mouth immediately I approached with my camera, and continued his violent movements and antics for hours together, until, overcome by exhaustion, he flung himself down for a second in the position shown, rewarding me for my patience. By far the best accounts I have been AND THE CAMERA 121 able to find of the habits of the glutton, which holds the unique position of being the only representative of the genus to which it belongs, is that by Sir John Richardson, who writes : " The woVerine is a carnivorous animal, which feeds princi- pally upon the carcasses of beasts that have been killed by accident. It has great strength, and annoys the natives by destroying their hoards of provisions and demolishing their marten traps. It is so suspicious that it will rarely enter a trap itself, but, beginning behind, scatters the logs of which it is built and then carries off the bait. It feeds also on meadow mice, marmots, and other rodentia, and occasionally on other disabled quadrupeds of a larger size. I have seen one chasing an American hare, which was at the same time harassed by a snowy owl. It re- ser-.b'c. the bear in its gait, and is much abi xid m the winter, and the track of its journey in a single night may be traced for miles." Mr. Graham observes that " the wolverines are extremely mischievous, and do more damage to the small fur trade than all the other rapacious animals con- 1 22 MORE WILD ANIMALS jointly. They will follow the marten- hunter's path round a line of traps extend- ing forty, fifty, or sixty miles, and render the whole unserviceable, merely to come to the baits, which are generally the head of a partridge or a bit of dried venison. They are not fond of the martens themselves, but never fail of tearing them to pieces or of burying them in the snow by the side of a path at a considerable distance from the trap. So pertinacious, indeed, are these animals in quest of slaughtered carcasses, that they have been known to gnaw through a thick log of wood, and to dig a hole several feet deep in frozen ground in order to gain access to the body of a deer concealed by hunters." Another very curious propensity of the glutton is that of stealing and carrying away to some distance articles that can be of no possible use to the animal, and an instance is recorded where the gluttons removed and concealed the whole paraphernalia of an unoccupied hunter's lodge, including such articles as guns, axes, knives, cooking utensils, and blankets. AND THE CAMERA 123 THE RACOON {ProcyoH lotor) There are but two species of tlie Racoon. The one illustrated is hv far the com- moner, and is more widely distributed, ranging from Canada to almost as far South as the Argentine Republic. The other, the crab-eating variety, is practi- cally confined to tropical America. I^oth species arc very much persecuted for their beautiful fur, familiar to all. They are closely allied to the bears, which they resemble in certain anatomical distinctions, but from which they differ markedly in general appearance in having well-developed tails, which may be of great length. Their habits are exclusively noc- turnal and they are good climbers, and being practically omnivorous, with perhaps a partiality for a vegetarian diet, will facili- tate keeping these as pets. According to P. Wellington Farnborough, F.Z.S., F.E.S., this presents no difficulties. This authority on " Uncommon Pets " states that " racoons may be purchased alive at the various dealers' for about thirty shillings, 124 AfORE WILD ANIMALS and the crah-cating species for about five shillings more. As a pet this aiiimal has many admirers, and justly so, for after it has become well accustomed to its owner, it dispenses with those spiteful ways which characterise the newly purchased individual. Its peculiar habits, too, make it extremely interestin*^, as, ior example, that of wettinc^ and washin)^ its food before meals in any water which may be con- veniently near. The cage ought to be of fair size, not less than four feet long and the floor covered with thin zinc, on account of the splashing of water, and the water vessel heavy, or fastened down, so that it cannot be overturned. When no other domestic pets arc about, the racoon may be allowed partial liberty, but if there are any birds about Master 'Coon is pretty sure to have them. As pets, racoons are remarkably hardy creatures, and seven years is not an unusual period > ^ life in captivity ; there must, however, be no pampering, as this in itself is prejudicial to the life of nearly all animals." The manner in which the crab-eating variety secures his prey is interesting. As n-^rsfw *^ . .l.^!*».-. » 1 1 J' ■ r ^ «^ .pM^4 ^tt m. r JL ^^^^^^H^E^l."* ^^^^^^^^^^^^1 |t»i^i im. ' li .. ^ K ' ^K ^^^V *^^ ^^^H BP ^^^^^^^^H ^^^■L^bI^H - 'H^' ^FMTisyHr AND THE CAMERA 125 '■f^'i?-\ ^M it greatly relishes the food which dis- tinguishes its name, it gcjes to a marsh in Carolina where tiie crab is very plentiful, and standing on tne land he lets his tail dang'-' in the water. This the crab ukes for .. hait and fastens his claws therein, whereupon the racoon suddenly .springs forward, on feeling the nip, to some con- siderable distance, pulinag the crab along with him. As soon as the crar,> finds him- self out of his element he lets go his hold and falls an easy prey to his sharp-witted antagonist. THE AMERICAN FLYING SQUIRREL {Sciuropterus Voltuelia) Flying is the term applied zocjlogically to huch of the Sciurida (squirrels) as have the skin at the sides very much extended between the fore and hind legs, so as to sus- tain the animal in the air to a certain extent when taking long leap>. This peculiar mode of locomotion can scarcely be con- sidered a true flight, inasmuch as the cutaneous folds, which serve the purpose of wings, seem rather destined for the mere .•^K>4(V ii:KC«.''Timi 'i".L -^ 126 MORE WILD ANIMALS ' i ii support of the animal in its long and apparently desperate leaps, than for raising it in the air and directing its course towards any given object. For this latter purpose they are, indeed, but little fitted by their structure, their lack of proper muscles in a great measure incapacitating chem from performing such offices as are dependent on volition. It may be doubted, moreover, whether these animals are en- tirely destitute of the power of exercising their will in their flight-like leaps. The following authenticated anecdote bears upon this point, and gives place to thought and conjecture on a problem which is still awaiting solution : — On board a vessel sailing off the coast of New Holland was a " flying " squirrel, which was permitted to roam about the ship. On one occasion it reached the mast-head, and as the sailor who was dispatched to bring it down approached, made a spring from aloft to avoid him. At this moment the ship gave a heavy lurch, which, if the original direction of the little creature's course had been continued, must have plunged it into the sea. All L 1 r.w?«ir^ijziv-v 'X!^^' Wffia«>. 'tTTTIW IMI-. lAI lMi|;\|(>r-K. I I HE I i.yim; s>ji ikki.i.. 1 «5«BrfCT^rfv-vjriBsr7?!J»5--i'5aaci i ; f "J'Wy^'Tnrii'J^ Tg't^|i^WIHgEM*iJ y-JC * "? vfpr ".']iK9m'eu« ! AND THE CAMERA 127 who witnessed the scene were in p:iin for its safety, but it suddenly appeared to check itself and so to modify its course that it alighted safely on the deck. There are many species of flying squirrels, but the one illustrated is without doubt the prettiest of them all, and when taken young can be easily tamed, and readily and quickly becomes one of the most charming pets imaginable, and in a very short time mako one of the most tame and confiding of all wild animals. An advantage in making pets of these or any other squirrels is that they do not suffer from any of the usual illnesses due to confinement, ex.v.t, perhaps, that commonest complaint in all animals, worms, which a little areca nut given daily for about fifteen days will eradicate. The staple diet of all squirrels is nuts, fruit, grapes, dates and grains, such as corn or oats, all of which are readily obtainable. Care should be taken that the drinking water is scrupulously clean, as squirrels are very particular as to what they drink, and will deny them.selves this necessity should the water be stale. ii wm/mffmrnm^ 128 MORE WILD ANIMALS 'ii THE KINKAJOU {Potos Jlavus) This animal is remotely allied to the racoon, and is a native of the forests of the warmer parts of Central and South America. It is a very remarkable animal, about the size of a cat, and of a uniform yellowish-brown colour. It is conspicu- ously marked around its large eyes with a dusky circle, and its nose is of the same hue; its long tail is prehensile, but covered with fur, and its tongue long, slender, and very extensible. Its claws are long and hooked, and its progression is semi-plantigrade, that is to say— similar to the bears and badgers, which apply the whole or nearly the whole of the sole of the foot to the ground in progressive motion. Nocturnal in its habits, it remains torpid during the day, rolled up in some dark hole or corner to avoid the light, which it bears with difficulty, contracting the pupil of the eye almost to a point under the influence of the sun or strong artificial light. The Kinkajou is a great destroyer of the nests X wm&^ms^ 1^^^^^ 1 f m. '■•r':^£y AND THE CAMERA 129 of wild bees for the sake of obtaining the honey, of which it is very fond; the missionaries of Spain have therefore given it the name of the honey-bear. Notwith- standing the assertion that these animals make interesting pets (due no doubt to their aspect, which under an appearance of inoffensive mildness conceals a fierce spirit which is dormant) in captivity, I have experienced a very bad quarter of an hour with one which I was assured was perfectly tame. When one is aware that an animal is spiteful the necessary precautions are taken, but when an apparently docile animal savagely turns on you, it comes as a shock, and I give this warning to those who may be induced to make a pet of the kinkajou. At one time there was a specimen that was a special favourite at the Zoological Society's Gardens, and was quite an attrac- tion. During the day it reposed in a little inner den, but by no means constantly, as, especially in the afternoon, it came out from time to time and readily engaged in play with those keepers or visitors to whom it was accustomed, pretending to bite and 9 I30 MORE WILD ANIMALS twisting itself into a variety of droll positions. It was, however, during the gloom of the evening, when the Gardens were just about to close, that its energy was fully awakened ; then, all play and frolic, it would leap about its cage, climb to the top, and suspend itself with its hind claws and tail to the wires, swinging backwards and for- wards in the fullest enjoyment of animal life. During its gambols it was constantly protruding its long tongue, and it did so when the food that it wished to obtain was presented at the outside of the cage. The muscular power which this animal has in gripping with the end of its tail any object from which it desires to suspend itself is remarkable, and it will remain hanging in the position shown in the photographs for hours. Notwithstanding the length of the kinkajou's tongue, it laps like a dog. THE FAT DORMOUSE (Afyoxus glis) This is an elegant little creature, and closely resembles a lilliputian squirrel in *A£. .H'CKT'Ht : AND THE CAMERA 131 both form and habit, a fact which closely allies it to that group. Dormice are found only in Europe, Asia (exclusive of India and Malayan regions), and Africa, an 1 are small in size and arboreous in habits. Their similarity in external resemblances to the squirrels is apparently solely due to their adaptation to a similar mode of life, the actual relationship of the dormice being much closer to true mice than to the squirrels. They are characterised by their large eyes and ears and long, thickly haired tails. Their habits arc prehensile, which serve it in the dense shrubs and thicki N which it inhabits, building its nest amidst the foliage of the underwood of coppices or in the tangled vegetation of hedgerows, feeding upon corn, young hazelnuts, and fallen acorns, laying up a hoard of pro- :-ioj!,^ for the winter, and assuming almost .'-, tota) torpidity during that ungenial scas.jn. mmm 132 MORE WILD ANIMALS THE AMERICAN BISON {fios ^Imericantts) There arc two species of Hison, one confusecll)' named Bos J>nsats or BonassHs huropean bison. &c., which was the bison of Aristotle and Phny. It is often called the Aurochs, which is etymological ly the same word as CaL^sars Uyox, but the two species are distinct : Cesar's ox is best distinguished by the Ukox, leavincr the vvord "Aurochs" to be monopolised by the European bison, which was once a British mammal, though now found onl: fossil. The other, as illustrated, is the American bison, popularly, thou^rh erroneously, called the buffalo; it has fifteen ribs on either side, whilst the domestic ox has but thirteen. Like its European congener, it is on the verge of extinction, and as a prey for big-game hunters has virtually vanished, althoufrh It is only about thirty years since this u^s the characteristic animal inhabiting the open plains, where it congregated in vast herds comprising thousands of individuals "II-; \M1 K|. VN ,;,„.^ ,„, I;, I, ^1 I UK I FNM-.' I(i\, f :-vJi'/ ''ih '■ r ' -:»'. J" .K* Jav ■otLmnnr'T- -i: *:mx-:m»'^t.mm ■ -"«W»''»'™S-. - MtCROCOTY RESOIUTION TfST CHART (ANSI ond ISO TEST CHART No. 2) |4J 150 US 1^ 140 Z2 1.8 A APPLIED IIVHGE Inc BCi 1653 Eost Mom SIreel B'.S Rochester, New York 1*609 USA '■^ (716) 482 - 0300 -Phone ^S (716) 288 - 5989 - Fox AND THE CAMERA 133 and living entirely on grass. The range of the American bison originally extended over about one-third of North America, and it is asserted that "of all quadrupeds that have ever lived upon the earth, prob- ably no other species has ever marshalled such innumerable hosts as those of the American bison. It woald ha\c been as easy to count or to estimate the number of leaves in a forest as to calculate the number of bison living at any given time during the history of the species previous to 1870. Even in South Central Africa, which has been exceedingly prolific in great herds of game, it is probable that all its quadrupeds taken together would never have more than equalled the total number of bison in the New World forty years ago." As an instance of these enormous numbers, it appears that in the early part of the year 1871 Colonel Dodge, when passing through the great herd on the Arkansas, and reckoning that there were some fifteen or twenty individuals to the acre, states froLi his own observation that it was not less than twenty-five miles wide and fifty miles deep. This, however, 134 MORE WILD ANIMALS II was the last of the great herds ; and xMr. Hornaday estimates that the number of individuals comprising it could not be reckoned at less than four millions. Many writers at and about the date mentioned speak of the plains being absolutely black with bison as far as the eye ould reach. It would have been poor sport firing into this living mass of blackness, which required no eye of a marksman to bring down a dozen with the same number of shots, even though shooting at random. I agree with Theodore Roosevelt that " pursuit by sportsmen had practically nothing to do with the extermination of the bison." It was killed by the hide- hunters, red, white, and half-breed. The systematic slaughter of the bison for the sake of its flesh and hides, and the ever- increasing demand for " buffalo-robes," as the dressed skins were termed, sojn began to tell on its numbers. Up to 1869 the bison occupied one large and continuous area ; but the completion in that year of the Union Pacific Railway cut this area in twain, and at the same time divided the great herd into a northern and southern I AND THE CAMERA 135 moiety. Mr. Hornaday also states that it is probably a safe estimate to say that not " fewer than fifty thousand bison have been killed for their tongues alone, and the most of these are undoubtedly charge- able against white men, who ought to have known better." It appears that the breeding season is from the beginning of July to the end of September, and that the calves arc generally born from April till June. The cow does not breed until three years old, and sometimes produces two calves at a birth. Young calves can be tamed with facility. Towards the end of winter the coat of the bison assumes a bleached or faded appearance from the effects of the wear and tear of the elements. In February the coat begins to change, but the whole process occupies more than half a year. During the shedding the animal presents an unsightly appearance, but by the end of June the whole of the old hair has fallen off and the body is bare, and the naked skin is scorched by the sun 136 MORE WILD ANIMALS and bitten by flies; the animal conse- quently protects itself by wallov^ing in the mud, thus covering itself with a protective plaster of dried mud. It was not until 1883 that the last herd was killed from the great North-western plains ; and when the fierce greed of the skin-hunter and skin-buyers had exterminated the last of these great herds, there passed away what was perhaps the most imposing feature of American wilderness life. THE YAK {Poephagus grunniens) This Oriental Bos connects the bisons with the typical oxen. It is a bovine peculiar to the elevated plateau of Tibet, and differs materially from all other members of the Ox tribe except the European bison, with which it agrees in the number of ribs, both these species having fourteen pairs, as against thirteen pairs carried by the true oxen, and it is a point again worth remarking that the American bison has fifteen pairs of ribs. }, I I AND THE CAMERA ^17 In build the Yak is massively formed, with short and thick-set legs ; both the ears and the muzzle arc small, and the dewlap is totally wanting. The horns, which are very large in the bull, are smooth, and nearly or quite cylindrical, with the first curvature of their upper border concave. The weight of a full-grown bull is said to be about twelve hundred pounds. The most distinctive peculiarity of the yak, so far as external features are concerned, is the mass of long hair with which the flanks, limbs, and tail are clothed, char- acteristics, all shown to perfection in the photograph reproduced, which make this animal so very different in appearance to other oxen. Writing of the yak. General Kinloch observes that, "although so large a beast, it thrives upon the coarsest pastur- age, and its usual food consists of a rough wiry grass, which grows in all the higher valleys of Tibet up to an elevation of nearly twenty thousand feet. They feed at night and early in the morning, and usually be- take themselves to some steep and barren hill-side during the day. Old bulls in particular seem to rejoice in choosing a '38 MORE WILD ANIMALS coinnmnding situation for their resting- place, and their tracks may be found on the top of the steepest hills, far above the hij^diest traces of vegetation." Tame yaks are extensively used as beasts of burden in Tibet, where they are extremely valuable in crossing the high and tlesolate wastes of that region ; they have, however, the great drawback that ihey refuse to eat corn, so that in di. tricts where there is no grass it is frequently necessary to make forced marches with wearied beasts in order to prevent them (and thus the whole party) from perishing from starvation. THE WALLABY AND YOUNG {Macropus ruficollis) The Wallaby illustrated is the rufous- necked species from New South Wales. It is one of the brush-kangaroos which frequent the dense scrub-jungle, and its leaping powers are nearly as great as the true kangaroo's. I should not have in- cluded in this volume an example of the genus Macropus but from the fact that a statement I made on p. 88 in " Wild llil-; Kll- 'S-NEl KKli WAIlAliV Willi \i>l'.\(. IN l.ii'll. I AND THE CAMERA 130 Animals and the Camera" with reference to the myster- surrounding the breeding; habits of these marsupials broui^ht me a letter from that great ai .hority, Mr. I). I.c Souef, C.M.Z.S., &c., Director, Zoological Gardens, Melbourne I had stated on authority that " no authentic record has been taken of the actual tn • >forence of the embryo to the pouch, and farther on 1 stated "the manner by which the transference of the lilliputian offspring to the pouch is ac- complished is conjecture." It is sometimes by our errors that we discover the truth ; such an experience is mine in this instance, and T have much pleasure in puHishing the interesting statement by Mr. \ e Souiif, which settles this remarkable question beyond dispute. " ' How does the new-born Kangaroo get into the mother's pouch?' Having seen an article under the above heading in a recent number of the Zoologist in which it was stated that there is evidently much confusion on this interesting question, I thought it would be a help to state what has been observed in a -vild specimen of I40 MORE WILD ANIMALS the Grey Kangaroo {Macropus giganteus) When the young one is ready to be born, the mother sits down on the ground, resting on the upper portion of the base of her tail, and with that appendage resting level on the ground in front of her; she then holds her pouch open with her two fore-paws, and, as the helpless mite is born, it rests nn the soft fur of the underside of the tail. The mother immediately transfers it to her pouch with her lips only, and eventually with great care attaches it to the nipple. The mouth of the young one ih apparently only a round hole, and it as yet has no power of suction ; but the nipple is of a peculiar shape, with the point hard, and the mother is thereby enabled to insert it into the mouth of the young one. She then holds it in position while she forces the milk into the nipple, which thereby swells out and holds the young one on; but if, after being once firmly attached, it is pulled off, it cannot be replaced, even by the mother, for the end of the ixlpple, now being flaccid instead of hard, cannot well be inserted into the mouth of the little one. AND THE CAMERA 141 " The young one measures about an inch in length when born and is very immature, and its fore-legs are much larger than its hind ones. It has not yet been proved, as far as I am aware, how long after birth the young one is able to draw nourishment for itself — probably three months." I am very pleased to publish the abovx^ letter, which appeared in the Zoologist, No. 704, and in which Mr. Le Soucf kindly referred to me. THE WILD BOAR {Sus set of a) The above species is the progenitor of all common swine, and it will be observed that the illustration shows that the face is long and the skull depressed, whereas in the domestic hog the face is shorter and the skull more elevated ; otherwise, in form and general appearance they do not materially differ. Into the merits of pork we will not enter, but it is for- tunate that multitudes of people enjoy a food which is so easily obtained, for 142 MORE WILD ANIMALS no domestic animal is so widely dispersed through the world. It thrives and lives on every kind of food, and its stomach can digest what few other animals can swallow with impunity. No animal converts a given quantity of nutritive food so soon into fat, or can be made fat on so great a variety of food. The variety and destructive habits of the hog are too well known to require description here. THE BABIRUSSA {Babirussa alfurus) These quaint animals, which were for- merly called the stag-hog, are -hiefly notable for their four formidable tusks, the two strongest of which proceed from the under jaw, like those of the wild boar. The other two rise like horns on the outside of the upper jaw, just above the nose, and extend in a curve over the eyes, hence the name "eye teeth." They almost touch the forehead and are fully twelve inches in length. The ivory of which these tusks are composed is of I III. I.AIiiKi >~\. 'I UK Will) SWINK. ■"=»4Z7V3E«2IK£:«7!c; i 1 :■'■ ]S AND THE CAMERA H3 very fine quality and devoid of the usual covering of enamel, but not so hard as that of the elephant. There is no record of any satisfactory explanation of the uses to which these abnormally large tusks can be put by the male, which alone has them ; those of the lower jaw are doubtless intended as offensive and defensive weapons, but the curved growth of these and the upper or superior pair prevents their proving dangerous instruments of attack, and there seems more aptness in the notion that tney are employed to support the head by suspension to a bough whilst the animal is sleeping in the sta- '^g position. Even this idea is basea more upon theory than actual observation. The form of the animal is not so heavy as in the case of the other species of the hog, and the body, instead of being covered with bristles, is fur- nished with a very short wool-like hair on a soft and thin skin. These curious and almost hairless pigs are natives of the Eastern islands of Celebes and Bourou. 144 MORE WILD ANIMALS THE ETHIOPIAN WART HOG (Pkacochans ^Ihiopicus) As a contrast to any one of the species of hogs or swine that may be considered handsome could any anin,al be n,o . h.deous than the specimen of the above as seen ,n the illustration on the cover' The circular curve of the tusks is not so ZTllT r*":" "'^ ^"""^' '^ '" 't^ wild Stat, and seeks ,ts own food, as the points would be kept sharp and worn down by constant use. Captain Sir C. Harris gives a very graphic description of this par- ticular speces, as follows .• •■ Returning one dnzzly wet morning from the banks o! the Limpopo, I chanced upon a very large drove of the unclean beasts feeding un! concernedly on the slope of a hill : th? sleet obscuring my rifle sights, I projected no .e«.r than three bullets at the diabolical- ooKing boars without touching a bristle the whole party, with a general grunt scampenng off after each discharge to a little distance then wheeling about To show a menacing front, exalting their whiplash AND THE CAMERA •45 tails at the same time, and screwinjr hornl> e faces at me ; but the fourth missive tripped up the ho„ry general, and although shooting a p,g m^y ^^^^ somewhat oHdIy ■n the sporting ears of my brother Wimrods, I can assure them that whilst we had no horses to spare ' the head of that Ilk swine proved a prize well worth the lead and gunpowder that had been ex- pended upon it. Gigantic and protruding like those of an elephant, the upper tusks were sufticiently hooked to admit of the wearer hanging himself up by them to roost, as did his ancestors of yore, if the ancents are to be believed. By all who saw these trophies in the colony they were invariably .aken for the ivories of a Zeekol (hippopotamus)." THE SEA-LION (Otaria Calif ontiana) The Californian Sea-lion may be called the common species, as it is the one most reasonTf"/"K''P"^*'y' "° ''°"'" ^""^ '^e reason of its being most easily caught at its in lO I 146 MORE WILD ANIMALS home, the coast of California. Hut for the timely interference of the United States Lijjfhthousc Board, which stepped in and protected the favourite breed in^^-grounds of this intelligent animal, it would in all prob- ability have been entirely exterminated. The specimen illustrated represents the species of seal or sea-lion so often seen in shows, and many are the wonderful tricks the remarkable beast performs, some of them rivalling the most expert jugglers seen on the variety stage. The life these poor creatures live " behind the scenes " is really heartrending. The travelling showmen k,ep their breadwinners in tanks, some- times not large enough to allow the animal to stretch itself out to its full length. I have no hesitation in stating that cruelty is frequently used to teach these sensitive and sagacious seals the tricks they perform to amuse a yawning crowd, that has paid a penny each for admission and permits cruelty to be committed before its eyes. Not content with using a stick with which to keep the affrighted animals under subjection, a rod of iron or a length of three-eighths gas-tubing I have seen used upon *hem if w AND THE CAMhRA «47 I they failed to c.itch the flaming torch or beat the tambourine to the measured time of the barrcl-org-n which served as an orchestra. The pain these poor things suffer when travelling in their limited quarters, and the jolting they receive on the rough country roads traversed on their journey from one fair to another, closely packed in a badly built van with all the paraphernalia of a penny show, may account for the many abrasions to be seen on their poor bodies and heads, and was r-adily offered as an excuse by the gipsy showman with whom I remonstrated after seeing the condition of the poor little Californian Sea- lion, whose expression and plaintive eyes seemed to appeal to me for sympathy. The menacing expression on the bronzed face of the gipsy and the manner in which I was hustled out of the show by his dusky companions were a sufficient hint that it would have been indiscreet to question further such wayfarers as these, who gain their livelihood by the ill-treatment of poor dumb creatures. I M^ »^ ^..J^J^^. I 148 MO/iE WILD ANIMALS THE ELEPHANT SEAL {Macrorhinus /eoninus) This scarce specimen was captured and offered to H.M. King George as a donation to his African Collection, and hails from the Crozet Islands in the Southern Indian Ocean. It is the largest of the Pinnipede Carnivora (Seals and Walruses) and attains a length of between fifteen and twenty feet. The prefix "elephant" is given to this seal ff-om the presence in the adult male of a pro- boscis of considerable length, taking the form of a tapering trunk. One of its most striking characteristics is not the length of its proboscis, which will not develop until it reaches a matured adult stage, but the extraordinarily large size of its eyes, which have been compared to the discs of a pair of dark-tinted motor goggles. The massive head is apple-shaped, and it will be observed that the muzzle is short and the nostrils suodorsal in position, behind and outside .ach of which is a short curved crease in the skin. Directly m^Bki^^^m^^^ ^yvv i-? H *r"V*f*-"' ^m M^;:. AND THE CAMERA 149 above the nose is a crescent-shaped crease similar to that found on the bulldog, and directly above, a second but shorter cres- centic crease, from which rises a pair of erect bristles, which Mr. R. T. Pocock was the first to describe. The fore flippers are long and flexible and furnished with five strong claws, which are used for cleaning the face and scratching the body ; the latter can also be supported by the fore flippers being turned outwards at the wrist in a similar manner to the sea-lion's. This method of support is unique with the elephant seal, no other true seal [PhocidcB) having the same faculty. The hind flippers articulate in the same manner as those of the other species of this family ; that is to say, they stretch backward, and are to all intents and purposes clawless. The elephant seal is no more active on land than the common seal, which shuffles along the ground in anything but a pleasing manner. There is, however, a most remarkable characteristic peculiar to the elephant seal which" has given rise to considerable interesting correspondence in the scientific journals. I refer to the i _* ISO MORE WILD ANIMALS I erect position this animal has the power to assume, as shown in the photograph. It being an acknowledged fact that seals are capable of displaying a very high detrree of intellectual manifestation, and having watched the development of con- fidence of this beast in its semi-domesticated surroundings, ?nd the curiosity it displayed when an elephant with children perched on its back approached its quarters, I determined to try the effect of sound upon the animal, knowing its power of hearing to be remarkably acute, as evidenced by the following authenticated record : A little seal which was kept in captivity was so remarkably acute of hearing that even while under water the very faintest whisper of its name — "Jenny" — did not fail to bring her to her keeper's side, with all the expectancy exhibited by a faithful dog. I had brought with me a pitch-pipe, which emitted reedy sounds, which I had found attracted the attention, and, in some instances, had exercised a fascinating in- fluence over certain animals, whereas very savage and incurious animals ignored its emissions altogether. The seal was ^ TKK r.l KIM AM >i;\l , il 1 111: w \i Ri te ■''■.\T mm J'j*\i' Z^^20i9 AND THE CAMERA 151 apparently asleep, its head resting on the edge of the cement work which sur- rounded the pond. At the production of the first sound from the pitch-pipe the animal opened its big, staring eyes and quietly and slowly allowed its body to slide back into the centre of the pond. The curiosity of the animal was evidently excited, as it watched my every movement as I entered the enclosure with my camera ready set for an exposure. I commenced to blow the pitch-pipe, increasing the volume of sound gradually, at the same time waving my hand in the manner of one who induces a dog to " beg." In less than a minute the sagacious creature slowly raised its head, which it threw back as far as pc^sible, and then gracefully elevated itself into the beautifully curved position shown in the photograph, reference to which shows the remarkable hind flippers well out of the water. The curves and line taken up by this animal are most artistic. I had heard of this animal's faculty of posturing, and had determined to make a close study of its habits. ny may discredit the assertion that 152 MORE WILD ANIMALS animals can appreciate the difference be- tween sounds, or that certain tones in the scale have a hypnotic influence upon the more highly developed animals, but there is no questioning the fact. In my opinion there is not an animal in the whole of creation that, by domestication, shows more intelligence than the seal, and its acuteness of hearing and appreciation of certain sounds are remarkable. Mr. Low, in his " Fauna Orcadensis," relates that in the wild state seals seem to have a great deal of curiosity. If people are p ssing in boats, they often come quite close up to the boat and stare at them, following for a long time together. If people are speaking loudly, they seem to wonder what may be the matter. " The church of Hay, in Orkney, is situated in a small sandy bay, and much frequented by seals ; and I observed when the bell rang for divine service all the seals within hearing swam directly to the shore, and kept looking about them as if surprised rather than frightened, and in this manner continued to wonder so long as the bell rang." ; i' i ; .' • * *^ ^. - '-if . .O ,'K- »::*■-! r- I '■!*■■■*< ■*;*>■"■ mm ^■^^^ AND THE CAMERA 153 It grieves one to read in a recent number of the Field \.\i2X these interesting animals (the seals) are verging on extinction, as a result of the persecution of whalers in quest of oil. The remarkable difference m the head of the elephant seal and the sea-lion is most marked, as reference to the illustrations of these two animals will shovv. One might be called the "bull- dog" expression, and the other the " terrier." -^^^^fjumatm 'ktyX' 1 I PART II BIRDS I J s-,, 1 PART II. BIRDS THE OSTRICH {Struthio Came /us) TIIIiRE is not an exotic bird in the world that is better known by report than that strange, majestic, and fleet-footed creature that "scorneth the horse and his rider," or one that has been so fully de- scribed. There must be few persons in any civilised country unacquainted with this, the largest of living birds, whose size is not insignificant in comparison even with the mightiest of the plumed giants that existed of old upon the earth, since an adult male will stand nearly 8 feet high and weigh 300 lb. The Ostrich seems to have been known and valued for its feathers from earliest antiquity. A graphic account of the bird, with special allusion to its feathers, is found in the Book of Job. Representations of it »57 Jsl i III 158 MORE WILD ANIMALS have l)cen discovered in the ruins of Theban temples contemporary with Moses. '1 he feathers appear as decorations for robes in the chiys of Nimrod. Some reckon the ostrich a very stupid creature, but that the bird should be known and its feathers valued all the ages, and yet no attempt be made to tame it commercially, seems to argue enterprising obtuseness, at least, on the part of man. The first serious proposition with refer- fince to ostrich farming was made by the late Mr. Kinnear, of Beaufort West, in a letter to the Ca^e Argus; but although he demonstrated the profits of the trade, its practicability did not strike the Cape farmers very forcibly. It was not till about 1862 that the business reached an experimental stage, and in 1865 the Government returns showed only eighty tame birds in the country. During the succeeding ten years, however, the in- dustry became a mania, till in 1875 th*^ < were not less than fifty thousand .ne ostriches, and since then the busir -> has spread into the Orange Fr^^ ^tate, the Transvaal, Natal, and— shall we say?— .Tv-aa^nmBK 3 j' "V AND THE CAMERA i feathers. .v,„cr, ,„ ,875 was ;f4oo,ooo now reacie. iniii'ions. A briel .l- .t,:h o, the many stages of an ostr,chs life will be of interest, /he period of mcubation is forty-two days, or exactly twice that of the ordinary fowl The size and weight of the egg do not' bear a like proportion, for an ostrich <,^^ is from five to S.X inches through the longdiameter, and four or five inches through the short and the we.ght ,s between three and fou pounds. An ordinary ostrich egg is alleged to contain as much meat as twenty- four hen s eggs. In the process of artificial mcubafon, which is largely adopt d dttin'ctf T'f"''^''' young chick'can b the fn .^k'''''/° ''''"""= '■" ''^ ^hell about the fortieth or forty-first day. Its kickincr and tapping at the shell ma/also be ^ tht "rr:i"'^p!--'^. ^y placing ^gg on a table. On find ing Its way out requires mcs of the shell-in which it someti help-the chick sits down on its haunches and stares about the earth and up to the ky as ,f to say. ''What does it all m an >^ It soon begins to hobble about a little, but mmsmi^m^v^^^Kmmam « • ! i6o MORE WILD ANIMALS at least two days must elapse before it seems to get any definite idea of the con- nection of things. In the course of a few days the ostrich chick is quite as large as an ordinary fowl, but it is infinitely prettier. Its lovely eyes, deep, dark, and soft ; its shapely bill ; its broad, intelligent crown and beautiful neck, both of a rich brown or "bay," elegantly mottled or striped with black ; and its close, thick coat of brownish yellow, hid upon the back and sides with black, white, and brown spangles of por- cupine-like quills, give it a unique appear- ance among chicl;ens. In a week or two it is necessary to remove it from its mother, and it is handed over to the care of its keeper, who is commonly called a " herd " boy. At six months the porcupine quills have nearly all disappeared, while the neck, now grown long and more slender in pro- portion, has nearly lost its beautiful dapples and stripes, which are replaced by an ugly grey down. Its head may now reach the height of an average man. In another six months its neck is uniform grey, with down thin and hairy ; the feathers are then perfect and fit to be clipped. If the bird be a •vr:^^^,f!»0^';f^^t^ AND THE CAMERA f6i female, the plumage will have assumed a dark grey, the tips of the white feathers visible at the end of the wings and some extending out of the grey feathers of the tail ; if a male, the feathers — except for the white on the wings and tail— are black. As will be seen by the illustration, the multiplicity of white feathers shown in most drawings is erroiieous. Only a com- paratively small tip of these white feathers is visible unless the bird throws out his uingfs. During adult life a new crop o<" feathers would naturally develop to perfection once a year ' t the farmers obtain three clip- pings i ) years by cutting them at eight months ^after the first year) and pulling out the stumps of the quills when they have become dry. Sometimes at two and a half years, but more generally at four, a change comes over the young family. Some young cock in .he troop grows proud and pugnacious. He greets the once-respected herd with a contemptuous hiss, and perhaps without even that warning deals such blows with his foot as will clear the camp effectually. II i^^A^mm f'^^ y ^ I' i 162 MORE WILD ANIMALS Some hen in the cmp, whose scaly legs and bill now bloom with a rosy tint, sur- passed only by the vermilion scales and bill of the cock, approves his valour, and the result is a match. It has been commonly made to appear that ostriches are so stupid or so greedy as to be totally indiscriminate in the matter of food ; but this is a mistake. Many of a troop will even show delicate choice, but a hungry ostrich will eat almost anythinr;. His system requires food in large quantities, but he always prefers the suitable kind. It is a fact, however, that the ostrich often dies a victim of over-indulgence. It is worthy to note that the ostrich in its wild state will seldom attack a man even in the breeding season ; while on the farms almost every man employed has to be on his guard against some particular bird which, whether breeding or not, is liable to attack him. It seems to be almost a rule that the more domesticated the bird, the more vicious and uncertain is his conduct. Ostriches have a distinctive pride to rule over their own homes, and will fight an enemy within their own camp with much f.- AND THE CAMERA '63 greater energy than when they are them- selves the invaders. To one unaccustomed to brutal contests, an ostrich %ht is really a spectacle of terror, and if the old Romans had only known what terrible creatures they could be made, an ostrich fight would have been a crowning sensation in the gladiatorial arena. On the approach of an enemy, or one considered as such, a vicious bird will challenge the intruder by coming towards him with stately, deliberate strides He then begins to hiss loudly, like a goose or a serpent, at the same time erecting •!! his feathers and spreading his wings till he becomes twice his usual size, He then drops suddenly on his knees, appearing, as It were in a sitting position. Throwinir his neck haughtily back over his body he swings It swaggeringly from side to side ?t each movement knocking his head violently against his body. This is called a "chal- lenge, and IS similarly given in return by the ostrich taking it up. After several challenges, they come into collision with mad fury and with their legs deal blows upon each other, first from one side, and then from the other, with tremendous force 164 MORE WILD ANIMALS and effect. Having fought a round, they retire a space, and then return to the attack till one or the other is killed or bolts off beaten. The old notion that the ostrich buries his head in the sand, in case of danger, proves to be another of the numerous natural history "facts" which are utterly mythical ; but the ostrich is a wonderful paradox, and Mr. E. B. Biggar apologises for disturbing so venerable a proverb, when there are so many equally useful, with the advantage of being true. The most obvious distinctive character- istic of the ostrich is the presence of two toes only, the third and fourth on each foot, a feature absolutely peculiar to the genus Striithio. THE STANLEY CRANE [Anthropoides paradisea) Acts of Parliament do not always pro- duce the result that was intended when making the law. Sundry such Acts affording protection to cranes did not prevent these graceful and picturesque IT L*51.1 - <^.ji •IV «■ 'W.i^'i nil. ^.^AM.EV . KAM ^ i5* ."; '>.mr"^ '^''^.1. '' ..i' M ». .Wi:^-- 'A; jl».*hc^: ■H^W^ m AND THE CAMERA 165 birds being driven out of Hngland. Men- tion is made of cranes' eggs and young in the fen-laws passed at a court held at Revesley. Pennant wrote that after the strictest inquiry he found the inhabitants of this county to be wholly unac- quainted with the bird, and hence concluded that it had forsaken our island. The crane, however, did appear in those times, as it does now, at rare and uncertain intervals, and ir. the most uncommon places, showing that the unfor- tunate examples that have strayed from the migrating bounds, whose movements are recorded from almost the earliest ages, only visit us to be shot down by the fowler, who gives a hostile reception to any strange visitor which comes within his range. The beautiful Stanley Crane is one of the handsomest birds of South Africa, common in the mining district suburbs, where they stalk about in pairs on the open flats in search of insects, but also devouring seeds and roots. Their tall and erect carriage and dignified gait, combined with a close-fitting habit of the finest plumage, which often displays ■liillBlllMtBE5'NiM«BRftWaBi^^^teJ«KigJ»iai^Ba»^ ■'■■^ 166 MORE WILD ANIMALS magnificent tail-feathers of a rich black protruding from the general colouring of pearl grey, give them a striking appearance. Their ability of uttering sonorous and trumpet-like notes is most peculiar, the bird having the j)o\ver to emit its sounds both during flight and while on the ground. In the latter case the head is uplifted, with the open bill pointing skywards during the utterance of the blast so often heard from cranes in confinement, especially at the approach of spr'ng. THE HERON {Ardea cinerea) The Heron is not frequently seen in P2ngland, except in the Fens. The Common Heron of Europe is the subject of the illustration, and forms only one of about seve.ity or eighty species which comprise the family Ardeidce, which includes the egrets, bitterns, night herons, and boat- bill. The Common Heron is a long- legged, long-necked, long-winged, and long-billed bird, found not only in Europe, m>. T* ^ •mjKmm .■'4. -"w aait— » t« "^iuiigt^ mmmmmmmmmiti^ mm --m 3 J , \ A ATI) THE CAMERA 167 but in Asia, Africa, and reach inpj as far as Japan and Australia. It is only injurious among fish, which form its sole I'ood. It was often preserved in the middle of the last century on account of its association with baronial sport, when it was the chief of the birds at which the hawk was flown in the sport called falconry, or hawking. When fishing, which is usually early in the morning and late at night, lie stands motionless in shallow water, with his head between the shoulders. On seeing his prey, he thrusts his head as quick as light- ning into the water, with a sure stroke. The heron's nest is built like that of the rook, which bird it resembles in habits and other respects ; it selects the tops of lofty trees and composes the nest of a huge mass of sticks, often the accumulation of years, lined with twigs, in which it lays from four to six sea-green eggs. Contrary to the young of the crane, which are able to run about almost as soon as they are hatched, the young herons remain in the nest some considerable time. In the adult bird the beak is yellow ; iris, yellow ; head, greyish white ; plume, dark slate ^ '^■■•^.. 1 68 MORE WILD ANIMALS blue. The females only differ in their colours being less bright. In both sexes the plume does not appar until the third year. About forty years ago there was a heronry on Wanstead Flats. THE MILKY EAGLE-OWL {Bubo lacteus) This beautiful owl is a native of Africa, and is one of the largest and most powerful of the entire order. These owls are also called horned, and are closely allied to the screech-owls, from which they may be distinguished by the relative shortness of the wings, which never reach within a considerable distance of the end of the tail, while the magnificently barred plumage identifies these beautiful birds. The beak is short and strong, the ear-tufts show the same barred markings on the inner webs, and the impression once made on the observer will always be recalled on seeing this, the most typical and majestic of these nocturnal birds. The Eigle-Owl is the boldest and most rapacious of the birds of prey, attacking and devouring young their sexes ; third Avas a .>-*2 i^^i 'iW*'**''^' iv<^ ^*-' AND THE CAMERA 169 fawns, hares, rabbits, and other small rodents, to say nothing of grouse, phea- sants, as well as reptiles and frogs. The Tawny or Wood-Owl inay he regarded as the typical species of the four that are to be found in England. It is the largest of our resident owls, and would be found in much more abundance but for the foolish persecution to which it is subjected, through ignorance and prejudice. It is accused of killing and eating game, but this has been proved to be an <_/roneous assertion. Like the kestrel, it lives en mice and rats, and "Stonehenge" states that "when it has its young to provide for it will attack the hare or the rabbit. The nests may be easily taken or the owl trapped or shot. A great parade is generally made by the keepers of the owl, as it is a bird which makes a great show among the list of vermin and yet is not very difficult to destroy." Recent corre- spondence in the Press against the wilful destruction of owls and other wild birds that adorn our woods has proved that many benefits are conferred upon the upholders of game by the owLs, their ii Hi ! : 170 MORE WILD ANIMALS chief food being vermin, which, as in the case of the rat, not only deplete the nests, but carry with them the germs of fatal diseases. What is more delightful on a summer night than to hear the " hoo-hoo-hoo-hoo- hoo " break through the stillness and calm : Gilbert White of Selborne writes " that the wood-owls come down from the hangei in the dusk of the evening, and sit howling all night on my walnut-trees. Their nott is like a fine vox humana, and very tune- able. The owls probably watch for mic< about the buildings." According to the legend, our Saviou went into a baker's shop to ask for some thing to eat. The mistress of the sho] instantly put a cake in the oven for Him but the daughter said it was too large and reduced it half. The dough, howevei swelled to an enormous size, and th daughter cried out " Heugh ! heugh heugh 1 " and was transformed into a owl. Ophelia alludes to this tradition i the line — "Well, God 'eild you! They say the owl was baker's daughter."— SHAKESPEARE : Hamlet, iv. 5. AND THE CAMERA 171 THE CORMORANT {Phalacrocorax carbd) The Cormorant is a member of a very remarkable family {Phaiacrocidcr) which comprises the gannets and darters, all of which are to be found as visitants to our shores. These sea-fowl may be char- acterised by certain peculiarities : their elongated but powerful bodies, neck of medium length, varying considerably in thickness, the plumage of which is without gaps. The legs are short, and the entire family may be readily distinguished by the fact of the whole four toes being connected together with a web which generally extends to the extremities. The face is naked, and the bill is moderately long and narrow. The cormorant will also be recognised by the extreme stiff- ness of the tail feathers, which number twelve or fourteen. The cormorant is undoubtedly the most expert of diving-birds, and any one who has witnessed the speed and strength which this bird can exert when pursuing . i;: MORE WILD ANIMALS its prey cannot but admire its aquatic powers. Feeding almost exclusively on fish, ii is the most gluttonous and greedy of al " divers," for even when it has eaten sc much that it cannot comfortably swallo\^ any more, it still goes on fishing. Theii enormous voracity is remarkable to behold as is also the way in which they dispose o] large fish, such as plaice. Aided in great measure by the power of compression and dilatation conferred upon it by the pecu- liarity of the bone structure at the bacl< part of the head, and the muscles attached thereto, it can control the process of gorg- ing, by increasing the capacity of the pharynx, for the more easy passage of an> unusually large fish. This extraordinary apparatus, peculiar to the above-mentioned birds, also permits of the young feeding themselves by poking their heads far down their parents' throats and extracting the half-digested fish from their stomachs. The cormorant swims very low in the water ; even in the sea the body is deepl> submerged, little more than the head being visible. It flies with its neck outstretched, AND THE CAATERA 1/3 and darts down with lightning rapidity upon any poor fish its keen eye perceives • and although the fish may 'ue one of the swiftest swimmers and have a good start such is the velocity of the bird under water that it seldom fails to overtake and capture the object of its attack. Another peculiarity to be observed is that, although a web-footed bird, it perches upon trees, where it occasionally builds its nest, although it mostly selects rocky shores, where it forms its nest of seaweed and It will be noticed that the ground immediately around it has the appearance of having been bespattered with white- wash. Some varieties select the clefts and ledges of the summit of the cliffs or rocks, giving thereby a hazardous sport to the enthusiastic egg-collector. The cormorant may be described as an intelligent bird, which, taken from the nest when quite young, may be easily tamed and trained to fish for its master as was the common custom in England in olden times. It is recorded that in <-harIes I.'s reign the "corvorant," as it was then called, was specially looked 174 MORE WILD ANIMALS after by the Master of the Corvoranti who was an officer in the royal househol( As recently as twelve to fifteen years ag many gentlemen fished with the coi morant for their own pleasure, and thi was considered a delightful sport. Sir George Staunton (" Embassy t China") states that the Embassy, in it journey to Han-choo-foo, had not pre ceeded far on the southern canal, whe they arrived in the vicinity of the plac where the Len-tze, or famous fishing-bir of China, is bred. This bird (an ur doubted cormorant) is figured in th Atlas, PI. 37, and a vignette at the em of the chapter shows two Chinese fishei men carrying their light boat, around th gunnel of which their cormorants ar perched. Sir George further says : " Oi a large lake close to this part of the cana! and to the eastward of it, are thousands c small boats and rafts, built entirely for thi species of fishery ; on each boat or raft ar ten or a dozen birds, which, at a signal o the owner, plunge into the water, and i is astonishing to see the enormous sizi of the fish with which they return graspe( >>.vsr>ij AND THE CAAfEKA between their bills. TheyTpp^^i^TiT^ was pleased to return to them for en- ZZ^TTu""^ fo^d. So attached do these birds become to their master, tha" 7>Kr ,"!f" """°^' '° P'«=e him ike a fauhfu dog, and absolutely unde^;tand his meanmg, and should one bird cSe a fish too heavy for it to carry out of the water unaided, another bird, at the wofd of command, will immediatdy fly JTts assistance. Fully trained birds are often f TshT'th""' f " ' ^"^--f"' S heir fill hi"?'"^''' '^"' '^'" having -ned With :tathe?:o,r:r:^^;e::t cm swalfo '''" "^^''^ '° P^^"' "- nt boat used by these fishermen is of •, remark b, l,- ht make, and is often car Ld ^lU'cLtrn":" ..^''° '''- '^' '^'"^ -t^iUf^xflstmrn-'ifT^t, iL 176 il/(M7: J/7//; AXIAFALS The voracity of the cormorant Y often been emphasised, and the evider collected by the River Tweed Coi missioners, who pay :i florin for each the species shot, adds further testimony that point. During the present year, o bird when opened wa^ found to contain trout half a pound in weight ; anoth had swallowed, amongst other fish, t^ trout weighing a quarter of a pound eac It is estimated that the life of a cormora is ten years, and that during that time consumes about fifty tons of fish. THE GANNLr, OR SOLAN -^tOOSI {Su/a hassana) The Gannets are gooselike birds, son- times called boobies, nine species beii described. The pair illustrated are t Cape GannetL {Sii/a capensis), which a easily recognised by the black markin on th^ wings and tail as shown. The interesting birds come to the Bass Ro in March, and, after breeding there, 3 off in September. They neither come n ■^«_Tj; I lir, I iiKMi>K AS I. mt has ividence Corn- each of nony on ear, one )ntain a another sh, two id each, rmorant time it OOSE ;, some- 5 being are the ich are arkings These iS Rock ere, go )me nor I A IK f;A.\NKI- .*•• i.A.""' '!■■ ■.^■■\^ ^«'>-.*>*i»/ ...-'W. ^ W- Vl ''^?S??'^^W AND THE CAMERA ^77 go away all at one time. I have seen thousands of them on this historical resort- ing place for sea birds, and in conversa- tion with the keejjer of the rock was informed that they can scarcely raise them- selves off the ground : which is evident when the particular position of their legs and the very extraordinary length of their wmgs is taken into consideration When the gannets pass from place to place, they unite in small flocks of from five to fifteen, and except in very fine weather fly very low in single file and with great velocity near the shore, but never pass over the land, always keeping at a respect- ful distance from it. The natives of St. Kilda hold these birds in much estimation and often run great risks to obtain them! Where it is possible, they climb up the rocks which they frequent, and in doing this they pass along paths so narrow and difficult that they have scarcely room to cling, and that, too, at an amazing height over a raging sea. Where this cannot be done, the fowler is lowered by a rope from the top, and to take the young ones oftentimes places his life in jeopardy by 12 WJm'^r?. ),. >u 178 MORE WILD ANIMALS Stationing himself on the most dangeroi ledges. Unterrified, however, he ransad all the nests within his reach, and then b means of a p le or rope moves off to oth( places. By comparative anatomy it has bee clearly demonstrated that birds in gener are provided with air-vessels in differei parts of the body, and that many of the bones are not destitute of this contrivanc admirably fitted for increasing their ligh ness and consequent buoyancy as well ; progressive motion through that eleme in which they are intended principally move. Mr. John Hunter (in the Tran actions of the Royal Society) proves th the air-cells, in the parts already me tioned, have a free communicatior wi the lungs, by means of openings on th( surface, through which the air passes readi into them, and it clearly appears that the is no diaphragm that confines the air to t region or cavity of the breast, but that t whole of the abdomen is equally inflat by inspiration through the lungs. In t act of respiration there appears to always some air propelled between the si igerous m sacks ;hen by 0 other s been general ifferent )f their ivance, r light- well as element jally to Trans- its that y men- ir with Dn their ; readily at there ir to the that the inflated In the 5 to be the skin AND THE CAMERA ,79 and body of this bird, as a visible expan- sion and cc itraction is observed above the breast ; and this singular conformation makes the bird so buoyant that it floats high in the water and cannot sink beneath Its surface, as observed in the cormorant. The gannet is capable of containincr about three full inspirations of the human lungs, divided into nearly three equal por- tions, the cellular parts under the skin on each side holding nearly as much as the cavity of the body. Now, as a full or extraordinary inspii .tion of the human lungs has been considered to occupy a space of about sixty cubic inches, it is interesting to note that the gannet is capable of containing not less than one hundred and eighty cubic inches of air at one time, subject to the will of the bird under certain impressions. The legs are not placed so far behind as in such of the leathered tribe as procure their subsistence by immersion. The gannet, consequently has the centre of gravity placed more for- ward, and when standing the body is nearly horizontal, hke the goose, and not erect HKe the cormorant. I i8o MORE WILD ANIMALS By the above observations it will I gleaned that the gannet is not one of tl diving birds. It is well known that mar birds regurgitate with much ease an facility, and that instinct points out 1 them the necessity of preparing the foe intended for the nourishment of the young in the receptacle usually termed th craw or crop; and although the gann( does not possess one, it can easily disgorg the contents of its stomach to satisfy il young. The plumage of the adult is white, tinge on the head and neck with buff, while th outer edge and principal quills of the win are black, and some bare spaces round th eyes and throat reveal a dark blue skir The plumage of the young is of a dee brown above, but paler beneath, and eac feather is tipped with a triangular whit spot. The young one is hatched blind an^ naked, and as the gannet only lays single &g THE CA.MIiKA ' ,"' wii-^";r- """u^'' ^"^'"-^ '"^'^ placed wthrn he,r reach was indeed remarkable especml y when it is considered that they have only their bills with which to weave the interlacing warp and weft of their artistic and symmetrical structure. The outside of the nest is left with the stems of the grass protruding like "quills upon the re ful porcupine," and. it has bee" ! af • ?' '■^''" ^''''^' of protection from nakes and monkeys ; but whether it really affords any obstacle is open to doubt Much more protection is assured from he ^ct of the nest hanging i„ midTr and Its constant movement in the bree.e vuh the utmost care, the ends of the grass stalks being tucked in so that no pro jections may come in contact vv °h KL 1 he thick ends of the stalks are so ar- ranged that they point towards the mouth sL „t T- ""''^•' ''••'"^- downwards, rain ?5 i '"""''"'" °f "'''''^ "hereby the It th ^.™r °^ '"^ "«' -^ it Jangles to dance"' "' ',"' '"""-^ ^"PP°"' ^-^^^-"'ng dance merrily >.ith every gust of wind *3 \ ■! MORE WILD ANIMALS The birds I had under observation show the same love for brilliancy and colour the records of travellers show. I h placed in the aviary pieces of gay-colour Berlin wool and short lengths of strii which I had dyed with various brig anilines, and the resulting nest was int< woven with a certain amount of taste, t tints seeming to have been chosen wi a view to harmony of colour. It will be claimed that it is going t far to assert that all birds are moved an artistic sentiment, but this much least is proved, that most birds arc artis in effect, and that man-, including 1 bower and weaver birds, are artistic be in intention and effect. THE WYDAH BIRD {Cher a procne) The long-tailed weaver bird must i be confused with the preceding gen which is an Indian bird, for the Wid Bird, or to be more correcV Wydah B (from a place on the West Coast of Afi so named), is one of the genus Vid ■ :-!Vi-.'--.-''Vl :■ .-;-liA showed )lour as I had ;oloured ■ string bright IS inter- iste, the m with )ing too Dved by iiuch at ; artistic ing the ;tic both AND THE CAMERA »9S lUst not genus. Widow iah Bird of Africa which are only found in Africa. The Portuguese of Africa call this bird the Widow, from its colour and long train but considering that it is the male bird that has the extraordinary growth of tail- feathers at the breeding season, the Widower would have been more appro- priate. Bird dealers call it the Twelve- tailed Wydah, and although the feathers are not of an equal length, each one is sufficiently long to constitute what one may reasonably call a tail. This bird is a finch, but, unlike most finches, does not hop I- its progression, but walks on the .i^rouiKl after the manner of a lark, which It resembles in size, but not in flight f^einn^ a very feeble flyer. The nest of these birds is built low to ground, in the 'onprass or reeds of the swampy ponds and, presumably on account of the ab- normal length of the tail, the male bird cannot fly against the wind, and in the rainy season rarely moves out of the thick bushes in which he hides himself- but out of season, when he is without his nuptial livery and long tail-feathers, his Hight IS normal. Following the custom jt'.-^' m^ ^im:^i?7WHi:j}4^- MICROCOPY RESOLUTION TEST CHART (ANSI and ISO TEST CHART No. 2) 1.0 I.I 1.25 |<.5 HO 28 |3.A 1 4.0 2.5 2.2 2.0 .8 ^ yIPPLIED IM^^GE Inc asr. 1653 East Mom Street r^ Rochester. Ne« York U609 USA .ag (716) 482 - 0300 - Phone :=B (716) 288 - 5989 - Fox 196 MORE WILD ANIMALS of some of the natives of Africa, he not content with one mate, and it asserted that up to fifteen females can counted to one male. The Kaffir children find great sport catching the " widows " by stretching lin( covered with a sticky substance simil to our birdlime, across the millet a corn fields, and thereby capture a consid( able number through their tails bei caught in the lines. As suggested in t short description of the bower and wea\ bird, the Wydah is never more happy th when " showing off" to the hens, whi look on in rapture at their future lord a master making evolutions in the air a spreading his tail out in the wind like fan. The colour of the bird is black, wi the exception of a scarlet and buff bar the upper wing coverts. Nothing mc graceful could be conceived than this bi when in flight, the tinge of red and b on his wings contrasting beautifully wi his otherwise sombre hue. m. AND THE CAMERA 107 he is d it is can be jport in ig lines, similar let and Dnsider- ► being 1 in the weaver py than , which ord and air and d like a ck, with bar on g more his bird md buff lly with THE BOWER BIRD {Ptilonorhynchus) It is a distinctly marked characteristic of most members of the feathered family to show a love for the beautiful, and it is therefore not to be wondered at that the desire and ability to create the beautiful are to be found in various degrees of development among birds which, by their own outward appearance, would not be reckoned among the lovely specimens whose range of colours almost baffles the artist's palette. During the period of courtship the male birds show an appreciation of what IS beautiful in form, colour, motion, and sound. Many male birds develop a won- derful mcrease in brilliancy of plumage combined with a radical change in its colouring. The voice, dumb for months, takes upon itself exquisite tones, and the sober plodding after the necessities of life gives place to the most fantastic activity All lovers of birds have watched with interest the endeavours of a male bird to gain the favour of the coquettish female 198 MORE WILD ANIMALS The most casual observer of the device which he can best exhibit his newly fo beauties of person, voice, symmetry motion, cannot mistake the object of possession of grace and beauty, vanity of such birds as the peacock pla shows that birds appreciate the hti of their plumage, for not only does he others, such as the bird of paradise, exer the utmost care in keeping their featl free from ruffle or spot, but they deligh adding to their charm by devoting he to their toilet. In the whole range of ornithology tl is not a more singular phenomenon than fact of a bird building a beautifully s] metrical and artistic structure merely amusement or the exercise of an aesth perception, and decorating it with brilli objects, as if to mark its distinction. V the ' :er birds should trouble themsel to make this bower far from their nests order to have a meeting-place for go intercourse with others of their kind i problem as yet unsolved. Had the sti ture served in any way as a protecti there would have been a self-evident rea: U./l- AND THE CAMERA device by Ay found tnetry of :t of this ty. The k plainly e beauty ss he and ;, exercise • feathers lelight in ig hours >gy there I than the illy sym- erely for aesthetic brilliant n. Why emselves nests in or social :ind is a le struc- otection, it reason 199 for its existence, but the arching twigs re put together so loosely yet symmetrically that they cannot protect the birds from the ram or wind. Whatever may be the object of the bower, the birds are so fond of It that they resort to it during many hours of the day, and as proof of the bird's ap- preciation of good work, a well-constructed bower is seldom left without a temporary occupant. The illustration shows a bower built by a pair of these sober-coloured little birds which were in captivity, and the small choice of suitable material with which to build the structure made it impossible for them to complete it in anything approach- ing the aesthetic and decorated edific which we are told these birds naturally construct in their native habitat, Australia. The bower is first started by the formation of a platform or foundation made up of twigs, which the birds plait together most ingeniously ; along the side of this case are planted twigs, which the birds select with due regard to their length and which they firm.y stick into the ground, always taking care to insert the thickest end, and they are 20O MORE WILD ANIMALS SO planted that the tapering stems curve inwards to meet at the top the twigs planted at the other side of the case. After a few of these are planted, the birds get some distance away from their handi- work in order to obtain a better view ; and should the form displease them, they will uproot the offending twig and replant it, care being taken that no projections occur within the bower which might hinder the free movement of the bird or its rapid ingress or egress. Days are thus spent in building up the bower and strengthening and entwining thinner twigs at the base of the curved and arched stems in order to give strength to it. We have a very interesting description of the bower built by these clever little builders by Mr. Coxen, of Brisbane, who was the first to ascertain with certainty that the artistic and ingeniously constructed bowers v^hich were found in New South Wales were the unaided work of a bird Kttle larger than a starling. The curious structures were always found decorated with ornamental objects, in search for which the bird must have travelled miles. \^> / --/ a 'isfii "4: ' %j^:ii::*?> AND THE CAMERA 201 Shells, pretty pebbles, feathers, bleached bones, seeds, teeth, and in fact anythinj^ that is decorative, are broun^ht and placed in no haphazard fashion around the bower. All this is done under the supervision of the female bird, who seems to act as the architect and master builder, the male taking the position of journeyman builder. When the structure is completed, pathways are marked out at each end of the bower by means of f ebbles. while little ornamental hillocks are erected before each entrance. Everything being completed, invitations are conveyed to birds of the same species, and a festive gathering is held. The males strut about and exhibit their fine feathers and graceful carriage, while the females look on in rapt admiration, thus reversing the order observed in human assemblies. Then dancing takes place, though, whether for modesty or conscience scruples it is not known, the males and females dance singly and never in pairs of opposite sexes. The final results are, however, believed to be the same, ai d frequent marriages follow such meetings as this. There is no law of divorce or breach of promise in Birdland. 202 MORE WILD ANIMALS These birds are allied to the commo starling, and belong to a small group c that family which havt grined the name c Glossy Starlings on account of their satir like plumage. The plumage of the male i a rich deep purple, so deep, indeed, as t appear black when the bird is standing i the shade. The female is not in the leai like the male ; her plumage is almost unifori olive-green. The young male is colourc in the same manner. PART III AMPHIBIANS AND REPTlLIiS ^x PART III AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES FROGS Ichthyopsida {Fishes) Amphibia INSIGNIFICANT as the animals de- scribed under the above title may appear there are many remarkable facts and details surrounding the peculiar metamorphosis of these amphibians that cannot fail to be of interest. Their inclusion will be welcome, if only from the fact that their unique characteristics may be watched and studied in one's own home with but small expense and the exercise of little trouble. Although looked upon by some with the same abhorrence as reptiles, these harmless creatures are often made pets of by ladies (ladies. ,t may be said, of peculiar taste). Many records, by undoubted authorities 205 ' 206 MORE WILD ANIMALS t exist of frogs which have shown a par- ticular fondness for the individual who has looked after their wants. It is recorded that one used to come forth from its retreat under the garden steps at the approach of dusk and seemed to enjoy being taken up and placed on the table to be fed. The antiquity of the frog can be traced down the Scriptures; and although it is not recorded that Moses mentioned then by name, he stamped them as being unclear by saying: "Ye shall not eat of anything that moves in the waters, unless it havi fins or scales." Aristophanes, the greates of all the Greek comic and satirical poets gained the first prize in 405 B.C. with hi classic " Frogs," which with his " Birds ranks as the most popular of Greek plays The division in zoology under whic frogs are included is Ichthyopsida (Fishes and they are classed as Amphibia. As i fishes, branchice (gills), adapted for breath ing air dissolved in water, are alway developed for a longer or shorter perioc On the other hand, the amphibians diff( from the fishes in the fact that true lung are always present in the adult, althoug AND THE CAMERA 207 they play a comparatively unimportant part in respiration, the process of breathing being chiefly dependent on the porous nature of the soft, moist skin. The limbs of the frogs are never converted into fins, nor do amphibians ever inhabit the sea.' The development of the impregnated ova takes place altogether outside the body of the mother, and is attended with marked metamorphosis, principally connected with the fact that the life of the frog commences as a water-breathing larva or "tadpole," provided with gills, which are replaced by lungs in the adult condition. The larva; are also at first limbless and furnished each with a swimming tail, whereas the adult has limbs and is without a tail. Another remarkable characteristic is that the larv^ are vegetable feeders, whereas the adults are carnivorous. The Edible Frog {Rana esailenta) IS not well known in Great Britain except by repute. Prized on the Continent as a table delicacy, the demand in France IS so great that considerable quantities of the common frog {q.v) are sold as the true edible and eaten by foreigners as such ^-y.Mi-s§*Cf5^S%l"' U '■ 208 MORE WILD ANIMALS Grenouilles are offered for sale in the Freni markets ready skinned, and as the hind le; only are eaten, these are strung together 1 the score, and it requires an expert to dett the difference, although the flesh of t common frog is slightly darker, but as t vendor of the spurious article never kee the genuine one, the comparison cannot made. Great cruelty is practised in Paris up these harmless creatures, as the followi account by Francis Buckland, the grc naturalist, goes to prove : — " I went to the large market in the Fa bourg St. Germain and inquired for ixo{ I was referred to a stately-looking dame a fish-stall, who produced a box nearly f of them, huddling and crawling abo and occasionally croaking as thou aware of the fate to which they w< destined. The price fixed was two a peni and having ordered a dish to be prepar the Dame de la Halle dived her hand among them, and having secured her vict by the hind legs, she severed him in tw; with a sharp knife ; the legs, minus skin, s struggling, were placed on a dish, and 1 (:f>l.|,K\ IKKK I K(M, French ind legs :ther by 0 detect of the as the ir keeps mnot be is upon >llowing e great le Fau- •r frogs, dame at arly full about, though ;y were 1 penny, repared, hand in jr victim in twain kin, still and the THE AMERICAN- lill.I.-i Rnc. H Bl* il ! I AND THE CAMERA 209 head with the forelegs affixed retained life and motion, and performed such move- ments that the operation became painful to look at. The legs were afterwards served up fried in breadcrumbs, and most excel- lent eating they were." However much one may admire Mr. Buckland as a writer of natural history curiosities, he will never be accused of being humane after owning to the enjoyment he expeiienced in eating the legs of the poor frogs he had watched struggling in horrible torture to satisfy his gastronomic depravity. Frogs make useful and interesting garden pets, for they destroy insects and other plant pests. Their prey is caught by means of the tongue, which is inserted mto the front of the mouth, and when the animal is at rest lies with its point towards the throat. The moment the frog observes an -,ect within its reach, it suddenly thrc. , out its tongue, and the little victim is secured on its glutinous extremity. The American Bull- Frog (JZana Ca^esdyana).— The European frogs are mere dwarfs in comparison with the bull- frogs of the West, some of which measure 14 210 MORE WILD ANIMALS upwards of nine inches from head to boc This species, it will be observed, has t tips of the toes pointed, and it is especia characterised by the large size of t aperture of the ear, and the web extendi to the tip of the fourth toe of the hind fe The markings of the bull-frogs are r distinctive, as will be observed by comp; ing it with the illustrations of the edible. The loud bellowing noise which it em is responsible for its being named "bi frog." The shrill sound is produced a peculiar pice of mechanism. Cert; portions of the larynx (the arytenoid cai lages) are convex externally and concj internally, so that when the larynx closed they form a dome over the wii pipe, which Cuvier has compared to kettledrum. Tl <=. bull-frog is a curious creature in movements on land. It will take u] position and retain it for days, remain the while as motionless as the Sphi when suddenly it will take a leap wh will land it in such a position as is she in the illustration, and remain there moti less for some minutes. I have clos ■ AND THE CAMERA 211 o body, has the ipecially of the [tending ind feet, are not compar- idible. it emits d "bull- Liced by Certain id carti- concave irynx is e wind- ed to a re in its ke up a imaining Sphinx, p which s shown motion- closely observed these creatures in captivity, but have never yet heard one bellow, though Americans declare that the noise they emit can be heard at a distance of several miles. The Golden Tree Frog {Hyla attyea) is a native of Australia, distinguished by its markings of stripes and spots of a metallic lustre resembling gold, and con- trasting vividly with the brilliant green of the body and limbs generally. The green tree frog {Hyla arborea) is also exceedingly pretty, and specimens may be purchased for a few pence. They make most amusing and useful pets when put to the same use as they are to this day in Germany, where they are made to answer the purpose of a barometer. They are kept in tall, wide- necked bottles, half filled with soft water, mt^ which a miniature wooden ladder (weighted at the bottom with a piece of tea lead and reaching up to the neck of the bottle) has been placed. The rungs of the ladder mark as it were the degrees of the barometer ; the frogs always go towards the top m fine weather, and descend at the approach of bad weather. The Germans consult their frogs when starting on a ■ « •""" I 1 \ f 1,' i . ■ I \ I i 1 i \ 1 ; 3 ]■ \ hi ' 2*2 HI ORE WILD ANIMALS journey, and assert the prediction deduce from the position of the frog on the laddt to be in advance of that from scientif instruments. These little animals, measuring about a inch and a half in length, have the povvi of varying their colour after the manner c but not to the same degree as, a chameleo They are also provided with suckers at tl end of the toes, which enable them to clii and climb readily even on glass, wet ordr It is also to be noticed that the feet are qui free from web. They are pretty and intere: ing animals to keep in a fern case, provisi being made for them by the insertion of flower-pot saucer filled with water. Th will keep down insects, but will requ feeding when they have freed the case pests. Flies and other insects should th be introduced, or the common white butt fly, to which they are very partial. TOADS The Common Toad {Bufo vulgaris] This practically harmless animal has pr ably suffered more from popular super I III. I (VMMmV 1A(.| ,,II l.i.Ml. educed ladder ientific )out an ; power iner of, meleon. s at the to cling ; or dry. re quite nterest- rovision on of a They require case of aid then s butter- garis).— las prob- supersti- '.lOHi a\iH;ii.i. HH.i. ':U t^^BBty-^^Sif^ AND THE CAMERA 213 tion than any other in the entire animal world. It has been vvellnigh universally detested and shunned, though undoubtedly the most familiar amphibian. It belongs to a group characterised by the absence of a fold on the ankle, the possession of :in entire tongue, and by the pupil eyes, which are horizontal and prove beautiful, being red and gold. In colour, the upper parts of tht arc brownish, with brindled mari< graduating to a stone colour or wiutish under part, and covered more or les ^ with black spots. Its distribution may be con sidered as almost universal, as it i 'iclude^ Europe, Asia (exclusive of India), and the north-western division of Africr Sluggish and terrestrial in its labit:^. n is easily captured : its comparatively i. skin, covered with rough warty prominences prevents it slipping through the finge'-s like the slimy frog. Nature, howevt , provided all toads with a more or less protective faculty in the form of an acrid secretion, irritating though not poisonous, which they have the power to exude from their skin when alarmed or threatened by ;i'w.n;- ■• 314 AfORE WILD ANIMALS danger. A toad will, when attacked, sw( out its body to its utmost capacity ar likewise discharge a limpid fluid from special reservoir. Its food consists worms and insects of almost any kind, ai half-grown mice it will take freely, b refuses anything that is not living, ar indeed, will only take it at the momc when it is in motion. The spider is a great enemy to the to2 The toad, when fighting with a spider, said to make use of a herb to pres-r itself from its poison, of which I have t following authenticated story : '* A certi earl travelling near Woburn, in Ikdfoi shire, espied a toad fighting with a spic under a hedge by the highwayside. T toad withdrew several times from the atti to eat a piece of a herb like a plantain, last the earl, having seen the toad rep( this action often, ordered one of his pa to uproot the herb. Once again the to; after being struck by the large spider, turned to seek the herb, and remair motionless on the spot where it had stc and gradually swelled and burst asunc Nature had taught the toad the virtue i9.iP'"f?^'--V«---*t'»..rKr-- A«W!':»?T' r.' d, swell ity and from u ists of nd, and :ly, but ig, and, nomcnt he toad, pider, is pres'jrve lave the certain kdford- a spider e. The le attack lin. At d repeat is party he toad, ider, re- emained id stood asunder, artue of AND THE CAMERA 311 that herb to expel and drive out the poison received from the spider, but, wanting the antidote, the poison instantly did its work and destroyed her." An instinct in dogs deters them from taking up a toad with the mouth, although I have .seen a bulldog foam through in- cautiously mouthing one, the exudation of the acrid fluid by the toad making the dog instantly drop it; the irritating action of the secretion troubled the dog for some considerable time. Sluggish and slow in their movements, toads are more easily caught than nogs, and cannot so easily escape from a garden, in which they will be found a useful and interesting addition, as they soon rid the beds of plant pests. They are very long- lived, and soon become tame and show a certain amount of intelligence ; not being possessed of teeth, they cannot bite, but will hold on to anything with their power- ful jaws. The Ornamented Ceratopher.— One of the most tenacious and pugnacious of the Lepiodactylidce, which, for want of a better name, is often called the Southern Toad. m^^ ^^M::;J:MkM:.:Mi^ ^'. -?7-^T:r-='- »- ^tSfeJ'togfiSiSL'r . AND THE CAMERA 217 the bark of this dog, although erroneously said to be dumb. On other occasions Ceratophers will give vent to a peculiar bell-like sound. The illustrated specimen was photographed when in captivity ; it was very difficult to find in the vivarium, as it had the habit of burying itself in the shingle, showing only a very small part of the back, which blended with the colour of the small stones. This is the natural position taken up by the animals when in repose or waiting for prey ; the latter may be anything, such as a bird, frog, or small mammal, which latter they v/ill attack, although too large for them to swallow, their gigantic mouths no doubt misleading them as to the capacity of their stomachs and their ability to gorge. THE BLACK-PAINTED TEGUEXIN ( Tupinambis nigropunctatus) The greaved lizard, as this denizen of the New World is termed, takes the place of the true lizard of the Old World, and is one of the largest and best known of the Teju or Jacuara, which range over a 2l8 MORE WILD ANIMALS large portion of South America. Th specimen photographed measures aboi a yard in length, and the teju may b recognised by the tail being round at th root and but very slightly depressed ha way down its great length. It cannot b considered a water lizard, for althoug found in the neighbourhood of water apparently never enters it. Should it b chance roam to an inhabited district, shows a retiring and shy disposition ; bi if driven into a corner by the dogs en ployed in its pursuit, it shows fight, hissin and striking with its long, muscular ta with considerable strength, protruding i1 forked tongue and taking up a ver menacing position, which, combined wit a mouth opened to an enormous exten gives it a very formidable appearanc which often scares its pursuers. It live chiefly on such living creatures as it ca capture, and is also very fond of Qgg The female lays about fifty to sixty hare shelled eggs about the size of a pigeon': The legend that they utter a warnin sound o^ the approach of wild beasl (whence y are sometimes called saft •Ik^^di'M'/-' IT^Iaii ^mms^a^mi^sm AND THE CAMERA 219 guards) is apparently without foundation. They are to be found in quantities in sugar plantations. THE FRINGED GECKO {Ptychozoum hamalocephahini) The above-named Gecko is the sole member of its remarkable species. The Gecko illustrated is the sole mem- ber of the genus above named, and is charac- ,. d by the presence of an expan- sion of skin along the sides of the body, combined as lobes on the tail, as well as by the toes being completely webbed and the inner one devoid of a claw. Thanks to the enthusiasm of that great supporter of the science of Natural History, Mr. Walter Rothschild, I was enabled to photograph a living specimen of this scarce reptile, which, with the next described reptile, he sent a special commissioner thousands of miles to obtain. There is something very weird and uncanny in the appearance and movement of this strange-looking animal, with its dabs or patches of greyish-white, which are no .!. I.I... n-M MORE WILD ANIMALS doubt protective markings, as is proved the fact that since the reptile has beer captivity its general colour and the wh ness of the patchy markings have chan perceptibly, and assumed an app( ance nearer the colour of its pres surroundings. Although this Gecko is between se and eight inches long, its colouring ; general broken-up form blend so perfei with the stones and shingle of the vivari that a casual observer would pass reptile without noticing it. It is a nat of Madagascar ; and we read in Flancou "Histoire de I'lle Madagascar" that lives on flies and small insects, and has power of attaching itself to trees by mej of minute sharp claws at the tips of limbs, chin, and tail, which, although visible, give this reptile the power attachment to a degree almost incredit So strongly can they fasten themselves t branch that in attempting to remove c the impression is given of its bei glued to the branch. The tail, too, \ some special function in this marvello faculty of attachment. The natives c ^^KIS^P AND THE CAMERA roved by ; been in iie white- changed appear- present -n seven •ing and perfectly I'ivarium )ass the a native incourt's that it I has the y means )s of its )ugh in- ower of credible. Ives to a ove one ; being too, has rvellous ves call 221 this reptile " famocantrata •' (the beast that springs on the chest), and Lsert IL on any one approaching a tree where one of these Geckos is resting it would leap at h?. chest, and instantly attach itself sTfinS that It could not be detached withS removing the skin with a razor. THE GALAPAGAN LAND IGUANA {Conolophus subcristatus) These remarkable reptiles created quite a sensation among naturalists when it was announced that Mr. Walter Roth child had secured seven specimens. t wis unfortunately, not long before their nu': bers were reduced to one specimen, which emained on the shingle with closed eyes bv Zh V t k'P; '""'^ '°' ^ ^hort time by food which had to be forced into its Darwin, in his account of the Galapagos Archipelago ("A Naturalists Voyar' chapter xvii,), gives a full de,scrit1o„ m„l .'!.' T^'^^^^^ iguanas, livinj in multitudes ("we could not for some toe find a spot free from their burrows on ■*i''* *i 222 MORE WILD ANIMALS which to pitch our single tent") on Inde- fatigable Island, which is the more extraordinary considering that the entire "archipelago is entirely formed of vol- canic rocks ; a few fragments of granite, curiously glazed and altered by the heat, can hardly be an exception." Mr. Walter Rothschild gave me special facilities for securing photogiaphs of these scarce lizards, and I am sure he will not object to my publishing a portion of one of his letters to me on the subject :— "The Iguanas are Conolophus Sub- cristatus, sub-species picttts, described by myself in a footnote in my article on the Galapagos, in Vol. 6 of the ' Novitates Zoologicae,' and subsequent volumes. They are entirely terrestrial, as opposed to the famous marine iguanas {Amblyrhynchtu cristatus) of the Galapagos, and live in subterranean burrows. Their food con- sists of cactus-shoots and fruit entirely and they were brought by Mr. R. H Beck, on his last voyage, when he had then on the vessel for nine months befon reaching San Francisco." AND THE CAMERA 223 THE CHAM/ELEON LIZARD ( Chamceleolis ckauueleontides) The lizard illustrated in this volume, although it bears a close resemblance to the true chamaeleon (a series of photographs and a description of these curious and inter- esting lizards were given in " Wild Animals and the Camera"), is in no way related to the Chamceleon vulgaris, although prob- ably many non-zoological persons seeing a specimen for the first time would class it with that group. Comparisons of the two photographs will show the close resemblance between the two creatures, both of which possess a similar helmet-like form of head and a laterally compressed body, with a wheel or roach-shaped back ter- minating in a long tapering tail. Careful examination will, however, reveal the essen- tial difference in the structure of the two creatures ; for instance, notice the scale- covered skin of the chamaeleon ''?ard in place of the minute granules which dot the skin of the true chamasleon. The former also lacks the remarkable "tele- a34 MORE WILD ANIMALS scopic" eye. The equally remarkah divided feet, and the indispensable pr hensile faculty of the tail which forms tl steadying support to the body of tl chamaeleon against the shock which wou otherwise upset the balance of the anim when his tongue is brought into actio are wanting in the chamaeleon lizard, is therefore conclusive that the " cham; leon " lizard is not a chamaeleon exce in its prefix, and its external resemblar is one of those inexplicable Natui History puzzles yet to be solved. f I :■% THE HORNED LIZARD {Phrynosoma comutum) This strange creature, which bears resemblance to the popularly known shz of lizards, is a native of Texas and Mexi and is at the same time one of the m peculiar members of the family. C would not call this lizard ugly, althou its appearance is not likely to create £ feeling of admiration. In spite of spiky and otherwise formidable appeara it is quite harmless, not even attempt III k\ arkable •le pre- rms the of the 1 would animal action, ird. It chamae- except mblance Natural •ears no n shape Mexico, he most T. One ilthough eate any ; of its pearance tempting i J AND THE CAMERA 225 to bite when captured. Not beinir pos- sessed of the protrusive tongue of Uie chamaleon and being unable to run quickly on account o^ its clumsy form, the horned luard cannot capture the swiftest insects and consequently contents itself with a diet of sand-haiMUing beetles, whose fleet- ness IS inferior to its own. Most interest- nig to relate, some species of horned li.ards are remarkable as being the only members of the family (save one other genus) which produce living young, as many as twenty- tour being given at a birth. The most remarkable peculiarity con- nected with these li^^ards is their habit of ejecting jets of blood from the eyes apparently as a means of defence. ' I'he following letter from xVIr. V Bailey written from California, describes the phe- nomenon as first observed by him :— " 1 caught a horned toad (lizar.i) that very much surprised Dr. Fisher anu myself Dy squirting blood from its eyes. It was on smooth ground, and not in bush or weeds. 1 caught it with my hand ; a little jet of blood spurted from one eye, a dis- tance of fifteen inches, and spattered on '5 iri^ 226 MORE WILD ANIMALS my shoulder. Turning 't over to examine the eye, another strepii spurted from the other eye. This he dd four or five times from both eyes, until my hvinds, clothes, and gun were sprinkled over with fine drops of bright rod blood. I put it in a bag and carried it to camp, where, about four hours later, I showed it to Dr. Fisher, when it spurted three more streams from its eyes." ^^ THE SPINY OR THORNY-TAILED MASTIGURE ( Uromastrix acanthinurus) This is a North African species of the lizard. They are readily distinguished by their short tails, covered with well-defined rings of spiny scales. It will be observed that the head is remarkably short and rounded, the body depressed ; there is nc crest on the back nor folds or pouches on the neck. In colour they match tht sombre hue of the desert regions whict they frequent, and they are not insecti- vorous, but live entirely on vegetables They are solitary in their habits or liv« AND THE CAMERA 227 in pairs, and are timid and gentle in their disposition, rarely if ever attempting to bite when captured. They are mostl^uit- able as pets, not only on account of their disposition, but from the fact that they are so easily fed. The Arabs make great pets of them and keep them in captivity ; and their flesh is much relished as food' being considered superior to the tenderest of young chicken. The writer cannot conceive any one keeping animals as pets and killing them off for food, although it is a common occurrence to kill the pet rabbit for a Sunday's dinner among the working class. m^ ^,m INDEX Alcedo ispido, 182 Amphibia, 205 Amiihibians, 205 Antelopes, ()5 Anllifopoidcs puradisai, 164 Arctic Doj^s, 72 Ardca cinerca, 166 Assc F"ox, 56 Aurochs, 132 Australian Dog, 57 Babirussa al/uius, 142 Babinissa, the, 142 Bear, the Isabelline, 117 Beasts of Prey, 21 Birds, 157 Bison, European, 132 Bison, the American, 132 Boar, wild, 141 Bos Americanus, 132 Bos priscus or Bonassus, 132 Bower Bird, the, 197 Brindled Gnu, 113 Brooke, Mrs. H. G., 76 Bruce, Mr. James 33 Bubo lacteus, 168 Buckland, Francis, 208 Budorcas Taxicolor, 108 Bufo vulgaris, 212 Bull-baiting, 69 Bulldog, 27, 66, 69 Bulldog Club, 27 Bull-frog, the American, 209 Cncsar's Urc\, 132 Cafl'rc, wild cat, 7,' Ciiiiidcr, 21 Cai'is cliav:.}, ::^() Caiiis dinco. ^1 y^attis tamiliaris, 66 Cams familiaris rrgvptius. 2^ Cams familiaris van, 63 Cdmsfidviir, 55 Caiiis la f reus, 45 Canis lupus, 34, 47 Canii palliper, 50 Canis pallipses, 43 Canis raruga/us, 53 Cape Gaiinets, 176 Cape Hunting Dog, 58 Cat, the, 25 Ceratopher, the Ornamented 215 Chamakolischamahontidcs Chamois, the, 102 Chcra procne, 194 Common Toad, 212 Common Wolf, 47 Connochaies gnu, no ConnodiLvtcs taurina, 113 Conolophus subcristatus, 221 Cormorant, the, 171 Coxon, Mr., 200 I Coyote, 45 Crane, the Stanley, 164 ■' Crib and Rosa," ^c, 68 ! Cyon, 61 Cyan dukhunensis, 61 2. -9 223 m % 230 INDEX D Dacelo gigantea, i8i Darwin and domestic animals, 22 Dasyurida, 51 Dholes or Red Dogs, 61 Dingo, the, 57 Dog, courage of, 41 Dog, descent of, 28 Dog in Scripture, 29 Dog in the East, 33 Domestic Dog, 66 Dormouse, the fat, 130 E Eagle-owl, the milky, 168 Egyptian dogs, 35 Eland, the, 96 Elephant, the Baby, 1 16 Elephas Indicus, 1 16 Elliot, Sir W., 50 Equus Kiang, 1 13 Equus ptjevalski, 115 Escuerzos, 216 Eskimo Dog, 73 Ethiopian Wart Hog, the, 144 Extinct British Animals, 48 Family Felidce, 76 Farnborough, P. Wellington, 123 " Fauna Orcadensis," 152 Felidce, 25 Felis a^nato, 83 Felis Bengalensis, 83 Felis caffra or maniculata, 85 Felis chaus, 84 FeUs pardus, 92 Felis Tigrina, 89 Felis Tigris, 91 Felis viverrina, 85 Fcnnec Fox, 56 Fettered Cat, 85 Fishing Cat, 85 Fox, the, 55 Frog, Edible, 207 Frogs, 205 G Gambetta, 183 Gannet, or Solan Goose, 176 Gazdla bennetti, 100 Gazella euchore, 98 Gecko, the Fringed, 219 Glutton, the, 119 Gnu, the White-tailed, 1 10 Goral antelope, 106 Goss, Mr. P. H., 87 Grey Fox, 55 Gulo luscns, 1 19 H Harris, Captain Sir C, 144 Harting, J. E., 48 Heron, the, 166 Horned Horse, 112 Horse Prjevalski, 115 Hyaena, 52 Hyaena Dog, 59 Hycenidce, 59 Hyla arborea, 211 Hyla at/ea, 211 I Ichthyopsida (Fishes), 205 Iguana, the Galapagan Land, 221 Indian Civet Cat, 89 Indian Desert Cat, 83 Indian Gazelle, 100 INDEX 23 » Indian Wild Dog, 6i Indian Wolf, 50 India Rubber Dog, 76 Jackal, 53 Jackass, Laughing, 182 Jeitteles, Professor, 42 Jordan, Dr., 84 Jungle Cat, 84 K Kaintchadales of Siberia, 24 Kangaroo, Grey, 140 Kiang, the, 113 Kingfisher, the Common, 182 Kingfisher, the Laughing, i8i Xlnkajou, the, 128 " Lalla Rookh," loi Laughing Hyasna, 60 Len-tze, the, 174 Leopard, the, 92 t-eptodactylidce, 215 Lizard, the Chamjeleon, 223 Lizard, the Horned, 224 Lycaon pictus, 58 Lydekker, Mr. R., 114 M Machetes pugnax, 183 Macintyre, General, 107 McMr ", General, 84 Macropus giganteus, 140 Macropus ruficollis, 138 Macrorhinus leoninus, 148 Mammals, 21 Mastigure, Spiny or Thorny- tailed, 226 Mexico, dog of, 23, 75 Mivart, 53 A/yo.rio j^.//5, 130 N Necrophagous animals, « Nehring, Dr. A. H., 86 Nemorhadus goral, 106 North African Jackal, 53 North American Indians, Es- quimaux, &c.. J4 " Origin of Species," 38 Osprey, the, 187 Ostrich Farming, 158 Ostrich, the, 157 Otaria Californiana, 145 P Pandion haliaetus, 187 Panton, J. E., 81 I PI'acochcerus ^Jhiopicus, 144 I Phalacrocorax car bo, 171 I PhocidcF, 149 i Phrynosoma cornutum, 224 Pinnipede Camivora, 148 Ploceus BengaUnsis, 790 Poephagus grunniens, 136 Polos flavns, 128 Prairie Wolf, 45 Procyon lotor, 123 Ptilonorhynchus, 197 Ptychozoum hamahcephalum, 219 K Racoon, the, 123 Rana Catesbyana, 209 Rana escuUnta, 207 Rangifer tarandus, 109 Red Fox, 55 Reindeer, the, 109 T^^^^^^mf^^Sjr^^f 232 INDEX Keligious ujvotion in dogs, 40 Kengger, 44 Reptiles, 205 Richardson, Sir J., 121 Rothschild, Mr. Walter, 2^2 Ruff, the, 183 Rtipicapra tratiiis, 102 St. Bernard Dog, 23 Sciuridcr, 125 Sciuropterus VoluccUa, 125 Sea-lion, the, 145 Seal, the i'.lephant, 148 Siberian Sledge Dog, 72 Smith, Captain Hamilton, 99 Souef, Mr. D. Lc, 139 South African Antelope, 9S South American Tigi ine Cat, .S9 Southern Toad, 215 Springbok, the, 98 Squirrel, American Flying, 1 25 Stag-hog, the, 142 Starlings, Glossy, 202 Staunton, Sir G., 174 Siruthio Cameliis, 157 Sula basaana, 176 Sula capemis, 17^1 Sms scrofa, 141 Takin, the, 108 Tasmanian Wolf, 51 Tauroliaiius oryx, 96 Tawny or Wood-Owl, i6(> Teguexin, the Black-painted, 217 Thylacine, 51 Thylacinus cynoccphalus, 51 Tibetan Mastiff, 64 Tibet Dog, O3 Tiger, Man-eating, of India, 91 sec aho end papers Toads, 212 Tree Frog, the Golden, 2U Tiipinaiiibis iii,^iopuiiclaliif, 217 Turkish Dog, 23 U Uroma^trix acantliiniiiui, 226 Ursm habcllinHs, 117 V Variety in Domestic Dog, 25 Viverra ztbclha, 89 W Wain, Louis, 77 Waldrich, Professor Dr. J., 43 Wallaby and young, 138 Wallaby, Rufous-necked, 52 Weaver Bird, 190 Wild Cats, 76 Wild Dogs, 58 Wild Pigs, 93 Wilkinson, Sir J. G., 34 Wolverene or Carcajou, 1 19 Wolves in Britain, 48 Wydah Bird, the, 194 Yak, tlic, 136 Z Zambesi Cat, 88 Zcekol, 145 Zoologist, the, 130 Zoophagous animals, 37 UNWIN BROTHBRJ, LHHTKD. THE GREbHAM PRESS, WOKING AN1> LONDON. 'i^W \M^'' i-l.JZ'^.-^': m^--4 •e^*'-^^ ■. - -^ -J ^--i ■\ ;?; 'M '■'■■ - w^ ■* - '^ >>^ ■A- lie