BEASTS
OF THE
V7OKLD
BY FRANK, FINN F-Z S
1OO PLATES IN COLOUR
BY LOUIS SABGENT-CTTHBERT
£• SWM^-WINIFRED AUSTIN
THE LIBRARY
OF
THE UNIVERSITY
OF CALIFORNIA
PRESENTED BY
PROF. CHARLES A. KOFOID AND
MRS. PRUDENCE W. KOFOID
THE WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
HARE
By Winifred Austen
THE WILD BEASTS OF
THE WORLD
BY
FRANK FINN, B.A., F.Z.S.
AUTHOR OF "BIRDS Of THB COUNTRYSIDE," "PETS, AND HOW TO KEEP THBM," ETC.
ILLUSTRATED WITH 100 REPRODUCTIONS IN FULL COLOURS
FROM DRAWINGS BY LOUIS SARGENT, CUTHBERT
E. SWAN, AND WINIFRED AUSTIN
VOL.
TWO
LONDON: T. C. & E. C. JACK
16 HENRIETTA STREET, W.C., AND EDINBURGH
CONTENTS
M-0-.
.
•MM
THE COMMON HARE (Lepus ettropceus) . i
THE MOUNTAIN HARE (Lepus variabilis) . 3
THE RABBIT (Lepus cuniculus) . . 3
THE PIKAS (Lagomyidce) ... 4
THE DASSIE (Hyrax capensis] ... 5
TREE DASSIES ..... 7
THE INDIAN ELEPHANT (Elephas indicus") 9
THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT (Elephas afri-
canus] . . . . . .12
THE INDIAN RHINOCEROS (Rhinoceros in-
dicus) 13
THE SONDAIC RHINOCEROS (Rhinoceros
sondaicus") . . . . .14
THE ASIATIC TWO-HORNED RHINOCEROS
(Rhinoceros sumatrensis) . . 1 5
THE COMMON AFRICAN RHINOCEROS
(Rhinoceros bicornis") . . .15
THE GREAT AFRICAN RHINOCEROS (Rhino-
ceros simus) . . . . .16
THE AMERICAN TAPIR (Tapirus americanus) 1 7
BAIRD'S TAPIR (Tapirus bairdi) . . 18
THE PINCHAQUE TAPIR (Tapirus roulin!) 19
THE MALAYAN TAPIR (Tapirus indicus) . 19
BURCHELL'S ZEBRA (Equus burchelli) . z i
THE MOUNTAIN ZEBRA (Equus stbra) . 2 2
GREVY'S ZEBRA (Equus grevyf) . . 23
THE Ass (Equus asinus) . . .23
THE KIANG (Equus hemionus) . . 24
THE WILD HORSE (Equus caballus preze-
valskii) . . . , . .24
THE AMERICAN BISON (Bison americanus) 25
THE EUROPEAN BISON (Bison bonasus") . 27
THE YAK (Poephagus grunniens) . . 27
THE GAUR (Bibos gaurus) . . .27
THE BANTENG (Bibos sondaicus) , . 28
THE WILD Ox (Bos taurus) . . .28
THE INDIAN BUFFALO (Bos bubalus) . 29
THE AFRICAN BUFFALO (Bubalus caffer) . 3 1
THE TAMARAO (Bubalus mindorensis) . 32
THE ANOA (Anoa depressicornis) . . 32
THE BLACK -TAILED GNU (Connochcetes
taurinus) ..... 33
THE WHITE-TAILED GNU (Connochcetes gmt) 34
THE HARTEBEESTS . . . -35
THE SASSABY (Dantaliscus lunatus) . . 36
THE BLESBOK AND BONTEBOK (Damaliscus
albifrons and D. pygargus) . . 36
THE SPRINGBOK (Gazella euchore) . . 37
THE DIBATAG (Ammodorcas clarkei) . 38
THE GERENOOK (Lithocranius walleri)
THE BEIRA (Dorcotragus megabits) .
THE CHIRU (Pantholops hodgsont) .
THE SAIGA (Saiga tatarica)
THE PALLAH (JEpyceros tnelatnpus)
THE BLACKBUCK (Antilope cervicapra')
THE BEISA ORYX (Oryx beisa)
THE TUFTED ORYX (Oryx callotis) .
THE GEMSBOK (Oryx gazella) .
THE BEATRIX (Oryx beatrix) ,
THE LEUCORYX (Oryx leucoryx)
THE ADDAX (Addax naso-maculatus)
THE SABLE ANTELOPE (Hippotragus niger)
THE ROAN ANTELOPE (Hippotragus equinus)
THE KOB ANTELOPES (Kobus)
THE WATERBUCK (Cobus ellipsiprymnus) .
THE LECHWE (Cobus lechi)
THE ELAND (Oreas canna)
THE DERBIAN ELAND (Oreas derbianus] .
THE KOODOO (Strepsiceros kudu)
THE LESSER KOODOO (Strepsiceros imberbis)
THE BONGO (Boocercus euryceros)
THE INYALA (Tragelaphtts angasi) .
THE BUSHBUCKS
THE SITATUNGAS
THE NILGHAI (Boselaphus tragocamelus) .
THE FOUR-HORNED ANTELOPE (Tetraceros
quadricornis) .....
THE DUIKERS
THE KLIPSPRINGER (Oreolragus saltator) .
THE ROYAL ANTELOPE (Nanotragus pyg-
tttcnus) ......
THE DIKDIKS .....
THE CHAMOIS (Rupicapra tragus) .
THE GORAL (Nemorhcedus goraf)
THE SEROWS ......
THE ROCKY-MOUNTAIN GOAT (Haploceros
montanus) .....
THE TAKIN (Budorcas taxicolor)
THE MuSK-Ox (Ovibos tnoschatus) .
THE MARKHOR (Capra falconeri)
THE WILD GOAT (Capra hircus)
THE IBEXES
THE TURS
THE TAHR (Hemitragus jemlaicus) .
MARCO POLO'S SHEEP (Ovispoli) .
THE MOUFLON (Ovis tnusimon)
THE URIAL (Ovis vignet)
THE BURRHEL (Ovis nahurd) . . .
39
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63364083
VI
CONTENTS
PAGE
THE AOUDAD (Ovis tragelaphus) . . 72
THE GIRAFFE (Camelopardalis giraffa) . 73
THE OKAPI (Okapiajohnstoni) . . 77
THE PRONG-BUCK (Antilocapra americana) 79
THE MUSK-DEER (Moschus moschiferus) . 81
TYPICAL DEER 83
THE MUNTJAC (Cervulus muntjac) . . 84
THE RED-DEER (Cervus elaphus) . . 85
THE SAM BUR (Cervus unicolor) . . 87
THE SPOTTED DEER (Cervus axis) . . 87
THE FALLOW-DEER (Dama vulgaris) . 88
THE ELK OR MOOSE (Alces mac/ilis) . 89
THE MILOU DEER (Cervus davidianus) . 92
THE VIRGINIAN DEER (Cariacus virgini-
anus) 93
THE MULE-DEER (Cariacus macrotis) . 94
THE PAMPAS DEER (Cariacus campestris) . 95
THE HUEMUL (Xenelaphus bisulcus) . . 95
THE BROCKETS 95
THE PUDUS 95
THE ROE (Capreolus caprea) . . .96
THE WATER-DEER (Hydrelaphus inermis) . 96
THE REINDEER OR CARIBOU (Rangifer
tarandus) . . . . -97
THE INDIAN MOUSE -DEER (Tragulus
meminna) . . . . . 101
THE KANCHIL (Tragulus javanicus) . . 103
THE NAPU (Tragulus nafu) . . .103
THE WATER CHEVROTAIN (Hyomoschus
aquaticus) . . . . .104
THE CAMEL (Camtlus dromedarius) . . 105
THE BACTRIAN CAMEL (Camelus bactrianus) 108
THE GUANACO OR WILD LLAMA (Auchenia
huanacus) . , , . .109
THE VICUGNA (Auchenia vicuna) . . 112
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS (Hippopotamus amphi-
bius) . . . . . .113
THE PIGMY HIPPOPOTAMUS (Hippopotamus
liberiensis) . . . . , 1 1 6
THE INDIAN WILD BOAR (Sus cristatus) . 117
THE EUROPEAN WILD BOAR (Sits scro/a) 119
THE PIGMY HOG (Sus salvanius) . .120
THE RED RIVER-HOG (Sus porous) . 120
THE BABIRUSA (Babirusa alfurus) . .121
THE WART-HOG (Phacochcerus celhiopicus) 123
THE FOREST- HOG (Hylochcerus meiner-
ehageni) . . . . . .124
THE COLLARED PECCARY (Dicotyles tajacu) 125
THE WHITE-LIPPED PECCARY (Dicotyles
labial us) . . . . . "127
THE SPERM-WHALE (Physeter macro-
cephalus) . . . . . .129
THE PIGMY SPERM-WHALE (Cogia breviceps) 132
THE BEAKED WHALES . . . .13*
THE PORPOISE (Phoccena communis) . 133
THE COMMON DOLPHIN (Delphinus delphis) 135
MM
THE GRAMPUS (Orca gladiator) . . 137
Risso's DOLPHIN (Grampus griseus) . 139
THE BLACKFISH (Globicephahts melas) . 139
THE BELUGA (Delphinapterus leucas) . 140
THE NARHWAL (Monodon monoceros) . 141
THE WHALEBONE WHALES . . . 142
THE RIGHT WHALES . . . .143
THE RORQUALS 143
THE HUMPBACK (Megaptera longimana) . 144
THE CALIFORNIAN GREY WHALE (Rhachia-
nectes glaucus . . . .144
THE MANATEE (Manatus americanus) . 145
THE DUGONGS 147
THE Two- TOED SLOTH (Cholcepus didactylus) 149
THE THREE-TOED SLOTHS . . -151
THE GREAT ANT-EATER (Myrmecophaga
jubata) 153
THE TAMANDUA ANT-EATER (Tamandua
tetradactyla) . . . . 155
THE LITTLE ANT-EATER (Cyclotums didac-
tyfas) 155
THE PANGOLINS 156
THE HAIRY ARMADILLO (Dasypus villostis) 157
THE GIANT ARMADILLO (Priodott gigas) . 159
THE BALL ARMADILLOS . . .159
THE PICHICIAGO (Chlamydophorus truncatus) 159
THE AARD-VARKS . . . .160
THE RED KANGAROO (Macropus rufus) . 161
THE TREE KANGAROOS . . . .164
THE RAT KANGAROOS . . . .164
THE MUSK KANGAROO (Hypsiprymnodon
moschalus) . . . . .164
THE VULPINE PHALANGER (Trichosurus
vulpecula) . . . . .165
THE CUSCUSES 166
THE FLYING PHALANGERS . . .166
THE KOALA (Phascolomys ursinus) . . 167
THE NOOLBENGER (Tarsipes rostratus) . 168
THE WOMBATS 168
THE TASMANIAN DEVIL (Sarcophilus ur-
sinus) . . . . . .169
THE THYLACINE (Thylacinus cynocephalus) 170
THE TYPICAL DASYURES . . .170
THE TAPOA-TAFA (Phascologale penicillaia) 171
THE BANDED ANT-EATER (Myrmecobius
fasciatus) . . . . .171
THE BANDICOOTS 172
THE COMMON AMERICAN OPOSSUM (Didel-
phys virginiana) . . . .173
THE WATER-OPOSSUM (Chironectes yapock) 175
THE MARSUPIAL MOLE (Notoryctes typhlops) 175
THE RATON RUNCHO (C&nolestes obscurus) 176
THE ECHIDNA (Echidna hystrix) . . 177
THE THREE-TOED ECHIDNA (Proechidna
bruijnt) , . . . . .180
THE PLATYPUS (Oniithorhynchus anatinus) 181
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
HARE (Lepus europceus) ....
DASSIES (Hyrax capensis)
INDIAN ELEPHANT (Elephas indicus)
INDIAN ONE-HORNED RHINOCEROS (Rhinoceros indicus)
AMERICAN TAPIRS (Tapints atnericanus) .
BURCHELL'S ZEBRAS (Equns burchellt)
AMERICAN BISON (Bison americanus)
INDIAN BUFFALOES (Bos bubaliis)
BLACK-TAILED GNUS (Connochcetes tattrinus)
SPRINGBOKS (Gazella euchore) . . .
ELAND (Oreas canna) ....
SABLE ANTELOPE (Hippotragus niger) , .
BEISA ORYX (Oryx beisa) . ,
KOODOO (Slrepsiceros itnberbis) . . .
NILGHAI (Boselaphus tragocamelus)
CHAMOIS (Rupicapra tragus)
MARKHOR (Capra falconeri) . , .
MARCO POLO'S SHEEP (Ovis polt)
GIRAFFES (Camelopardalis giraffa)
OKAPIS (Okapia johnstoni)
MUSK-DEER (Moschus moschiferus)
RED-DEER (Cervus elaphus)
ELK (Alces machlis) ....
VIRGINIAN DEER (Cariacus virginiamis)
REINDEER OR CARIBOU (Rangifer iarandus)
MOUSE-DEER (Tragulus meminna)
CAMEL (ONE-HUMPED) (Camelus dromedarius)
GUANACO (Anchenia huanacus) .
HIPPOPOTAMUS (Hippopotamus amphibius)
WILD BOAR (Sus cristatus)
BABIRUSA (Babirusa alfurus)
PECCARY (COLLARED) (Dicotyles taja$u) .
SPERM-WHALE (Physeter macrocephalns) .
PORPOISE (Phoccena communis) .
GRAMPUS (Orca gladiator)
vii
Frontispiece
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viii LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
NARHWAL (Monodon monoceros) ..... To face page 140
MANATEE (Manatus americanus) ..... » » *44
TWO-TOED SLOTH (Choloepus didactylus) .... » » J48
GREAT ANT-EATER (Myrmecophaga jubatd) . . . „ „ 152
HAIRY ARMADILLO (Dasypus villosus) . . . . ,, ,, 156
RED KANGAROO (Macropus rufus) . . . . ,,,,160
VULPINE PHALANGER (Trichosurus vulpecula) . . . „ „ 164
TASMANIAN DEVIL (Sarcophilus ursinus) . . . ,,,,168
VIRGINIAN OPOSSUM (Didelphys virginiana) . . . „ „ 172
ECHIDNA (Echidna hystrix) . . . . . ,,,,176
PLATYPUS OR DUCKBILL (Ornithorhynchus anatinus) . , ,,,,180
WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
THE COMMON HARE
(Lepus europaus)
THE Common Hare has for ages attracted the attention of man more
than almost any other of the smaller animals of Europe, its excellence
as a sporting beast of the chase and a delicacy for the table having
particularly commended it to the Greeks and Romans, who thought
even more of it in these capacities than we do. For a rodent it is a
large animal, weighing from seven to twelve pounds, and its peculiar
form, with long ears and short tail, is very distinctive, not only
among rodents, but among beasts in general. The slender but
powerful limbs, of which the hind pair are much the stronger, bear
five toes on the fore and four on the hind feet, and have the pads
covered with hair. The teeth differ from those of most rodents, in
that there are two pairs of incisors in the upper jaw instead of one ;
but the second pair are very small, and are set behind the great
centre pair, so that they are neither noticeable nor useful.
The coat of the Hare does not vary much in colour, though
occasional black and white specimens have been recorded, and a very
pretty silver-grey variety sometimes occurs, in which the tawny-
yellow ground of the fur is replaced by white, the black "ticking"
remaining. In the northern part of its range the Hare shows some
tendency to turn white in winter.
It is essentially a European animal, being generally distributed
over Europe, and not found outside it ; in certain European countries,
also, it is absent — in North Russia, Scandinavia, and Ireland, though
in the last-named it has been artificially introduced in a few places.
Artificial introduction, also, has established it in New Zealand, where
n.
2 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
it thrives well and attains a great size ; it does not become a pest
like the Rabbit, being less prolific and not a burrower.
Its life of constant exposure on the surface of the ground is made
up for by its great speed and agility; its long hind-legs enable it to
gallop very rapidly, especially up hill ; but the same peculiarity of
form is against it in descending a slope, and makes it apt to over-
balance. It cannot see ahead very well when running, and hence is
apt to run into danger. In addition to being a good runner, the
Hare can leap to a vertical height of five feet, and clear as much as
five yards' width at a spring ; it also swims well and strongly, and
readily takes to the water, crossing rivers and even arms of the sea.
By choice it lives in open country, squatting by day in its " form,"
a depression it makes among the herbage, and coming out at evening
to seek its food of grass and other plants ; it often ravages gardens
and crops, and indeed prefers cultivated land. Hares are not, how-
ever, so destructive or omnivorous as Rabbits. They are usually
solitary, but in early spring, when they pair, several may be seen
playing about together, even by day — the proverbial madness of the
" March Hare." The bucks fight savagely together, striking heavy
blows with their fore-feet, so as even to kill each other at times ;
indeed, the Hare, though proverbially so timid, is only so with man
and the numerous carnivorous enemies which seek its life. With its
own kind, and harmless animals like Cattle and Sheep, it is bold
enough. The doe usually produces about five young, which are born
furry and open-eyed, not helpless and blind like young Rabbits ; these
leverets she soon disperses in separate forms, going regularly to each
one to suckle it. In this way they run less chance of being lost than
if collected all together; and the precaution is needful, for Hares
have many enemies, from the Wolf, Lynx, and Eagle, down to the
Weasel and Crow, to say nothing of the depredations of man. When
being killed the Hare utters a loud painful scream, but its usual note
is only an inward grunt, or a low call to its mate and young.
As every one knows, Hares, besides being shot, are hunted in two
ways, being "coursed," or run by sight, by a couple of Greyhounds,
THE MOUNTAIN HARE— THE RABBIT 3
or hunted by scent by a pack of Harriers, Beagles, or the curious short-
legged Basset-hounds. Its great power of doubling often saves it from
swift Dogs, but its habit of running more or less in a circle is fatal to
it when pursued by those which run by scent and gradually tire it out.
Hares are not often kept as pets, but, when once their great natural
shyness is overcome, have been known to become very affectionate,
though often strangely spiteful for creatures with such a reputation for
harmlessness.
THE MOUNTAIN HARE
(Lepus variabilis)
THE Mountain Hare is somewhat intermediate in size and form between the
Common Hare and the Rabbit, though closer to the former ; it weighs about six
pounds, and has shorter feet and limbs than our other species. Its coat is of a drab-
brown in summer, becoming bluish-grey in autumn, whence the name Blue Hare,
often given to it to distinguish it from the Brown or Common Hare of the lowland
country. In winter it becomes pure white, except the tips of the ears, which remain
black ; but this change, like the similar one in the Stoat, is not constant except
in the colder localities inhabited by the animal, and in the south of Scotland and
in Ireland seldom occurs, especially in the latter country. This is an animal of
high elevations and cold climates ; with us it inhabits the Scotch mountains, but
is, curiously enough, the only Hare native to Ireland. Outside our islands, it is
found practically all round the northern parts of the world, a large local form of it
being the so-called Polar Hare of Arctic America.
In Ireland it often produces a buff-coloured variety; and where it meets the
Common Hare, the two species sometimes interbreed.
THE RABBIT
(Lepus cuniculus)
ORIGINALLY the familiar Rabbit must have been an animal of more limited dis-
tribution than any of the Hare family, for its really natural home seems to be
only Western, and especially South-Western, Europe, particularly the Spanish
peninsula, extending to the other European countries bordering the Mediterranean.
Now, however, what with its domestication by man and his introduction of it into
various countries as a wild animal, it is certainly by far the most numerous of its
kind. The wild Rabbit is a small animal compared to most of its tame descendants,
4 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
and, as every one knows, is naturally of a greyish-brown colour, though black,
sandy, silver-grey, and other varieties occur even among wild ones. Its ears and
tail are much shorter than those of the Hare, and the former have no black patch
at the tip. The weight of a wild specimen is two to three pounds.
The social and burrowing habits of the Rabbit are well known, and also the
fact that the young, which are kept by the doe in a warm nest in the burrow lined
with her own fur, are helpless and naked at first, very different from the young
of Hares. There is little need also to dwell on the excellence of Rabbits as food,
and their destructiveness when too numerous, especially in our Australasian colonies,
where the climate is more favourable to them than it is here. It is important,
however, to point out that the animals called "Rabbits "in America are various
species of Hares, solitary, non-burrowing animals, with active young ; the breeding
habits of the true Rabbit being quite exceptional among the Hare kind.
Hares of one sort or another are, indeed, found almost all over the world,
except in the Australian region and in Madagascar and southern South America ;
they are all sufficiently like our species in general appearance to be recognised as
members of the Hare and Rabbit family, though they differ much in detail both
in form and habits. There are Desert-Hares, Rock-Hares, and even swamp-loving
species.
In hot countries Hares are often very foul feeders, and in India, at any rate,
are for this reason not often eaten by Europeans, which makes it easier to under-
stand Moses' prohibition of Hares to the Jews, though they do not chew the cud as
he imagined when mentioning them as cud-chewing animals without divided hoofs.
THE PIKAS
PIKAS (Lagomyida), also known as Mouse-Hares or Calling-Hares, are a small
family of little animals inhabiting Asia, and in one case North America. In general
character they are much like the Hare family, and like them have two pairs of
upper incisors, but they have quite short limbs and ears, and no tail at all.
In fact, except for their soft, Rabbit-like fur, they at first sight remind one much
more of Guinea-Pigs than anything else. They hide among rocks in mountainous
districts as a rule, though in Central Asia they are found burrowing on the steppes
in communities. Several of them are also remarkable for their loud whistling calls.
Like true Hares, they remain active in winter, but have the foresight to lay up
in summer a large store of the grass and other plants which form their food, for
consumption at that time. The young are said to be naked at birth. Pikas are
seldom seen in captivity, but of late years the London Zoological Gardens have
had examples of one or two kinds.
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THE DASSIE
(Hyrax capensis)
As a whole, the animals of the hoofed order (Ungulatci) are so distinct
in appearance that their relationships are at once apparent even to an
untrained eye ; but the little animals of the family Hyracidce at first
sight look much more like rodents, and, indeed, were at one time
classed with that order of animals.
The Dassie, or Rock- Rabbit, of the Cape, is a very good type of the
family, all of which bear a strong general resemblance to each other.
In size it about equals a Cat, and is heavily built, with the tail quite
rudimentary and not noticeable. The legs are short, with four toes on
the front feet and three on the hind. These are provided with flat
nails, except the inner toe on the hind-foot, which has an ordinary
curved claw, no doubt used for scratching. In walking, the animal
goes on its toes, not on the flat of the foot like so many rodents.
The coat is thick and soft, quite unlike the usual covering of a
hoofed animal ; and there are whiskers at the sides of the muzzle, and
a small tuft of similar long hairs under the chin.
The teeth are very peculiar; the grinders, indeed, almost exactly
resemble those of a Rhinoceros in miniature, forming a curious contrast
to the general appearance of the creature, but the front teeth are
especially characteristic. As in rodents, there are no canines at all,
and two large, continually-growing incisors in the front of the upper
jaw. These, however, instead of being flat-fronted and square-tipped
— chisel-shaped, in fact — come to an edge down the front, and terminate
in points, while they are set somewhat apart, not close together like a
rodent's incisors. In the lower jaw there are two pairs of incisors,
rounded in shape and projecting straight forwards.
The internal structure of this animal, such as that of the brain and
stomach, allies it to the hoofed order, and not to rodents. The
5
6 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
habits, however, are, on the whole, more like those of some of that
order than any other beasts. The food is entirely vegetable, chiefly
the shoots of shrubs, and this is sought by the Dassies in the morn-
ing and evening. They inhabit cliffs and stony hills, taking shelter
when alarmed in holes and crevices in the rocks, for they do not
make burrows, their soft feet and blunt nails being quite unsuitable
for digging. In the day-time they may often be found basking in
the sun, and sometimes sitting up on their hind-legs to look round.
On these occasions, the cry of the animal may be heard if it is alarmed
— a shrill prolonged note, variously described as a whistle and a
hiss.
The Dassie is a very active animal, climbing over rocks and
clinging to them, even when almost perpendicular, in a very remark-
able manner. This it can do by virtue of certain peculiarities of its
feet ; the soles of these are naked, and very copiously supplied with
sweat-glands, producing a soft clammy surface eminently suited for
adhesion, while the muscles are so arranged that the soles can be
contracted and cause the foot to adhere like a sucker without any
effort, even dead animals remaining thus clinging.
The young Dassies are born about the end of the year, in the
early summer of the Southern Hemisphere ; three was the number
in two litters observed by Moseley, who says they were very playful,
chasing each other about the rocks. These were of the size of very
large Rats. The Dassies are sociable animals, and live in family
parties ; although timid, they are inquisitive, and, after being startled,
will after a time come out to take another look at the disturber.
Their great enemies are Leopards and some of the large birds of
prey, especially the splendid Black Eagle of the Cape (Aquila
vulturina), which is locally called the " Dassie- vanger " (catcher) by
the Boers.
The worthy Boers who colonised South Africa, by the way, seem
to have had a perfect genius for misnaming animals. " Dassie "
is a corruption for " dasje," a Dutch diminutive of the name of the
Badger, to which animal the present one certainly bears but the
TREE-DASSIES 7
faintest resemblance, either in form or habits, but nevertheless the
name, being in popular use at the Cape, and not confusing to
English people, may well be allowed to stand. " Rock-Rabbit," also
a Cape term, is not correct either, and much more likely to make
people run away with a false idea of the Dassie's affinities.
The flesh of this animal is sometimes used for food, but is dry
and tasteless. It is tenacious of life, requiring a large charge of
shot, and bites fiercely if not killed outright. In captivity it lives
well, but does not like being shut up in close quarters, becoming
irritable and biting readily. Many specimens have been exhibited in
the London Zoological Society's Gardens, and it has bred there,
though not of late years.
There are about twenty species of Dassies altogether, all so much
alike that any one could at once recognise their relationship, and all
are purely African animals except one, the Syrian Dassie (Hyrax
syriacus) which ranges into Arabia and Palestine. This animal is
well known by name as the " Coney " of Scripture, its habit of
sheltering its feebleness by lodging among rocks being noted there,
while it was forbidden to the Jews as food as being one of the cud-
chewers which had not cloven hoofs. It does not, as a matter of
fact, chew the cud, but, like the Hare, has a habit of champing its
jaws in a way that suggests its doing so. " Coney," of course, simply
means "Rabbit" in old English, and every one is familiar with the
retention of the word in legal phraseology, " trespassing in search of
Conies " being such a common rural offence. It is rather curious to
find English colonists at the Cape making the same mistake, and
calling their Dassies Rock " Rabbits."
TREE-DASSIES
ALTHOUGH there is such a general similarity among the members of
this small family as far as appearance goes, there is a curious differ-
ence in point of habits in some cases, several of the species, forming
8 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
the group Dendrohyrax, being tree-animals. These live in holes of
trees, climbing about the branches and trunks, in the same way as
their rock-loving relatives traverse the rocks, their peculiar power of
clinging with the feet being just as well suited for an arboreal life as
for climbing precipices. At the same time, it is curious to find any
animal of the hoofed order climbing trees at all, although one or two
of the small African Antelopes, and even the common Goat, will jump
up on to accessible branches at times. One of these Tree-Dassies has,
at the time of writing, been living for some time along with the
Squirrels in their open enclosure at the London Zoological Gardens,
and has passed the winter outdoors.
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THE INDIAN ELEPHANT
(Eltphas indicus)
OF the two known living Elephants the Indian species is much the
more familiar, being that commonly seen in captivity both in its native
country of South-Eastern Asia, where it ranges from India to Sumatra,
and in menageries away from it. Although not quite so large as the
African species, the Indian Elephant is, as every one knows, a huge
animal, the male occasionally reaching a height of eleven feet at the
shoulder, though it is usually two feet or more less. The female is
considerably smaller. It is a curious fact that twice the circumference
of the Elephant's fore-foot gives practically the height. The Elephant
is even more remarkable for its structure than its size ; the long
prehensile nose or trunk is a peculiarity which has appealed to
humanity ever since the Romans called the Elephant the "snake-
handed " beast, and its general shape is very unlike that of the hoofed
animals in general, with which it is usually classed. It will be noticed
that the joints of the limbs, which are nearly straight, are situated
nearly as in ourselves, the wrists and heels being down quite near
the toes, and the true knee plainly visible, whereas in most hoofed
animals the wrist forms the so-called "knee" of the fore-leg, and
the heel the "hock" of the hind-leg, the true knee being tucked up
to the body and constituting the stifle-joint. There are five nails on
the fore, and four on the hind feet, the toes being five in both.
The huge size of the Elephant's head always attracts attention, but
the expanse of brow, which gives the appearance of intellect, is really
due to the development of air-cells in the skull, to give surface
without weight, the brain of the animal being remarkably small. The
teeth are not the least wonderful parts of the creature's organisation.
There are no canines, and no incisors except the great tusks in the
upper jaw, which grow continuously; in the Indian Elephant, how
ever, they are confined to the male — that is, in their full development,
those of females being so short as not to be noticeable. The grinders
are equally remarkable in their way; they are very large and longi-
n.
10 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
tudinally oval, and when worn show alternating layers of enamel,
ivory, and bony cement. They keep gradually working forward in
the jaw, the rear teeth coming through from behind as the fore ones
are worn away, till at last the remnants of the latter are shed. Thus
the Elephant is cutting its teeth all its life, and never has more than
one, or one and a half, in use at one time on each side of each jaw ;
the total number produced is twenty-four, six for each side of either
jaw. This number must last the animal's lifetime — at any rate if it
wears them all out it must die of indigestion — but the danger of this
cannot be great, as there seems good reason to suppose the beast
lives a hundred years.
The existing Elephants are among the few land animals which are
practically naked, there being hardly any hair on the body, although
the end of the long thin tail is tasselled with stout bristles. Young
Elephants, however, are more hairy than adults ; at birth they are
about the size of an ordinary Pig, with the trunk shorter and the
forehead less prominent than in the old animal. Only one is pro-
duced at a time, and for some time it is carefully kept by the mother
beneath her body, under which it can of course walk quite comfort-
ably ; as, otherwise, the adventurous sallies of the little creature,
which is as playful as other young animals, would expose it to the
risk of capture by the Tiger, which willingly preys on young Elephants
if he can get them. The little Elephant sucks with the mouth, not
the trunk ; the old one's teats are situated close up to the armpits.
Elephants become adult at about twenty-five years of age ; the
members of a herd keep close together, and often show such similarity
in appearance that they are evidently related. Of course it takes an
Elephant expert to notice this, but there are individual differences
conspicuous to a trained eye, besides others more noticeable. Thus,
many Elephants have the trunk and face blotched with flesh-colour,
and presumably the extension of this hue all over the body constitutes
the rare White Elephant. In some cases there are five instead of
only four nails on the hind-foot ; and some males are devoid of
tusks, these being known in India as "mucknas." In Ceylon almost
all male Elephants are tuskless. The Elephant is a remarkably active
animal for its size, although it can neither gallop nor jump, its only
pace being a walk, either slow or fast, and it can stride a ditch of
THE INDIAN ELEPHANT 11
six and a half feet. It climbs up or down hills with great facility,
negotiating slopes which would puzzle a Horse, as, when ascending,
it goes down on its wrists, and when descending, on its knees, the
situation of its joints making these postures convenient. It is also a
strong swimmer, and when in the water has the great advantage of
being able to breathe through its trunk held above the surface. With
the trunk is collected the food, which consists of grass, and the
leaves, twigs, and fruit of various trees ; and water is drawn up by
it and squirted into the mouth or over the body when bathing.
The Indian Elephant frequents forest country, and is timid and
social ; it is almost always in herds, and stray females and young
animals can gain entrance to these ; adult males, no doubt, would
have to face the opposition of the leading "tusker," or adult male, in
the herd, and such are often found solitary, and sometimes become
the well-known " rogues." These individuals have thrown off the
natural timidity which is so strong a feature in Elephants, and attack
man ferociously ; but a " rogue " is not necessarily permanently soli-
tary, since some herd-bulls develop these vicious propensities. The
actual leader of a herd is, curiously enough, always a female, and the
animals in their travels display a remarkable aptitude for picking out
the safest and most convenient routes across a country.
The best-known note of the Elephant is the shrill " trumpeting "
sound, but it also roars when in fear or pain. It attacks enemies
with its tusks and feet, not with the trunk, and female animals often
bite each other's tails off, not having tusks to gore with ; mucknas
have to put up with much ill-usage from tuskers.
Except when a known rogue, the Elephant is protected in India
on account of its utility when domesticated ; its capture is usually
effected by driving a herd into a stockade or " kheddah," where the
captured animals are roped, and afterwards removed, by the aid of
tame Elephants. Elephants seldom breed in menageries in India or
in Europe and elsewhere, but frequently do so in Burma and Siam.
Captive-bred animals are no great acquisition, as they are long in
growing to a useful size, and are apt to be wanting in due respect
for man — a serious matter in the case of such a gigantic animal.
In the ordinary way, the docility of the Elephant is its most
remarkable quality, but, as is well known, the adult male is subject
12 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
to periodical fits of blind fury, when he is said to be "must"; fortu-
nately a discharge from an orifice in the temple precedes and gives
warning of this dangerous period.
THE AFRICAN ELEPHANT
(Elepkas africanus)
WITH close general correspondence in appearance and habits with the
Indian Elephant, the African differs in several details. Its forehead
is low and receding, and its ears twice the size of those of the other
species, almost touching over the neck. Its trunk terminates in two
equal lips, instead of the upper finger-like process and short lower
margin found in the end of the Indian Elephant's trunk; and there
are only three nails on the hind-foot. Moreover, in this species,
most of the females develop tusks as well as the males.
The African Elephant is taller and more leggy in build than the
Indian species, and the male at any rate attains a greater size. It
is more of an open-country animal than the Indian species, and is
faster in its movements. As every one knows, it is the animal from
which most of the ivory of commerce is derived, and for that insig-
nificant product a noble creature like this is being exterminated,
although it is known to be capable of domestication and training—
though said to be less amenable to this than the other species. The
late celebrated "Jumbo," of the London Zoological Gardens, was an
African Elephant, and a few specimens are always to be seen in
captivity somewhere or other. In classical times the Elephant in-
habited North Africa, but became extinct there during the Roman
Empire. It seems to have been used in warfare by the ancients, but,
judging from the fact that the old writers speak of Elephant-
drivers as " Indians," it is evident that the practice of taming
Elephants, and the supply of animals to some extent, came from the
East. Before leaving the subject of Elephants, it may be mentioned
that the celebrated Mammoth (Elephas primigenius], the extinct
Elephant of the northern parts of the world, was nearly related to
the Indian species, differing chiefly in its heavy coat of hair and its
huge upcurled tusks.
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THE INDIAN RHINOCEROS
(Rhinoceros indicus)
OWING to its inhabiting a country of ancient civilisation like India,
the great Indian Rhinoceros has always been the most familiar of the
small family of large hoofed animals of which it is a member ; while,
though not absolutely the largest, it can challenge comparison with
any of them in peculiarity of aspect, owing to the curious armour-
plate-like arrangement of its heavy and folded hide, which is studded
with tubercles simulating the rivets of real armour.
The horn on the nose is solid throughout, and composed of a mass
of horny fibres like agglutinated hair ; it is merely seated on the skull,
having no bony core, and a captive individual in the London Zoological
Gardens once accidentally wrenched his off, to his exceeding pain and
dismay. The hoofs are three in number on each foot, but the animal
is not supported entirely on them, like a Horse or Cow, but treads also
on a pad covering the bases of the toes. The skin is naked and very
thick, but in the fresh state is not impenetrable to bullets as used to
be supposed.
The mouth is provided with a good set of flat-crowned grinders,
but the front teeth are very scantily represented, there being no
canines in the upper jaw and usually only one pair of incisors, while
the lower jaw has only a pair of small incisors and an outer pair of
rather large sharp-edged teeth, which some regard as canines and some
as incisors. Whatever they are, the animal knows how to make use
of them, ripping an adversary with them as a Boar does with his
canine tusks.
This Rhinoceros is one of the largest living land animals, measuring
from five to nearly six feet at the shoulder, and exceeding at times ten
feet from nose to root of tail ; the said appendage is puny and rather
short, not reaching a yard. The horn in this species is not very long,
seldom reaching more than a foot ; it is found in both sexes, as in
most Rhinoceroses. When newly born, the Rhinoceros is about as
14 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
large as a Pig ; it has no horn at birth, but otherwise is a very perfect
miniature of its parents. It grows rapidly — at first, at any rate — but
is a long-lived animal, believed to live for a hundred years.
The Rhinoceros is a much more active creature than would be
supposed from its ponderous build ; it has a rapid if heavy trot, and
can even gallop. In the ordinary way, however, it is not very
energetic ; it easily finds food and shelter in the great grass-jungles
it frequents, and it much enjoys wallowing in the mud, like so many
tropical animals. Its range in India has greatly diminished in his-
torical times ; in the time of the Emperor Baber, in the sixteenth
century, it extended to Peshawur, and it used comparatively recently
to be found along the base of the Himalayas. Its last stronghold
is in the plains of Assam, and it is to be hoped that the Indian
Government will be able to secure its protection there indefinitely.
It is a harmless animal, rarely attacking man even when provoked,
and, though it is greatly feared by Elephants, these beasts are so
nervous in disposition that their dread of any animal must not be
taken as proof that it is a natural enemy, as the Rhinoceros has
been credited with being.
There is also a certain amount of positive utility in the Rhino-
ceros, from the fact that its flesh is considered good food even by
Europeans, while its heavy skin can be turned to a variety of uses
when cured. It thrives well in captivity, and lives for many years,
but, like all Rhinoceroses, is scarce in the animal trade, and very
expensive accordingly. During all the time I was in Calcutta — seven
years — our dealers were trying to get hold of a live Rhinoceros of
any sort, but not a single specimen came to hand.
THE SONDAIC RHINOCEROS
{Rhinoceros sondaicus)
THIS is the only other kind of Rhinoceros with one horn ; like the
last, it is found in India, but has a much wider range altogether,
extending from Eastern Bengal through Burma and the isles to
Borneo. Though as tall as the other species, it is not so heavy, and
has a smaller head ; moreover, the skin, although falling in folds, as
ASIATIC RHINOCEROS— AFRICAN RHINOCEROS 15
in the great Indian species, differs slightly in the arrangement of these
creases — the fold in front of the shoulder runs right across from side
to side of the neck, like that behind the shoulder and over the hips.
In the Sondaic Rhinoceros, also, the skin is not tubercled, and the
nose-horn is confined to the males — at any rate as a rule.
This species usually frequents hilly districts, though it also occurs
in the marshy alluvial soil of the Sunderbunds. It frequents tree
rather than grass jungle, and is said to be more harmless than the
great Indian Rhinoceros. It has once been exhibited in the London
Zoological Gardens.
THE ASIATIC TWO-HORNED
RHINOCEROS
(Rhinoceros sumatrensis)
THE Hairy Rhinoceros, as this species might well be called, for its
body is thinly covered with hair and its ears fringed therewith, is
the smallest of all known kinds, not reaching five feet at the shoulder,
and being sometimes less than four. Its skin shows fewer folds than
those of the large Asiatic kinds, and only the fold behind the shoulder
crosses the back.
In addition to the horn on the nose, there is another over the
eyes ; the front one grows to a considerable length, well over two feet.
This species much resembles the last in range and habits, being a
forest animal, found from Assam to Borneo. It has been exhibited in
the Zoological Gardens of London and Calcutta, and young ones have
been born in the latter place, while in the London Docks a young
one was produced aboard ship by a female which had just been
imported from Singapore.
THE COMMON AFRICAN RHINOCEROS
(Rhinoceros bicornis)
THE " Black Rhinoceros," as this species is often rather absurdly
called — for it is grey, like Rhinoceroses generally — is the commonest
16 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
species now living, ranging all over Africa from Abyssinia to the Cape.
It is about as big as the great Indian Rhinoceros, and, like it, has a
pointed prehensile upper-lip, but a smooth skin without creases ; it is
also provided with two horns, the front one, on the nose, sometimes
exceeding a yard in length, while that over the eyes is seldom much
more than half the length of its fellow ; but the proportions vary
greatly.
This Rhinoceros is for the most part a bush-haunter, and lives
almost entirely by browsing, eating twigs, leaves, and fruit. Opinions
differ as to its character, but the general opinion is that it is an
irritable, vicious animal, being unusually inclined to attack men un-
provoked, and thus very different in disposition from most of the
family. Indeed, some years ago, the expedition of Mr. A. Chanler and
Lieutenant von Hohnel into East Africa was broken up through
the repeated attacks of these animals, who ultimately disabled the
latter gentleman. Although so common in the wild state, this animal
is rarely captured, and only two have been exhibited in the London
Zoological Gardens.
THE GREAT AFRICAN RHINOCEROS
(Rhinoceros simus)
THE Square-mouthed Rhinoceros of South Africa, so called from its
upper lip not terminating in a prehensile point, is also sometimes
called "White" — a term as absurd as "Black" for the other, and for
the same reason, the animal being also grey. It is the largest land
animal after the Elephants, a big male standing six and a half feet
at the shoulder, and being about twelve feet long. Like the common
kind, it is smooth-skinned, and has two horns, which vary much in
length, the front one sometimes exceeding four feet in length. The
Square-mouthed Rhinoceros lives in the open, and is a grass-feeder,
and generally harmless in disposition. It has never been brought to
Europe alive, and is now, by the persecution of hunters, reduced
to about a dozen individuals — if even these still exist — in South
Africa, though now also found to inhabit Central Equatorial Africa.
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THE AMERICAN TAPIR
(Tapirus americanus)
THE Common Tapir of South America is the best known of the small
family of hoofed animals it represents, and, as all are very uniform in
general appearance and habits, may be taken as a type of Tapirs in
general. There is something curiously old-world and unfinished about
the appearance of the creature, as if it had failed to complete its
evolution — something recalling both a Pig and a Pony, while the
short trunk suggests an abortive attempt at an Elephant. This little
trunk is freely movable, and is used to grasp the herbage on which
the creature feeds ; when turned up it gives a most comical sneering
expression to its owner. In size the Tapir about equals a stout Pony.
The teeth show incisors, canines, and grinders all well developed,
and the limbs have four hoofs on the fore feet and three on the hind ;
the animal, however, like the Rhinoceros, does not rest entirely on
these hoofs, but also on a pad under the base of the toes. The tail
is almost as short and insignificant as a Bear's.
The coat, which is short, is so scanty that it allows the skin to
be seen ; but on the neck it forms a standing mane. The colour of
the young animal is very different from the uniform brown of its
parents ; it is very dark, and gaily variegated with cream-coloured
longitudinal stripes, alternating with rows of spots of the same tint,
and as the fur is very close, the little creature looks for all the world
like some painted toy animal. At this stage it is only about as big
as a Terrier. Only one young one is born at a time, and it is lively
and active, according to the universal rule among hoofed animals.
The Tapir is essentially a forest animal, confined to the wooded
parts of South America.
It is usually found solitary or in pairs, and frequents the water-
side, for, though not exactly aquatic, it is very fond of water, and
ii.
18 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
frequently goes into it; it swims well, and has a habit of walking
along the bottom. One of its peculiarities is that it always takes to
water to deposit excreta. As may be conjectured from its stout build,
it is rather a strong than a swift animal ; it rushes through the forest
with great force when alarmed, and in this way often escapes when
seized by its chief foe, the Jaguar, forcing its feline enemy to let
go its hold by rushing under boughs. It also bites severely when
brought to bay.
Its food is vegetable, consisting of grass, leaves, and fruit, and it
is itself esteemed as food by the natives, the flesh being somewhat
like beef in quality ; insignificant as it is compared to the mighty
animals inhabiting corresponding latitudes in the Old World, it is
the biggest game animal in South America.
The Tapir is a harmless animal, and not difficult to tame, and is
sometimes kept in a state of liberty in its own home, while it is also
a familiar exhibit in Zoological Gardens, and has produced young
there. It needs a quantity of water sufficient to bathe in, and has to
be kept indoors in a warmed house in winter, like the Elephant and
Rhinoceros.
BAIRD'S TAPIR
(Tapirus bairdi)
BAIBD'S Tapir, which much resembles the ordinary South American
Tapir in appearance, save that its cheeks are noticeably pale-coloured,
is a Central American animal ranging from Southern Mexico to
Panama ; in general habits it seems to resemble the Common Tapir,
but is addicted to frequenting mountainous districts. It has been
known ever since the time of the celebrated traveller Dampier, who
wrote of it in 1676 as the " Mountain Cow," though mentioning that
personally he had never seen it. It presents a remarkable difference
from the ordinary Tapirs, in having the partition of the nostrils bony,
but this does not affect its outward appearance. The same peculiarity
THE PINCHAQUE TAPIR— THE MALAYAN TAPIR 19
is found in another Central American Tapir (T. dowi], also not remark-
able-looking externally, and chiefly notable for peculiarities in the
skull. It is strange that these two distinct Tapirs should both occur,
apparently together, in a comparatively small area like Central America ;
but very little is known about them, though both have been exhibited
in the London Gardens, which have possessed all the five known
Tapirs except the next species.
THE PINCHAQUE TAPIR
(Tapirus roulini)
OF all the Tapirs this is the most nearly related to the common
South American species, having no special peculiarity of the nasal
division and a plain brown coat. This is, however, much thicker and
closer than in the ordinary Tapir, and the chin is white. The thick
furry nature of the coat is to be accounted for by the habits of the
species, this being strictly a mountain animal, inhabiting a temperate
climate, for it is confined to the Andes of Colombia and Ecuador,
where it ranges up to eight thousand feet, and appears not to
descend into the plains.
THE MALAYAN TAPIR
(Tapirus indicus)
THE Tapirs afford an interesting example of what naturalists call
"discontinuous distribution," four out of the five species, as we have
seen, being American, while the other inhabits so remote a region as
the Malay peninsula and its adjacent islands, ranging as far east as the
island of Borneo. The explanation of this is that Tapirs had formerly
a wider range, since extinct species are found fossil in Tertiary strata
in Europe and China as well as in North America ; for some reason
or other they have failed to maintain their existence in the North.
The Malay Tapir is the most remarkable in appearance of all ; it
20 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
is rather larger than the Brazilian species, and has an exceedingly
close coat and no mane. Its colour is very peculiar, being black and
white very sharply contrasted ; the head, neck, and fore-quarters gene-
rally are black, and also the hind-limbs, while the body is white, so
that the general effect is of a black animal round whose body a
white sheet has been tightly sewn. As so often happens, however,
it resembles its relations much more closely when young, the infant
Malayan Tapir having the same curious display of whitish spots and
stripes on a dark ground which are found on the young of the
American kinds, so that no one would know that they would grow
up so different in colour. No doubt this spotted coat was the livery
of the original ancestor of the family.
The Malayan Tapir has the same habits as the Brazilian, being
a forest-dweller and fond of water ; it occasionally falls a prey to
the Tiger, as its relation does to the Jaguar, and it seems strange
that creatures of this primitive type, with no special facilities either
for escape or defence, should have been able to maintain their
existence through long ages in the same countries as two of the
most terrible of the carnivores.
This Tapir is not nearly so common in captivity as the Brazilian
species ; it does well enough in India, though not better than
American Tapirs, but in Europe it has the reputation of being a
delicate animal, and has comparatively seldom been exhibited in the
London Zoological Gardens.
BURCHELL'S ZEBRA
(Equus burchelli)
BURCHELL'S Zebra, nowadays, is the best known of all the Zebras, as
it is the commonest and most widely spread, inhabiting open, dry
country in Africa generally, south of the Sahara. In form and size
this Zebra is intermediate between the Horse and Ass, though inclin-
ing more to the latter, especially in having the root of the tail covered
with close, short hair, and in being without the bare, hard patches
called "chestnuts" on the hind-legs, though they are present and of
large size upon the front pair.
In certain details of its beautiful markings, it varies a great deal ;
the "shadow-stripes" between the main black stripes are absent in
some local races, in some of which the legs may be striped right down
to the hoofs, while in others they are plain. Hence many sub-species
have been named ; but there is considerable variation even among
individuals of the same herd. It has even been suggested that the
Quagga of South Africa (Equus quagga), now unfortunately extinct,
was merely an extreme form of this Zebra, which is still known to the
Boers as " Bonte (variegated) Quagga." The true Quagga was striped
with brown, and this only on the fore-quarters, the legs and hind-
quarters being plain.
The gaily-striped pattern of the Zebra looks very striking in a
menagerie, but those who have seen the animal wild say that at a little
distance the dark and light stripes combine to produce a grey effect, so
that the creature is not conspicuous at all, by colour, though its lively
movements and loud shrieking bray make it a noticeable animal.
Zebras, like all the wild members of the Horse tribe, live in herds,
under the control of the master stallion ; their food is grass, and they
avoid bushy localities, their great enemy being the Lion, who prefers
the Zebra to anything else he can get in the way of game. Except,
22 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
however, when it goes to drink, he does not get many chances to
secure this delicacy, which seems to commend itself to him by its
abundance of oily fat. The same peculiarity of Zebra meat makes
it much esteemed by African natives ; Europeans seldom shoot the
animal, except to provide meat for their negro followers.
The Zebra foal has the handsome markings of its parents at birth,
and very soon acquires swiftness enough to keep up with the herd.
It is easily tamed if captured young, and even old individuals can be
broken to harness ; some time ago the Honourable Walter Rothschild
used to drive three of them in England, along with a Pony, " four-in-
hand." They have also been tried for coaching work in South Africa,
and, though they were rather ready to bite at first, they pulled
willingly enough. It was found, however, that they had not sufficient
strength to bear continuous heavy work. Of course their great recom-
mendation was their natural immunity from the diseases to which
Horses are so liable in Africa, especially that communicated by the
Tsetse-fly (Glossina morsitans). Hopes were entertained that mules
between this Zebra and the Horse might share this desirable quality,
but on experiment it was found that this was not the case. These
Zebra-Horse hybrids, by the way, favour the Horse in colour, but
show indistinct stripes, which in pattern more resemble those of
GreVy's Zebra, than those of the present species.
Burchell's Zebra is the only species commonly seen in menageries
nowadays ; it lives and breeds well in captivity, and it is to be hoped
that more attempts to domesticate and work it in its native country
will be made, for complete success can hardly be expected at first,
and the ultimate utility of the animal would be very great, the pro-
vision of transport animals being one of the greatest difficulties in
the opening-up of Africa.
THE MOUNTAIN ZEBRA
(Eguus zebra)
THIS is the animal which used to be called the Common Zebra, as it was at
first the best known in Europe ; but it is now nearly extinct, being reduced
to one or two herds in the mountains of the Cape, and also occurring in Angola.
It is smaller than Burchell's Zebra, and more closely resembles the Ass, especi-
GREVY'S ZEBRA— THE ASS 23
ally in its long ears. Its stripes are bold, on a cream-coloured ground, with no
shadow-stripes, and run down to the hoof; on the quarters, above the base of the
tail, they form a characteristic " gridiron pattern " of short cross-bars meeting a
central band. A small dewlap on the middle of the neck is also a characteristic
of this animal.
GREVY'S ZEBRA
(JSguus grevyi)
THIS beautiful animal, the largest and finest of all wild animals of the Horse
family, was only made known to modern science in 1882, although from the fact
that it inhabits countries near the seats of ancient civilisation, being found in
Abyssinia and Somaliland, it was no doubt the animal known to the ancients as
"Tiger-Horse" (hippotigris). In size it equals a rather small Horse, with a
particularly large but beautifully-formed head and ears. The stripes are very
narrow, numerous, and closely placed, black on a pure white ground, and the
barrel-stripes do not curve backwards across the quarters as in the other Zebras,
both body and hind-quarters being covered with stripes running upwards almost
directly. This splendid animal has of late years been represented in the London
Zoological Gardens, and while the present work was being written a foal was
born there.
THE ASS
{Equus asinus)
THE wild ancestor of our humble coster's drudge still exists in North-East Africa,
and the typical race exactly resembles in colour a common grey Donkey, with
the same characteristic cross on the withers, caused by the back-stripe inter-
secting with a shoulder-stripe. In Somaliland, however, there is a race on which
these stripes are absent, while the bars on the legs, which may often be seen in
tame Donkeys, are very well developed and distinct.
The wild Ass is bigger than the ordinary Donkeys one sees, though not larger
than the fine breeds kept for riding in parts of the East and for Mule-breeding
in Europe, and it has the beauty, sleekness, and agility of the Zebra, though
the characteristic length of ears is always noticeable. The degeneracy of the
Ass in captivity is simply due to neglect, the existence of fine large domestic
breeds showing that fine Asses may be had if due attention is paid to their
treatment and selection. But neither the Ass itself, nor its hybrid offspring with
the Horse, the Mule, is much thought of in England, where there is ample facility
24 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
for maintaining Horses, the chief advantages of the Ass and Mule being their
ability to work hard with poor food and little attention.
THE KIANG
{Equus hemionus)
THE Kiang of Tibet is the most Horse-like of the relatives of the true Horse.
It equals a small Horse in size, and has a more Horse-like head and shorter
ears than any of the other Ass-like species, while the tail is not so closely haired
at the base. Indeed, some writers speak of the animal as a wild Horse. It has
not, however, the "chestnuts" on the hind-legs, and on the whole is more Ass
than Horse. In colour it is chestnut, with the muzzle, legs, and under-parts
white, and a dark streak down the back continuous with the chocolate-coloured
mane. Inhabiting the cold Tibetan plateau, it grows a thick woolly coat in
winter. Sportsmen rather dislike this beast, as they do not want to shoot Donkeys,
and the inquisitive Kiang will insist on interfering with their stalking by galloping
noisily about and disturbing the game.
The Chigetai of Mongolia is apparently only a local race, allied to this
animal, but the Onager (E. hemionus onager), which ranges from Arabia to North-
West India, where it is called the Ghorhkur, is by some naturalists regarded as
distinct : at any rate, it is more Donkey-like than the Kiang, being smaller, with
longer ears, and lighter in colour. All these Asiatic wild Asses are very swift,
and have never been domesticated, though specimens of all have been exhibited
in Europe at our Zoological Gardens.
THE WILD HORSE
(Equus caballus prezevalskii)
IT is now pretty generally agreed that the wild form of our Horses is the
so-called Prezevalsky's Horse of Mongolia, which is a wild Pony, heavy-headed,
hog-maned, and switch-tailed, with a colour often seen in heavy working Horses
here, a yellowish or reddish brown on the body, with the muzzle, backs of the
legs, and belly shading to white, and the mane, long hair of the tail, and fronts
of the legs black. Specimens of this animal have been brought to England of
recent years, and the Duke of Bedford has a herd at Woburn Abbey. The
wild Horses found in America and Australia are not natives of those countries,
but are the descendants of tame Horses which have gained their liberty since
the days of European colonisation.
AMERICAN BISON
By C. E. Swan
THE AMERICAN BISON
(Bison americanus)
WHETHER we consider its extraordinary appearance, or the tragic
contrast of its former excessive abundance and its so very recent and
almost complete extermination at the hands of man, the " Buffalo " of
schoolboy stories of adventure is one of the most interesting of the
wild animals of the Ox tribe.
In build it is distinct from any of them, being so heavy and
shaggy before, with the hind-quarters comparatively weak, and the tail
decidedly short, while the head owes its imposing appearance to the
heavy crop of hair and beard, the horns being proportionately shorter
than in any of the other Oxen. A large bull will stand nearly six feet
at the peculiarly high withers ; the cow is of course smaller and not
so heavily formed. The young calf is bright red-brown in colour, very
different from the dark coats of its parents, and, being straight-backed,
with no sign of the heavy mane, would not easily be recognised as a
young Bison at all by any one unacquainted with it.
In summer the Bison sheds its long winter coat, and for some
time is almost bare, and presents a most disreputable appearance.
This animal was formerly one of the characteristic features of the
landscape over a large portion of North America, and existed in
larger numbers than any other beast of equal size anywhere, ranging
from the Great Slave Lake to Mexico. It was, however, in the great
plains of the West that it was especially at home, and it is usually
spoken of as a prairie animal, although there was also a wood-
land race, to which most of the survivors belong.
Bison are essentially gregarious, and were also to a certain extent
migratory, as such large numbers of animals of their size naturally
exhausted the pasture in one locality. They were noted for their
extreme stupidity and persistency in following any particular course,
and in this way many members of a great herd, or even whole herds,
n.
26 WILD BEASTS OF THE WOULD
used to perish at times in boggy places, or in crossing rivers on thin
ice, as those behind would push on to destruction their unfortunate
predecessors.
Like so many large animals, they like wallowing, and in default
of ponds or rivers, would make mud-holes in soft ground, which
hollows have remained as some of the signs of the animal's previous
occupation of land where they have long since vanished.
For such heavy animals they are remarkably active ; and were of
course dangerous to hunters when hard pressed, though not nearly
as much so as the true Buffaloes of India and Africa. Their natural
enemies were chiefly the Wolves, which attacked calves and weakly
adults, and sometimes the Grizzly Bear. The Red Indians regularly
hunted them for the flesh and skin, and indeed chiefly subsisted on
them in many places ; but it is to white men that the almost
complete extermination of this fine animal is due. The completion
of the Union Pacific Railway in 1869 seems to have given the death-
blow to the Bison, splitting the great central herd of millions of
animals, which still remained after all the encroachments of civilisa-
tion, into two parts, of which both the northern and southern sections
had practically ceased to exist by 1890. The cause of the persecution
was chiefly the demand for the hides, or " robes," but the beasts were
actually shot down merely for their tongues in some cases.
In various places in North America, and especially in British
territory, a few hundred Bison are still preserved, which, if carefully
guarded, ought to be sufficient to perpetuate the race, while they are
well represented in European Zoological Gardens, in which they breed
freely enough. In captivity Bison are formidable from their great
strength, and, though they have been trained to the yoke, and, by
this quality, are good draught animals, they are very difficult to control
if excited. Thus, if they are thirsty and come to water, it is impos-
sible to keep them from rushing headlong to it. As they have so
good a coat, and are very hardy, bearing the terrible blizzards of the
plains, and scraping away the snow to find food, they have been
crossed with domestic cattle to improve the latter in these respects.
These " Cataloes," as the hybrids are called, can only be bred from the
Bison bull and tame Cow, not vice versa, and, in spite of the great
distinctness of the parent stocks, they are fertile.
THE EUROPEAN BISON— THE GAUR 27
THE EUROPEAN BISON
(Bison bonasus)
THE European Bison, although a slightly larger animal, is less remarkable in
appearance than the American species, although its close relationship is obvious
at a glance. It is, however, less heavy in front, and has a less copious growth
of mane there, and, in fact, approximates more to the ordinary Ox in appearance.
It is a forest animal, and has long existed only in small numbers in two
localities, the forest of Bielowicza in Lithuania, and in the Caucasus, though in
ancient times widely distributed in Europe. The few hundreds in existence are
protected by the Russian Government. This Bison is much rarer in captivity
than the American species, and seems to be a less free breeder in that condition.
It is often called the Aurochs, but incorrectly, this being the German name of
the Urus, or wild ancestor of our domestic cattle, an animal now entirely extinct.
THE YAK
(Poephagus grunniens)
THE Yak is a large but short-legged wild Ox, with large spreading horns much
like those of many domestic cattle, and a heavy fringe or flounce of long hair
covering the flanks and bases of the limbs ; the tail also is bushy, like a Horse's.
The colour is a brownish black in the wild race, which is only found in the
Tibetan highlands and the countries adjoining. In these regions, however, tame
Yaks are largely kept, and are, indeed, the chief cattle employed by the natives.
They are smaller than the wild ones, and often white or pied, and sometimes
hornless ; and it is these that are seen in European Zoological Gardens. Yaks
are hardy animals and good climbers ; they can bear any amount of cold, but
are very sensitive to heat. Their voice is a grunt, very unlike the bellow of
most of the Ox kind.
THE GAUR
(Bibos gaurus)
THE Gaur is the characteristic wild Ox of India, and also extends east to Malacca ;
it is often miscalled Bison by sportsmen in India. It is smooth-coated, unlike the
true Bison, but also very high in the withers, with good-sized, well-curved horns.
The coat is black, with the legs white, in adults ; but calves are chestnut. The
bull is a huge animal, being usually six feet at the withers, and has even been
known to reach eight. He is, however, far less savage than wild Oxen generally,
28 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
and, though a delicate animal in captivity, seems to be the ancestor of the semi-
domesticated cattle called Gayals kept by the native hill-tribes in Assam and
Tenasserim. These, like most domestic animals, are often more or less pied, and
are not rare in menageries.
THE BANTENG
(Bibos sondaicus)
THE Banteng is more like some domestic cattle than any of the preceding, being
nearly straight-backed ; it is short-coated and white-stockinged like the Gaur,
but also has a white patch on the stern, and the cows as well as the calves are
chestnut, as are the bulls in Burma, where the animal is known as Tsine. In
the typical race of the Banteng, however, from Malacca east to Borneo, the old
bulls are black, contrasting beautifully with their mates. This is an animal of
the grass-plains, while the Gaur frequents hill-forests ; it is domesticated in Java
and Bali. Notwithstanding this, it is a rare animal in zoological collections, and
even in museums, though at the time of writing there is a male of a tame strain
in the London Zoological Gardens.
THE WILD OX
(Bos taurus)
As this animal, the Urus of Roman writers, still survives in the persons of its
numerous tame descendants, it needs mention here, though it has been extinct
since the seventeenth century, having formerly shared the European forests with
the Bison. It seems to have been black or brown in colour, and to have resembled
in form the white " wild " cattle still preserved in some British parks — which, by
the way, still sometimes produce black calves. Its size, however, was much larger
than that of any modern breed, and it is believed to have reached a couple of yards
at the shoulder. Julius Caesar says it was little smaller than an Elephant.
Cattle which have run wild in modern times from undoubtedly tame stock
are found in many parts of the world, notably in America and Australasia, and
are fierce and dangerous to a degree.
The humped tame cattle of India and most of Africa — the so-called Zebus
(Bos indicus) have apparently descended from a perfectly distinct animal than
the Urus, but one which became extinct so long ago as to leave no record in
history. They differ from our breeds in their shorter body and higher legs,
differently shaped and set horns, their rarely heard grunting voice, and their
gentle disposition, and usually in their different colouration, most usually iron-
grey. Some have run wild in India.
INDIAN BUFFALOES
By C. E. Swan
THE INDIAN BUFFALO
(Bos bubalus)
THE Water-Buffalo, as this animal is often called — and very appropri-
ately, for it is nearly as aquatic as the Hippopotamus — is equal to any
of the Ox tribe in size, though it does not stand very high at the
shoulder, owing to its comparatively short legs ; as the illustration
shows, it is a very different animal in every way from the well-known
American one which so often usurps its name.
The feet of the Water-Buffalo have large broad hoofs, adapted for
progress in marshy localities ; its hide is very thinly covered with
hair, the dark skin being visible through the scanty black crop, but
the ears have a slight fringe, and the tail the usual bovine tassel at
the tip. Many Buffaloes have white " stockings," but this is not
universal ; in Assam there is, or used to be, a dun-coloured local race.
These Buffaloes also differ much in the length, and to a certain extent
in the form, of their horns ; though these always agree in being set
well apart on the forehead, in inclining backward, and being triangular
in section. Some, however, are much longer and less curved than
others, and those of the cow are longer and slenderer than those of
the bull ; good horns may be as much as six feet each, or even more,
in length.
In its movements the Indian Buffalo is usually slow, like most
marsh-loving animals, but is capable of being violently energetic on
occasion ; it is naturally, however, an ease-loving creature, delighting
to wallow in water or mud, in which it immerses itself to the eyes
and ears. It swims well, and when walking, as when swimming,
carries the nose high, so that it is on a level with the back. Its food
is the coarse vegetation of the marshes it frequents, so that its wants
are simple, and it needs fear no enemies except the Tiger, which,
however, is hardly a match for the old bull. Perhaps because of being
30 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
so immune from attack, however, the Indian Buffalo is an aggressive
and dangerous animal — the old solitary bulls, which will attack man
unprovoked, being almost, if not quite, the most savage of all wild
things. A herd, however, is far less ready to act on the offensive.
The attack of an old "Urna," as the wild Buffalo is called in India,
is all the more dangerous because the beast has cunning as well as
courage, and chooses a favourable moment to make his attack, while
the rush-jungles he frequents are most unfavourable ground for his
human adversary.
The natural home of the Water-Buffalo is India and Ceylon,
but, as it has long been domesticated, it has been carried to many
other parts of the world, and is kept in warm climates throughout
Asia, in Egypt, and even in Italy and Hungary. In Northern Australia
it has been introduced, but allowed to run wild again, and is now
hunted for its hide. Tame Buffaloes are useful for their great
strength, especially in soft marshy country, and for their power of
thriving on coarse food ; the cows also are good milkers, but the
beef is not esteemed. They retain all their hatred for the Tiger when
in a tame condition, and a well-known plan among Indian sportsmen,
when a wounded Tiger has taken cover, is to drive in a herd of
Buffaloes, who will to a certainty expel or kill him. Although danger-
ous to strangers, tame Buffaloes are very gentle with their owners,
and may be seen controlled by tiny naked native children. In colour
the tame Buffalo varies little more than the wild one— it is all black,
white-stockinged, or dun; but sometimes it is white-haired, with a
flesh-coloured skin, like a white domestic Pig.
Curiously enough, although constantly kept alongside of the
humped Indian cattle, it appears never to interbreed with these
animals. That it should do so with its wild relatives, when near the
marshy haunts of these, is natural; and many tame Buffaloes have
wild blood in their veins, for a wild bull will often come out of the
marsh and assume the leadership of a herd of tame cows, whose
services the unfortunate owner has to dispense with until the bull
has tired of their company. Tame Buffaloes, as a general rule, are
THE AFRICAN BUFFALO 31
smaller and scraggier than wild ones ; they do best in low wet dis-
tricts, where they can wallow freely, but are also kept even in the
mountains. In Calcutta they are commonly seen working in the
streets, being put to pull heavy carts, such as dray-horses — unknown
in the East — would be used for here.
THE AFRICAN BUFFALO
(Bubalus coffer)
THE Buffalo of Africa differs strikingly from the Indian one in several
particulars ; with the same general form and black colour, it is higher
on the legs, and has very hairy ears and different horns, shorter than
those of the Indian species, and immensely expanded at their bases,
which in old bulls actually meet on the forehead, producing an im-
penetrable horny shield. At least, this is the case with the large
South African form, the typical Cape Buffalo ; but the species ranges
over Africa generally, south of the Sahara, and several of its local
races depart somewhat from the type. Those of Eastern Africa are
brown instead of black, and show some transition to the Dwarf
Buffalo or Bush-Cow of West Africa (Bubalus nanus), which is a
short-horned tawny animal, only about as big as a Jersey Cow, and
is often ranked as a distinct species.
These African Buffaloes are gregarious, like the Indian species, but
are not so fond of water. They are all very dangerous when attacked,
and many accidents have happened to hunters engaged in their pursuit.
Their chief wild enemy is the Lion, but even he has to use discretion
in his attacks.
Worse, however, than any natural enemy, and even than the
wasteful destructiveness of man, have been the ravages of rinderpest
among these animals, which in certain parts of East Africa have
become almost extinct, owing to contracting this disease from the
tame cattle of the natives. The African Buffalo itself has never been
domesticated, but is sometimes to be seen in Zoological Gardens.
32 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
THE TAMARAO
{Bubalus mindorensis)
THE Tamarao is the wild Buffalo of the Philippines, and is an ugly,
thick-set, short-horned animal, black in colour, and of about the size
of a little Kerry bull. It is, however, a dangerous creature, and is
dreaded both by the natives, and also by tame Buffaloes which have
run wild in its territory, these animals being widely kept in the East
Indies, and readily reverting to the wild state.
THE ANOA
(Anoa depressicornis)
ALTHOUGH Buffaloes and Antelopes both belong to the same family
of hollow-horned ruminants, they present a very great contrast in
appearance as a rule ; yet, just as there are Ox-like Antelopes, such as
the Eland and Gnu, so in the Anoa we have a Buffalo which makes
a decided approach to the Antelopes. The animal, which is only found
in Celebes, is very small for a Buffalo, being indeed the smallest of
the wild Oxen, and not as large as our smallest domestic cattle.
In general form it resembles the Indian Buffalo, but its limbs, head,
and neck have a delicate and refined appearance, much like those of
Antelopes, and its horns, which are about a foot long in the bull,
are perfectly straight and smooth ; they are directed straight backwards,
and in the cow are very small.
The coat is scanty as in the large Buffaloes ; in adults the colour
is black, but the calves, which have a thick, almost furry coat, are
light brown in colour. Adults are sometimes marked with white on
the face, eyes, and back, somewhat as in certain Antelopes. This is a
scarce animal in captivity, but has been occasionally exhibited here.
THE BLACK-TAILED GNU
(Connochtztes taurinus)
THE family of Oxen (Bovidcd) contains not only those animals, but
all other ruminants with the same type of horns — hollow ones, perma-
nently seated on bony cores, also permanently affixed to the skull.
Such are the Sheep and Goats, and the numerous tribe of Antelopes,
which make up most of the family, but are confined to the Old World,
and chiefly to Africa
"Antelope" is used as the proverbial simile for light and elegant
gracefulness ; but there are Antelopes of many different shapes, and
our present subject, one of the best known of African Antelopes, cannot
be called elegant by any stretch of imagination, and does not at all
accord with the popular notion of an Antelope, while it does suggest
such incongruous animals as a Bull and a Pony, the latter of which
it about equals in size.
The usual colour of the coat is, as the illustration shows, a bluish
grey, slightly brindled with black, whence the name Brindled Gnu,
often used ; but there is a certain amount of local variation, and two
races of the species are distinguished besides the typical South African
one — the White-bearded Gnu from East Africa, in which the long
hair under the chin is white instead of black, and the Nyasaland
race, in which the beard is black as in the typical form, but there
is a white crescent across the face, which is much smoother and
less shaggy than in the other races.
The sexes are much alike in general appearance, and both are
horned, though the bull is heavier. The calfs horns at their first
appearance are straight spikes set some distance apart, and only
acquire their peculiar and characteristic curvature as they grow.
The Black-tailed Gnu, commonly known to hunters as the Blue
Wildebeest, is a widely ranging animal in Africa, the typical form
reaching Benguela on the West Coast, and Lake Nyasa in Central
Africa, while it is particularly common in the south-east part of the
ii.
34 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
Continent. It frequents dry open plains and thin bush, but not
absolutely waterless districts, as, unlike so many Antelopes, it likes an
occasional drink.
It is very gregarious, being usually found in herds containing one
to several score ; at some seasons the bulls associate apart from the
cows and young. A lone bull will often be found associating with
other Antelopes, and the herds are often in company with Burchell's
Zebras.
Black-tailed Gnus are quarrelsome and excitable animals, and their
antics, prancing and whisking their long black tails, are very charac-
teristic. They are wary and hard to approach, and, if wounded, are
remarkable for their extraordinary tenacity of life and power of travel-
ling under injuries — even a broken limb will not disable them. It
may be truly said of Antelopes that " they run in all shapes " ; for the
heavy-headed, awkward-looking Gnu is really one of the swiftest and
most enduring animals in existence, and even when severely wounded
is often too much for a horseman.
When brought to bay he is dangerous, and will charge savagely.
Except for a trophy, he is not much good when brought to book, the
venison he furnishes being of very inferior quality from a European
point of view.
These Gnus do well in captivity, and may generally be seen at the
London Zoological Gardens, where they have bred ; they are, however,
dangerous animals to deal with.
THE WHITE-TAILED GNU
(Connochcetes gnu]
THIS is the real original Gnu — the name being a Hottentot one — but
it is very rare nowadays — almost extinct, in fact. It shows an
exaggeration of the peculiarities of the Brindled species ; its horns are
more sharply bent down and abruptly turned up, showing a very
decided "pot-hook" shape; its neck is arched, and decorated by a
stiff erect mane, and its tail is particularly bushy and horse-like. As
the name of the species implies, the tail is white, the mane is also
white at the roots, though dark at the tips. The general colour of
THE HARTEBEESTS 35
the coat is brown, so dark that the animal is commonly known in
Africa as the Black Wildebeest. The muzzle is sprinkled with long
white hairs, and a few of these surround the eyes.
In disposition and habits, as in appearance, this animal exaggerates
the peculiarities of the Brindled Gnu, being much fiercer, and more
excitable and given to cutting capers than that animal. It was formerly
— about half-a-century ago — a very abundant animal in South Africa,
ranging to the southward of the habitat of the Blue Wildebeest, and
frequenting the "Karroo" districts. It frequently associated with the
Quagga, just as its relative still does with Burchell's Zebra., but the
same fate of extinction by man's persecution that has befallen its
equine companion, has nearly overtaken the White-tailed Gnu also, and
now two or three herds, preserved on Boer farms, are all that represent
this remarkable creature in a wild condition nowadays.
Fortunately the White-tailed Gnu does well in captivity out of its
native land, and has long been well known in menageries ; it has bred
freely in our Zoological Gardens, and specimens of both this and the
other species were on view there at the time of writing.
THE HARTEBEESTS
ALLIED to the Gnus or Wildebeests are the Hartebeests (Bubalis), a
group of Antelopes also of very peculiar form, though less odd in
aspect than the former, having none of the heavy Buffalo-like appear-
ance about the head, nor the Horse-like tail, although that appendage
is of fair length and well-haired. Their chief peculiarities, indeed, are
the very marked slope of the back towards the hind-quarters, and the
long miserable-looking face, with the eyes set near the top of the
head, which is crowned by a pair of strongly-ringed horns of only
moderate length, but with a more or less well-marked double curve, very
angular in some species. Both sexes are horned, and look much alike.
Hartebeests are about as big as a Donkey, and range from fawn
to bay in colour, sometimes varied with black on the face and legs.
Except for details in the shape of the horns, they are much alike and
easily recognisable. There are eight species, all purely African, except
one (B. boselaphus) which ranges into Arabia and even the borders
36 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
of Palestine, and they frequent dry open country in herds, and have
great speed. Their venison is usually very good.
THE SASSABY
(Damaliscus lunatus)
THE Sassaby represents a group known as Bastard Hartebeests, which
show the peculiarities of those animals in a slightly less marked form,
the face being shorter and the horns less angulated. In colour it
resembles some of the typical Hartebeests, being a rich red-brown,
with a purple gloss ; its horns are rather over a foot long, and present
in both sexes, as in all this group. It is a South African species,
and celebrated for its speed and endurance, although it is doubtful
if in these respects it much exceeds the Blue Wildebeest and one or
two of the true Hartebeests ; but it is at any rate so fast that hunters
do not like to risk injuring their Horses by hunting it to no purpose.
It has never been exhibited at our Zoological Gardens.
THE BLESBOK AND BONTEBOK
(Damdliscus albifrons and D, pygargus)
THESE Antelopes, also close allies of the Hartebeests, are both South
African, and, being much alike, have even sometimes been confused
together. Both are rather above a yard at the shoulder, of a brown
colour, with a beautiful lilac or violet gloss in life, and with a white
face and more or less white legs. The Bontebok is the gayer of the
two, having a white patch on the stern and the legs all white ; its
horns also are black, those of the Blesbok being pale.
They are both South African species, but did not occur together,
the Bontebok having been confined to the south of the Orange River.
It is now nearly extinct, being only found in a protected state on
one or two farms, while the Blesbok, which used to be excessively
abundant, is now fast approaching the condition in which it will be
absolutely dependent on protection for its existence as a species,
having been recklessly shot down by hide-hunters. Both species have
been exhibited in the Zoological Society's Gardens.
CQ
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THE SPRINGBOK
(Gazella euchore)
THE Gazelles and their allies form a numerous group of Antelopes in
which, as a rule, the delicacy and grace which one usually associates
with these animals reach their most typical development ; and the
Springbok of South Africa is the most notable of all for its rich
colouration and peculiar habits, to say nothing of its familiarity as
the commonest of South African Antelopes, which has led to its name
being a household word as the title of the well-known Colonial foot-
ball team.
The most noteworthy point about the Springbok is the peculiar
fold of skin along the hinder part of the back, lined with white hairs
five or six inches long. In the ordinary way one only notices a white
streak along the hind-quarters, but when excited the animal expands
this fold, making a startling display of a great white fan of fur; at
the same time it springs perpendicularly into the air for a height of
three or four yards, an action it repeats again and again. This is
called "pronking" by the Boers, and such a striking habit has of
course always called attention to this pretty creature. Like most
Gazelles, the Springbok is not a large animal, being of the size of
an ordinary Goat — about two and a half feet at the shoulder. The
buck's horns are usually about fifteen inches measured along the
curves, but may occasionally be more; the doe's are not so large.
Young ones are at first of a duller colour than the parents, being
yellowish grey with the side stripes indistinct.
The home of the Springbok is Africa south of the Zambesi, but
it ranges up to Mossamedes on the West Coast. It frequents, like
Gazelles in general, dry open country, and is very gregarious and
migratory, "trekking" at times in large herds, though the enormous
masses which were the wonder of travellers half-a-century ago are
hardly any longer to be seen. These hosts of Springbok, deserting
in their countless thousands the barren haunts where subsistence had
failed them, used to swarm down into the cultivated lands, devouring
38 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
all vegetation before them like locusts. So huge were their numbers
that the rear-guard of the great herd were always in a famishing
state ; while tales are told of the Lion himself being carried away
in the midst of the troop, unable to do more than keep a clear space
among his unwilling escort, and of Sheep and shepherds, caught by
the " trek-bokken " in narrow passes where there was no escape, and
trampled to death. It is doubtful if any animal of the size has ever
been so abundant ; now matters are so changed that the creature, once
so serious a pest, receives protection, for in moderation it is a very
desirable animal. In addition to its great activity, it is very swift,
being usually too much for a Greyhound ; and it also has sufficient
courage to turn and fight the Dog when by chance it is overtaken.
A great many are, of course, shot, though not without careful stalking,
and the venison, which is very good, is regularly on sale at Cape Town
when in season, and has even been offered on the London markets,
having been brought over in cold storage.
The Springbok is not unfamiliar in captivity, and has bred in
the Cologne Zoological Gardens, but it is not a very hardy animal,
and probably requires more space for exercise than it usually gets.
Except that none of them have the peculiar " fan " of the Spring-
bok, and that their colours are generally less rich, the rest of the
Gazelles, which number about two dozen species, are fairly well typi-
fied by that animal. Their range is very wide, including all of the
open parts of Africa — though there are no others but the Springbok
south of the Zambesi — and extending into Asia as far as India and
even Tibet. The animal known in the Authorised Version of the
Bible as "Roe" is really one of the Gazelles (Gazella dorcas). In a
few Gazelles, it should be noted, the does are hornless, but usually
they have small horns. Two or three abnormal types of Gazelle deserve
notice here on account of their peculiarities.
THE DIBATAG
(Ammodorcas clarkei)
THIS is a very slender, long-necked, graceful Gazelle, confined to East Central
Somaliland. The tail is long and slender, and there are no horns in the female.
When on the move this animal endeavours to make both ends meet by carrying
THE GERENOOK— THE SAIGA 39
the head back and the tail curved forward, giving a very curious effect. It is
chiefly a browser, and seems independent of water.
THE GERENOOK
(Lithocranius walleri)
THE Gerenook, although it has a rather short tail, like other Gazelles, exaggerates
the peculiarities of the Dibatag ; indeed, its neck and legs are so long that it
can justly be called a Gazelle modelled on the lines of a Giraffe. It inhabits
Somaliland, but is also found outside it, ranging to the Kilimanjaro district. Like
the Dibatag, it browses much, as one would expect from its form. In height
the male is more than a yard at the shoulder ; the female is hornless.
THE BEIRA
(Dorcotragus megalotis)
THE Beira is a curious little Antelope, mostly grey in colour, and compact in
shape, with very large ears, and, in the buck, short straight horns four or five
inches long. The animal stands considerably less than two feet at the shoulder.
It is only found in Northern Somaliland, where it frequents rocky hills. Neither
this Antelope nor the last two have been brought to England alive, apparently.
THE CHIRU
(Pantholops hodgsoni)
THIS is an Asiatic Antelope of the Gazelle group, with very long ringed horns
in the male, nearly straight and erect ; they measure about two feet long, the
animal itself being about as big as the Springbok. The female is hornless. The
Chiru, which inhabits the bleak Tibetan plateau, has a very thick, close coat, of
a fawn colour, the face of the male being black. Its tail is short, as are those of
the typical Gazelles inhabiting cold climates. This Antelope is a very fast trotter,
and lives in large herds, the bucks fighting savagely for the does. It seems never
to have been brought to Europe alive.
THE SAIGA
(Saiga tatarica)
THE Saiga is an ugly Sheep-like Antelope, with rather short ringed horns of a
curious pale yellowish colour. They are confined to the male, which also has an
40 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
enormous Roman nose, which he wrinkles up to keep it out of the way when he
is grazing. The coat is pale sandy, and very close and thick ; the size about that
of a Sheep. The Saiga is a steppe animal, living in Southern Russia and South-
East Siberia : it lives in large herds, and is rare in captivity, though our Zoological
Society and the Duke of Bedford have possessed specimens.
THE PALLAH
(sEpyceros melampus)
THE Pallah is rather a large Antelope for one of this group, standing about a
yard at the shoulder ; the doe is hornless, but the buck has very beautiful horns,
with a lyre-shaped curve, backwards, outwards, and upwards. They measure
about twenty inches in length. The general colour of the coat is bright red-
brown. The Pallah is found in south of East Africa, being replaced on the
west side by a very nearly allied form, the Angolan Pallah {^E. petersi}, which
has a black face-streak. The Pallah is a gregarious Antelope, frequenting forest
country, and is remarkable for its powers of leaping.
THE BLACKBUCK
(Antilope cervicaprci)
ALTHOUGH not to be compared in size with many African Antelopes, since it
only stands about as high as the Springbok, the Blackbuck, which is confined
to India, can vie in beauty with almost any of them. The buck's horns are
strongly ringed, and twisted in a close spiral. They are very long for the
animal's size, measuring two feet or even more. The doe is usually hornless,
but in rare cases bears small smooth curved horns, very unlike those of the
buck. Her colour, and that of the young, is a light fawn, white on the under-
parts ; but the adult buck is, with the exception of the white belly and insides of
the legs, nearly all black, giving a striking contrast. In some cases old bucks
assume the fawn coat for a time at any rate ; this happens in captivity with some
individuals, and an old fawn-coloured buck has been observed in the wild state.
The Blackbuck is a gregarious animal, and very polygamous, only one old black
male being seen with a herd of does and young. It frequents open plains, and
sometimes does much harm to crops : its speed is very great — too much for a
Greyhound as a rule, though the Cheetah, as remarked in the article on that
animal, can surpass it for a short distance. The Blackbuck does well and breeds
freely in captivity.
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THE BEISA ORYX
(Oryx beisa)
THIS fine Antelope is one of a small group of large species which
have somewhat of the Horse in their proportions and general appear-
ance ; indeed, it has been suggested that the legendary Unicorn origi-
nated in stories of a one-horned Oryx of some kind, such specimens
sometimes occurring. The Beisa is about the size of a small Donkey,
and both sexes bear the long lance-like horns, ringed at the base and
smooth at the tip. The horns of the female are, however, longer and
slenderer than those of the male, and may even exceed a yard in
length, those of males seldom much exceeding two and a half feet.
Probably as a protection against these terrible weapons in their com-
bats with each other, the skin on the shoulders of the male Beisa is
very thick ; he is also slightly stouter-necked and taller than the female,
but the sexes are not easy to distinguish when a herd is sighted.
Blanford has drawn attention to the pointed triangular shape of
the hoof in this Antelope, and says that this form of foot is particularly
characteristic of desert-haunting species like these Oryxes and the
Gazelles, the more forest-haunting species having rounder feet, like
Deer or Cattle.
The Beisa Oryx is a characteristic animal of North-Eastern Africa,
from Suakin southward to the Tana River, and is very well known
in Somaliland. It frequents dry open country, feeding mostly on
grass, though occasionally browsing on acacia shoots ; and, though in
some localities it drinks regularly, it is often found quite away from
any water, and evidently living entirely without it.
It is very elegant in its movements, which are much like those of
a Horse ; it usually walks or trots, but will gallop if greatly alarmed.
When charging, it puts down the head between the fore-legs, so as
to bring forward the points of the long horns ; it is a fierce animal,
and decidedly dangerous when brought to bay.
Though often found solitary, especially in the case of males, the
Beisa is usually seen in herds, numbering from half-a-dozen up to
forty or more ; indeed, there is at least one record of a herd numbering
ii
42 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
as many as five hundred being seen in Somaliland, where this animal
is still common, especially in the desert Haud plateau. In a herd, as
might be expected, the proportion of males to females is very small.
The chief foes of the Beisa are the Lion, which lives largely on
these Antelopes, and man, for they are keenly hunted by the outcast
tribe of Somalis called Midgans, to say nothing of European sportsmen.
The Midgans use bows and poisoned arrows, and employ packs of
dogs, described as savage yellow pariahs, no doubt similar to the
common tan-coloured pariah of Indian towns in appearance, though of
higher courage. They need this to be able to attack so strong and
fierce an animal as this Antelope, and some of the pack are often
injured or killed.
The thick skin of the male Beisa's shoulders is of value to the
warlike Somalis for making shields, as it is sometimes about three-
quarters of an inch thick, and will make a shield stout enough to
turn either arrow or spear. The horns are also employed for weapons,
and many are brought for sale at Aden. The venison is very good,
if the animal is in good case when killed. The Beisa is not an
uncommon Antelope in captivity ; indeed, it is the only one of the
Oryxes which is often met with, and may usually be seen in the
London Zoological Gardens, where it has bred on more than one
occasion. Of the true Oryxes there are but few species, so all of
them may be noticed here in detail.
THE TUFTED ORYX
(Oryx callotis)
THIS species is very similar to the Beisa, but the conspicuous tuft at
the end of the ears at once distinguishes it from all other Oryxes ; it
also differs from the Beisa in a few details of colouring, being redder
in general tint, with no black patch down the front of the fore-leg
below the knee, but with the black cheek-stripe running down from
the eye usually much better developed. This species replaces the true
Beisa in British East Africa south of the Tana River, and is also
found in German East Africa ; its general habits seem to be very
similar to those of that species, but it frequents open bushy country
rather than bare desert plains.
THE GEMSBOK— THE BEATRIX ANTELOPE 43
THE GEMSBOK
(Oryx gaze I la]
THE Gemsbok of South Africa, although also very like the Beisa at first
sight, is more distinct from that animal than the last species. It has
very much more black in its colouration, the streaks down from the
eyes and the patch across the muzzle being better developed, while
the bases of all the limbs are nearly solid black, and there is a black
patch on the hind-quarters just before the tail. Moreover, there is a
fringe of long hair on the throat, forming in the male a conspicuous
tuft on the middle of the neck. In size this Antelope is rather larger
than the Beisa, and its horns, which are similar in form, may reach
nearly four feet in length — they are longer in females than in males.
This Oryx is found in the dry regions of South-West Africa, and
has been known since Buffon's time ; its Boer name supposes a resem-
blance to the " Gems," or Chamois of Europe, and is as inappropriate
as several other titles of comparison bestowed by these Dutch pioneers
on the new animals they met with in South Africa. It is now nearly,
if not quite, extinct in the Cape Colony itself, although its effigy, along
with that of the White-tailed Gnu, figures in the arms of that State.
The Gemsbok is a true desert-animal, being able to exist where
there is no water, although it drinks at times, and digs up the bulbs
of desert plants with its hoofs, thus obtaining a certain amount of
moisture. It is not very gregarious, only a pair or a small family
being usually found in company ; its speed appears to be only moderate,
but it is possessed of great courage — even the Lion, apparently, some-
times falling a victim when he attacks it. Although so long known, it
seems never to have been brought to Europe alive.
THE BEATRIX ANTELOPE
(Oryx beatrix)
IN general form this Antelope, which inhabits Southern Arabia, resembles
the Beisa, but is a much smaller animal, measuring less than a yard
at the shoulder. Its colour is also very different, being chiefly white,
44 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
with the legs and some patches on the muzzle and cheeks very dark
brown, and the tip of the tail black. Several specimens have been
exhibited in the London Zoological Gardens.
THE LEUCORYX
(Oryx leucoryx)
THE Leucoryx, which is rather smaller than the Beisa Oryx, is the
most distinct of all the Oryxes, owing to its horns having a strong
backward crescentic curve, instead of being straight as in the rest ;
they may exceed a yard in length. The general hue of the animal
is cream-colour, darkening into brown on the neck and shoulders ;
the face-markings — nose-patch and eye-stripes — are brown instead of
black. This species is found from Dongola to Senegal, inhabiting
deserts in herds ; it gets much of its food by browsing on acacia
twigs, and the Arabs hunt it on horseback for its flesh, which they
esteem highly, and its hide. It is not a very common animal in
collections, but has lived and bred in the London Zoological Gardens.
THE ADDAX
(Addax naso-maculatus)
THE Addax is closely allied to the Oryxes, and similar in general
form, but its horns are very different, having a decided spiral twist
much like those of the Koodoo, though they are ringed like those of
the Oryxes. In the female they are much thinner than in the male,
and have the spiral twist less pronounced. A male's horns may
measure a yard along the curve. The Addax is rather less than a
yard in height at the shoulder; in colour it is a light brown, greyer
in winter and redder in summer, with the haunches and all the limbs
white, a black patch of long hair on the forehead just below the
horns, and below this two white patches, meeting each other across
the nose. The Addax has the same range as the Leucoryx, and is
also a scarce animal in collections, though our Zoological Society has
exhibited it.
SABLE ANTELOPE
By Winifred Austen
THE SABLE ANTELOPE
(Hippotragus niger)
ALTHOUGH belonging to the same group of Antelopes as the Oryxes,
the Sable is a very distinct type, and certainly excels all its relatives
in beauty — if indeed it is not the finest of all Antelopes, as many
would maintain. It is large enough to be imposing, being as big as
a full-sized Pony, and its carriage is as gallant and showy as its
colours and form are striking and beautiful.
The cow is not much inferior in beauty to the bull, but she
is rather dark brown than black, especially in the southern portion
of the Sable's range, the females of northern herds being very dark.
They may, however, always be distinguished from the bulls by their
horns, which are decidedly shorter and not so strongly curved, besides
being slenderer. The horns of a good bull are over a yard long.
The young Sable is of a light brown, without the face-markings
of the old animal at first.
Like all the finest Antelopes, the Sable is an African animal, being
especially characteristic of South Africa, though it ranges up to German
East Africa and Angola. It was first discovered by the well-known
sportsman, Harris, in the Transvaal, but is now extinct there, though
English people still sometimes call it the " Harrisbuck " ; the Boers
know it as " Zwart-wit-pens " (black-white-belly).
The kind of country it prefers is high, open, and rather bushy,
and it is fairly sociable, a number of cows and calves being found in
herds together. With these, however, there will be only one old bull,
for the Sable is a fierce animal, and brooks no rivals. It may even
be aggressive to other Antelopes, as it has an unscrupulous habit of
turning out Lichtenstein's Hartebeest from beds or lairs which this
animal is fond of making for itself. The attitudes of the Sable
Antelope are very picturesque, as it carries its neck gracefully arched ;
its pace is good, but it has not the extreme speed of some much less
handsome and symmetrical Antelopes. When driven to bay it is very
46 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
dangerous, being not only high-couraged, but marvellously quick with
its horns ; like the Gemsbok, it fights lying down, and is very danger-
ous to hounds. The venison it affords is not of very high quality,
but of course the beautiful head is valued as a trophy.
Although not what one might call a common or cheap animal in
the wild-beast trade, the Sable Antelope does well in captivity, and is
well known in Zoological Gardens.
THE ROAN ANTELOPE
{Hippotragus equinus)
THE Sable Antelope's only existing near relative, the Roan or Equine
Antelope, is a sort of inferior edition of the noble " Harrisbuck." It
is considerably larger, it is true, but its horns, though massive, are
considerably shorter — about two and a half feet in the bull, and two
in the cow. The colour also is not nearly so beautiful ; the face,
indeed, is marked with black and white much as in the Sable, but
with more black, this colour covering the jaw and meeting the black
on the muzzle ; the body-colour, however, is some shade of light brown,
sometimes really a roan, but varying from quite a dark brown to
nearly white. The ears are long and Donkey-like, and are carried droop-
ing. The calf is very like the Sable calf, but may be distinguished
by the difference in the face-marking, though this is indistinct at first.
The Roan ranges more widely than the Sable, being found over
Africa generally south of the Sahara, and it shows a good deal of
local variation. In its general haunts and habits, it is much like the
Sable, but goes in smaller herds, and has a louder voice, this being
described as a bellow, while the other species only snorts. It is not
remarkably fast, although its habit of running with its mouth open
often gives a delusive idea of its powers, but its courage is unrivalled
among Antelopes, and it will turn and charge, not only when wounded,
but even when galloped too hard.
Like the Sable, the Roan does well in captivity, and has been
exhibited at our Zoological Gardens, though not so frequently.
The only other Antelope closely allied to the Roan and Sable
THE KOB ANTELOPES— THE WATERBUCK 47
Antelopes was the Blaauwbok (Hippotragus leucophceus] , which was
smaller than either of them, and bluish-grey in colour, without distinct
face-markings, but this animal has been extinct for more than a hundred
years ; when it existed, it was only known to inhabit the south-
western corner of Cape Colony. There are only five stuffed specimens
of it in Museums — none of them at South Kensington, unfortunately,
though there is one in Paris, the others being at Leyden, Vienna,
Stockholm, and Upsala respectively.
The Cervicaprine group of Antelopes is typified by the Reedbucks
(Cermcapra\ which are animals of moderate size, with rather short
horns with a forward curve. To the same group belong the various
species of Kobs and Waterbucks.
THE KOB ANTELOPES
THE Kob Antelopes (Kobus) are a group of about a dozen species,
equalling or exceeding the common Fallow Deer in size, with no very
striking characteristics, their shape being Deer-like, and their horns,
which are only found in the males, somewhat lyre-shaped, and ringed
except at the points. Several of them are very handsome animals, such
as the White-eared Kob (Cobus leucotis), which is nearly black, with
the ears, muzzle, throat, and parts of the limbs white. Most of these
Antelopes are, however, of some shade of brown. They are widely
distributed over Africa south of the Sahara. Among them the Water-
buck and Lechwe deserve special mention here.
THE WATERBUCK
(Cobus Mipsiprymnus)
THE Waterbuck and its immediate ally the Sing-Sing (Cobus unctuosus)
are the largest of the Kobs, and have a longer coat than is usual in
the group, which are generally very sleek. The Waterbuck itself,
indeed, has very coarse hair, much more like that of a Deer than an
Antelope, and might readily be mistaken for one of the Deer family
48 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
were it not for the different horns of the buck. In size it about
equals a Pony, and is heavily built, not light and elegant like the
Kobs in general ; its strong horns are about two and a half feet long.
The general colour is light brown, with a curious elliptical ring of
white on the hind-quarters, quite unlike any marking found on any
other animal.
This Antelope, which has a peculiarly noble appearance, in spite
of its somewhat coarse build and pelage, is not an aquatic species, as
its name would imply, but merely haunts the neighbourhood of water,
and sometimes takes to it to stand at bay when pursued. At such
times it is dangerous, as it defends itself fiercely. It frequents bushy
country, but feeds chiefly on grass, and it is a good climber, ascend-
ing rocky ground with great agility. Usually it goes in small herds,
consisting of a buck and a few does. Its meat is very poor indeed,
being so rank that nothing but sheer hunger is likely to recommend
it to a European palate. The Waterbuck is widely distributed over
Africa, from Somaliland to the Limpopo River in the south ; but in
the west and in parts of East Africa it is represented by the above-
mentioned Sing-Sing, which has not the white ring on the stern, but
is otherwise very similar.
THE LECHWE
(Cobus lechi)
THE Lechwe is rather smaller than the Waterbuck, not being much
over a yard at the shoulder; its colour is very handsome, being a
rich bay, with black down the front of the limbs and white belly.
The backs of the pastern-joints are naked, as in the swamp-frequenting
Tragelaphine Antelopes like the Situtunga, although the hoofs are not
lengthened as in those animals. The Lechwe is, indeed, also an
aquatic Antelope, but does not frequent marshy soft-bottomed swamps,
rather affecting flooded plains, on which it wades about in large herds,
browsing on such plants as project above the water. It swims well,
as might be expected, but does not do so as long as it can get a
"take-off" from the bottom, preferring to splash along by a succession
of bounds.
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THE ELAND
(Oreas canna)
THE Eland is one of a very distinct group of Antelopes known as the
Tragelaphine section, characterised as a rule by twisted horns, angular
in section, which are smooth or nearly so, and by the presence in
most cases of distinct white markings on some part or other of the
coat. None of them are very small, and the Eland itself is by far
the largest of all Antelopes, a large bull reaching six feet at the
shoulder, or even more at times, and making a Buffalo seem small
by comparison.
The cow is considerably smaller and lighter in make, and the
bull does not attain his full bulk and characteristic peculiarities for
some years, since he may attain his mature height before he assumes
the mat of long hair on the face and the immense fatty thickening
of the upper part of the neck, which mark the perfectly adult bull,
and are never found in the cows and young males. Old animals,
especially bulls, lose so much of their coats that the dark skin shows
through and gives them a grey appearance.
The horns are not of great length, those of the bull being about
two and a half feet long, while the cow's, which are slenderer, will be
about a couple of inches longer.
The Eland has a wide range over South Africa, and shows a good
deal of local variation. The southern or Cape Eland is a plain light-
brown animal, without any white marking ; but as one proceeds north-
wards this race gradually passes into the striped variety, which is
known as Livingstone's Eland, having been first discovered and
characterised by the great missionary explorer. In this the sides are
noticeably marked with several thin white stripes, most distinct in
the females and calves, and there is a well-defined black patch on
the inner side of the fore-leg above the knee. Females and young
ii.
50 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
animals also have a black stripe down the back in this variety, which
is far the most handsome, and nowadays the best known, the Eland
of the south being extinct in Cape Colony.
Such a large animal as the Eland has, of course, attracted attention
from the earliest times of African colonisation, and the Boer settlers
of the Cape bestowed on it its present name, which really means
" Elk." Except that both Eland and Elk are ruminants, and that
each is remarkable for its large size, the two beasts have absolutely
nothing in common ; but, as previously observed in these pages, the
Boer pioneer appears to have had the most delightfully happy-go-lucky
methods of nomenclature when he came across a new animal.
The manners and movements of the Eland are what might be
expected from his ponderous Ox-like carcase, so strangely combined
with a small harmless-looking head. He is a good walker, and can
trot at a pace which will force a Horse to go beyond a trot to keep
up with him. When allowed to " go his own gait " he is sufficiently
enduring, but if forced into a gallop he soon becomes blown and
exhausted, for he cannot keep up this pace more than a mile or so.
Yet he is able to bound or spring in a remarkable way for so heavy
an animal, and can easily get away from a horseman on broken or
wooded ground. When cornered he will charge at times, but his
attack is not very difficult to avoid, for he has none of the quickness
and determined ferocity of such animals as the Gnu and Sable
Antelope. Bull Elands, also, often get so fat that they can be driven
by a horseman almost like cattle ; but the cow, as is so often the case
with ruminants, is much more active, and some specimens of this sex
may give a mounted hunter a long chase.
The Eland is undoubtedly an easy-going, peaceful animal by nature ;
although sometimes it may be found singly or in small family parties,
it is often met with in large herds, in which case several bulls will
be found living in apparent friendship along with their female associates.
Its food consists, according to circumstances, either of grass or leaves,
for it is addicted to browsing as well as grazing, and, in fact, prefers
country which is more or less wooded, if not actual forest. It is
THE ELAND 51
found on low rocky hills as well as on grass plains. Like so many
Antelopes, it can, although not abstaining from water when this is
available, go for long periods without it, for it is found constantly
in the Kalahari Desert, where there is water only for a few months
of the year, and even attains a particularly heavy weight in this arid
region. The Eland is, indeed, a very " good doer," and is particularly
apt to lay on fat, a characteristic which seems to have greatly endeared
it to hunters ; at any rate, they are generally loud in their com-
mendations of its flesh, which is said to be much like beef, but of
a superior quality. It must be remembered that the need of fat is
keenly felt in a life in the wilds, and any animal which supplies
plenty of this — which most game beasts do not — naturally commends
itself to the hunter's proverbially keen appetite. Mr. F. C. Selous,
indeed, thinks that Eland meat has been over-rated, in comparison
with that of some other Antelopes, though he admits that it is excellent
if the beast really is fat, which, of course, is determined by the quality
of the food it has been living on.
Eland calves, which are somewhat like those of our Jersey cattle,
are usually born in July, and are easily tamed. Indeed, the animal
is one well suited for domestication, though its mildness of disposition
is, it must be remembered, only comparative — the male, like almost
all horned animals, being liable to become dangerous in captivity. I
know of a case in which one, in a fit of anger, fatally gored a
Burchell's Zebra which had long lived in the same paddock with it.
Hopes used to be entertained that the Eland would be added to
our list of European domestic animals as a producer of choice meat ;
but, though it has constantly lived and bred well in our Zoological
Gardens — and even, with but little protection from the weather, in
various private parks — it still remains a mere menagerie animal. This
is probably because, in Europe, it cannot hope to compete in utility
with our ordinary domestic stock ; but the recent idea of introducing
it into Australia is a very good one, as its powers of doing without
water would make it a most invaluable animal for that country — or
any other where droughts work havoc with ordinary cattle. So far,
52 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
however, only a very few live specimens have reached Australia. It is
quite possible that Elands, properly trained, could be used as saddle
and draught animals ; but, of course, they would have to be trained when
young, and would require perseverance and caution in breaking-in.
THE DERBIAN ELAND
(Oreas derbianus)
THE Derbian Eland is very closely related to the common species, but
is an even finer animal, with more massive horns, and a much hand-
somer coat, this being of a rich reddish fawn, striped with white much
as in the striped form of the Common Eland, but set off by a black
neck, separated from the chestnut body by a white band across the
shoulder. This Eland inhabits Senegal and the Gambia ; it is a forest
animal, and feeds by browsing on the trees, the bulls, according to
native accounts, pulling down boughs for their mates and young.
Little, however, is known about this splendid Antelope, and few skins
even have reached Europe, to say nothing of living specimens, which
would be a great addition to any Zoological Garden.
KOODOO
By C. E. Swan
THE KOODOO
(Strepsiceros kudu)
IT is a question whether the Koodoo or the Sable Antelope is the most
beautiful of all Antelopes, and our illustrations give at any rate a fair
opportunity for comparison of these two magnificent beasts. The
Koodoo, which is, like the Eland, one of the Tragelaphine group of
Antelopes, is also a large animal, but not to be compared in dimen-
sions with that giant species, though about equal to a Horse in size.
The horns in the bull grow to a great size, sometimes four feet
measured in a straight line, which, of course, means that over a foot
must be added for the measurement taken along their spiral curves;
but such specimens of these are rare, though a good horn should be
more than a yard, measured straight. In the cow there are, as a rule,
no horns ; but in very rare cases females with under-sized and malformed
horns have been recorded. In colour the female is browner than the
male, which gets grey with age.
The Koodoo has a wide range in Africa, from Abyssinia and Somali-
land to Cape Colony, but has, unfortunately, been exterminated in some
places, not only owing to human persecution, but owing to rinderpest,
which has proved a deadly scourge not only to domestic cattle in
Africa, but also to several of the wild ruminants, which are unfortu-
nately susceptible to its ravages. Specimens from the northern part of
Africa have fewer white stripes than the southern ones. The favourite
ground of the Koodoo is hilly country clothed with bush, and not too
far from water, as it usually drinks regularly. In such ground, of its
own choosing, it can easily evade a horseman ; but the bull, at any
rate, is a heavy animal in the open, and can be galloped down, though
the cow is fleeter.
These Antelopes are usually found in small herds, and even the
old males sometimes form little bands of their own. In spite of their
imposing appearance and fine horns, they have remarkably little spirit,
and show, when at bay, according to Mr. F. C. Selous, less idea of
self-defence than any other Antelope — a remarkable contrast to their
rival, the plucky and gallant Sable. The note of the Koodoo is a
bark, which it utters when alarmed ; opinions vary about the quality of
54 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
its flesh. In captivity it is not common, though it has several times
been exhibited in the Zoological Gardens, and one specimen lived there
for seven years ; unlike its relative the Eland, it appears to be a deli-
cate animal, and probably requires more exercise and a more varied
and natural diet than usually falls to the lot of menagerie animals.
THE LESSER KOODOO
(Strepsiceros imberbis)
THE Lesser Koodoo was first described by that most excellent but
greatly neglected naturalist Edward Blyth, and is confined to Somali-
land and the coast of British East Africa. In most respects it is a
beautiful miniature of the ordinary Koodoo, but is more slenderly
built, and has no fringe of hair down the front of the neck. It
measures little more than a yard at the shoulder, and the buck's
horns are only about two feet in a straight line, with a less open
spiral than those of the large species.
In general habits the Koodoo is not unlike its big relative ; it
frequents thick forest near water, and is only found in small parties.
It has great powers of leaping, and is very wary and hard to shoot
— more so than the large kind. A curious point about it is that
the meat, according to Mr. F. J. Jackson, disagrees with many East
African natives in a most peculiar way, causing great pain in the
mouth and gums when eaten. A few specimens have been kept in
the London Zoological Gardens, but have not thriven, and it is rare
in a living state on the Continent, even if known there at all.
THE BONGO
(Boocercus euryceros)
THE Bongo is a very fine example of the Tragelaphine Antelopes,
being about as big as a Donkey, and very richly coloured — a bright
chestnut with very distinct white stripes down the sides. There is
the white crescent across the face so common in the Antelopes of
this group, and another across the chest, while the legs are marked
with black and white. The tail is much like that of an Ox, and the
twisted horns are massive, but not very long, proportionately, being
THE INYALA— THE BUSHBUCKS 55
about two and a half feet round the curve. They are frequent also
in the female, which is, however, less richly coloured than the male,
besides being smaller.
The Bongo is a forest Antelope, found in West and Central Africa,
from Liberia and Gaboon to East Africa. As in the case of so many
animals from this unhealthy and little explored region, little is known
about it, and living specimens are still desiderata for European mena-
geries; there is, however, a fine stuffed one in the South Kensington
Museum.
THE INYALA
(Tragelaphus angasf)
THE Inyala is a good-sized Antelope, standing about three and a half
feet at the shoulder. Its shape is graceful, but presents nothing
remarkable ; the development of its coat, however, is peculiar, this
forming a fringe, not only down the front and back of the neck, as
in the Koodoo, but also along the flanks, where it is especially long,
and the hips. The twisted horns are about two feet long in the
male ; in the female they are absent. The tail is of fair length, and
bushy throughout.
The colour of this Antelope is remarkably beautiful, and differs
very much in the two sexes, the male being of a purplish slate, with
indistinct pale lines down the flanks, and a few white markings on
the face and lower parts of the sides, while the legs below the knees
and hocks are tan-coloured ; the female is bright tan throughout, with
the flank stripes conspicuously pure white.
This Antelope is found in South-East Africa; it is purely a forest
animal, and goes in small troops, consisting of a buck and a few does
and young. It is not a common animal, and specimens of it are scarce
even in Museums, though a fine pair may be seen at South Kensing-
ton. So far, it seems not to have been brought to Europe alive.
THE BUSHBUCKS
ALL over Africa south of the Sahara are to be found species or races
of the genus Tragelaphits, graceful animals, with no striking peculiarity
56 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
of form or coat, rather short bushy tails, and, in the bucks, moderate-
sized twisted horns. They are all smaller than the Inyala, not exceed-
ing about two and a half feet at the shoulder ; and the straight twisted
horns, which are only present in the bucks, are about a foot long.
The colour varies a great deal, some forms being strongly spotted
and striped with white, and others plain, or nearly so ; but they are
all of some shade of brown in the ground-colour.
All are forest-dwellers, and they do not go in large herds, but only
in small parties. The two best-known forms are the beautifully
variegated Harnessed Antelope (Tragelapkus scriptus), from West
Africa, which is fairly well known in captivity, and thrives well, having
bred in the Earl of Derby's menagerie many years ago ; and the
Bushbuck of South Africa (T. sylvaticus), which is nearly self-coloured
on the body, though marked with white on the throat and limbs.
This is a well-known game animal at the Cape, and has been repre-
sented in our Zoological Gardens.
THE SITATUNGAS
THE Sitatungas (Limnotragus), or Marshbucks, are a small African
group of three species, closely allied to the Bushbucks, but differing
in their very long hoofs and in the fact of the back of the pasterns
being bare and horny, this structure of the foot adapting them for
living in marshes, a very unusual habitat for Antelopes. They are larger
than the true Bushbucks (except the Inyala), standing a yard or more
at the shoulder, and the horns of the males are longer and with a
more open twist, presenting some approach to those of the Koodoo on
a small scale. Their coats are shaggy and self-coloured, though there
are white marks about the head and neck. The females are of a
redder brown than the males, and show more tendency to white
markings on the body — at any rate when young. These are truly
aquatic Antelopes, living in swamps and spending their time more
or less immersed in water, though they are rather waders than
swimmers. They live well enough in captivity, but, of course, must
have a soft litter, not a hard even floor ; two of the three species have
been represented in the London Zoological Gardens.
NILGHAI
By Winifred Austen
THE NILGHAI
(Boselaphus tragocamelus)
THE Nilghai owes whatever distinction it possesses to the fact that it
is the largest of the few Antelopes of Asia ; for in itself it is not a
particularly striking or interesting animal, and in Africa would not be
of much account. It is a member of the Tragelaphine group, but
differs from all of them in the shortness of the horns, which are also
without any twist ; they never reach even a foot in length, and in the
female are absent altogether. The cow Nilghai also differs much in
colour from the bull, being of a light fawn or yellow colour, but with
the same white markings as her mate. The calves are also fawn-
coloured, and the male illustrated was not quite in full colour, the
fully mature bull being of a pure iron-grey, much the same colour
as a "blue roan" Horse. In size the Nilghai about equals a Pony,
and there is something very Horse-like about its general appearance,
although the kind of Horse it suggests is a very badly-shaped one.
The Nilghai is a purely Indian animal, and does not reach Burma
or Ceylon, nor does it ascend the Himalayas. It is usually found in
small herds, generally frequenting country where there is more or less
cover, though not affecting really thick forest. It feeds both on grass
and on leaves, wild fruit, &c., and is often very destructive to the
crops of the natives. With the Hindoo section of these it is a
sacred animal, simply because its name means " Blue Cow," so that
the sanctity of the bovine race has been absurdly transferred to it.
Mohammedans, of course, will eat its flesh readily enough, but it is not
much hunted by European sportsmen, because no one cares much about
possessing a head with such insignificant horns. It thus comes about
that the Nilghai is probably less hunted than any other animal of the
size ; but, of course, it has natural enemies to reckon with in the
shape of Tigers, Dholes, and other carnivores.
The bull Nilghai is not a very fast animal — at any rate, he can be
ridden down if he is pressed hard at first ; but the cow is swifter,
and will gallop straight away from a horseman.
This Antelope has long been a familiar animal in menageries ; it
II. " H
58 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
thrives and breeds well in captivity, and might have become a common
park animal here, had it possessed better qualifications for such a
position ; but as it is only moderately ornamental, and the bulls are
decidedly dangerous, there has been no great inducement to take it
up. When preparing to attack, the Nilghai goes down on its knees,
and then springs up suddenly.
In Calcutta I heard that Nilghais could be, and had been, broken to
harness, and would go well in a trap ; but my informant added that if
they did bolt there was no stopping them!
With the Nilghai we come to the end of most of the larger and
more remarkable Antelopes, the others being nearly all small, and not
striking in appearance.
THE FOUR-HORNED ANTELOPE
( Tetraceros quadricornis)
THIS is also a purely Indian Antelope, and it is at once distinguished
from all others of the family — and, indeed, from all other living wild
animals — by the possession of two pairs of horns. Not that these are
very much to boast of, the hinder pair, which are situated in the usual
place for horns — at the top of the head — being little conical black spikes
only about four inches long, while the front pair, placed on the fore-
head, are considerably shorter, and in some individuals, in the south
of India, never appear at all. In any case they develop later than the
hinder ones ; in the female there are no horns. Except for its number
of horns, there is nothing very remarkable about this Antelope ; it is a
small animal, with a narrow muzzle and rounded back. The colour
of the coat is a light brown.
The Four-horned Antelope is a forest animal, and solitary in its
habits ; it drinks daily, and so is usually found near water. It thrives
well in captivity, and is usually to be seen in the London Zoological
Gardens, where young have been produced on more than one occasion.
THE DUIKERS
WERE it not for its possession of a second pair of horns, the Four-
horned Antelope would be a very typical representative of the
THE DUIKERS 59
Cephalophine group of Antelopes, the other members of which are the
widely-distributed Duikers of Africa, forming the genus Cephalophus.
The Duikers are all short-legged, pointed-headed animals, with rounded
backs and short conical horns, which are sometimes present in the
males only, and sometimes in the females also. They are nearly
all very small, often under two feet at the shoulder, though the
Yellow-backed Duiker (Cephalophus sylvicultor) of West Africa stands
nearly a yard at the shoulder, and there are two or three other species
nearly as large in that part of Africa. A very characteristic point of
Duikers is the tuft of hair which grows between the horns, and often
conceals them when they are especially short. They also have the
face-gland situated below the eyes, and present in so many ruminants,
very well developed.
In general colour Duikers are brown or grey, and seldom possess
any conspicuous markings, though the large Jentink's Duiker (Cephalo-
phus jentinki), which is the second largest, has a black head and
neck and a light grey body, and the Banded Duiker (C. dories] has
the back with conspicuous transverse black stripes on a chestnut
ground.
Duikers are bush-haunting Antelopes, found either singly or in
pairs, not in herds, and are very active, their Boer name of Duiker
(diver) being derived from the way in which they plunge, as it were,
into the cover. About three dozen species are known, chiefly, as might
be supposed from their habits, located in the forest regions of the
West of Africa. The most widely distributed and best known is the
Common Duiker (C. grimmi), which is found from the Cape Colony to
Somaliland and Angola ; it stands rather over two feet at the shoulder,
and varies much in colour, from red-brown to silver-grey. This species
is often on view at the Zoological Gardens, and about half-a-dozen
others have been represented there.
The Neotragine Antelopes form another group composed of species
mostly of small size, though not so uniform in type as the Cephalophine
group. Only the males have horns, and these are short and straight.
To this group belong the Rhebok (Pelea capreolus), a grey Ante-
lope frequenting hill-tops, the Grysbok and Steinboks (Raphiceros),
the Oribis (Ourebia), and some other types requiring more particular
mention. All the group are African.
60 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
THE KLIPSPRINGER
(Oreotragus saltator)
THE Klipspringer is, of all African Antelopes, the best adapted for a
mountain life ; its feet are peculiarly formed, there being no bend at
the pasterns, and the hoofs being long in a vertical direction, so that
the feet look like so many pegs, the animal standing on the very tips.
The hair is very coarse and thick, and the horns very small and erect.
The Klipspringer is a small animal, standing about two feet at
the shoulder, and is extremely active, skipping about from rock to
rock, and finding a foothold in the most inaccessible places ; it is
only found in small parties, and ranges from Somaliland to the Cape,
wherever there is rocky ground.
THE ROYAL ANTELOPE
(Nanotragus pygmceus)
IN spite of its imposing title, this is the smallest Antelope known,
being only about as big as a wild Rabbit, with long and very slender
legs. Its horns are very minute, not an inch long ; and the coat is
bright fawn above and white below. This tiny creature lives in the
forests of the West Coast of Africa, being found singly or in pairs,
and is extraordinarily active, being said to make bounds of three
yards at a time. It is rare even in Museums, and has never been
brought to Europe alive.
THE DIKDIKS
THE Dikdiks (Madoqua) are little creatures not bigger than Hares,
with long noses which in some cases almost approach the trunk of the
Tapirs in form. Like the Duikers, they have a tuft of hair on the
crown, and their tails are very short. They are bush-haunting animals,
and not more than two or three are found together. There are about
half-a-dozen species of these little Antelopes, widely distributed over
East and North-East Africa. They are rare, however, in captivity,
and up to date only one species has been exhibited at our Zoological
Gardens.
CHAMOIS
By C. E. Swan
THE CHAMOIS
(Rupicapra tragus)
THE Chamois is of interest in various ways, especially as the type of a
group of non-African mountain Antelopes, which in general appearance
and habits closely approach the Goats — indeed, they are often called
Goat-Antelopes — and as being, with the exception of the Saiga of the
Russian steppes, the only Antelope found in Europe. To Europe,
indeed, the Chamois is naturally confined, inhabiting the mountains,
in which it is widely distributed, from the Pyrenees, where it is known
as the Izard, the Alps, where it is also called Gems, to the Caucasus.
In size the Chamois is about equal to an ordinary Goat, standing
about two feet at the shoulder ; its coat varies according to the
seasons, being longer and nearly black in winter, while short and
brown in summer. There is an under-coat of thick wool, and the
animal feels cold but little, though it has a strong objection to heat.
The sexes, as in all this group, are remarkably alike, both pos-
sessing horns of very similar appearance. The feet of the Chamois are
especially adapted for mountain-climbing, the sole being hollow by
reason of the outer edge of each hoof being higher than the inner,
and the animal is celebrated for its remarkable sure-footedness, being
always found high up in the mountains, and commonly on ground
very dangerous for the hunter.
It is usually in herds of a score or less (though old bucks are
usually solitary), and keeps as near the snows as practicable ; but in
winter it is naturally forced to lower levels in search of its food,
which consists of the various Alpine plants. The pairing season is in
autumn, and then the bucks fight savagely ; the kids are born in
spring, being sometimes single and sometimes twins, and follow the
doe almost immediately.
Chamois, as is well known, are keenly hunted by the inhabitants
of the mountains they frequent, and the " Gems-bart " (Chamois-beard)
is one of the most highly-prized trophies of the Alpine hunter. As
the animal, of course, has no beard, it is made of a tuft of the long hair
which grows along the back. The enthusiasm with which the Chamois
62 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
is pursued is no doubt due to the fact that there is nowadays so
little big game in Europe, and to the danger incurred in the pursuit
of an animal living in such inaccessible places, as it certainly does not
afford any imposing trophy, while the flesh is only moderately good,
and the so-called " Chamois " leather, though it gets its name from
this animal, is mostly made from the skins of Sheep, Deer, Goats,
and subjected to a peculiar process of preparation, consisting chiefly in
impregnating the skins with oil.
The Chamois is not one of the easiest of animals to keep in
captivity, and so is not a very familiar exhibit in menageries ; but
specimens are at the time of writing thriving in the London Zoological
Gardens. The animal has also been introduced into the mountains
of New Zealand, the Emperor of Austria having presented six speci-
mens in 1907 to the Government of that Colony ; all of these reached
the country safely, and were liberated under the care of Mr. A. E. L.
Bertling, formerly head keeper at the London Zoological Gardens,
and now Game Ranger to the New Zealand Government ; and, as they
have already bred, the species will probably be established in the
Southern Hemisphere, to the great edification of sportsmen.
THE GORAL
(Nemorkcedus gorat)
THE Goral is the Himalayan representative of the European Chamois,
but differs rather widely in appearance, being smaller and more thick-
set, with much shorter horns, not hook-shaped, but evenly curved
backwards. The coat is brown in colour, with a white patch on the
throat, but there is also a grey form, lately distinguished as N.
bedfordianus. The Goral frequents either grassy slopes or rocky
forests ; it does not range very high, not going above eight thousand
feet, and has but little fear of man, though cautious enough when
persecuted ; there is less temptation for the sportsman to molest it
than exists in the case of the Chamois, nobler game being available
in the Himalayas. In Formosa there exists a long-tailed species of
Goral (N. caudatus), in which the tail, which is usually short in these
Goat-like Antelopes, is quite long and bushy. This, as well as the
common species, has been exhibited at the London Zoological Gardens.
THE SEROWS— THE ROCKY-MOUNTAIN GOAT 63
THE SEROWS
THE Serows, like the Gorals, are stoutly-built, thick-coated animals, with
short backwardly-curved horns. They are of good size for this group,
about equalling a Donkey, and rather resembling one owing to their
long ears. There are several species or races, ranging from the
Himalayas to Sumatra and Tibet, and these differ much in colour.
The typical Himalayan Serow (Nemorhcedus bubalinus), however, is
mostly black, with tan on the flanks, and the belly and legs white.
This is a scarce animal, generally solitary, and frequenting forest-
clad slopes ; awkward and uncouth as it looks, it is very active,
especially in going down hill, and is a beast of the highest courage,
being even able to make a good fight against the dreaded Dholes,
and having been known to charge to avenge its wounded mate. It
has only recently been exhibited at Regent's Park.
THE ROCKY-MOUNTAIN GOAT
(Haploceros montanus)
THIS is one of the most extraordinary-looking of all ruminants; in
form it is very stout and thickset, with short legs, and carries the
head low; and, as it has a pure white coat, very long and thick in
winter, there is something about it which strongly suggests the Polar
Bear. Its horns are short, black, curved backwards, and sharply
pointed, with a swollen gland behind them ; the ears are quite short.
In size this animal may be compared to a large Goat, though the
thick fur makes it look larger than it is. It is one of the few mem-
bers of the hollow-horned ruminants found in America, where it lives
at the upper limits of forest growth in the Rocky Mountains.
It is a wonderful climber, though its mountaineering feats are
performed more by sheer muscular power and flexibility of limb than
by bounding and springing like most mountain animals. It is very
rare in captivity, and a male that has thriven well there for years is
one of the greatest treasures of our Zoological Gardens, being the
only living specimen in Europe.
64 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
THE TAKIN
(Budorcas taxicolor)
ONE of the least known of the ruminants is this awkward-looking
animal, which is about as big as a Donkey, with very short thick
legs, a large clumsy head, and a long shaggy coat. The buck's horns
are rather like those of the Brindled Gnu, but the points are directed
backwards, those of the female not having the angular bend downwards
at the base.
The Takin was first known from the little-explored Mishmi Hills
on the Assam frontier, where it is of a brown colour ; but there is a
race ranging from Eastern Tibet to North China, in which the male
has a bright straw-yellow mane. Little is known about this animal,
and it has never been exhibited alive in Europe.
THE MUSK-OX
(Ovibos moschatus)
AN animal called an "Ox" seems out of place among the Goat-
Antelopes, but it is agreed by naturalists that it is not a true Ox, and
Mr. Lydekker suggests that its place should be here — it certainly does
not "fit in" anywhere else.
In size it resembles a small Kerry bull, and is stoutly built and
very low on the leg, these peculiarities of form being enhanced by the
very long and heavy coat, which hides the short ears and tail. The
horns are broad at the base and turn sharply down, following the
outline of the face as far as the eyes, when they turn up like hooks
and end in sharp points. The colour of the beast is dark brown,
and a thick under-coat of wool helps to keep the animal warm in
winter; it needs some such protection, as it is a thoroughly Arctic
animal, being confined to the barren grounds of the high northern
parts of America and North Greenland. Here it lives in herds,
feeding on the scanty Arctic vegetation, and displaying, when hunted,
much more activity than could be expected from its very clumsy
appearance. Although it does at times possess a musky odour and
flavour, this is not constant, but very little is known about the
animal, which has only once been brought to England.
MARKHOR
By Winifred Austen
THE MARKHOR
(Capra falconeri)
ALTHOUGH belonging to the prosaic group of Goats, the Markhor is
one of the finest of game animals, with " the tumbling cataract of his
beard " and the grand free sweep of his great spiral horns. He is
also a good-sized animal, standing over a yard at the shoulder, and
sturdily built.
The horns vary much in development according to locality, there
being a great difference between the wide-spreading corkscrew type,
which is most admired, and the straight horns with a tightly-twisted
screw-like spiral, which are accompanied by smaller size and inferior
development of beard, while intermediate forms exist connecting the
two extremes.
Horns of the open spiral type will measure four feet or more
along the curves, though in a straight line they may not be much
more than a yard, which is about the length of the straight close-
spiral form. In the female the horns are quite short and insignificant,
though they show the characteristic twist.
The Markhor wears his long beard both summer and winter, but
changes the rest of his coat to some extent, the summer dress being
short and whitish, while in winter it is long and grey ; he has, how-
ever, no under-garment of wool like some other Wild Goats, and hence
is rather more sensitive to cold than these. The female is brown in
summer, and never has any beard ; while the kids are light drab, with
a black stripe down the back.
This noble Wild Goat is found in the mountain ranges of the
Indian North- West, the Pir Panjdl to the south of Kashmir, and the
Baltistan, Astor, and Gilgit ranges to the north, as well as in many
of the Afghanistan hills, including the Sulaiman range, where the
poorest specimens, of comparatively small size, with straight screw
horns, are found, the splendid open-spiralled specimens attaining their
fullest development in the Astor and Baltistan ranges.
n.
66 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
The Markhor, like Goats in general, is a gregarious animal, and a
splendid climber, being found in places where its pursuit entails
crossing the most dangerous ground. Its favourite haunts in many
cases are among the forested heights, though in Afghanistan it has to
dispense with cover and make the best of stony hillsides. Its attach-
ment to cover is no doubt largely due to its comparative sensitiveness
to cold — not to any deficiency in climbing power, for it is admitted to
be the equal of any Goat in this respect ; and some of the steep slopes
covered with short smooth grass or fallen pine-needles are as bad to
negotiate safely as any ground could be — at least to human feet.
One curious fact about the animal is that it is credited by the
natives with being a snake-eater — a trait which certainly requires con-
firmation ; but the same story is told about the tame Goat.
It is not common in captivity, though it thrives well enough in
that condition, and a young one has recently been born at the London
Zoological Gardens. Its father is a most savage and dangerous animal,
so that the front of his yard has had to be doubly barred, and he
possesses to the full the " personal atmosphere " which has made he-
goats so notorious. It is doubtful, however, whether the Markhor
has anything to do with our tame Goats, though it will breed with
these, and though they often strikingly resemble it in form of horns ;
it will be noticed, however, that the spiral in a tame Goat's horns
generally runs inwards at first, instead of turning outwards as in the
Markhor.
THE WILD GOAT
(Copra hircus)
THERE seems to be no reasonable doubt that the real original ancestor
of our Goats is the animal known as the Persian Ibex (Capra hircus
cegagrus), which is still a well-known animal in South-Western Asia,
extending east to Sind. This beast is practically indistinguishable
from many tame Goats ; the colour is a light brown in summer, getting
greyer in winter. There is a small chin-beard as in the tame Goat,
and this is black, as is the face, a stripe all down the neck and back,
and another along the lower part of each flank, a broad collar at the
shoulder, and the tail and fronts of the legs, with the exception of the
THE IBEXES 67
knees. The horns bend backwards in a semicircular curve, and in
front are keeled and jagged. In the females the horns are much
smaller, and curve back only slightly, and there is no beard or collar.
The height of the male is about a yard at the shoulder. The
natural haunt of the Wild Goat is among crags, and it goes in herds ;
it is prolific, often producing two kids at a birth, as it so frequently
does in domestication. Near Quetta, where it reaches the domain of
the Markhor, hybrids between the two animals have been obtained.
No animals run wild more readily than Goats, which have always
retained much of their original agility and intelligence, and so it
comes to pass that in many places far removed from the haunts of
the original animal there are Wild Goats which originally came there
as the dependants of man, since the Goat can thrive under a greater
range of climate and conditions than any other domestic animal, and
hence has been carried almost everywhere.
THE IBEXES
WHAT may be called the typical Ibexes, as distinguished from the
Wild Goat, have similar backwardly curving horns, but the front edge
of these is flat and more or less broad, not a knife-edge as in the
" Persian Ibex." It is broken up by knots or lumps at regular
intervals. The best known nowadays is the Asiatic Ibex (Capra
sibirica), which ranges through the mountains from the Altai to the
Himalayas ; it is a magnificent animal, as big as the Markhor, and
bears horns which may be four feet long. The coat is of a uniform
pale brown, with dark streaks down the back and legs, becoming nearly
white in winter, and with a dark chin-beard in the male. There is a
thick under-coat, and this hardy animal cares little about cold, keeping
at high levels close up to the snow at all times of the year.
It is much hunted by Dholes and the Snow Leopard, and also
persecuted by man, both by the local natives and by European sports-
men. Such persecution in time past has now almost exterminated
the European Ibex (Capra ibex) or Steinbock of the Alps, an almost
identical but smaller horned species, now only to be found in a few
valleys in the Italian Alps. Another Ibex (Capra vali) is also found
68 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
in the mountains of Abyssinia ; and there is one in Arabia (C. nubiana],
somewhat intermediate between the Asiatic Ibex and the Wild Goat
in colour and style of horns.
THE TURS
THE Turs form a group of three species, two of them found in the
Caucasus and one in the Pyrenees. The Caucasian Turs are of a
nearly uniform brown, and they have very different horns, those of
the East Caucasian species (Capra cylindricornis} being strongly
curved and diverging sideways, while in the West Caucasian animal
(C. caucasica) they turn backwards as in the Ibexes. The Spanish
Tur (C. Pyrenaicd) has the horns ridged and twisted, and in its
colour more resembles the Wild Goat.
THE TAHR
{Hemitragus jemlaicus)
THIS well-known Himalayan Goat is an animal of a type very distinct
from any of the above. There is no beard in either sex, and the
horns, which curve backwards, are quite short, being hardly more than
a foot long even in the buck, although he is as big as the Markhor.
As, however, he possesses a fine dark brown coat, with a long pale-
coloured mane covering the neck, he is a sufficiently imposing animal.
Females and young animals are much paler. All stages of growth can
commonly be seen in our Zoological Gardens, where Tahr have long
lived and bred remarkably well. In the wild state, like Markhor, they
frequent very steep ground, often covered with forests, and the two
species may at times be found together.
There are two other species of Tahr, the Arabian (H. jayakari],
which is the smallest Wild Goat known, being only about two feet at
the shoulder, and the Nilgiri Tahr of South India, often erroneously
called Ibex by sportsmen there. This species (H. hylocrius) is larger
than the northern Tahr, but has not the long mane, though old
bucks are ornamented by a large whitish " saddle," contrasting with
the dark brown coat.
MARCO POLO'S SHEEP
By Winifred Austen
MARCO POLO'S SHEEP
(Ovis poll)
A SHEEP as big as a Donkey, with horns measuring a couple of
yards along their splendid spiral curves, is an animal that cannot
very well escape notice, and so it is not surprising that it was
described by the great Venetian traveller Marco Polo, who met with
it when, in the thirteenth century, he traversed its home on the bleak
Pamir steppes, " the roof of the world," though it was not until seventy
years ago that actual specimens of the animal, in the form of skulls,
were brought to England and the species duly named. Of recent years
this grand animal has been a good deal hunted, and is now fairly well
known, though it has never been exhibited in our Zoological Gardens
as yet. The ewe is a much less imposing animal than the ram, being
not only smaller, but, as is usual with wild Sheep, having quite short,
slightly curved, insignificant-looking horns.
The coat is short, close, and very thick ; as in all wild Sheep — and
in most tame ones in some parts of the world — it is composed of
hair, not wool, the latter type of coat being the result of human
selection. The long tail found in many breeds of tame Sheep has
also no counterpart in this or most other wild species, which are
usually short-tailed.
The coat of the great Sheep varies to a certain extent according
to season, being longer in winter, when also the male develops a ruff
of especially long white hair on the front of the neck, while the ewe's
throat becomes brown.
Marco Polo's Sheep ranges from the Thian Shan Mountains to the
Oxus valley, and shows a certain amount of local variation, the
Thian Shan race not having such fine horns as the typical Pamir
form. Like wild Sheep generally, it does not so much frequent rocks
as open undulating ground ; for these animals, like their domestic
70 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
relatives, though they climb well and like to live high up, care more
about good grazing than for skipping from rock to rock and nibbling
stray tufts of herbage or browsing on bushes, as Goats are so fond of
doing. The pasture of the Pamir in summer is of a very good and
nourishing character, but in winter there is a great scarcity of food in
this elevated and wind-swept region, and many of the giant Sheep
die of sheer hunger in the early spring, while others fall victims to
Wolves. Sometimes, too, whole flocks perish by getting snowed-up
and smothered in valleys through not moving out into the open in
time to avoid the coming storm. In spite of all these destructive
agencies, however, the Sheep held their own very well till ten years
ago, when an epidemic of rinderpest thinned them out as severely as
it has done other game animals in Africa.
The gait of this Sheep when well on the move is a vigorous and
rapid gallop ; it is usually seen in herds, like all of its kind, but the
adult rams, the special objects of the sportsman's pursuit, keep
together in small parties. Now and then, of course, they fight, using
the same head-to-head butting tactics so familiar with our tame rams.
The flesh of this animal is more like beef than mutton, as might
indeed be expected from its size.
None of the other wild Sheep have horns that can compare with
Marco Polo's, as they are much shorter, and have no second twist or
but a slight indication of one, merely curling round once or less.
There are, however, two other species which also deserve to be called
giant Sheep. The first of these is the Argali (Ovis ammon), found in
East Central Asia and Tibet, where it is known to sportsmen by its
native name of Nyan. This is, if anything, an even bigger animal
than Polo's Sheep ; with horns, although much shorter, very much
more massive, being about eighteen inches in circumference at the
base. This is the only giant Sheep which has been exhibited at our
Zoological Gardens. The other is the Bighorn (Ovis canadensis\ of
the mountains of the Pacific coast of North America ; the great Sheep
of Kamtchatka is also considered to be a race of this species. The
Bighorn is usually a darker-coloured animal than the other two species,
THE MOUFLON— THE URIAL 71
especially on the legs, and it has smoother horns ; but it varies much
locally both in size and colour. In Alaska there is a race of it
(Dall's Sheep) which is nearly or quite white; and there is also a
nearly black variety. Bighorns are especially remarkable for their
great climbing powers.
THE MOUFLON
(Ovis musimon)
THE Mouflon of Corsica and Sardinia is so very similar to tame
Sheep in size, voice, and — allowing for the unfamiliar hairy and
coloured coat — general appearance, that it is in all probability the
ancestor of these. The colour is a bright brown, becoming darker
and duller in winter, with the legs and abdomen white, and black
streaks dividing this colour from the brown of the flanks and running
down the legs. The rams have a well-marked white saddle-mark,
which is wanting in the ewes, these being also usually hornless, or
with very small horns.
More or less black varieties of Mouflons are not uncommon ;
several have been bred in the London Zoological Gardens, but the
parent ram is himself partly black. He is a very brave animal, and,
desiring to get at the buck Markhor next door — a much bigger animal
than himself — he broke the padlock on the door of separation with his
head, and then went in and made the vicious Goat acknowledge his
supremacy. Another race or species of Mouflon (Ovis orientalis)
inhabits the mountains of Western Asia, and is also found in Cyprus ;
this is less variegated in coat than the European animal, and is gene-
rally larger, though the Cyprian race is smaller than the Corsican and
Sardinian animal.
THE URIAL
(Ovis vignei)
THE Urial, which is about the size of a tame Sheep, but more leggy,
is of a sandy colour, with a black or black-and-white ruff in the ram ;
the ewe in this species is horned, though the horns are small. It is
found from Bokhara through Persia to the Punjab, where, unlike
72 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
other wild Sheep, it has to endure a really hot climate. It is possible
that this species has been a part ancestor of tame Sheep, as it will
breed with them ; it has also crossed in the wild state with the Argali.
THE BURRHEL
(Ovis nahura)
THE Burrhel forms in some respects a link between the Sheep and the
Goats, but on the whole it is certainly a Sheep, and no one used to
wild Sheep would call it anything else. Its size is that of a tame
Sheep, and its colour very distinctive, being a stone-grey — rather
browner in summer — with, in the rams, strong black bands along the
sides and down the fronts of the legs, while the face and chest are
also black. The ewes have only the black on the legs ; but they have
short horns. Those of the male turn out considerably sideways. This
Sheep inhabits Tibet and the adjacent parts of the Himalayas ; it
frequents either rolling or craggy ground, and fights like a Goat,
rearing up to butt. It thrives remarkably well in captivity, and breeds
freely.
THE AOUDAD
(Ovis tragelaphus]
THE Aoudad or Arui, which is the only wild Sheep found in Africa,
where it inhabits the mountains north of the Sahara, is the most
distinct-looking of all Sheep in general appearance, and was, indeed,
originally described as an Antelope.
It is a tall, leggy animal, sloping-backed, and standing about a
yard at the shoulder. The colour is uniform sandy-red or chestnut,
without markings. Its horns turn well outwards, and are almost as
big in the ewe as in the ram. The tail is quite long for a wild
Sheep's, reaching nearly to the hocks, and a growth of long hair
fringes the front of the neck and chest, and covers the fore-legs down
to the knees ; this is most developed in the ram, and especially, like
the Lion's mane, &c., in captive specimens.
In captivity, indeed, this species thrives marvellously, and, though
coming from such a hot climate, will endure even so severe a winter
as that of New York in the open.
GIRAFFES
By Louis A. Sargent
THE GIRAFFE
(Camelopardalis giraffa)
IT was well said by the late Mr. Phil Robinson in his charmingly
amusing book " Noah's Ark," that the Giraffe is about the best instal-
ment of the impossible that has been vouchsafed to us ; for one could
hardly reasonably expect an animal to grow to the height of six
yards, which is what the bull Giraffe commonly does, though a twenty-
foot specimen is apparently still a desideratum. The cow stands two
or three feet shorter.
It is not only the extreme height, due to the extreme elongation
of neck and legs, that makes the Giraffe so remarkable an animal.
One curious fact about it is that the neck, long as it is, has only the
seven vertebrae almost universal in beasts — no more, in fact, than the
almost neckless Hippopotamus possesses. This seems a case of carry-
ing the "economy of Nature" rather too far, and accounts for the
comparatively stiff appearance of the Giraffe's otherwise graceful neck.
The feet are noticeable for the fact that they entirely lack the
small "false hoofs" so usually found in ruminants, to which group
of hoofed animals the Giraffe belongs, only the two large toes — third
and fourth — forming the cloven hoof, being present.
The head presents several points of interest : the nostrils can be
closed at will, as in some aquatic animals, and the tongue, which is
well developed and more or less prehensile in ruminants generally,
possesses these qualities in perfection in the Giraffe, in which it is
unusually long and movable ; in colour it is nearly black. The horns
are bony prominences covered with the hairy skin : they are common
to both sexes, and are found in the new-born calf, in which, how-
ever, the bony core seems to be undeveloped, as the horns lie flat
back on the head. They also have larger tufts at the tip than in
the adult animal.
II. * K
74 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
On the whole, the young Giraffe resembles its parents more closely
than any other animal, the proportions being perfect at birth, so that,
with the exception of the recumbent horns, it might be mistaken for
a miniature model of the old ones. It is more swift and active than
these are, however. Most people know that Giraffes are purely
African animals ; they have a wide range in Africa, but are only
found south of the Sahara, and in open, dry, thinly-forested country.
They are sociable animals, and usually found in herds ; their food
consists of the leaves and twigs of various trees, their great height
adapting them better for 'browsing than any other animal. When
they wish to reach down to the ground, on the other hand, they
straddle in a very awkward way. They will drink water when it is
available, but can do quite well without any, so that they may be found
many miles away from any supply, a peculiarity which has stood
them in good stead in face of human persecution. Among other
animals their only enemy seems to be the Lion, which occasionally
pulls one down, especially when he has friends to assist him in the feat,
and catches the Giraffe alone.
A herd of Giraffes are most difficult for any enemy to approach ;
their sight and scent are both good, and their great height gives them
an advantage in perceiving danger by either of these means which
other animals do not possess. Moreover, they are not by any means
easy to see in their natural surroundings, their mottled colouration
being inconspicuous among the trees on which they feed ; unless, as
not infrequently happens, they are browsing on scrub a good deal
lower than themselves.
This colouration, it should be mentioned, varies a great deal locally,
so that several local races have been described ; it is sufficient to say
here that the Giraffe of the south of Africa has a yellowish ground-
colour with rather ill-defined brown spots, while in the northern
part of the animal's range it tends to become a dark-brown netted
over with a mesh-work of white lines ; while at the same time the
bony lump on the forehead, which is always present, develops into
what may be called a third horn.
THE GIRAFFE 75
Generally speaking, the bull Giraffe is much darker than the cow,
and old females are considerably darker than young ones.
The gait of Giraffes when walking quietly is most graceful ; it
will be observed on watching it that both legs on the same side are
moved together. When pressed, however, they break into a very
awkward gallop, with their long necks rocking to and fro, and their
brush-tipped tails raised erect over their backs, while they straddle
their hind-legs so much that it is dangerous to ride close alongside
for fear of receiving an involuntary kick. The Giraffe also can and
does kick deliberately, but no one seems to have observed the wild
animal do what tame ones undoubtedly practise — deliver a swinging
blow with the horns, which, blunt as they are, are formidable weapons
with the leverage of the long heavy neck. Owing to the Giraffe's long
stride, it travels at a pace which gives a horseman much trouble to
get on terms with it, and in spite of its height it manages to get
through a wood in a most remarkable manner.
The meat of a young cow in good condition is very good indeed,
and keeps for a long time, but the old bull smells so terribly strong
that it is difficult to remain in his vicinity, let alone eat any of him,
though opinions vary as to the precise description of odour he emits.
The hide, which is extremely thick, is of value for making whips ; but,
taking it on the whole, there is very little reason for destroying this
uniquely beautiful and absolutely harmless animal. One point to be
noted about it is that it is one of the few beasts which are absolutely
mute, for no one seems to have heard a Giraffe utter a sound under
any circumstances.
The Giraffe has been known in captivity for a very long period, as
the Romans used to exhibit it in the brutal shows wherein whole
Zoological Gardens were massacred in the arena. In post-classical times
it became almost forgotten, and it was not till 1836 that the first
specimen reached our Zoological Society's Gardens. Here Giraffes have
done remarkably well, and bred quite freely, though they cannot be called
very hardy animals. Their transport is also naturally rather difficult,
but I have seen one in good condition in Barnum's travelling show.
76 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
They are, of course, to be seen in every leading Zoological Garden,
which institutions could not be considered complete without one ; but
during the outbreak of Mahdism in the Soudan, they became very
difficult to procure, and the prices asked were very exorbitant.
It may be worth mentioning that in the menagerie of the King of
Oude, who was deposed after the Indian Mutiny, there was a Giraffe
which was accustomed to be saddled and ridden daily. This idea
might well be adopted elsewhere, and a properly broken Giraffe would
not only earn its keep by carrying riders, but might be allowed to
do a little tree-pruning in a public garden, to its own benefit and the
saving of labour to the gardeners.
Captive Giraffes are said not to attain anything like the richness
of colour and commanding height which they exhibit in the wild
state — indeed, Mr. H. A. Bryden thinks that they compare more
unfavourably in these respects with their wild relatives than any
other animals commonly exhibited in captivity.
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THE OKAPI
(Okapia johnstoni)
THE Okapi is the only other living member of the family Giraffida
besides the true Giraffe, and, as many of my readers no doubt know,
has only been made known to science during the last decade, its
discoverer being Sir Harry Johnston.
As far as its general form goes, it gives us a good idea of what
the Giraffe's ancestors were probably like, foreshadowing, as it were,
that animal's peculiarities, for its neck and legs are rather long,
and its shoulders high, while its head distinctly recalls the Giraffe
shape. As in the Giraffe, the back hoofs are wanting, the front ones
forming the usual cloven hoof of a ruminant. The Giraffe is note-
worthy for having its canine teeth — present only in the lower jaw,
and, as in ruminants generally, lying close to the incisors — divided
by a deep notch, and this small peculiarity is repeated in the Okapi.
Its horns, however, differ somewhat from the Giraffe's; for one
thing, they are confined to the male, and, though short and covered
with hairy skin, are tipped, not with a tuft of hair, but with a bare
cap of bone, like a very rudimentary Deer's antler. The two horns
are generally not quite like each other.
In the colour and pattern of its gay and strikingly-marked coat,
the Okapi is very different from the Giraffe, and, indeed, from any
other beast whatever, though the banding of the bases of the limbs
and the hind-quarters are somewhat like those of a Zebra. In fact,
when the first definite proofs of the existence of the animal, in the
shape of pieces of the striped part of the skin, came to hand, it was
thought to be a new kind of Zebra, and named as such.
The sexes are practically alike in colour, and the same may be
said of the young, though these have a more furry coat, the hair of
the adult animals being very close-lying and sleek.
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78 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
In size the animal may be compared to a large Donkey or a
Mule, and it was first vaguely heard of by reports obtained by Mr.
H. Stanley from the Pigmies of the Central African forests, that they
knew of an animal something like a Donkey, which they caught in
pitfalls. That anything of the Horse kind should live in a dense
forest seemed so strange to Sir Harry Johnston that he resolved
thoroughly to investigate the question, and in 1899 he had the
opportunity of himself questioning some Pigmies whom he had rescued
from the clutches of a showman ; and they told him that the beast
was like a Mule with Zebra's stripes. That the description gives
some idea of the animal, no one who looks at the illustration will
deny, but nothing was said about the cloven hoofs, a detail which
the Pigmy mind was evidently not scientific enough to take cognisance of.
Thus, when next year Sir Harry obtained further information
about the beast from the Belgian officers at Fort M'Beni in the Congo
Free State, and even the strips of skin above mentioned, there was
nothing to dissipate the Zebra, idea, and when he went Okapi-
hunting in the forest and saw the marks of cloven hoofs, he was still
off the scent.
However, in 1901, Sir Harry, then Governor of Uganda, received
from Eriksson, a Swedish officer in the Belgian service, a skin and a
couple of skulls of the Okapi, and at once perceived its relationship
to the Giraffe. Since then quite a number of specimens — more than
two dozen — have come to hand, and a good deal of information about
the animal has been acquired, notably with regard to the horns of the
male. There are now three stuffed specimens to be seen at the South
Kensington Museum, and skeletons have also been sent to Europe.
Moreover, two or three specimens have been captured alive, including
a baby one about a week old, which was photographed, apparently
from life, though it only survived a month. Before long, therefore,
we may expect some enterprising individual to bring a live Okapi
to Europe.
All the specimens have so far been obtained in the Semliki Forest,
and the Belgian Government, in whose jurisdiction the haunts of the
THE PRONG-BUCK 79
animal lie, have wisely forbidden any one to hunt it without special
permission. It appears to be purely a forest animal, and very wary
and quick of hearing, as might be expected from its large ears. It
is not usually • gregarious, only a pair, and sometimes their young
one, being found together; and they travel in single file, the male
strictly observing the rule of " ladies first," a piece of gallant behaviour
which is apt to lead to his receiving the bullet of the hunter when
the pair are in retreat. He also is credited with keeping watch while
his mate grazes, whereas in many, if not most ruminants, it is the
female which does sentinel duty; but a monogamous animal might
naturally be expected to show more devotion to his female than the
usual polygamous members of this group.
The Okapi is said to be gentle and harmless, with a soft gazelle-
like expression in its dark eyes ; it appears to low like a Cow. Its
food consists of leaves and grass, in search of which latter it frequents
open places in the forests traversed by little brooks which enable the
grass to grow ; these places it only visits at night, and it has very
seldom been seen alive by Europeans as yet. The savages procure
it not only by means of pitfalls, but also by lying in wait for it and
spearing it. Their word Okapi, applied to it, really means " Donkey,"
and the more usual name is Dumba.
THE PRONG-BUCK
(Antilocapra americana)
THE Giraffe family find their nearest allies in the Deer, while the
Prong-buck, although it has a distinct family (Antilocapridcz) all to
itself, is undoubtedly very near the hollow-horned ruminants, and
therefore rather out of place here ; but it demands notice, and the true
Antelopes are so numerous that it could not be dealt with after them.
It is often known in North America, where alone it is found, simply
as " the Antelope," and, were it not for its peculiar horns, would pass
as one of that group. It is about as big as a Fallow-deer, and
80 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
slenderly built, with large eyes, long ears, delicate limbs, and short
tail. Its colour is pale sandy brown, white on the stern and under-
parts, while the front of the neck is white crossed by a band of the
body-colour.
The horns, which are only found in the buck, are situated far
forward — above the eyes, in fact ; they are not a foot in length, and
stand nearly upright, but with a slight curve backwards at the tip.
Their great peculiarity is that they have a tine or prong about the
middle of the front, and also that, although composed of horn, covering
a bony core, they are shed yearly. Only the outer horny part comes
off, a new horn forming on the core underneath it. This curious
change, which is the most distinctive point of the animal, was first
observed by A. D. Bartlett, in the London Zoological Gardens, where
this animal has several times been exhibited, though it is delicate,
and not very easily kept even in its own country.
It is essentially a prairie animal, and is possessed of great speed,
though it is no jumper, and would appear not to be so fast as some
of the true Antelopes of the Old World. Its flesh is esteemed as
good venison, and it is persecuted by Wolves as well as by man, so
that its numbers have been greatly reduced, and it is one of the animals
whose extinction is to be feared if it cannot be efficiently preserved.
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THE MUSK-DEER
{Moschus moschiferus)
THE Musk-Deer has for many centuries been a familiar animal on
account of its valuable scented secretion, though little known in its
own person, which is indeed insignificant enough, for it is a small
creature, not so large as an ordinary Goat, and measuring less than
two feet at the shoulder. It is also one of the very few Deer which
never possess horns, these weapons being replaced by the long upper
canines in the males ; the female's canines are quite short, and of no
service as weapons.
In build the Musk-Deer is also very different from other Deer,
having particularly long hind-legs ; its hoofs are particularly charac-
teristic, being very pointed, and with the small hinder pairs, or " false
hoofs," much better developed than in any other ruminant — so much
so, in fact, that they are of use in helping the animal to get a grip on
rocky ground, being movable. The coat is very characteristic, being
composed of long and extraordinarily coarse hair, almost like small
quills ; it is extremely close and thick, and the hairs are very brittle.
The colour varies a good deal, some specimens being much redder
than others, while pale and dark varieties occur, and some have white
on the under-parts. The young animals have white spots, like Deer
fawns generally.
The Musk, which has given the animal its reputation and
commercial importance, is to be found in a pouch about the size
of a hen's egg, situated under the skin of the abdomen ; it is a dark-
coloured substance of a pasty consistency. This "musk-pod" is absent
in the female, which also differs from the male not only in not
possessing tusks, but in having the tail, which is very short in both
sexes, covered with hair in the ordinary way, while in the male it
is naked except at the tip.
n.
82 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
Unlike other Deer, the Musk-Deer has a gall-bladder like most
animals. The Musk-Deer is purely a mountain animal, but it has a
wide range, being found from the Western Himalayas to Western
China. It frequents forest-covered places, and ranges very high up,
being indifferent to cold, from which its remarkable coat well protects
it. In its movements it is very active, and it is remarkable for its
agility and surefootedness, travelling in great bounds. The food of
the Musk-Deer consists of leaves, flowers, lichens, and grass ; it is
evidently, like the Goat, an animal that enjoys a change of diet.
It is solitary in its habits, and never seen in flocks, at the most a
pair consorting together ; and it is also a very silent animal, except for
an alarm hiss, and the loud screams which it will utter when captured.
Few animals are more relentlessly persecuted by man than this,
and the persecution has been a long-continued one, for musk used
formerly to be even more esteemed than it is at the present day^
being used freely in cookery and medicine as well as in perfumery.
The great value of musk in the last-mentioned art lies in the extra-
ordinary power of the scent, which, almost intolerably strong in the
crude article, gives a needed "body" and persistence to the various
delicate manufactured perfumes. It might naturally be supposed that
so highly flavoured an animal would be unpalatable — at any rate to
Europeans, but Mr. Lydekker states that even the buck's meat is free
from muskiness if the scent pouch is removed at once; the doe, of
course, is not musky at all, and the venison is very good.
The skin of the Musk-Deer does not seem to be commonly utilised,
but if properly cured it makes a most excellent bedroom mat, on
account of its warm nature. These Deer are secured either by shooting
or snaring, the latter poaching method being especially favoured by
natives.
Although it is not a very common animal in captivity, the Musk-
Deer does well in our climate, and is sometimes on view in our
Zoological Gardens ; it also thrives in those few parks in which it has
been introduced. It would be a very desirable proceeding to acclimatise
this valuable and harmless animal, not only in some of our mountain
TYPICAL DEER 83
districts in Great Britain, but also in such parts of our Empire as
New Zealand, where conditions suitable to its existence occur; but
few things are more remarkable than the extreme indifference of
humanity to the naturalisation of unimpeachably useful animals, though
we have distributed pests widely enough.
There seems to be only another species of Musk-Deer known beside
the common one — the Kansu Musk (Moschus sifanicus), which is said
to have longer and darker ears. The Musk-Deer is so very different
from other Deer that it has even been doubted whether it does not
deserve a family to itself; but it is generally treated merely as an
outlying member of the typical Deer (Cervidri).
TYPICAL DEER
THESE, as every one knows, usually have horns, confined — except in
the case of the Reindeer, and of individual "freak" does in one or
two other species — to the males, and shed and renewed at more or
less regular intervals. The growth of these horns, which are composed
of true bone, and have no real horn in them, is one of the most
wonderful things in nature. They begin as soft knobs, covered with
the "velvet," a skin coated with plush-like fur, and gradually assume
their full size and form, hardening meanwhile. Then the knotted
ring at the base (the "burr") forms, and the blood circulation dies
away almost completely. The velvet dies and dries, and is rubbed off
by the stag against trees, &c., and he is as anxious to use his new
weapons for combat as he was previously to save his tender growing
antlers from contact with the boughs, &c. In Deer with the usual
branching horns, the young stag's first set have only one spike, and
the prongs increase in number yearly till the maximum is reached ;
but when the stag has passed his prime, the antlers diminish in size
and beauty yearly as he advances in age. Deer are found everywhere
except in the Australian region and in Africa south of Sahara ; but
they are not nearly so numerous or so varied a family as the hollow-
horned Ruminants, or even as the Antelope section of that family.
84 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
THE MUNTJAC
(Cenndns muntjac]
THIS is a curious-looking little Oriental Deer, with short legs and
small two-pronged horns seated on long bony pedestals, the bases of
which are continued down as ridges on the skull, and show promi-
nently under the skin of the face. The buck has the upper canine
teeth in the form of short strong tusks.
The coat is very sleek and of a foxy red, but dark brown and
greyish black varieties occur, and sometimes albinos. I once saw a
skull of a buck which had an extra little antler growing out of the
sides of the horn-pedestals of bone.
The doe, except for the absence of long tusks, and of the horns
and their supports, is very like the buck, and has the same ridges on
the face. A marked peculiarity of this animal is its strong gamy
scent, and also its note, which is a bark like that of a Fox. Indeed
it is often known in India as the " Barking Deer." Another peculi-
arity of this animal is the length of its tongue, which can be put out
of the mouth far enough for it to lick its face all over with it. It is
a forest animal, usually solitary, and very clever at getting quickly
through thick cover. When at bay, it relies more on its tusks than
on its little horns, and will make a stout defence with them. Its meat
is very good venison indeed, which is sufficiently remarkable, seeing
that the animal is, in captivity, almost as omnivorous as a Pig, eating
cooked meat readily; I have also read of a case in which a buck,
which was allowed his liberty, searched for and ate hens' eggs.
This Deer is found all over India, both in mountains and plains,
and ranges east to Borneo ; it does well in captivity in England, and
would be an excellent subject for acclimatisation anywhere, being very
easy to keep and transport. There are only about half-a-dozen other
species of Muntjacs, all from Eastern Asia, and all sufficiently like the
common species for their relationship to it to be obvious at sight.
RED DEER
By Winifred Austen
THE RED-DEER
(Cervus elaphus)
THE Red-Deer may be taken as the type of the Deer family, and,
though not so large as some of them, it is unrivalled among living
species in majesty of appearance and in the beauty of its finely-
branched horns. These have, besides the "brow-tines" at the base, a
"bez" or second, and a "tres" or third tine, while the three points
at the end of the horns is known as the " crown." The words bez
and tres, by the way, are pronounced "bay" and "tray." When the
stag has the three lower tines, he is said to be a " royal," although
his horns are as yet not nearly perfect ; many specimens even have
more than three of the terminal points, for this Deer is very variable
as to the form and branching of its antlers.
Antlers a yard long may be considered good, but much larger
specimens are preserved in some Continental collections ; the evidence
available goes to show that the Red-Deer of to-day are distinctly
degenerate compared to their ancestors. Some stags never have
horns at all, but may yet become owners of a harem.
The Red stag measures about four feet at the shoulder; his coat
is redder and shorter in summer than in winter, and is variable
according to individuals ; there is even a breed of white animals of
this species preserved in some parks. The hind is coloured like the
stag, but the fawns are spotted with white.
This Deer is a typically European animal, being found over most
of Europe and in North Africa; eastwards it ranges into Persia, the
"Maral" of that country being a race of the Red-Deer. It is the
largest of our living British land animals existing in a truly wild
state, and its great stronghold is in the Scottish Highlands and
Islands, though it is also found in the free condition in Devon and
Somerset, and in Kerry in Ireland. As a park animal it is much
more widely distributed with us, and park specimens are larger and
finer than those from the bleak northern mountains, rather inappro-
86 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
priately called " forests," for the Red-Deer, like most of its family, is
properly a forest animal, and only attains its full development when
it has the shelter and the variety of food afforded in a forest country.
Thus, in New Zealand, where this Deer was introduced from Scotland,
it is now a far finer animal than its ancestors were, although the stock
is very much inbred, the original animals introduced having been
only about a dozen all told. It may be gathered from this that the
Red-Deer is a browser as well as a grazer ; the development of the
antlers depends very much upon the feeding the animal gets in the
winter and spring, as, of course, their production involves a great
drain on the system. Red-Deer's horns are perfect in autumn, and at
this time the stags, which usually live apart from the hinds, often
in small bachelor parties, fight savagely, and roar defiant challenges
to each other ; and at this time, especially if at all tame, they are apt
to be very dangerous to man. Red-Deer are in any case most de-
structive animals to crops, devouring corn, apples, and roots, and the
stag is worse, being more wasteful, than the hinds ; in the hunting
country on Exmoor, a " Deer Damage Fund " is maintained to com-
pensate for the loss thus occasioned to the farmers. Their depreda-
tions are made at night. On the other hand, Deer-stalking is one of
the great attractions of the Highlands, and has done much for the
prosperity of that part of our country.
On the Continent the Deer has not only to contend with man, but
with his hereditary enemy the Wolf, and even with us he is liable to
be attacked, especially when young, by the Golden Eagle.
The venison is esteemed, but not so much so as that of the Fallow-
Deer, and the great recommendation of the animal is its picturesque
appearance and its value to the sportsman. Like Deer generally, the
Red species does well and breeds freely even in close confinement ; it
had among the ancients a reputation for long life, but in point of fact
a stag seems to be past his prime long before he reaches twenty years.
Closely allied to the Red-Deer are several Asiatic species, such as
the Hangul of Cashmere (Cervus cashmirianus); but in Central Asia
begins the range of the Wapitis, of which the North American species
(Cervus canadensis) is the type. These are animals of much greater
size than the Red-Deer and most of its allies, but otherwise very
similar. They have, however, shorter tails, and squeal instead of
THE SAMBUR— THE SPOTTED DEER 87
roaring in the breeding season. Horns of the American Wapiti may
measure over five feet in length. These great Deer do well in our
parks, but are very dangerous animals at the rutting-time.
THE SAMBUR
(Cervus unicolor)
THE Sambur and its allied races take in South-East Asia the place
occupied by the Red-Deer and Wapitis in the northern parts of the
world. The typical and finest form of Sambur is found in India,
where it inhabits both the mountains and the plains, being known as
the Jerrow in the Himalayas. It is about the size of the Red-Deer,
but far less elegant in build, and its tail is much more bushy. The
old stag is of a very dark brown, while the hinds are redder, and the
calves, which are usually unspotted, quite foxy red in many cases. But
it is the antlers which make the greatest distinction between the two
types. Those of the Sambur have no bez or tres tines — only the brow
tine and two points at the crown. The beam of the antler is, however,
very thick and rugged, and, as it may attain a yard in length, the head
is imposing enough.
Sambur are forest-haunting animals, usually less gregarious than
Red-Deer, as they never collect in large herds, and are often found
singly. The shedding of the horns is very irregular in this species,
and sometimes stags do not drop them for years together. The Eastern
races of Sambur, which range to the Philippines, are usually smaller
than the Indian variety, some of them not being so big as Fallow-
Deer. Of recent years Sambur have been introduced into New
Zealand.
THE SPOTTED DEER
(Cervus axis)
THIS very beautiful Deer is widely spread in the plains of India,
inhabiting groves near water. In size it is about equal to our
Fallow-Deer, and is very like that animal in summer coat, but even
more richly coloured, the chestnut ground of the white-spotted hide
88 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
being very bright. The horns of the buck are, however, very different,
having, like those of the Sambur, three tines only on each, a brow-tine
and two end points. They are long and slender, but vary a good deal,
some diverging much more than others ; a yard is not an uncommon
length. This Deer is gregarious, and suffers a good deal from the
persecution of various carnivora, as well as the assaults of man ; but
it holds its own well, and is a common animal. The fawns may be
born and the horns shed at any time of year. In European parks
this Deer does well, though the fawns are apt to die when dropped
in the winter.
THE FALLOW-DEER
(Dama vulgaris)
No hoofed animal exceeds this familiar ornament of our parks in grace
and beauty, though its white-spotted coat is less brilliant than that of
the last species, and varies a good deal in depth of tint. In winter
the spots disappear, and there is a sooty variety which never has any.
White specimens are also found. The horns of the Fallow-Deer are
very different from those of other typical Deer, being palmated or
flattened at the ends ; both brow and bez tines are present.
This Deer's natural home seems to be the countries bordering the
Mediterranean ; but it is far better known in semi-captivity as a park
animal, for which position it is eminently fitted, not only by its great
beauty and utility as a provider of excellent venison, but by its gentle-
ness, for it is the only Deer in which the bucks are usually not
dangerous. It must be admitted, however, that vicious individuals
occasionally are found. When it is found living free and is hunted,
the Fallow-Deer exhibits much more cunning than the Red-Deer,
in spite of its long domestication.
ELK
By C. E. Swan
THE ELK OR MOOSE
(A Ices machlis)
THE Moose of America is the same animal as the Elk of the Old
World, for its range extends all round the globe, in the great
northern forests ; indeed, it is a pity that the name Elk cannot be
entirely dropped in favour of the American title, as it has been so
extensively misapplied.
In America, for instance, " Elk " always means the Wapiti, and in
Ceylon it is applied to the Sambur; moreover, the long extinct
giant Fallow-Deer of Europe (Cervus hibernicus}, of which such well-
preserved horns are dug up from the Irish peat-bogs, used to be
called the "Irish Elk."
However called, the true Elk is a very distinct animal from all
other Deer, presenting as it does so many remarkable points. Its
short neck is unique among Deer, and in fact no other creature presents
the combination of a short neck and long legs. The antlers of the
male are also characteristic, with their broad palmated form, and
lateral direction on each side of the head, to say nothing of the
absence of the brow-tine.
In young animals the antlers are not palmated at first, and show
more resemblance to those of ordinary Deer. Another peculiarity of the
bull Moose is the " bell," or hair-covered pouch, which hangs from his
throat, its use being quite unknown.
The great muzzle, short tail, and characteristic form of body and
limbs are common to both sexes. The calves are much lighter in
colour than adults, but are not spotted. The Moose easily excels all
living Deer in size, measuring about six feet at the shoulder, while its
antlers may span five feet in width. It attains its greatest size in
America, and especially in Alaska; the illustration was taken from a
splendid Alaskan bull mounted in the South Kensington Museum:
II. 8" M
90 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
this animal, by the way, is darker on the legs than usual, Elk usually
having the limbs much lighter than the body — nearly white, in fact.
But, as with so many animals, there is much variation in depth of colour
in this species. The Elk, wherever found, is essentially a forest animal,
and, its structure rendering it unsuited for grazing, it feeds on the
foliage and twigs of trees ; it is a very destructive animal in the forest,
rearing up on its hind-legs to eat off twigs growing high up, and
"riding down" young trees by straddling the stem and pressing them
down till it can reach the crown. The mountain-ash is a great
favourite with it, and where Elk are at all common this tree gets
fairly eaten out of the forest.
In summer time it varies its diet with water-plants, wading in to
feed on the leaves of water-lilies, and plunging its head under to pull
up their roots. Owing to its broad spreading hoofs, it is at home on
marshy ground, and is particularly fond of water, this taste being
not at all uncommon among the Deer family. It swims with great
power, and higher out of the water than other land animals.
Its ordinary gait is a walk, and it moves through the forest very
skilfully, avoiding touching the twigs in a most marvellous way, con-
sidering its huge antlers ; it trots well and swiftly, and is very endur-
ing at this pace, but, like the Eland, cannot gallop for long at a time.
This is not a gregarious animal, though at times a single family
may be found together. The bull has no ambition to own a harem,
but he mates more than once in a season, the attachment of the pair
being short-lived. A most keen-scented and quick-eared animal, he is
difficult to approach at other times, but in the breeding season in
autumn he loses his caution to a great degree, and becomes fearless
and even aggressive.
He not only uses his horns in attack, but, like many Deer, is a
skilful boxer, and his terrible chopping blows with the fore-feet are
greatly dreaded : the cow, when with a calf, is almost equally danger-
ous, as she practises the same tactics. The bull is often lured to his
doom at the breeding season by imitations of the roar of his mate;
for at this time of the year the females call as well as the males.
THE ELK OR MOOSE 91
The cow Elk drops her young in spring ; she is more prolific than any
other equally large animal, frequently having twins.
In winter, Moose are exposed to great danger from the attacks of
man and Wolves, as they cannot travel well on "crusted" or surface-
frozen snow, owing to their great weight, which causes them to break
through. To avoid as much as possible the necessity of travelling
about at this time, they "yard," as it is called; this means that one or
more animals select a sheltered piece of forest with plenty of their
favourite trees, and keep to it, their constant travelling over the same
ground beating down the snow and giving them a safe range — safe,
that is to say, against the Wolf, which dares not face the great
Deer in a fair fight; but, of course, once a hunter finds the "yard,"
the unfortunate inmates are more or less at his mercy. If wounded,
they do not die unavenged if they can help it, for an infuriated
Moose is one of the most dangerous of animals. At the beginning
of the new year the bull drops his antlers, and these are renewed by
autumn.
So large a beast as this has, of course, always been greatly subject
to human persecution, which has exterminated it over much of its
range. In Europe it is now confined to Scandinavia, Northern Russia,
and East Prussia: in classical times it was widely spread in Europe,
and even inhabited Britain. Its equally large and far more beautiful
rival, the Giant Fallow-Deer, became extinct long before the dawn of
history, unless the unknown beast called the " Schelch " in the
" Nibelungen Lied," and mentioned as distinct from the other ancient
European big game, Aurochs, Bison, and Elk, was this animal.
In America it still exists as far south as the northern parts of
New York, and is well known in Canada. It is, of course, greatly
esteemed both there and in Europe as a sporting animal, and its
meat is not to be despised. In former times it was trained as a sledge
animal in Scandinavia, and showed such speed that its use was pro-
hibited as facilitating the escape of criminals — a measure which does
not say much for the police efficiency of the government of the
period : it might very well be tried again for use in the countries it
92 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
naturally inhabits, where transport in winter is always a matter of
more or less difficulty. There seems to be plenty of evidence that this
formidable creature is really one of the most easily tamed of the Deer
tribe when taken young enough, and the experiment has been tried on
both sides of the Atlantic.
Notwithstanding this, the Elk is not a common animal in captivity,
and at the time of writing there has been no representative of the
species in our Zoological Gardens for some years, though several have
in times past been on view there. A praiseworthy attempt is being
made to introduce this grand beast into New Zealand, where it certainly
would greatly add to the attractions already offered to sportsmen by
that enterprising colony.
THE MILOU DEER
(Cervus davidianus)
THIS curious Deer is not closely related to the Moose or to any other
species. It is about as big as the Red-Deer, but clumsily formed,
with a Donkey-like appearance, especially about the tail, which is longer
than any other Deer's, reaching down to the hocks and ending in a
tuft. It carries its head low, and, according to Mr. Lydekker, trots
like a Mule, with an action quite unlike that of its family generally.
Its antlers are very ugly, and of an altogether peculiar type. There
is no brow-tine, but a long straight beam merely forked at the tips,
and sending out a long branch from the back near the base.
This Deer is fond of water, and feeds on water-plants when it
can ; it has a braying call. The coat is plain brown in the adults,
and spotted with white in the fawns. Its native home is unknown,
as it has only been seen in the Imperial hunting park at Pekin, and
I believe it is not to be found there since the recent troubles in
China, so that the only known specimens of the race now living are
the small herd in the Duke of Bedford's park at Woburn ; specimens
have also been exhibited at our Zoological Gardens. Of course there
is a possibility that some traveller will rediscover it in a truly wild
state, so that it is worth while to draw attention to it here.
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THE VIRGINIAN DEER
(Cariacus virginianus)
THE Virginian or White-tailed Deer, as it is called in its own country,
is far the most abundant and widely-spread Deer in North America,
and continues to exist even in long-settled districts where any wood-
land remains.
It is about the size of our own Fallow-Deer, and equally graceful
in form, but differs very much in colour of coat and style of antlers.
The general hue is reddish brown in summer and grey in winter,
the difference being usually very marked, though there is much
individual variation. The fawns are usually white-spotted in the
orthodox Deer fashion, but self-coloured ones, like that in the illus-
tration, a British Museum specimen, are not uncommon ; and Mr.
Lydekker records a case in which a doe in captivity bore a spotted
one and a plain one together — the normal number at a birth in this
species being two.
The antlers of the buck, like those of all purely American Deer,
are of a very different type from those of the Old World species. It
will be noticed, for instance, that there is no brow-tine, while the
style of branching is quite different, and the beam bends abruptly
forward in a peculiar way. The length of the horn is about two feet.
The typical race of this Deer inhabits the eastern side of North
America, from Maine southwards, but different races or local varieties
of it range through the Western States, down through Mexico and
Central America, even into Peru and Bolivia in the southern half of
the continent. As so often happens, the southern races are much
smaller than the northern or typical form of the species.
This Deer is a woodland species as a rule, and is very shy and
wary ; indeed, it is owing to its cunning that it is enabled to maintain
itself so well in the neighbourhood of man, though it is nowadays
also protected as a sporting animal. When rushing off, its tail, which
is rather long for a Deer's, and conspicuously white for the most part,
94 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
is strikingly displayed, while the head is carried low. Like so many
Deer, it is very fond of water, and will often wade in after water-
lilies, like the Moose. In the ordinary way, like most other Deer,
it both grazes and browses on twigs and leaves, and is very fond of
beech-mast.
This is the Deer ordinarily hunted by American sportsmen, Deer-
shooting in the Adirondack ranges of New York State being one of
the recognised pastimes in the States. It does well and breeds freely
as a park animal, over here as well as in its native country, but is
not often kept in England. No Deer becomes so tame and confiding
as this species does in many instances, but it is also capable of showing
itself extremely vicious, so that it evidently cannot be implicitly trusted.
THE MULE-DEER
(Cariacus macrotis)
THE Mule-Deer is one of the most distinct and handsome of American
Deer; it is rather larger than the Virginian at its best, and has
particularly big ears, whence its name. As its tail is tipped with
black, it is often called the Black-tailed Deer, though this name more
properly belongs to another American species (Cariacus columbianus).
The antlers of the Mule-Deer are very handsome, and branch in a
characteristic and peculiar way; a little distance above the head the
beam forks into two like a letter Y, and each of these branches
similarly forks again, producing a very symmetrical "head." The
whole antler is usually over two feet long. The colour of the coat is
brown in summer and grey in winter, with white on the face, under-
parts, and base of the tail.
The Mule-Deer is widely distributed over western North America;
it keeps in small herds, and in habits is more like an Antelope than
a Deer, frequenting dry open country more than woods, and feeding
chiefly on grass. It is a fine hill-climber, and also appears to be the
swiftest of the Deer, which are not, as a rule, very fast animals com-
pared with the average Antelope ; at any rate, it appears to be able to
escape from both Wolves and Greyhounds. It has thriven well and
bred remarkably freely in our Zoological Gardens.
PAMPAS DEER— HUEMUL— BROCKETS— PUDUS 95
THE PAMPAS DEER
(Cariacus campestris)
THE Pampas Deer is a small species, light brown in colour, and with
three-pointed antlers in the back. This is one of the few open-country
Deer, inhabiting the grassy plains found in some parts of Brazil and
ranging south over the Argentine Pampas to Patagonia. It is chiefly
remarkable for the extremely strong nauseating smell emitted by the
buck, which is said to be perceptible a mile off, so that he would appear
to be worse than the Skunk as a scent-diffuser.
THE HUEMUL
(Xenelaphus bisulcus)
THE Huemul is a smaller and stouter-built animal than the Fallow-
Deer, brown in colour, with the buck's horns showing two nearly equal
spikes only ; it ranges along the mountains of South America from
Chili to Patagonia, and sometimes comes out on the plains. Where it
has not met with men, it is extraordinarily tame ; Mr. Hesketh Prichard,
in his book on Patagonia, mentions a case in which a doe came up
and smelt him, and her mate made as if to turn him over with his
horns.
THE BROCKETS
THE Brockets are a number of small species of Deer from Central
and South America, in which the horns are reduced to short single
spikes ; their tails are very short also. The best known is the Red
Brocket of Brazil (Cariacus rufus), which has been often exhibited at
the London Zoological Gardens ; this is also the largest, but is not
much over two feet at the shoulder. It is a solitary animal, frequenting
either forest or grassy plains, and very destructive to crops.
THE PUDUS
THE Pudus (Pudud) are very like the Brockets, but still smaller and
with shorter horns. They inhabit Western South America, and the
Chilian Pudu is the smallest Deer known, being little more than a
foot at the shoulder. The only other kind, found in Ecuador (Pudtta
96 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
mephistopheles) is not much bigger, and is noteworthy as being the
only ruminant which has no tail at all.
THE ROE
(Capreolus caprea)
ALTHOUGH an Old-World Deer, ranging from Great Britain to the
Caucasus, this species is more nearly allied to the American types
just described. It is a small animal, little over two feet at the shoulder,
with long ears and a very short tail ; the legs are long and the build
very graceful. The buck's horns are seldom a foot long, rough in
the beam, and carry three points, but have no brow-tine. The coat is
red in summer, grey with a white patch on the stern in winter; the
fawns, of which there are two at a birth, are spotted as usual.
The Roe is found solitary and in pairs or families, and is a wood-
land animal ; it is a most graceful creature, and is often kept as a pet
on the Continent. The buck, however, in spite of his small size, is
a very dangerous animal. It is only nowadays found in the northern
parts of Great Britain, and does not thrive so well in parks as our
other Deer. In Siberia its place is taken by a much larger Roe (Capreolus
Pygargus), which may be as big as a Fallow-Deer, and often migrates
in large herds.
THE WATER-DEER
(Hydrelaphus inermis)
THIS curious Deer, which agrees with the Musk-Deer in having
long upper canine tusks in the buck instead of horns, seems to be
allied to the Roes. It is a small animal, less than two feet at the
shoulder, and light brown in colour. The fawns are spotted, but not
very distinctly; a great peculiarity of the animal is the number of
them it produces at a birth — from three to six — thus showing a pro-
lificacy unrivalled among ruminants.
The Water-Deer is found in Eastern China, where it lives in the
long reeds by the water-side, and on river islands ; it swims readily,
and has a bounding action when on land. Its venison is only
moderately good, or it might be a good subject for acclimatisation,
especially as it does well in our climate, though seldom imported.
REINDEER
By C. E. Swan
THE REINDEER OR CARIBOU
(Rangifer tarandus)
LIKE the Elk, the Reindeer is an example of an animal inhabiting both
worlds, but known by a different name in each ; for the Caribou of
America is not regarded as a different species from the Reindeer of the
Old World, though presenting some slight differences, not important
in an animal so variable locally as this is.
It is very strikingly different from all other Deer, and, with the
exception of the misshapen Moose, is the least elegant of the family,
its large head, usually carried low, short thick neck and legs, and
sturdy build more suggesting an Ox than one of the graceful and
elegant Deer family. It is a large animal, often considerably exceed-
ing our Red-Deer in size. The ears and tail are both short, and the
feet broad, with great power of expansion, so that they readily
support the beast on a yielding surface like snow or mud. The back
or false hoofs are larger than in any other species except the Musk-
Deer.
The coat is very thick and close, and varies a good deal in colour,
some specimens being much whiter than others. The white neck is
a very marked character in some American races, from one of which
the illustration is taken ; the females show less white than the males,
and the winter coat is whiter than the summer one. The young fawns
are not spotted, like those of most other Deer.
The antlers of the Reindeer are altogether peculiar, and can be
distinguished at once from those of any other Deer, though in no
other species are they more variable, both individually and locally.
Especially to be noted is the fact that the brow and bez tines are
forked or flattened, while the tres tine is absent altogether ; the beam is
strongly bent, and is often flattened at the end.
Often, especially in the American Caribou, one brow-tine is very
II- W N
98 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
large and branched, while the other is of the ordinary prong-like shape,
and other instances of asymmetry occur. The antlers often attain a
very great size, sometimes measuring over five feet along the curves
of the beam ; the horns of the American forest race, known as Wood-
land Caribou, are peculiarly short, but well-branched, while some races
have very straggly-looking horns.
This is the only Deer in which the does usually have horns as
well as the bucks, though individual cases of horned does have —
very rarely — been recorded in other species. The horns of the females,
however, are much smaller and less branching than those of the
males, and in Kazan the female Reindeer are said to be hornless.
The two sexes shed their horns at different times, the does dropping
them much later than the bucks, and not forgetting to remind their
partners of their defenceless condition while they have the chance
to assert themselves.
The antlers are developed very early in the life of the animal —
before it is two months old, in fact, whichever the sex, whereas those
of other Deer do not make their first appearance till it is nearly a
year old or even more.
The Reindeer is one of the characteristic animals throughout the
Arctic regions, being found as far north as Nova Zembla and
Spitzbergen, but also ranging south as far as the Kirghiz steppes and
Lower Canada. It is migratory wherever the character of the country
permits it, and in classical times seems to have been found as far
south as Germany. In spite of its awkward appearance, it is an active
animal, being able to travel for long distances with great speed, and
to negotiate the most difficult ground ; it is a good hill-climber, and
in Scandinavia affects the high "fells," while at the same time, unlike
most mountain animals, it can traverse soft ground easily, and can, in
fact, get along over swampy country where any other animal would
inevitably succumb ; a tame individual has been seen to be bogged up
to the horns, and then extricate itself without assistance. It will also
manage to get along through soft snow, travelling by bounds like a
gigantic Rabbit: generally, however, it does not bound or leap like
THE REINDEER OR CARIBOU 99
other Deer, and will crawl under an obstacle rather than jump over it.
It is the fastest and most powerful swimmer of all Deer, and swims
higher out of the water than any other beast, buoyed up by the air
entangled by its thick coat.
With the exception of the Woodland Caribou of America, which
keeps to cover and is found only in small numbers together, the Rein-
deer affects open country and is found in large herds; the Barren-
ground American race, which lives north of the forest limit, is said
not to interbreed with its forest relatives, even when they meet.
The staple food of the Reindeer is the celebrated Reindeer "moss"
— a lichen which grows abundantly in the north ; it also feeds on
any other available vegetation — grass, shoots of trees (where available)
and bushes, and even seaweed. When its food is concealed under
the snow, it reaches it by pawing with its fore-feet, the idea that the
expanded brow-tine is a " snow-shovel " being apparently a mistake.
It has, like so many Arctic animals, a great power of elaborating fat,
and lays on more of this than any of the Deer when food is obtainable ;
but, of course, it often has to suffer much privation during the long
winters, when the surface of the snow is liable to freeze hard.
The Wolf is a deadly enemy to it in winter, and it is also much
subject to the attacks of insects, such as gadflies, in summer. It is a
wary and restless animal, always ready to shift its ground if hunted.
Its meat is, of course, a very important article of food to the
natives of the countries it frequents, and the skin is also of value,
and many are sent to England, while the antlers are extensively
exported also.
Most important of all, however, is the utility of the Reindeer as a
domestic animal, in which capacity it has been known from very
ancient times, both in Europe and in Asia ; the Caribou of America
has never been domesticated, but Lapland Reindeer have been exported
to Alaska.
The value of this creature to the northern tribes who use it is in-
valuable, as no other animal could supply its place ; since it furnishes
meat, milk, hides, and is also used as a working animal. In this
100 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
capacity it is generally yoked to a sledge, either singly, as in Lapland,
or several abreast, as in Northern Asia. Some tribes in Asia also ride
their Reindeer, which are larger than the European breed ; but, gene-
rally speaking, tame Reindeer are not so large and fine as wild ones,
and they are also more variable in colour.
Reindeer will live in our climate, but do not thrive very certainly,
though they have often been exhibited in our Zoological Gardens ;
they certainly ought to be introduced into the cold regions of the
southern hemisphere, where there is at present a complete absence of
land mammals, so that they would be of great service to those forced
to spend any length of time in the inhospitable islands of these
southern seas.
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THE INDIAN MOUSE-DEER
(Tragulus meminnd)
THIS insignificant-looking little animal is one of the small family of
Chevrotains (Tragulida), as they are often called in books, which
represent a very primitive type of ruminant, and give us some idea
of what the ancestors of Deer and Antelopes were like before they
developed horns.
Even the typical ruminant stomach is not fully developed in the
Mouse-Deer, although it chews the cud. This organ should consist
of four compartments — the paunch, honeycomb bag, manyplies (a chamber
with longitudinally pleated walls, and the rumen or true stomach — but
in the present animal the manyplies is not developed.
The slender limbs also show a primitive feature unknown in the
higher ruminants ; the small back hoofs, which represent the second
and fourth toes, are really the terminations of complete toes, the bones
of which are hidden under the skin, whereas in other ruminants this
is never the case, only the lower ends of these toes remaining, even
when they are present at all.
The teeth of the Mouse-Deer also show a primitive feature in the
front grinders being narrow-topped and pointed, not broad and suited
for crushing, as all the grinders of ruminants usually are. The long
tusk-like upper canines of the male, though much less developed, of
course recall those of the Musk-Deer, and there has been much con-
fusion between the two groups, the Chevrotains having long been
regarded as allies of that animal, although they have no special rela-
tionship to it any more than to other Deer, except in so far that it is
also a primitive type, though not nearly so much so as the Mouse-
Deer are.
As in the Musk-Deer, the canines of the female Mouse-Deer are
short ; indeed, in none of the ruminants with long tusks in the males
101
102 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
are these organs well developed in the female, and, as they never
occur along with large horns, they appear to be primitive weapons
which the more highly organised ruminants have been able to dis-
pense with as their horns became more efficient.
The Indian Mouse-Deer does not measure more than a foot at the
shoulder, and is not so big and heavy as a Hare ; its curious olive-
brown coat with white spots will distinguish it from any other
animal.
The colouration, however, recalls that of many young Deer fawns,
and no doubt is another primitive peculiarity, since the coat or plumage
of young beasts and birds often appears to "hark back" to their
ancestors. The young Chevrotains, however, are apparently always
like their parents, even when these are self-coloured.
In its habits the Mouse-Deer is singularly unobtrusive ; it is
usually solitary and chiefly nocturnal in its habits, so that, although
widely spread over Southern India in forest tracts, and also found in
Ceylon, it is comparatively very little known. In the daytime it
hides among rocks, and here the doe drops her young, which are
usually twins. The gait of the little animal is peculiarly stealthy ; it
carries its head low, and steps daintily along on the very tips of its tiny
hoofs. Some of the poses of Chevrotains show their primitive char-
acter very well ; unlike other ruminants, they sometimes sit up on
their haunches like a Cat or a Dog, and when lying down do not
incline to one side, like hoofed animals generally, but rest on a level
as it were, with the fore-feet tucked under them.
This little creature is not very common in captivity, but it has
bred in that condition, and has often been exhibited at the London
Zoological Gardens, where all the species of the family have been on
view at one time or another. Mouse-Deer should be fed and treated
much like Rabbits, appreciating such food as salad, sliced carrots
and fruit, bran, &c. It is important not to keep them constantly on a
hard floor, as they are subject in that case to enlargement and sore-
ness of the hocks, while damp is also injurious to them — at any rate,
in the case of the Asiatic species. Except that the males will, as
THE KANCHIL— THE NAPU 103
might be expected, maltreat each other, they are harmless little things ;
and in one case, when one of the present species was kept in the
Calcutta Zoo in the aviary along with some birds, I noticed a hen
Gold Pheasant had struck up a friendship with the little Deer, and
always kept near it.
THE KANCHIL
( Trag ulus javanicus)
THE Kanchil, or Little Malay Chevrotain, is the smallest of the family,
and thus the smallest of ruminants except the little Royal Antelope
of West Africa. It is, in fact, about as big as an ordinary Rabbit ;
its coat is of a rich red-brown, with the under-parts white, and the
throat streaked brown and white. The tail is longer than in the
spotted Indian Mouse-Deer. The Kanchil ranges from Malacca to
Java, and, like all the family, is a forest animal. Its name, in Malay,
means "little," and in the folk-tales of the Malays it stands for the
small, weak, but cunning creature which outwits stronger ones by
dint of brain-power and resource, just as the Rabbit does in Negro
stories, and the Wren in European fairy tales. In the case of the
Kanchil, at any rate, there is probably some foundation for this view
of its character; for, unless these little primitive creatures are very
cunning, it is difficult to see how they have existed for so many ages,
since they have neither great speed nor defensive weapons, and are
not highly prolific.
THE NAPU
(Tragulus napu]
THE Napu is the largest of the Asiatic Mouse-Deer, rather exceeding
the Indian spotted species in size. In colour, however, it is very
similar to the Kanchil, and, like that species, has a longer tail than
the Indian one. It has much the same range as the Kanchil, but is
not nearly so abundant an animal. Apart from the great difference
in size (the Kanchil being only about eighteen inches long from nose
104 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
to tail, and the Napu nearly a foot more), the two species can
be distinguished by the difference in the brown-and-white streaking
on the front of the neck, the Napu having five white streaks here,
while in the Kanchil there are only three.
THE WATER CHEVROTAIN
(Hyomoschus aquaticus)
THIS animal is the only other species of Mouse-Deer known, and is
the only one found away from Asia, its home being in West Africa.
It is the largest of the known species of the family, being considerably
bigger than the Napu, and more heavily built in proportion to its
size, the legs being less slender and delicate.
In the structure of the limbs also, it is more primitive even than
the other Mouse-Deer, for the supporting bones of the large third and
fourth toes which form the "cloven hoof" are not fused into a "cannon-
bone" as in all other ruminants, even the other Mouse-Deer, but
remain separate beneath the skin ; thus, as in the Pig, all four toes
of the foot are distinct in the skeleton.
In colour the African Mouse-Deer combines the peculiarities of the
Asiatic species ; it is spotted and striped as in the Indian kind, but
the spotting, which is pure white, is on a red ground like the coat of
the Eastern or Malayan species. This creature is found along the
sides of rivers and streams, and, though specimens kept in captivity
during the last century did not display any of the aquatic proclivities
with which this animal is credited in the wild state, the last individual
the London Zoological Gardens possessed frequently entered the water
to which it was allowed access.
That this creature is really a very ancient form is shown by the
discovery of fossil remains of a very closely allied species in Greece,
which was named Dorcatherium, before the present animal was known
to exist at all ; a fact which, with the discovery of the Okapi, encourages
us to hope for yet more novelties — if the discovery of a supposed extinct
type can be reckoned as such — in the wilds of the West African bush.
ONE-HUMPED CAMEL
By Louis A. Sargent
THE CAMEL
(Came/us dromedarius)
SOME apology is necessary for the introduction of so thoroughly
domesticated an animal as the ordinary One-humped Camel into a
book on Wild Beasts ; for this animal has been so long and so
thoroughly domesticated, that it is not known to exist anywhere in a
primitively wild state. On the other hand, it is far too important a
type to be left out, and it may be urged that no "wild beast show,"
stationary and scientific, or migratory and mercenary, is complete
without Camels, while they have at any rate reverted to a wild state
in parts of Spain.
The Camel is the representative of a small group of ruminant
animals known as Tylopoda (pad-footed) ; they cannot be called hoofed
in the ordinary sense of the word, as the two toes, third and fourth,
which alone are present — there being no back toes — merely bear large
blunt claws at their extremities, and the animals do not walk on the
very tips of the toes as ruminants usually do, but the whole under-
surface of the toes is applied to the ground. In the Camels, these
toes, though distinct above, are confined below in a single broad
horny pad or sole.
The Camel is also peculiar with regard to its teeth. In other
ruminants there are no upper incisors whatever, and the lower canines
are like incisors in shape, and lie close alongside of these teeth ; but
the Camel has a full set of upper incisors in its youth, and the outer
pair are always present, though they are pointed canine-like teeth.
Then the canines, present in both jaws, are typical in form, not
incisor-like in the lower jaw, and the first grinders in the upper
jaw are canine-like teeth ; thus the Camel is well provided with teeth
for biting, and, it may be added, has the will to use them on occasion ;
and in this it is greatly aided by the flexibility of its neck.
ii. 10S
106 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
The typical ruminant stomach is not quite fully developed in the
Camel, which, like the Mouse-Deer, has not the third compartment or
" manyplies " ; it has long been known as remarkable, however, for the
water-pouches, which are found in the walls of the first and second
compartments, and by their muscular rims can be shut off from the
rest of these cavities. This structure has reference to the Camel's
famous power of abstaining from water, which, however, has been
somewhat exaggerated ; as a matter of fact, it can, generally speaking,
go without water only about twice as long as the Horse, and cannot
compare in powers of abstinence from fluid with the Giraffe and seve-
ral of the Antelopes, which can live on a dry rdgime for months,
though without any special arrangement for water storage in their
interiors.
The characteristic hump of the Camel is not so important a feature
as those above mentioned ; it is chiefly composed of fat, which is
gradually absorbed into the system in case of scarcity of food or other
organic need. Hence a hard-worked and underfed Camel has a flabby
hump, and a plump firm one is an unfailing sign of high condition.
The ordinary colour of the Camel is the sandy-dun represented in
the illustration, and this is no doubt the primitive tint, as it is what
might be expected in a desert animal ; but black and white Camels
are also found, though pied and spotted ones seem to be unknown.
There is much difference, also, in the various breeds of Camels,
the ordinary slow-paced pack-Camel comparing with the swift and
slender " Dromedary," which is a sort of Camel-thoroughbred, much as
a cart-horse does with a racer.
The ordinary gait of the Camel is deliberate, and he moves the
two legs on the same side together in a very characteristic way; but
he is very enduring, and in this, as well as in his powers of bearing
thirst and subsisting on the coarsest and driest herbage — and very
little of that — his value as a beast of burden consists. When lying
down, the Camel, like the Mouse-Deer, does not lean to one side like
most hoofed animals, but lies down squarely, with the limbs bent
under him, and the bare horny pads on the chest, knees, and stifle-
THE CAMEL 107
joints are adapted to this position. This Camel is kept throughout
the hot, dry, and barren districts of Africa and Asia; and he is
especially fitted for such countries ; in fertile districts, where the Horse
and Ox can be employed for the same work, he is of comparatively
little use ; and he is extremely destructive to trees and shrubs, devour-
ing branches as thick as a man's little finger. His docility and patience
have been rather over-rated ; he is really a rather ill-conditioned
animal, given to biting very severely and to grumbling, gurgling, and
growling, not only at the proverbial " last straw," but at the first. In
the breeding season the bull Camel is positively dangerous, and at this
time he blows out a red bladder from his throat, to the accompaniment
of a bubbling noise.
The female produces one calf at a time, which is able to follow
her immediately, but is suckled for the whole of its first year.
Camels are, as is well known, chiefly employed as pack-animals,
and will carry a load up to five hundred pounds, but they are
also employed to a limited extent for purposes of draught. They
are never bitted, but controlled by a ring through the nose. For
many years past they have been much employed in Australia, a
country for which they are peculiarly well suited. They are very sure-
footed on almost any sort of ground, being as good at hill-climbing
as in marching over the level desert, though they do not like really
loose sand more than any other creatures. They are very awkward
swimmers, being apt to overbalance in the water, and their long loose
limbs are apt to slip laterally, and get dislocated in marshy ground —
so much so that if they have to be taken over such country, it is
usual to tie their hocks together. Yet Camels brought up in marshy
land will be accomplished " bog-trotters," and it is a curious fact that
these desert creatures have run wild in the Spanish marshes, where
they wade about like so many quadruped Flamingoes.
Both the meat and milk of Camels are utilised by the Arabs, and
their woolly hair is used for the manufacture of cloth, while their
bones are valuable for inlaying work, being nearly as dense as
ivory.
108 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
THE BACTRIAN CAMEL
(Camelus bactrianus)
THE Bactrian or Two-humped Camel is in all essential points of
structure very similar to the one-humped or Arabian species ; but is
more stoutly and heavily built, and has a much heavier coat, to say
nothing of the characteristic two humps instead of one. It presents
much the same colour variations as the ordinary Camel, with which
it is sometimes crossed, and produces a hybrid which has but a
single hump. These mule Camels are in some respects better working
animals than pure-bred ones ; they are capable of reproduction, but
the second cross animals are not good for much.
The Bactrian Camel is the characteristic Camel of temperate and
cold climates, being kept from Southern Russia through Central Asia
to China; it can endure intense cold, and some tribes possess both
this animal and the Reindeer. Like the ordinary Camel, it is chiefly
used for burden, but sometimes for draught, and is exceedingly frugal
and hardy. In the Gobi Desert it is found in an apparently truly
wild state; at any rate the Camels there are very wary, sandy in
colour, and with comparatively small humps ; a specimen can be
inspected in the South Kensington Museum.
In European menageries this Camel thrives admirably, as it finds
nothing uncongenial in our climate ; the pair at present in the Zoo-
logical Gardens breed regularly, and it may be observed that the
baby Camel has the humps in the form of mere flaps of skin at first,
filling out and standing up as the little animal grows.
Y/ AM
GUANACOS
By Winifred Austen
THE GUANACO OR WILD LLAMA
(Auchenia huanacus)
THE Guanaco and its ally the Vicugna are the American representatives
of the Old-World Camels, and the only other members of the family
Camelidce. The resemblance of the Guanaco to the Camel is obvious
at once, although it has a very straight back instead of the familiar
hump, a much shorter and bushier tail and longer ears, and the toes
almost completely divided, instead of being united below into a single
pad, so that the foot is very like that of a two-toed bird.
The resemblance extends to points less easily observable; the
Guanaco has essentially the same structure of stomach as the Camel,
with its characteristic water-pouches, and also possesses, like that
animal, the canine-like outer incisors and pointed canines, though it
has not the canine-like premolars.
In size the Guanaco is about equal to our Red-Deer, and in appear-
ance, as the illustration shows, a very elegant creature ; a characteristic
point of its appearance is the way in which the body is "tucked up"
at the loins, as in a Greyhound. The coat is of a woolly nature in the
body, and very soft and fine. There is not much variation in colour,
but some specimens have the face blacker than others, and white and
pied varieties may occasionally occur.
The range of the Guanaco is very wide, extending over the temperate
parts of South America generally, from the Andes of Ecuador to Tierra
del Fuego. It is a very active beast, being equally at home on rocky
slopes, in ascending and descending, while it shows itself remarkably
sure-footed, and showing great speed when on the open plains. It is
a particularly common and characteristic animal in Patagonia. Its
food consists of such herbage as may be found about its haunts, and
it seems to be able to live on very little, as it is sometimes found in
the most barren localities, and, in some cases, appears to drink either
108
110 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
salt water or none at all. For all their hardiness, however, the severe
winters of Patagonia are often too much for the Guanacoes, and in
many places there may be found large deposits of the bones of the
unfortunate animals, generally in some sheltered locality near water,
whereto they have resorted in the vain hope of picking up some
nourishment.
Guanacoes are essentially gregarious, and are usually seen in large
herds ; one buck will accumulate a harem sometimes numbering as
many as a hundred does ; but this he does not manage without a
struggle ; for, in spite of their harmless and innocent appearance, these
creatures are savage and quarrelsome to a degree, and any old veteran
is pretty certain to be well marked with scratches from the teeth of
former rivals, especially about the neck, which is the main point of
attack. As, however, the skin here is very thick, the combatants cannot
hurt each other very seriously. The Guanaco also attacks by rearing
and striking its adversary with its knees ; besides which it spits freely,
though one would think that this method of offence would not much
impress a serious enemy, though disconcerting enough to a visitor to
a menagerie. The note of the animal is a laugh or neigh, and the
buck will often thus challenge intruders on his domain, for, though
wary when it has been at all hunted, the Guanaco is very inquisitive,
and has some idea of resenting the intrusion of strangers.
Its natural enemy is the Puma, which, where they occur together,
makes it a principal object of pursuit, springing on it and breaking its
neck ; sometimes the Guanaco will make a brave resistance to its foe,
but very seldom with success. The young are also attacked by the
Colpeo (Cams magellanicus), a large, Wolf-like Fox; but this animal
does not range far out on the plains. The Patagonian Indians — now,
alas I sadly reduced in number — also hunt the Guanaco keenly, as it
forms their principal means of subsistence. It is true that its flesh,
which is like lean mutton, is not so much esteemed by them as that
of the "Ostrich" of Patagonia— really Darwin's Rhea (Rhea darwinii),
which is more palatable and nourishing ; but as the bird is much
more wary, it is often a case of Guanaco venison or nothing; and
THE GUANACO OR WILD LLAMA 111
besides, they need the skins of the old animal for making their
" toldos " or tents, and those of the young for their own clothing.
The Guanacoes are hunted with the bolas — balls connected by thongs
and thrown at the animals ; and the aid of Hounds is requisitioned,
the Guanaco Hound being apparently very similar to a smooth Lurcher
or the Kangaroo Hound of Australia.
It may be mentioned that Guanacoes take to the water readily and
swim well, unlike their relative the Camel. The Guanaco is the wild
ancestor of the Llama, the only large domestic animal possessed by the
American aborigines at the time of the Spanish conquest of the New
World — in fact, the only other domestic animals found there at all
were the Dog, Guinea-Pig, Turkey, and Muscovy Duck.
The Llama has a heavier coat than the wild Guanaco, and is most
often white in colour, though, like most domestic animals, it varies a
good deal ; thus, of the pair at present in the London Zoological
Gardens, the buck is black, with a white " blaze " on the face, and the
doe white, with the head marked with fawn-colour. Llamas breed well
in Europe, and are to be found in most menageries. Their original
use was as pack animals, and they can be ridden, but their habit of
spitting is highly objectionable. Apropos of this, I may mention
that, though this nasty trick was noticed in the earliest account of the
Llama, written in the middle of the sixteenth century, and though I
have often heard from eye-witnesses of the animal's expectoratory
performances, I have never seen the feat performed myself, though a
constant frequenter of Zoological Gardens ; and I mention this to show
how cautious one ought to be in disbelieving accounts of unusual
habits in animals, merely because one has not had personal experience
in any particular case.
Another domestic breed of the Guanaco is the Alpaca, which is
smaller than the Llama, and usually black, or nearly so. Its fleece is
very long, reaching nearly to the ground, and hanging all over the
face. It is solely on account of this wool that the animal is bred,
being kept in large flocks on the mountain pastures and regularly
shorn. The name of the animal is, indeed, more familiar than that of
112 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
any other of this group, owing to the large use of Alpaca wool in
making various fabrics. This animal would be a good subject for
introduction into some of our colonies where suitable conditions exist,
and, indeed, it was tried in Australia, but the herd imported did not
thrive, possibly on account of the heat of the climate, unsuitable for
mountain animals ; New Zealand would probably have been better.
THE VICUGNA
(Auchenia vicuna)
THE Vicugna is a considerably smaller animal than the Guanaco, and
has a shorter head even in proportion to its size — indeed, it might
very easily be mistaken for a young specimen of the larger species, as
its colour is very similar. It may, however, always be distinguished by
the absence of the bare patches found on the stifle-joint of the hind-
legs in the Guanaco, which agrees in this respect with the Camel-
The Vicugna is found high up in the mountains of South America
from Peru to Central Bolivia. In general habits it much resembles
the Guanaco, but is, unlike that species, purely alpine, and never
occurs in the plains.
Its wool is peculiarly fine and soft, and the animal would be well
worth domesticating, as, of course, this product can at present only be
obtained by hunting the wild animals. A worthy priest in Peru, the
Curd Caprera, once succeeded in producing hybrids between the Vicugna
and Alpaca, which bore fine fleeces and were fertile, but poverty fell
upon him, and the valuable breed was lost. There would be no diffi-
culty, however, in repeating the experiment, for the Vicugna thrives
in captivity as well as the Guanaco, though both are naturally not as
often met with as the domesticated Llama.
HIPPOPOTAMI
By C. E. Swan
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS
(Hippopotamus amphibius)
THE very ugliness and unwieldiness of the "River-Horse" — the Greek
name of the beast, which has been adopted as its English one — has
always attracted attention to it, and indeed it is one of the most re-
markable of hoofed animals, as well as the largest after the Elephants
and the great Rhinoceroses. Its relationships are not at all with the
Horse, the family to which it belongs being nearer to the Pigs than
to any other existing animals. It resembles Pigs in having four hoofs
on each foot, but all these touch the ground, and the weight is likewise
borne, as in the Tapir and Rhinoceros, by pads beneath the base of
the toes. The huge broad swollen muzzle is very unlike that of a
Pig, and the teeth are very characteristic of the animal. There are a
pair of huge canines in each jaw, which grow continuously, and, meet-
ing at the tips, wear each other flat, the upper pair being slantingly
bevelled off behind, and the lower in front. There are two pairs of
incisors in each jaw, of which those in the upper jaw curve outwards,
while the lower incisors project straight forwards in a very curious way,
and look like thick sticks of ivory. These also have continuous growth.
The small eyes have a bulging appearance, and the features, if the
expression may be permitted, are so arranged that the animal can
have its nostrils, eyes, and ears all above water, while the rest of its
body is submerged. The body generally is devoid of hair; but there
are a few bristles on the muzzle and on the short tail. Not the least
remarkable peculiarity of the Hippopotamus is that its sweat is red,
and has much the appearance of blood. The young animal, as the
illustration shows, is not so uniformly grey as its parents, and has a
much more reasonably-sized face ; there is only one at a birth, and
when quite small it has the habit of riding on the back of its mother
when in the water.
n. U1
114 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
The bull Hippopotamus reaches a length of twelve feet, but only
stands about five in height ; the female is smaller. The young Hippo
takes five years to grow up, and the animal's whole length of life is
about thirty years, judging from the ages attained by animals bred in
captivity.
The Hippopotamus is one of the characteristic beasts of Africa,
having been originally distributed almost all over the river-systems
of that continent south of the Sahara. It has long, however, dis-
appeared from Lower Egypt, and has given way in other places to
human persecution. In habits it is essentially aquatic, though its
requirements are not exacting, as it is in many cases found on quite
small streams, so long as they contain pools sufficiently large for it
to shelter in. Although it can swim well enough, it is not, as the
small size of its feet show, especially a swimming animal ; its special
accomplishment is sinking below the surface and walking along the
bottom. It can remain under for more than five minutes, but cows
carrying a young calf rise more frequently than others, for the benefit
of the little one.
On land the Hippopotamus is much more active than its awkward
shape would lead one to expect, and can gallop at a rate which would
give a man small chance of escape. It also climbs steep places
readily, and on occasions travels long distances overland from one
pool or stream to another ; often so many animals have followed the
same path for such unnumbered generations that regular roads are
formed. The food of the animal consists of marsh vegetation and
grass; this it generally seeks by night, but is more ready to come
abroad by day where it has not been persecuted. Its depredations
on the crops of the natives are naturally very severe; for an animal
whose stomach is eleven feet long needs a great deal of material to
replenish it, while to the damage done by its appetite must be added
the trampling down of much more by the creature's movements. At
the same time, the great bulk and large food-requirements of the
Hippopotamus must make it useful in clearing away the rank growth of
aquatic plants which are constantly blocking up water-courses in Africa.
THE HIPPOPOTAMUS 115
Hippopotami are gregarious animals, and almost always live in
herds ; but furious fights take place between rival males, whose wide
mouths and terrible array of teeth enable them to bite with great
power. Some individuals are extremely savage, and will attack any man
or cattle they may find swimming in their haunts, and bite through
canoes, and even larger craft such as river-steamers. In fact, the
ferocity of the Hippopotamus, in addition to its raids on the crops,
is a justification for its destruction when it comes into too close
contact with humanity, though no excuse for its complete and wasteful
extermination. When much hunted, it becomes very wary, and is
difficult to shoot, so small a part of the head being exposed when it
rises to breathe as to offer but a very small target for the rifle.
Natives capture it in various ways — by pitfalls, by harpoons, by
weighted spears suspended in trees in connection with a cord which
will be struck by the animal passing underneath, and by the cruel
method of keeping herds in isolated pools till they are starved to
death. The great value of the Hippopotamus to natives is its flesh,
which is considered good even by Europeans, and the abundant
supply of fat it gives, fat being always at a premium with the African
negro, who has to subsist chiefly on vegetable food and the dry meat
of wild game. The layer of fat immediately under the skin is espe-
cially prized, being very pure, and when salted is known at the
Cape as "Zee-Koe speck," — "Zee-Koe," or Lake-Cow, being the Boer
name of the animal. The tusks of the Hippopotamus also yield ivory
of good quality, and its skin, which is very thick — as much as two
inches in places — makes the sjamboks, or hide whips, about which one
hears so much. Walking canes can also be made of the hide; after
the long quadrangular strips have been rounded down, they are
soaked in oil, and then polished, so as to look rather like amber ; they
are quite as stiff as real cane of the same thickness.
Although the Romans exhibited the Hippopotamus in their shows
in the arena, it was not for many centuries after the fall of their
empire that the beast was again seen alive in Europe. At last, in
1850, the celebrated Obaysch, obtained as a quite young calf on the
116 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
Nile, was brought to the London Zoological Gardens, and, when a
mate was obtained for him, bred there. Since then Hippopotami
have been better known in menageries, and have bred elsewhere.
They thrive well enough, but must be kept warm in winter, and
either have constant access to a bath or be bathed by hand, or their
skin will soon become disordered. It may be mentioned, in conclusion,
that the Hippopotamus is supposed to be the " Behemoth " of Scrip-
ture, and that an extinct species, found fossil in India, was probably
the " Water Elephant " of Sanscrit writers. At any rate, this semi-
mythical beast, though represented on ancient Indian sculptures with
an Elephant's head and fore-feet and Dolphin's hinder-parts, is there
given teeth which are somewhat like those of a Hippopotamus, but
utterly different from the Elephant's.
THE PIGMY HIPPOPOTAMUS
(Hippopotamus liberiensis)
THERE is only one other living species of Hippopotamus — the much
smaller kind confined to the tropical parts of Western Africa. This is
not bigger than a large Pig, and in its general form is like the young
of the ordinary species, as it has not the huge muzzle of the large
Hippopotamus. In colour also it is different, being of a greenish
cast, shading into yellowish below, and it has only one pair of incisors
in the lower jaw. The accounts, however, which represent it as being
not so fully aquatic as the large kind, but more like a Pig in habits,
seem not to be correct, for Sir Harry Johnston has recently stated,
in his book on Liberia, that the small Hippopotamus is also a water-
animal. But it is a little-known creature, and only one short-lived
specimen has reached England.
'<•'•
INDIAN WILD BOAR
By Winifred Austen
THE INDIAN WILD BOAR
(Sus cristatus)
THERE is practically very little difference between the Wild Boar of
India and that of Europe and Western Asia (Sus scrofa), but the
Eastern animal deserves the honour of heading and illustrating this
article, as the noblest representative of the porcine race, since he is
unequalled in courage.
In size a large Indian Boar will reach or even exceed a yard at
the shoulder, and the lower tusks will be about nine inches long, in-
cluding the portion embedded in the jaw. The Boar's tusks are very
curious as well as very formidable weapons ; they are simply enlarged
canine teeth, but have the peculiarity of growing continuously, and the
upper pair turn outwards and upwards instead of growing downwards
as upper canines usually do. The two pairs meet and work against
each other in such a way that they wear each other to an edge, which
much increases their efficacy as rippers. A Boar's tusks are most for-
midable when he is in his prime ; as he becomes older, the lower pair
get so long and curved that he cannot rip much with them ; and
though the increased length of the upper pair brings these into use, they
are not so effective. So, though the old Boar is more crusty in his
temper, he has less ability to gratify it. The skin of the beast's neck
is very thick, which is a great protection against the tusks of his rivals.
In the Sow, which is smaller than the Boar, the tusks are quite
short, so that she does not rip, but bites, which she can do to some
purpose, for the typical Pigs have a very full and complete set of teeth.
The Indian Boar, although its coat is not so long and thick as that
of the European species, is well covered with hair, which is of a
brownish or grizzled black in adult animals, becoming greyer with age.
The young Pigs are marked with longitudinal stripes of brown and
buff, this being the usual pattern in the young of this family, just as
117
118 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
the white spots are in the coats of Deer fawns. In some localities
brown Wild Swine have been observed, and there is a good deal of
variation in size and form, the Boar of the rich lands of Bengal, where
the feeding is good, being heavier in build than the Punjab Pig,
which has to travel farther for his meals.
Wild Swine are widely spread through India, Ceylon, and Burma,
in the hills and plains alike ; they are fond of cover, and often make
shelters for themselves by cutting quantities of grass, and then
burrowing under the pile. Such shelters are used especially by Sows
with litters, but also sometimes by old Boars, which generally live by
themselves, while the Sows and young animals go in " sounders " or
herds.
Wild Swine generally feed at night, and are practically omnivorous ;
they root like tame Pigs for their food, but much more energetically,
and are terribly destructive to crops. They like frequenting marshy
land, where they can dig up roots in the soft soil, and they will also
root for those fish which in India bury themselves in mud when the
water dries up in the hot season. Carrion occasionally forms part of
their food, but they are not usually ranked as foul feeders. They
gladly devour, of course, any wild fruit they can get.
Like their tame relatives, they are prolific animals, having several
young in a litter, and breeding more than once a year. Many are
killed by Tigers, Leopards, and no doubt other carnivora ; but the
Sow fiercely defends her litter, and the "grim grey Boar" is an
adversary that even the Tiger prefers to leave alone as a rule.
Should he venture on an attack, he stands an excellent chance of
being fatally ripped before he can kill his victim,
The great courage of the Boar makes " Pig-sticking," as the pursuit
of him is styled, with humorous modesty, in India, the finest and
most manly of field sports. Several riders engage in it together, and
for about a mile the pace is very great, for the Boar has a great
turn of speed for a short burst, and is also an active jumper, easily
clearing obstacles in awkward places where a Horse cannot get a good
"take-off" owing to his size. If, however, he finds his ptirsuers are
THE EUROPEAN WILD BOAR 119
overhauling him, he turns, with a savage grunt, and charges desperately.
Then is the time to hold one's lance steady and not try to prod at
him ; but, with all precautions, the shaft will often be snapped or the
spear wrenched from the rider's grasp, and the half-impaled Boar makes
good his charge at a second foe ; and this goes on till the gallant
brute at length bites the dust. Horses often get cut, sometimes very
badly, in these encounters, but the riders are seldom hurt by the
Boar, as, if one happens to be thrown, there is generally some one else
handy to divert the beast's attention, since all ride close up in the
hope of getting "first spear." The chief danger lies in the very bad
ground over which the chase has often to be pursued. The Arab Horse
is found to be the safest mount, from his cleverness in getting over
dangerous places at a high speed, and in dodging the Boar's attack,
while his high courage makes him less afraid of the alarming brute
than other Horses.
The Boar is more respected by his adversaries than any other
beast of chase ; as in the case of the Fox, he is not shot, except on
ground where riding after him is impossible, and, moreover, his female
relatives are allowed to go unscathed. Indian Wild Swine have done
well in captivity in England, and bred for many years in the Royal
Park at Windsor.
THE EUROPEAN WILD BOAR
(Sus scrofa)
IN addition to his thicker coat, the European Boar has a less leggy
build than the Indian variety, and has the last grinder in the lower
jaw of smaller size and less complex structure, but the differences are
barely of specific importance. This Swine is the Wild Boar so well
known in literature ; it occupies the region west of India, ranging over
Europe generally and into North Africa: it inhabited Britain down to
the time of the Civil Wars. It is still an esteemed beast of chase on
the Continent, but is usually shot, not hunted ; and its flesh is much
120 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
esteemed, especially for making the celebrated Westphalian hams. In
general habits it is like the Indian Boar.
Our tame Pigs, which descended from one or both of these species,
have run wild in Australia and New Zealand, and are as hairy and
tusky, and nearly as savage, as true Wild Swine; but they still show
marks of servitude in the concave profile, as they do not seem to
revert to the straight face-line of the wild type.
THE PIGMY HOG
(Sus salvanius)
THE Pigmy Hog, which is a little brown animal hardly larger than a
Hare, and with a very short tail, inhabits the grass-jungle of the Terai
or foot-hills of the Himalayas. Here it lives in herds, both sexes
associating; but little is known of its habits, for it is seldom seen.
The only specimen I ever saw alive was one recently exhibited at the
London Zoological Gardens, but many years ago it bred there. This
would be a very good animal for acclimatisation, as it is too small to
be seriously destructive or dangerous, though fierce enough when in
herds, and it provides the most delicious pork ; moreover, it would
probably give much sport when hunted with hounds.
THE RED RIVER-HOG
(Sus porcus)
THIS West African Pig deserves notice as the dandy of its family, for
it has a sleek, bright chestnut coat, set off by black markings on the
face, and its pointed ears are tufted like those of Lynxes. The young
ones are striped like most other wild Pigs. It is a fierce animal when
brought to bay, and seems to have a strong carnivorous tendency,
as a tame specimen kept in West Africa made itself a nuisance by
devouring fowls. It is usually to be seen in our Zoological Gardens.
BABIRUSA
By Louis A- Sargent
THE BABIRUSA
(Babirusa alfurus)
EVEN classical naturalists in ancient times had heard of a " Four-
horned Hog," which was to be found in the far East, so that the
reputation of this most remarkable of wild Swine was early widely
diffused, though the animal itself has but a limited range, being con-
fined to the islands of Celebes and Bouru in the East Indies.
The so-called horns were, of course, the tusks, which are certainly
remarkable enough to give any animal a reputation. The lower canines
are chiefly notable for their great length and curvature, being, indeed,
when fully developed, too long and curved for the proper use of such
teeth. The upper ones, however, as the illustration shows, grow
directly upwards, and actually pierce the skin of the face, presenting
an exaggeration of the condition found in the Wild Boar. Their
development varies considerably, and in some cases they not only
approach, but again pierce the skin of the head in curling downwards
and forwards. These huge tusks are of pure ivory, having no enamel
coating at all ; they are confined to the Boar, the Sow having the
canines quite small.
They certainly are not well designed for fighting, though the fact
that in old animals they are usually found to be broken, shows that
they are used in that way; and probably the suggestion of Dr. A. R.
Wallace, that they are degenerate, over-developed organs, comparable
to the overgrown teeth sometimes seen in Rabbits and Rats that
have had the misfortune to lose one incisor, is the correct one.
The other teeth of the Babirusa present the peculiarity of being less
numerous than in the Wild Boar and its immediate allies, there being
two upper incisors and four grinders wanting from the full Pig
complement.
The Babirusa is one of the very few land animals which is prac-
ii.
122 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
tically naked. Its coarse, rough, wrinkled skin is only very thinly
covered with small brown hairs, which are only noticeable on close in-
spection ; there is, however, a scanty tuft on the end of the tail. The
young, however, have rather more hair, which is black in hue.
The eyes are peculiar, as Dr. Graham Renshaw has pointed out, in
having the iris nearly white, which gives the animal a very characteristic
expression. It will be noticed that the general form is quite slender and
elegant for a Pig, and the head unusually small, so that, taking the
horn-like upper tusks also into consideration, it is not so surprising that
the name of the animal means in the Malay language " Pig-Deer."
The Babirusa is found in forests, usually singly, for it is not a very
sociable animal. Like so many naked beasts, it is very fond of a bath,
though wallowing is a taste common to many of the Pig family. It
is a fierce brute, and fights bravely when brought to bay. Guillemard,
in "The Cruise of the Marchesa," mentions an instance in which an
infuriated Babirusa actually started to run up a sloping tree-trunk in
pursuit of a native who had climbed the tree to get out of his way,
thus confirming a rather incredible-sounding native story that this Pig
would ascend suitable trees. Tree-climbing is certainly a very abnormal
performance for a cloven-hoofed animal ; but among the Goats the
Markhor has been known to climb, and so will even the common Goat
— always, of course, if the tree is suitably sloped and branched. It is just
possible that it is in this way that the old story arose which credited
the Babirusa with hanging himself up at night by his curved tusks :
possibly some unfortunate specimen had involuntarily committed suicide
by getting up on a branch, and, falling, hitching his tusks on another,
and the assumption was thence made that the position was voluntarily
selected.
For a Pig, the Babirusa is not at all prolific ; it has only two
young at a time, and these remain for a day or two in a hole lined
with leaves, wherein they are deposited at birth. They soon, however,
follow the mother about.
This curious Pig thrives well in captivity, but is not a very
common animal in menageries ; it has produced young in our Zoological
THE WART-HOG 123
Gardens, and bears our winters in an outdoor sty, in spite of its lack
of a hairy coat.
THE WART-HOG
(Phacockcerus athiopicus)
THE Wart-Hog, or Vlack-Vark, has long been known as a menagerie
exhibit under the unflattering title of "the ugliest animal in creation";
and it must be admitted that there is considerable justification for the
description. About the size of a Wild Boar, the Wart-Hog is re-
markable for the great breadth of its head and muzzle, which are
further disfigured by the characteristic warts — a pair of small ones
just below the eyes, and two much larger protuberances on the snout.
The body is nearly naked, except for the tuft at the tip of the tail and
a mane of long, laxly-drooping bristles down the neck and back. The
tusks are very characteristic : the upper and lower canines both follow
the same outward curve, and the former, unlike what obtains in the
Wild Boar, are much the larger and more conspicuous. They may
attain even to a length of a foot outside the gum in a fine Boar, and
even in a Sow may be four or more inches, for the female Wart-Hog,
unlike the female of other wild Swine, has quite large and conspicuous
weapons. The young are not striped like those of the more typical
wild Pigs ; there are only four at a litter, and the mother has but
four teats accordingly. The Wart-Hog has a wide range through
Africa south of the Sahara, and at least two local races are recognised,
the Wart-Hog of the north-east being considered by some a distinct
species from the southern type ; but the differences are hardly of
specific importance.
Wart-Hogs go in small parties as a rule ; they do not care so much
for soft ground and forest country as most Pigs, but rather affect dry
country and scrub. They are not, however, averse to wallowing. Their
usual food consists of roots, for which they seek at night. One of
their most marked habits is their tendency to "go to ground," for
they much appreciate the shelter of the large earths constructed by the
124 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
Aard-Varks (Orycteropus). These they prudently enter backwards, so
as to get out easily and present the front to an invading foe. When
galloping they have a very grotesque appearance, not only on account
of their general ugliness, but because of the finishing touch given by
the erection of the tail, whose tasselled tip droops forward. When
driven to bay they fight fiercely, but are not so savage and dangerous
as the true Wild Boars and Bush-Pigs. The pork is very good and
tender when the animal is in good condition.
THE FOREST-HOG
{Hylochcerus meinerzhageni)
THIS Pig, the giant of the family, has only been recently discovered,
which is not surprising, as it inhabits the little-known forest region
of Equatorial Africa. It is of large size — even the sow, judging from
the mounted specimen in the South Kensington Museum, being as
big as an ordinary Wild Boar, and provided with almost equally
formidable tusks, so that her mate would be a monster indeed, worthy
to personate the Calydonian and Erymanthian Boars of the classical
Greek legends.
In structure this Pig comes between the typical Pigs and the Wart-
Hogs ; its coat is black, and very thin, so that the skin appears through
it as in most of our tame Pigs.
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THE COLLARED PECCARY
(Dicotyles tajafu)
THE true Pigs (Suidce) are purely Old-World animals except where
man has introduced his domestic Swine artificially ; but America has
Pigs of her own in the shape of the two species of Peccary, which
are sufficiently distinct to be classed in a separate family (Dicotylidce).
Of these the Collared Peccary is the better known, and is the only one
found in North America, where it ranges as far north as Arkansas,
being really a southern animal, as it is chiefly found in the northern
part of South America.
It is a rather small animal for one of the Pig tribe, not reaching
quite a yard in length, and it presents some remarkable differences
from the true Pigs in the matter of its teeth and toes. The upper
canines point downwards as in most animals, and the lower ones do
not project outwards ; thus those teeth have a quite ordinary ap-
pearance, not appearing outside the lips, and cannot be used in ripping.
They are, however, large for the size of the animal, which can give
a most severe bite. In the upper jaw there are only four incisors,
whereas the Wild Boar has six in each jaw.
In the feet it will be noticed that the outer back toe of the hind-
foot is missing, so that the fore-feet are even-toed, having the usual
two large hoofs and two small ones of the Pigs, and the hind-feet
asymmetrical. The stomach is different from that of the Old-World
Pigs, not consisting of a single cavity only, but of three, thus
approaching to the ruminant type. The tail is remarkably short — a
mere rudiment, in fact. The coat of the Collared Peccary is very full,
forming a mane or crest down the head and back, and is composed
of bristles so coarse that they look like miniature Porcupine-quills,
especially as they are similarly ringed with alternate black and white
bands.
126
126 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
On the hinder part of the back is a gland secreting a very evil-
smelling fluid ; gentle titillation of the gland appears to please the
Peccary, and the pair at the Zoological Gardens may be occasionally
seen standing head to tail and rubbing each other's back with their
cheeks, no doubt to procure this gratifying sensation.
The female Peccary, which closely resembles the male, has only
two teats, not a large number like the common sow, and in accord-
ance with this she only brings forth one or at most two little Peccaries
at a birth. These young Peccaries are not striped like the young of
most typical Pigs, nor do they possess the cream-coloured neck-stripes
or "collar" of the adults. In fact, their colour is altogether different,
being a plain light-brown with a black stripe down the centre of the
back.
The Peccary is a sociable, active, and very courageous animal.
Like the Swine tribe generally, it lives in cover, and will eat practically
anything ; but it is not so fond of water as most of them, being able
to do without a drink when it can get access to such succulent food
as the prickly pear, and seldom resorting to it to bathe. Being a
small-footed animal, too, it cannot swim so fast as Pigs generally
do. It is also not very fast on foot for more than a short distance,
and after a run of a few hundred yards it will turn and face Dog,
Horse, or man, bristling its long hair and champing its teeth with
the greatest fury, and will then fight to the death. Occasionally it
will attack man unprovoked, but naturally such instances are the less
likely to occur where the animals have been a good deal hunted and
have learnt caution, as in the United States, where the animals have
never been found but quite in the south-west corner, and are now
nearly extinct. The danger in a conflict with Peccaries lies especially
in the fact that there are generally a number to contend with, as the
animal usually goes in herds, sometimes numbering as many as thirty
animals, and from such a mob there is little chance of escape, unless
a tree be at hand which can be climbed.
Even the Jaguar, one of the chief natural enemies of these plucky
little Pigs, has to be very careful how he picks off a straggler, for if
THE WHITE-LIPPED PECCARY 127
he has not a line of retreat planned out, he is likely to be torn in
pieces by the infuriated friends of his victim. The Harpy Eagle also
attacks these animals, but presumably only the young, as he could
certainly not carry off an adult.
One peculiarity about the habits of the Peccary is its fondness for
a sheltered home, in which it agrees with the Wart-Hog of the Old
World. What a band of Peccaries particularly like is a hollow fallen
tree, in which they ensconce themselves one by one, going in stern
first. The one nearest the entrance of course keeps guard, and the
whole number may thus be killed off with little risk, each, as his
comrade in front is shot, coming forward to take his place.
Peccaries are hunted by men for their flesh, which is of good
flavour, more gamy than, and not so fat and cloying as, ordinary
pork ; but it is important to cut out the scent-gland on the back as
soon as possible after the beast has been killed, or the flesh will be
so tainted as to be unfit for food. The hides are also of some value,
and it is to obtain these that the animal has been so largely killed
down in Texas.
In captivity these Peccaries thrive as well as other Pigs, and, as
any one can see at the London Zoological Gardens, where they have
bred, will bear our climate well with ordinary pig-sty accommodation.
THE WHITE-LIPPED PECCARY
(Dicotytes labiatus)
THE White-lipped Peccary, or Warree, is similar to its better-known
relatives in all essential respects, but is a slightly larger animal, with
the tail a little longer. There is also a considerable difference in
colouration, the Warree not having any collar, while, as implied by its
English name, its lips are white, as are also the throat and chest.
This species of Peccary is found, like the common kind, in northern
South America, and it extends into Central America, but not farther
north.
128 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
In general habits and attributes it closely resembles its relative, as
might be expected, but it is very much more fierce and aggressive.
It has, indeed, been suggested that this is due to the fact that it
usually associates in much larger herds, so that it is more conscious of
strong support, but it is probable that there really is some difference
of disposition in any case. At any rate, there was once a specimen of
the White-Lipped Peccary in the Calcutta Zoological Garden which had
a very adventurous career and showed a very unpleasant character. It
at first lived in friendship with a Malayan Tapir, but ultimately
seriously injured its large companion ; it was then associated with a
Rhinoceros, but was soon apparently bored by the monster's company
and jumped over a three-foot wall into the next paddock. Here its
companions were a pair of Spotted Deer (Cermis axis), which were
quite ready to be civil, but were often annoyed by their uninvited guest.
This state of things went on for nearly two years, when a nip on the
nose so provoked the buck that he fatally gored the peccant Peccary
and terminated its variegated career. This species, although not
so common in captivity as the other, has yet been exhibited at
the London Zoological Gardens, and has produced hybrids with it.
Peccaries, however, will not interbreed with ordinary Pigs.
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THE SPERM-WHALE
{Physeter macrocephalus)
BOTH on account of the value of its products, and of the terrible
revenge it sometimes takes on its assailants, the Sperm-Whale, if not
absolutely the largest, is the most noteworthy of the beasts of the
sea. In these days of popular education, it is hardly necessary to
remind readers of this book that the Sperm-Whale is a beast, and not
a fish, though the latter term is commonly applied to the members of
the order Cetacea, to which all the Whales and other similar animals
belong.
Under the skin of its fins are the bones of a beast's fore-paw, and
it breathes the air just like a land animal ; hence the tail-fin is hori-
zontal, to aid rising in the water. The "blow-hole," however, is not
situated on the top of the head, as in other Cetaceans, but at the end
of the huge muzzle, in a position more in accordance with that of the
nostrils of other beasts, to which it corresponds. It is, however, but
a single orifice, as in other toothed Whales, whereas the "blow-hole"
in the Whalebone Whales is a double orifice, like the nostrils of beasts
in general.
In the form of its massive head the Sperm-Whale differs from all
other Cetaceans. Seen "end on," the muzzle is widest in the middle,
and tapers above, and much more below ; its great bulk is mostly made
up of a collection of cells containing oil laden with the characteristic
product of spermaceti, and underneath this a mass of fat, the outline
of the actual skull being quite different, as it is beaked much like that
of an ordinary Porpoise. The lower jaw is also peculiar, being very
long and narrow; it is well provided with large conical teeth, set well
apart, and without enamel covering. Their number varies remarkably,
from twenty to twenty-five on each side ; while it is quite common for
the two sides of the jaw not to match in this respect. In old males
ii.
130 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
they are particularly massive, but short. These teeth are received
into holes in the upper jaw, which is only provided with about eight
teeth barely appearing above the gum.
The eyes are small, and there are no external ears, while the ear
orifice, about a foot behind the eye, is only big enough to admit the
tip of a finger.
The tongue is very short and small for the size of the animal, and
cannot be protruded : the inside of the mouth is conspicuously white,
contrasting with the general black colour of the hide. This is occa-
sionally, however, marked with white, especially about the hinder-
parts. As is usual in Cetaceans, it is hairless ; but this species differs
from the Whalebone Whales in the cleanness of its skin, which in
many of the others is apt to be encrusted with barnacles or other
parasites.
The adult bull Sperm-Whale is an enormous brute, at least twenty
yards long, but the " cows " are not more than half his size. They go
in herds or "schools," which may number as many as fifty, and are
commonly accompanied by one old bull ; younger bulls go in smaller
schools by themselves. Sometimes several schools will unite into one
great herd ; and single individuals may be found, which are usually
old bulls.
The Sperm-Whale, or Cachalot, as it is sometimes called, is re-
markable for its wide distribution, even among the ocean animals,
which, naturally enough, often range more widely than any of the
beasts of the land. Except in the Arctic and Antarctic waters, it is to
be found practically everywhere, though most especially in the southern
seas ; and, unlike most Whales, is generally met with in warm
waters. Now and then individuals occur on the British coasts, either
alive or as stranded carcases, and these are always old bulls, which no
doubt have been driven from the herd and were leading a wandering
life. As a general rule, however, this is an animal of the deep sea,
and avoids even the neighbourhood of land, so that it is not to be
expected in our narrow waters. It can be recognised at sea by its
"spout," which is discharged in a single jet diagonally forward, not in
THE SPERM-WHALE 131
a double upright jet as in the Whalebone Whales ; this spout is com-
posed of steam or vapour from the exhaled breath. A large bull Whale
will remain below water an hour without rising to breathe, but when
up he will "blow" many times in succession, at intervals of ten
seconds or so, before diving again. Smaller specimens do not stay
below so long.
When travelling quietly, the Sperm-Whale only shows the top of
its head and back above water, but when going at speed, it travels
"head out," as the Whalers say, its huge head appearing at each
vigorous stroke of the tail-flukes, and then disappearing again. In
spite of its unwieldy shape and huge size, it can spring clear of the
water like a Salmon, descending with a tremendous splash. Its food
consists of Cuttle-fish or Octopuses, often of enormous size ; in fact,
the earliest proof of the existence of gigantic species of this class of
animals was afforded by the vomiting of huge fragments of their
tentacles by Sperm-Whales when wounded and dying. It will also
feed on true fish, though it is a puzzle how so clumsy a creature
catches these ; it is thought that the white lining of its mouth,
when displayed below water, acts as an attraction to smaller marine
creatures.
The baby Cachalot is about five yards long; usually there is but
a single one, as is generally the case with the Cetacea, but twins are
occasionally produced. It is active at once, and is suckled by the
cow when lying on her side, taking the teat in the corner of its mouth.
It may be born at any time of the year. Unlike some of the Whale-
bone Whales, the cow Cachalot shows but little maternal devotion,
and will often desert her young when hunted. Generally speaking,
indeed, this huge animal is harmless and timid, but there are many
exceptions, and no creature is so terrible in its fury as the fighting
Cachalot. Such an animal will not only crush a boat with powerful
blows of its tail, but will ram it with its head, or even bite it in two,
to accomplish which feat it rolls over on its back, so as to bring the
formidably-armed under-jaw uppermost. Savage bulls will even charge
a ship, and as several have actually been sunk by such animals, their
132 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
crews escaping in the boats, there is reason to believe that many a
vessel whose fate is unknown may have come to this end.
This also accounts for the belief in the ferocity of Whales which
is expressed by classical writers ; no doubt in ancient times Cachalots
were more common and dangerous. Nowadays, this animal has been
so much hunted for its valuable oil and spermaceti, that it has been
much reduced in numbers, and the fishery has declined. In addition to
the above products, the Sperm-Whale is the source of ambergris, a
soapy substance with a powerful scent, which is used in perfumery, and
is very valuable. It is a concretion formed in the intestines of sickly
individuals, and is sometimes found floating in the sea.
THE PIGMY SPERM-WHALE
(Cogia breviceps)
THIS Cachalot bears somewhat the same relation to the large species
as the Pigmy Hippopotamus does to the ordinary kind ; it looks more
like a large Porpoise than anything else, having a back-fin and an
ordinary-looking Porpoise-like head — except that the mouth is situated
some distance below the end of the snout — and being only about ten
feet long. It is confined to the Southern Seas.
THE BEAKED WHALES
THESE Whales belong to the same family (Physeteridce) as the two
Sperm-Whales, and are characterised by their pointed muzzles, and
by only having a single pair of teeth, situated in the lower jaw. Un-
like the large Cachalots, they have a small back-fin. Some species or
other of this group is to be found in all seas, but several of them are
exceedingly rare. The best known is the Bottle-nose (Hyperoodon
restrains) of the North Atlantic, which is hunted for its oil and
spermaceti. It is about thirty feet long, black when young, and light
brown when old.
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THE PORPOISE
(Phocana communis)
THE Porpoise is far the most familiar Cetacean to British eyes, as it
is a common animal round our coasts ; it is also a fair average sample
of the Dolphin family (Delphinida) to which it belongs — which family
includes about half of the whole Cetacean order, numbering some
three dozen species.
The most noteworthy peculiarity differentiating the Porpoise from
its allies is the form of the teeth, which are heart- or spade-shaped
rather than conical and pointed, as in most Dolphins. They are very
small, and, as in this group generally, exceedingly numerous, and at
the same time variable in number, twenty-five or twenty-six on each
side of each jaw. As in all existing Cetaceans, they show no dis-
tinction into incisors, canines, and grinders. Their only use is to
hold the fish on which the creature feeds, which are bolted whole ;
the stomach is complicated, consisting of three compartments, of which
the first is much the largest, as in the stomach of the ruminants.
This kind of stomach is characteristic of the Cetacea, and it has even
been suggested that they chew the cud ; but no one has ever seen
them do so, and their teeth and jaws are never suitable for such an
action.
It will be noticed that the Porpoise has a back-fin, which, it may
be mentioned, is different in structure from that of a fish, not being
supported by rays or spines, and the same applies to the tail-fin.
Porpoises vary a good deal in size, measuring from four to a little
over six feet ; their colour also shows some variation in the extent of
the black and white, and a creamy-white Porpoise, with the fins on
the back and tail edged with black, has been seen upon one occasion.
The Porpoise is essentially a coast animal, often coming close in-
shore, and not found in the open ocean ; often, indeed, it ascends rivers,
>83
134 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
and has been seen as high up the Thames as Chiswick. It has a
wide distribution, being found both in the Atlantic and the Pacific,
but only frequents their northern portions, and is rare in the
Mediterranean.
The fish it selects as food are those of moderate size, such as
Mackerel and Herrings, whence the name " Herring-Hog," sometimes
applied to it ; its name " Porpoise," by the way, is supposed to mean
" Hog-fish." It is a sociable creature, usually seen in parties, and is
lively in its actions, frequently jumping out of the water as depicted
in the illustration. A very common belief credits these gambols with
being an indication of bad weather. The female produces a single
young one.
The Porpoise does no harm to man except when it gets caught in
a fishing-net, which it damages by its powerful struggles for freedom ;
nor is it nowadays much utilised, for most of the "Porpoise-hide"
boot-laces are really made from the skin of the Beluga or White
Whale. Our ancestors, however, thought highly of the Porpoise as a
table delicacy ; it had the great advantage of being legitimate food
for Fridays, being reckoned canonically as a fish, and was served up
roasted, with a sauce made of white bread-crumbs, sugar, and vinegar.
It must have been the Porpoise that Tom Hood was thinking of in
" Miss Kilmansegg " when he said of Queen Elizabeth that she
"Broke her fast upon ale and beef
Instead of toast and the Chinese leaf,
And, in place of Anchovy, Grampus."
Porpoises have been successfully kept in captivity at the Brighton
Aquarium, and one short-lived individual was exhibited at the London
Zoological Gardens, the only Cetacean which has ever graced the
collection. There are only about three species of true Porpoises, the
others being the Prickly-fin ned Porpoise (Phocana spinipinnis) of South
American waters, which is black all over, with fewer teeth than our
species, and short spines on the short back-fin and the back itself, and
the little Eastern Porpoise (P. phoccenoides), ranging from the Cape east
to Japan, which is only about four feet long, and has no back-fin at
THE COMMON DOLPHIN 135
all. The name "Porpoise" is, however, commonly given by sailors to
all Cetaceans which are too small to be dignified with the title of
"Whales," such as the various Dolphins.
THE COMMON DOLPHIN
(Delphinus delphis)
THIS celebrated animal is nearly related to the Porpoise, but is much
larger, measuring from five to eight feet; it is also more elegantly
formed, being a perfect model of symmetry, with the jaws prolonged
into a narrow beak-like muzzle clearly marked off from the forehead.
The sharp conical teeth are very numerous, being from forty-six to
fifty on a side. In colour the Dolphin is lighter than the Porpoise,
and has a grey or buff shading between the dark hue of the back
and the white of the belly. It is the common Cetacean of the
Mediterranean, and also inhabits the Atlantic, though it is a more
southerly animal than the Porpoise, seldom occurring as far north as
Scotland, though sometimes to be found in the Channel. It appears
possible that it ranges even into the southern oceans, but there is
some doubt as to the exact species in this case. The Dolphin is not
a coast-loving animal like the Porpoise, but keeps more to the open
sea, where it is found in schools. Like the Porpoise, it feeds on fish.
Lively as the Porpoise is, it cannot be compared with the Dolphin,
which is perhaps the jolliest beast alive. When the school catch sight
of a ship, they hasten towards it in single file, jumping out of the
water in sheer exuberance of spirits ; coming alongside, they range up
to the bows, and there play all sorts of antics, seeming delighted to
find something with which they can have a race. So wonderful are
their swimming powers, that they have no trouble, not only in keeping
up with a great liner, but in indulging in the most beautiful feats of
fancy swimming in the meantime. Thus, I have seen them jump out
of the water, and turn on their backs in the air right in front of the
ship's stem, heedless of the risk they were running. The stroke of
136 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
the tail must give them an enormous impetus, or be given so rapidly
that it escapes the sight ; for, watch as I might, I could never catch
sight of it. The beautiful creatures slid through the water apparently
motionless, for all the world as if they were moved by will-power
alone, like Hiawatha's canoe.
It seems a shame to countenance the taking of such happy lives ;
but as the supply of fresh meat is sometimes a matter of importance
at sea, it must be mentioned here that the flesh of the Dolphin is
quite good eating, even to a landsman, according to Mr. Frank Bullen.
Here it should also be said that the " Dolphin " of sailors is really a
fish (Coryphcena hippurus), and it is this creature which changes its
colours while dying.
Being so well known in the Mediterranean, the Common Dolphin
was, of course, familiar to the ancients, who told wonderful stories of
its intelligence and its friendliness to man ; it was even credited with
the philanthropic habit of rescuing drowning people by carrying them
ashore on its back. At any rate, in the present day, some species of
Dolphin helps the Moreton Bay natives in their fishing by driving
the fish inshore to them.
Dolphins more or less nearly allied to this species are found in
all seas, and even in some great rivers, and three kinds visit our
coasts — the White-beaked Dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris) , dis-
tinguished by its white muzzle; the White-sided Dolphin (L. acutus\
with a white and buff stripe along its flanks ; and the Bottle-nosed
Dolphin (Ttirsiops tursio), with a peculiarly swollen muzzle, which last
kind reaches ten feet in total length.
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THE GRAMPUS
(Orca gladiator)
THIS fierce member of the Dolphin family, the deadly foe of the rest
of its kin, is in form very like a huge Porpoise; it is the largest of
the Dolphin group, and is often alluded to as a "Whale," for it
reaches ten yards in length. Its teeth are large and powerful, but
not very numerous for an animal of this family, numbering from ten
to thirteen on each side of the jaws. The high back-fin is a charac-
teristic point of this creature ; it is sometimes so tall and thin that it
droops over at the tip. The Killer, as the Grampus is perhaps more
usually called, varies not only in the length of this fin, but also in
colour, the light markings differing much in tint and extent. If all
the varieties can be regarded as forms of one species, the Killer may
be said to be found in all seas ; it often visits our coasts, and some-
times comes up the rivers — on one occasion a party of three ventured
up the Thames nearly to Battersea Bridge, and apparently had the
luck to get back safely to sea again.
In the ordinary way, however, the Grampus haunts the open sea,
over which it ranges in packs, seeking what it may devour. It is,
indeed, a sort of Sea- Wolf, though to liken it to the Wolf gives no
idea of its courage and ferocity — it is rather to be compared to the
Dhole or Red Dog. Like that animal, it disdains carrion, preferring
fresh meat, and that usually of its own killing. It is the only
Cetacean which habitually feeds on other beasts, and it is the worst
foe of Porpoises, Dolphins, and Seals, which it bolts whole after
shaking and crunching their luckless carcases. So much do the Seal
tribe fear it that they will rush on the ice, even close to a man, to
escape its attacks. Often they fall victims even when they have taken
shelter on a floe, for the relentless Killer bears down the piece of ice
till the victim is tilted into the water and his ready jaws.
IL 18T
138 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
The ferocity of the Grampus is equalled by its storage capacity;
one has been found to have devoured no less than thirteen
Porpoises and fourteen Seals. Even the great powerful males of the
Sea-Lions, for all their courage, dare not face this terror of the sea,
but hastily make for the shore and " haul up " when his pointed back-
fin appears in their vicinity ; and, though he dares not attack the old
Walrus, he hankers after its cub, and sometimes obtains the little
animal by his cunning. In vain the mother carries it on her back,
for the foe butts her so violently from below that it is shaken off;
but the Killer, in attempting this manoeuvre, sometimes loses his life
at the tusks of the infuriated parent.
The ferocity of the Grampus is best shown, however, in his
attacks on Whales — that is to say, on the Whalebone Whales, for
the Sperm-Whale is too much even for him.
The wretched Leviathan, when attacked by these Sea-Hounds,
vainly lashes the water with his huge tail flukes and flippers ; the
savage pack bound into the air and descend with resounding smacks
upon his back ; they fasten like Bull-Dogs on his huge lips and drag
his mouth open, tearing at and devouring his tongue. Ultimately
the poor baited giant succumbs to exhaustion and loss of blood, and
the ravenous pack glut themselves on his flesh. Although they
cannot kill the Sperm-Whale for themselves, they will gladly feed
on his carcase when he has been killed by the Whalers, and they
also vary or make up their diet with fish.
With all their ferocity, they do not attack man, although dis-
playing practically no fear of him — another curious analogy with the
Dhole and the African Hunting-Dog. It would seem that human
flesh is distasteful to these boldest of the carnivorous beasts.
Indeed, off the Australian coast the Killers are actually in partner-
ship with the Whalers, helping in the attack on the Whales, and taking
their fill of flesh as payment.
In the ordinary way, however, these creatures are naturally regarded
as a great nuisance and hindrance to the Whaling industry, as they
frighten away the game.
RISSO'S DOLPHIN— THE BLACKFISH 139
RISSO'S DOLPHIN
(Grampus griseus)
THIS peculiar Dolphin reaches thirteen feet in length, and in form is
much like a large Porpoise, with a swollen forehead and long pointed
curved flippers. Its teeth are confined to the lower jaw, and are only
few in number, three to seven on each side. Its colour is very
peculiar — grey, with the belly white and the fins black; but it varies
a great deal, being sometimes black above. A characteristic point is
the number of pale streaks and spots scattered all over the body.
Risso's Grampus, as the creature is sometimes called, is very different
in habits from the true Grampus, being harmless in disposition and
depending on Cuttle-fish for its food. It is a gregarious animal, and
found nearly in all seas, though rarely taken. In a few cases it has
been found on our coasts.
THE BLACKFISH
(Globicephalus melas)
THE Blackfish, well known in our northern islands as the "Ca'ing
Whale," is a Porpoise-like creature, with a bulging forehead sur-
mounting a short snout; it is black nearly all over, but has a white
patch on the throat continued downwards as a long streak. It is
a large animal for a Dolphin, reaching twenty feet in length, and has
ten teeth on each side of the jaws.
This Whale is found in all seas, and is, as above remarked, well
known in the north of our islands, though rare in the south. " Black-
fish" is the Whalers' name for it in Australasian waters. It is the
species called " Ca'ing " (driving) Whale in the Shetlands, and " Grind-
hval " in the Faroes ; and the inhabitants of these groups find it a
most convenient creature. This is because it goes in very large herds,
which follow their leader as blindly as Sheep, and it is also inclined
140 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
to enter the "voes" or inlets of the sea. When a shoal is seen about
such a place, every one who can turns out, and boats put out and try
to get behind the Whales and drive the whole school up the voe
into shallow water. This they can easily do unless the leader breaks
away; and if they succeed, there follows a massacre of the unfortunate
Blackfish with any available weapon, women as well as men taking
their share in the work. Such a capture is a windfall indeed to the
islanders, for each Whale is reckoned to be worth more than three
pounds, yielding a barrel of oil and a good supply of meat.
THE BELUGA
{Delphinapterus leucas)
THE Beluga, or White Whale, which is the only close ally of the
Narhwal, next to be noticed, much resembles the female of that
animal in form, having no back-fin and a comparatively small head.
It has not the Narhwal's tusk, however, but possesses a set of ordinary
teeth ; but these are not large, and there are only eight or ten on each
side of the jaws. In length this animal reaches four yards or more.
The colour is pure white in fully adult individuals, but younger ones
are mottled, and the youngest specimens are grey. The White Whale
feeds on fish and Cuttles ; it is one of the characteristic Arctic animals
found everywhere in the high North, but it sometimes strays southwards,
and several individuals have occurred on our own coasts. This is one
of the very few Cetaceans which have been kept in captivity ; a pair
were once exhibited for a short time at the Brighton Aquarium, and
one which was kept in America got so tame that it would come up
to be harnessed, and carry people round its tank on its back.
NARWHALS
By Louis A. Sargent
THE NARHWAL
(Monodoii monoceros)
THE Sea-Unicorn, as the Narhwal is often appropriately called, is one
of the most remarkable beasts in the world, and quite unique in its
dental arrangements. It has only two teeth in its head, and in the
case of the female neither is of any use, as they remain short and
embedded in the gum. In the male the left tooth grows into the
long tusk — often miscalled a horn — which in length about equals half
that of the animal's body. The right tooth generally remains aborted,
as in the female, but in very rare cases both grow into long tusks,
as may be seen by a skull in the South Kensington Museum. In
one case also a female with a well-developed tusk, though not so long
as in a male, has been recorded, no doubt an analogous case to the
occasional development of horns in female Deer.
The tusk is hollow for a great part of its length, and the spiral
grooving of the surface is purely superficial, and does not indicate a
twisted structure. In length this huge tooth may measure as much
as seven feet, the beast itself being about fourteen. The newly-born
Narhwal has a few irregular rudimentary teeth, which soon disappear ;
in colour it is much darker than the adult, for this creature gradually
whitens with age, and old ones are more white than grey.
The Narhwal is a purely and characteristically Arctic animal, found
all round the world in the vicinity of the eternal ice ; it very rarely
leaves the Polar regions, and only three specimens have ever reached
our coasts. In its native haunts it has been observed to be a swift
swimmer, and of a sociable and playful disposition, males often indulg-
ing in fencing-bouts with their tusks ; no doubt they also engage in
serious combats for the females, since the most obvious purpose of
the tusk is to serve as a weapon. It certainly appears not to be used
to procure the food, which consists mostly of Cuttle-fish and, among
141
142 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
true fish, of the various flat-fishes. The animal's mouth is not only
practically toothless, but small, and it is a puzzle when it is found to
have swallowed, in sections, a Skate larger than the diameter of the
mouth, unless it had picked this up in fragments, some other animal
having done the biting. That the tusk is put to some use appears
from the fact that the point is always clean, the base being encrusted
with a greasy substance.
Little, however, is known about the habits of this strange creature,
though its " horn " has been a familiar curiosity for many centuries,
and was that assigned to the Unicorn of fable ; it still has some value.
THE WHALEBONE WHALES
THE Narhwal is the most nearly toothless of the Dolphins, though
not so quite short of teeth as the Beaked Whales ; but there is an
important section of the Cetaceans which have no teeth at all — the
Mystacoceti, or Whalebone Whales. The Whalebone, or " baleen,"
which takes the place of teeth, hangs from the sides of the upper jaw
in long parallel slips, whose inside edges fray out like hairs ; it is,
in spite of its name, a horny, not a bony substance. The use of the
ranges of baleen plates is to strain off the water when these Whales
feed ; they all have very large mouths, though their throats are narrow,
and feed on sea-animals which swim in shoals, gulping in great
mouthfuls of the life-laden brine, and then letting the water drain off
at the sides of the mouth, leaving the hapless victims stranded on the
great tongue. A humble miniature repetition of this performance may
be seen in the Common Duck's way of feeding, and in the wild
Shoveller Duck (Spatula clypeata], the straining plates of the bill are,
as Darwin has pointed out in one of the most interesting sections of
his great work, a very fair reproduction of whalebone on a small
scale, various other Ducks showing graduating approaches to the
Shoveller's perfected arrangement.
THE RIGHT WHALES— THE RORQUALS 143
THE RIGHT WHALES
THE great Right Whales (Balcenida), which have no back-fin and
possess the longest whalebone, are those which have been most ardently
pursued by Whalers, especially as they are neither swift nor fierce,
and so not so very hard to kill. There are only two species, the
celebrated Greenland Whale (Balcena mysticetus), a purely Arctic animal,
which is white on the lower jaw and at the base of the tail, and has the
longest whalebone of any ; and the Biscay Right Whale (B. australis],
widely spread over the world's seas, which is all black, with smaller
head and shorter "bone." Both of these, beginning with the last,
have been so mercilessly hunted that it hardly pays to trouble about
going after them nowadays. The Biscay Whale has occasionally
been found on our coasts, but the other apparently never, though it
is much more familiar by name, owing to the extensive use formerly
made of its whalebone.
Both of these Whales measure about twenty yards ; but there is
also a Dwarf Right Whale {Neobalcena marginal a), which only
measures about as many feet ; it has long whalebone, but also a small
back-fin, and is a rare animal, only known from Australasian waters.
THE RORQUALS
MOST of the Whalebone Whales belong to the family Balcenopteridce,
and of these the Rorquals or Finners (Balcenopterd) are by far the
best known, all of the four kinds, which seem to be spread over all
seas, occurring more or less frequently on our own coasts.
Finners, as their name implies, have a back-fin, which is small
and set far back, much nearer to the tail than to the snout. Their
shape is long and narrow, and their throats are pleated or thrown
into many folds, and will expand like a Pelican's pouch. Their
whalebone is short and coarse, and, from their great speed and the
fierce temper they sometimes display, they used to be thought too
dangerous and unprofitable to be worth hunting ; now, however, what
with the scarcity of better Whales, and the facilities afforded by steam-
whalers and harpoon-guns, &c., they are successfully attacked and
made to contribute their quota to the world's needs.
144 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
The commonest, with us at any rate, is the Common Rorqual (B.
muscu/us), which measures about twenty yards, and is slate above and
white below, with black whalebone. Then there are the Blue Whale (B.
sibbaldit), the hugest animal in existence, which grows to thirty yards, and
is blue-slate all over, also with black whalebone, and Rudolphi's Rorqual
(B. borealis], which is slaty-black spotted with white above, and white
below, with white tips to the black whalebone. This is about fifteen
yards long, but is not so small as the fourth species, the Pike-Whale
(B. rostratd), black above and white below, with a white band across
the flipper, and pale-coloured whalebone. This is only about ten yards
long, but is a great fish-eater, like the Common Rorqual, the idea that
all Whalebone Whales feed on minute creatures not being quite correct.
THE HUMPBACK
(Megaptera longimana]
THE Humpback, which is found in all seas, is a clumsy-looking
Whale, with a pleated throat and short hump-like back-fin. It is
variably marked with black, white, and grey, but its great charac-
teristic is the length of the flippers, which are also white in colour.
They measure about four yards, the whole length of the beast being
about fifteen. The whalebone is short and black. This is a rather
tame and playful Whale, being particularly given to smacking its
friends with its flippers, producing a noise which may be heard miles
off in calm weather.
THE CALIFORNIAN GREY WHALE
(Rkachianectes glaucus)
THIS Whale, which is confined to the Pacific coast of North America,
up and down which it ranges according to season, is of a mottled
grey colour, with light-coloured whalebone. It has no back-fin, and
only two pleats on the throat. It measures about fourteen yards
only, but is considered one of the most dangerous of all Whales,
owing to its fierce temper and its habit of frequenting very shallow
water, where it is difficult to see what it is doing owing to the
stirred-up sand ; hence it is often called " Devil-fish."
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THE MANATEE
(Manatus americanus)
THE Cetaceans are not the only beasts which in their form and their
exclusively aquatic habits resemble the fish ; there is another perfectly
distinct order of which the same may be said, though in the Sirenia,
as these animals are called, the resemblance to fish is not carried so-
far. The Manatee, which we take as a type of this group — a very
small one, by the way — has no hind-limbs, any more than a Whale
or Porpoise, and the general form of its body is fish-like, though not
so much so as in those animals. Nor are the fore-limbs, though
they are more like fins than paws, so completely fin-like as in the
Cetaceans. They have some power of movement at the elbow and
wrist-joints, as well as at the shoulder, and, indeed, the very name
Manatee is derived from the Latin manus, a hand, through the
Spanish, owing to the habit the animal has of employing these flexible
flippers more or less as hands in managing its food and its young.
The nostrils are at the end of the muzzle, not on the top of the
head, as in most Cetaceans, and the lips, which are very bristly, show
a cleft in the upper one, whose halves open and close, so as to grip
the leaves on which the creature feeds ; for, unlike the Cetaceans, the
Sirenians are essentially vegetarians. The eyes are small, as in the
Whale tribe ; and the Manatee resembles these also in having a mere
pin-hole for an ear.
The body is practically naked, what hairs there are being very
minute, and ends in a broad, rounded shovel-shaped tail, set horizon-
tally like a Porpoise's, and no doubt for the same reason, the Manatee
being of course an air-breather, and needing to " blow " frequently.
There are no teeth in the front of the jaws, but a good set of grinders,
broad-crowned and ridged like those of hoofed animals, and utterly
unlike what are seen in Cetaceans. There are eleven on a side int
II. U5 T
146 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
both jaws, but as these work forward as in the case of the Elephant's
grinders, and are shed when worn out as fresh ones cut through
behind, in practice only about half that number are in view and in
use at once.
The Manatee grows to about eight feet in length ; its home is the
coasts and estuaries of the warm parts of the eastern coasts of America.
On the opposite side of the Atlantic, on the West Coast of Africa, is
found another species (Manatus senegalensis\ and confined to the fresh
waters of the Amazon and Orinoco is a third (Manatus inunguis), but
all are very much alike.
The Manatee is a slow, sluggish creature, very different from the
lively, active Porpoises and Dolphins. Its food consists of aquatic
plants, on which it browses by the aid of its bristly cleft upper lip as
above stated. It will feed on land herbage also when this is con-
veniently accessible from the water, but there seems no reason to
believe that it ever comes ashore to graze, as has sometimes been
stated. The probabilities are very much against such a performance,
since, from observations made on a specimen at our Zoological Gardens
years ago, the Manatee is very helpless and excessively uncomfortable
out of water. When lying on its chest it is especially ill at ease, but
obtains some relief by rolling over on its back, the fact being that its
weight compresses its chest and makes breathing difficult.
It may here be mentioned that it is for this reason that stranded
Cetaceans cannot live very long, although air-breathers, the unfortunate
brutes, whose chests are built for expansion, being slowly choked by
their own weight.
Owing to the sluggish mode of life and vegetarian habits of feeding
of the Manatee, it prefers quiet, shallow water; when not browsing it
rests under the surface, only coming up to blow every two or three
minutes ; but it can also float when the water is too deep for this
to be convenient. It has but one young one at a time, and this the
mother is said to hold under her fore-flipper, the teats being situated
just behind the arm-pits.
The young animal has a couple of incisors in the upper jaw, but
THE DUGONGS 147
these are mere rudiments, and are concealed beneath the horny plates
which cover the front part of the mouth and even the tongue, which
is small and not movable. Manatees live in pairs, and the male is
said to exhibit much affection for the female, so that if his mate is
harpooned there is considerable chance of securing him also.
There is considerable inducement for hunting these creatures, the
flesh being very good eating, while the abundant fat supplies an oil
of excellent quality; and the animal is all the more valuable as the
forest region of South America, so prolific in vegetation and in small
forms of animal life, is singularly deficient in large beasts, especially
those of edible kinds. Thus the Manatees, under the names of
"Peixe-boi" (Ox-fish) and "Vacca Marina" (Sea-Cow), are important
animals to the water-side population of their native haunts.
The Manatee is not a difficult animal to keep in captivity in its
own country, and several specimens have been exhibited elsewhere — for
instance, in Philadelphia, at the Brighton Aquarium, and in our own
Zoological Gardens.
THE DUGONGS
THE Dugongs (Halicore) are so like the Manatees in general appear-
ance that any one would at once see that they are near relatives of those
animals, which they resemble in size and in general form. They can,
however, be immediately distinguished by the tail, which in the Dugongs
is forked like that of a Porpoise.
There are also some noteworthy differences in the teeth, the male
Dugong having two large incisor tusks, which grow continuously,
though only the tips show outside the mouth ; while in the female
they never project beyond the gum, remaining undeveloped in their
sockets.
The young animal has several more small front teeth, which are
never seen, being hidden under the horny gums. Moreover, the
grinders differ somewhat in structure from those of the Manatees, and
148 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
are less numerous, not exceeding half-a-dozen in all. There are three
species of Dugongs, so much alike that they are hard to distinguish —
the Indian (Halicore australis), the Australian (H. australis], and that
of the Red Sea (H. tabernacult). They are sea animals, though keeping
near the coasts, and feed upon sea-weed ; and one or other of them is
found from the Red Sea to Australia. As, like the Manatees, they are
good for food and yield excellent oil, they have been much persecuted ;
and there is reason to fear that, as the Manatees themselves have been
much reduced by man's attacks, the whole of this harmless, interesting,
and useful order of animals will be exterminated unless reasonable
protection be given in time.
TWO-TOED SLOTHS
By Louis A. Sargent
THE TWO-TOED SLOTH
(Cholcepus didactylus)
THE Sloth has achieved the somewhat paradoxical feat of acquiring
an extended reputation merely by not exerting himself, although his
sluggishness has been somewhat overrated by people who have not had
the opportunity of observing him under the only conditions for which
he is fitted by nature.
The Sloth is, indeed, one of the most perfect examples of an animal
specialised exclusively for one way of living — in his case, that of tree-
climbing, and climbing upside-down at that. His long limbs are termi-
nated by two toes only on the fore-feet, and three on the hind, and
these are joined in a common skin, and provided with powerful hook-
like claws, so that he remains suspended without the slightest muscular
exertion. His tail, which would be of no importance to a creature in
his position, is a mere rudiment, and, like his ears, not noticeable,
especially as his coat is so long and shaggy, except on the face.
His muzzle is short, and but poorly provided with teeth ; indeed,
he belongs to the order of beasts known as Edentata or toothless
animals, in all of which the teeth, though usually not completely absent,
are deficient in the front of the mouth, and of very simple shape
elsewhere. Thus the Two-toed Sloth has no incisors, and, indeed,
only ten teeth at all in the upper jaw, and eight in the lower, which
are peg-like in shape; the first pairs in each jaw are bigger than the
others, however.
In size the Sloth may be compared to a Terrier; and in colour it
is very variable ; generally, however, in a wild state it exhibits a decided
greenish tinge, which is not due to the colour of the hair itself, but
to the growth of minute vegetable organisms on it, this being ren-
dered more possible by the fact that each hair is minutely grooved.
The Sloth therefore may almost be said to gather moss, unlike the
150 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
proverbial rolling stone ; but in dead and captive specimens this
curious microscopic growth naturally disappears from the hair.
The Sloth was one of the earliest American animals to acquire a
reputation, but it was some time before naturalists understood how to
put him right side up, as it were. In his proper upside-down position
he is able to move about among the boughs with considerable speed ;
this he does entirely by clawing himself along hand over hand, never
jumping like so many other arboreal animals. In the thick forests he
frequents he can travel a long distance without ever coming to the
ground, by simply passing from one tree to the boughs of another
touching it, or by means of the many trailing creepers. His best time
to be on the move is in windy weather, for then, even if the trees are
not close enough for him in the ordinary way, the swaying of their
boughs brings them into contact, and he is not slow to avail himself
of the opportunity of changing his quarters if he desires to do so.
The chances are, however, that he does not so desire, for he is
really a very lazy, sluggish animal, and does not need to move about
much for his food, which is all about him, consisting as it does of
leaves, shoots, and fruit. To bring a coveted morsel within his reach,
he will hook a bough towards him with his fore-legs, which are much
longer than the hinder ones. In the very exceptional cases when the
Sloth is absolutely forced to come to the ground to get to a distant
tree, he is seen at great disadvantage. He cannot walk at all in the
proper sense of the word, as he rests sprawling on the outer edges
of his hook-like feet, and so is reduced to hauling himself along by
grasping at any roughness of the ground ; on a smooth surface he is
almost helpless. It was from seeing him in this unhappy position
that the old writers formed such erroneous ideas of his miserable
incompetence.
One old book says, for instance : " Its legs are thick, and awkwardly
placed ; so that it can only move one of them at a time, and requires
an hour to advance three yards. When it has, by the most laborious
exertions, ascended a tree, it remains there till it has stripped it of
everything that can be eaten, when it rolls itself into a ball, and, to
THE THREE-TOED SLOTHS 151
save the trouble of a gradual descent, falls to the ground with a horrid
scream."
Even yet the Sloth does not seem to be fully understood by every-
body, for a modern scientific writer, some years ago, actually went to
the other extreme, and stated that it could walk, trot, and gallop, and
this although Sloths of one species or other have been constantly on
view at the Zoo, for, as might be expected in the case of such sluggish
creatures, they thrive quite well in captivity.
They cannot, however, be called very interesting animals in a
menagerie, as, being nocturnal, they are really slothful all day, coiling
themselves up into a ball, with their head tucked in and the long fore-
arms grasping a perch. The Sloth's one instinct, indeed, is to "hold
on," and his only idea of defence is to grapple and hug his enemy
with his powerful limbs and claws.
He holds on to his sluggish life with the same pertinacity, and is
one of the very hardest beasts to kill, surviving some time even a
puncture of the brain or spinal cord, and being remarkably resistant
to poison. The female Sloth has but one cub at a time, and this is
carried on her breast as she climbs about the trees.
All the Sloths are inhabitants of the warm forest-clad regions of
America, the Old-World animals sometimes confused with them being
sluggish, short-tailed Lemurs — the African Pottos and Asiatic Lorises —
which are quite brilliant and vivacious creatures by comparison. The
ordinary Two-toed Sloth is an inhabitant of Brazil, and there is another
two-toed species (Cholcepits hoffmanni] in Central America.
THE THREE-TOED SLOTHS
THE Three-toed Sloths (Bradypus) very closely resemble their two-
toed relatives in most respects, but differ from them in certain details.
Most noticeable of these is, as the name implies, the presence of three
toes on the fore-feet as well as the hind ; but there is also a difference
in the teeth, the four foremost teeth in the Three-toed Sloths not being
152 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
larger than the rest; indeed, those in the upper jaw are considerably
smaller. One very curious point about these Three-toed Sloths is that
they are the only beasts which have more than the regulation number
of seven vertebrae in the neck — for they have nine. This would seem
to be an admirable adaptation to allow the beast to twist its head about
as it hangs upside-down ; but then we are confronted with the awkward
fact that among the Two-toed Sloths the Brazilian species has the
ordinary seven neck-vertebrae, and Hoffmann's Sloth of Central America
only six — the only exception to the rule of seven on the side of de-
ficiency. Cases like this show that anatomical characters are not
necessarily in themselves important, and are thus worthy of careful
note.
There are several species of Three-toed Sloths, ranging, like the
Two-toed kinds, through tropical America ; they are often called by
the name of "Ai" — said to be derived from their cry, the Brazilian
Two-toed species being known by the title of " Unau." In any case,
the note is not to be described as a " horrid scream," being rather a
bleat or a snort ; but they are not noisy animals.
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THE GREAT ANT-EATER
(Myrmecophaga jubata)
THE Ant-Bear, as this creature is sometimes called in its own country,
easily stands first among the curious beasts of the New World. It is a
truly typical member of the Edentata, having no teeth at all, and but a
very small mouth, the long jaws being bound up in the skin almost to
their ends. The tongue is very long and extensile, and looks much like
a big worm. The fore-paws are also extraordinary : there are five toes,
but these are very unequally developed, the middle one forming the main
part of the foot, and carrying a huge claw ; the other toes are all small,
and the fifth has no claw, but is covered at the tip with a hard skin — for
on it, and on the backs of the next two toes, the beast rests on walking,
the tips of the toes being turned in, to keep the claws sharp for digging.
This is what gives the peculiar clubbed appearance to the fore-foot, so well
shown in the illustration. The hind-feet are much like those of a Bear,
with five ordinary-looking toes and claws, and the beast treads flat-footed
like that animal, behind, though walking on its knuckles before.
In size this Ant-eater is far the largest of the living Edentates, being
about six feet from snout to tip of tail, with a height of a couple of
feet at the shoulder ; it is, in fact, as big as a small Bear, but narrow
and slab-sided in form. Its coat is coarse, but close, except on the
great bushy tail, which is laid over the animal as a blanket when it
goes to bed. Internally, the Ant-eater is remarkable for having the
hinder part of the stomach very strong and muscular, like the gizzard
of a bird, no doubt to facilitate the grinding of the food, which is
necessarily swallowed whole, there being no facilities for chewing it.
The Great Ant-eater is a characteristic animal of tropical America,
but is not common ; its favourite haunts are on low moist ground,
either in forests or in the swampy plains. It is purely a ground animal,
and neither climbs nor burrows, nor can it travel fast ; a man can easily
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154 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
overtake and even drive it along ; but it is not a creature to take liberties
with, nevertheless, for when roused to desperation it will turn and hug
its enemy, its huge fore-claws penetrating with deadly effect. It is
even said that the Jaguar himself has succumbed to the fatal talons,
and Dogs are liable to fare badly in such an encounter.
The ordinary use of these formidable claws is to tear open Ant-
hills, or those of the Termites — the so-called " White-Ants " so numerous
everywhere in the tropics, for on such small creatures the Ant-eater
feeds, licking them up with its long slimy tongue.
The Ant-eater seems usually to be a solitary animal, but the female
displays considerable affection for her single cub, which when quite
small is already a miniature of the parents ; there is a case on record
in which an Indian, who had captured a young Ant-eater, was pursued
by the infuriated mother, and perished in her relentless grip, as he
unhappily tripped over his blow-gun in trying to escape her attack.
The creature is sometimes killed for food, and its flesh is said by
Bates, who found it a great stand-by when on one occasion he found
it difficult to get anything to eat but fish and vegetables, to be very
good, something between pork and goose in flavour.
A creature of this kind does not seem at first sight to be at all a
promising subject for captivity; but in point of fact it thrives well,
and is usually to be seen in the large Zoological Gardens, including
our own. It has even bred in one of these institutions on the Con-
tinent. Minced raw horse-flesh mixed with milk has been found by
experience to be a good substitute for its natural insect food, but this
diet would probably be much improved by the admixture of a quantity
of the various kinds of dried insects now so much in favour for
feeding insectivorous birds, as well as of that invaluable insect, the
Mealworm. It will also eat such small animals as Cockroaches and
young hairless Mice. Although, of all land animals, hardly any can
be less suited to aquatic habits, in captivity at any rate it shows a
decided inclination to take to water, and those kept in our Zoological
Gardens are always provided with facilities for having a bath, of which
they are not slow to avail themselves.
TAMANDUA ANT-EATER— LITTLE ANT-EATER 155
THE TAMANDUA ANT-EATER
( Tamandua tetradactyld)
" TAMANDUA " appears to be a native name for the Ant-eaters generally,
but here it is usually appropriated to a rather small species, which
also inhabits tropical America, but does not encroach on the domain
of the large one, as it is a climber, and keeps mostly to the trees.
The Tamandua, which is about as big as an ordinary Cat, is
sufficiently like the Great Ant-eater to be recognisable at a glance as
a near relative of that most eccentric-looking beast, and its feet are
similarly formed. Its muzzle, however, is of only moderate length,
and its tail very different, being devoid of long hair, and indeed bare
towards the end ; besides which, it is prehensile.
The limbs are shorter than in the big ground Ant-eater, and though
the beast walks on its front knuckles in the same way, its gait is
awkward and straddling, for it is only really at home in the branches.
The method of defence is much the same as in the large species — a
clutching inward stroke with the well-armed fore-paws. In colour this
species is very different from the large kind ; it presents much variation,
but, broadly speaking, the general hue is straw-colour, with the flanks
covered by a broad black patch along each side. The coat is short and
close throughout. This Ant-eater feeds on those Ants and Termites
which make their nests in trees ; it will live in captivity, but is not
so common in that condition as its larger and more sensational-
looking relative.
THE LITTLE ANT-EATER
(Cycloturus didactylus)
THIS, the only other species of the Ant-eater family, is more different
from the other two even than these are from each other, and is the
most thoroughly adapted for a life in the trees. It is quite a small
creature, only about as large as a Rat, and is covered with soft straw-
yellow fur. The tail is very long and naked below, and is strongly
prehensile. The muzzle is quite short, but bent downwards in a way
almost unique among animals. The feet differ greatly from those of
156 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
the other Ant-eaters ; the hind ones have practically only four toes,
the first being rudimentary; the other four are strongly clawed and
curved, being opposed to a pad on the heel, so as to grip boughs in
climbing. The fore-paw is even more peculiar, there being practically
only two toes, the very large and strongly-clawed third toe, and the
second, which is much slenderer; the others are rudimentary.
This little creature has much the same range as the other two
Ant-eaters, but none of the three interfere with each other, the Great
Ant-eater being terrestrial, the Tamandua chiefly a tree-dweller, while
the Little Ant-eater is entirely so. It feeds to a great extent on the
grubs of tree-building wasps, which it extracts from their cells by means
of the pincers formed by the two-toed fore-limbs. It is not an easy
animal to keep alive in captivity, and so far has not been exhibited in
our Zoological Gardens.
THE PANGOLINS
THE Pangolins (Manides) of tropical Africa and Asia resemble the
Ant-eaters of the New World in their toothless jaws and long tongues
adapted to a diet of Ants, and even in their habit of walking on the
fore-knuckles to protect the huge digging claws, but they are not closely
related to them, although belonging to the same order of Edentates.
In their general appearance they differ from any other beasts, being
covered with broad horny scales above, and on the tail and outsides of
the limbs. The long tail is very broad and thick where it joins the
body, and there are no external ears. In fact, were it not for the scanty
hairs that are found on the under-surface, these creatures might reason-
ably be taken for some curious sort of Lizard rather than for beasts of
any kind. When disturbed, these creatures roll themselves into a ball,
and are then practically invulnerable owing to the hard sharp-edged
scales. They are slow-paced, nocturnal animals, some species living
entirely on the ground and in burrows, and others climbing trees. One
young one is born at a time, and this, in the Burmese species at any
rate, rides on the base of the mother's tail, clinging with its powerful
claws.
These animals are very rare in captivity, but one species, the West
African (Manis tricuspis), has been exhibited in our Zoological Gardens.
HAIRY ARMADILLOS
By Louis A. Sargent
THE HAIRY ARMADILLO
(Dasypus villosus)
BEING frequently brought to Europe in captivity, the Hairy Armadillo
is the best known of its family (Dasypodidce), which are distinguished,
not only from all other Edentates, but all beasts of any sort, by their
peculiar jointed cuirass of bony plates, formed by the deposition of
bone in the skin of the upper parts.
This forms two great shields on the fore-parts and hind-quarters
respectively, with several bands filling up the intervening space, and
allowing of the necessary flexibility of the body ; the tail is covered by
rings of plates, at any rate at the base. In the present species many
hairs appear at the joints of the plates, and the under-surface of the
body also shows a good many, although they are so scanty that the
general effect is much like that of the sparsely-bristled skin of an old fowl
when plucked, leaving the hair-like feathers known as " filoplumes." The
body of the Armadillo is peculiarly broad and flat, and as the legs are
very short, with their basal joints not projecting from the body, the
whole effect is rather tortoise-like. There are five toes on all the feet, all
clawed, the claws on the three outer front toes being particularly strong.
The teeth are about three dozen in all, and very simple and uniform
in structure, like pegs : there are none in the front of the mouth, as
in Edentates generally. The tongue is long and narrow, and can be
protruded some distance out of the mouth, showing a slight tendency
to the worm-like type of tongue so characteristic of the Ant-eaters.
In length the beast measures about two feet, but is surprisingly heavy
and solidly built for its size.
The Hairy Armadillo, which is very closely related to the Six-
handed Armadillo of Brazil, also a well-known species, is found in
Argentina, and its habits on the Pampas have been admirably de-
scribed by Mr. W. H. Hudson. He points out how curious it is that
this comparatively slow and lowly organised creature is able to main-
tain its existence in the face of the encroachments of civilisation, to
which higher animals succumb ; and to this we may find a parallel
1*7
158 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
in the successful survival of the humble Hedgehog with us, while we
have nearly exterminated the Wild Cat, and only allow the Fox to
survive that he may make sport for us. The Armadillo is diurnal or
nocturnal according to circumstances and the risks he runs from man-
kind ; he is easily satisfied in the matter of food, devouring worms,
grubs, mice, snakes, the eggs and young of ground-breeding birds, and
any carrion he can come across. Should he scent out the carcase of
a Horse, he is in luck's way, for he will drive a shaft under it and
live in luxury, eating away at the carcase from beneath. If his more
natural animal food should fail, he will make shift with herbage, and
even maize has been found in its stomach.
Clumsy as it is, the creature can move nimbly enough, and it
displays some strategy in capturing its prey. When it scents a mouse,
for instance, according to Mr. Hudson, it will creep cautiously up and
fling itself bodily on the unfortunate little rodent ; while snakes it
circumvents by sawing them into helplessness with the notched edges
of its armoured overcoat.
The said coat of mail also protects it to a considerable extent from
the attacks of beasts of prey, and it is further secured by its great
strength and powers of rapid burrowing. When seized it does not
bite, but uses its claws to some purpose.
Man himself relishes the flesh of this creature, as in the case of
several others of the family ; it is said to eat better than roast pig,
and is very fat — almost too rich, in fact. Of all animals, certainly,
none looks so much as if it were made to be eaten ; there is so little
to be done- to make it ready, as its few sparse hairs are easily singed
off, and the shell makes a capital dish to roast it in.
In captivity the Hairy Armadillo is a very hardy animal, but its
cage or sty must be strongly constructed, or the beast, which is very
restless and constantly on the look-out for a weak point, will fairly
force itself out. It bears cold well, and will endure our winters in an
outdoor habitation — a sufficiently remarkable thing in the case of an
animal practically devoid of fur. The Armadillo, however, appreciates
the value of a warm bed, and, if provided with straw, will bite it up
into chaff, and then bury itself in the heap thus formed. Armadillos
are long-lived animals for their size ; at any rate, a species allied to the
present lived in the Calcutta Zoological Gardens for twenty years.
THE GIANT ARMADILLO— THE BALL ARMADILLOS 159
Most of the Armadillos are much like the Hairy species in general
appearance, and few are any larger, but some especially remarkable
species deserve notice.
THE GIANT ARMADILLO
(Priodon gigas)
THE Giant Armadillo, as its name implies, is much larger than any
other Armadillo, for it even exceeds a yard in length. In general
structure it resembles the common Hairy Armadillo, but the armour
bands across the back, between the shoulder- and hip-shields, are more
numerous, about a dozen in all, and the feet are somewhat different,
the hind toes being very short, with short nails, while the middle toe
of the fore-foot is enlarged at the expense of the other four, and bears
an enormous claw. Strangely enough in an " Edentate " animal, the
teeth are very numerous indeed, being about two dozen on either side
of each jaw, a number unequalled in any beast except some of the
Cetaceans. This Armadillo inhabits the Brazilian forests, feeding on
insects and carrion ; it bears a bad name as a violator of graves, and
probably deserves it — its great claws are quite equal to any feat of the
kind, and its appetite sufficiently accommodating.
THE BALL ARMADILLOS
THESE curious little animals {Tolypetites) have the shoulder- and hip-
shields very well developed, but only three cross-bands between them ;
they can roll themselves up like Hedgehogs, and when thus contracted
form perfect balls, the head and short tail fitting neatly into crevices.
They are not less remarkable when running about, for the fore-feet
have a huge middle claw on the tip alone of which they tread, while
on the hind-feet the three middle claws are enlarged, and support that
part of the body, though not absolutely on their tips. Three species
of these Armadillos are known, and two of these have been exhibited
at our Zoological Gardens.
THE PICHICIAGO
(Chlamydophorus truncatus)
THIS quaint little creature, which differs much more from the other
Armadillos than these do amongst themselves, is a sort of armour-plated
160 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
Mole, for it spends most of its time in burrowing. It is the smallest
Armadillo known, being hardly six inches long, and has a rather pretty
appearance, its armour-plating being pink, and the hair on its under-
parts, which is silky and abundant, and conceals the small eyes and
ears, pure white. There are no solid shoulder- and hip-shields, but the
body is covered from head to hinder end, which is, as it were, cut off
flat, with a series of transverse bands. The flat hind end has a solid
shield, notched below for the short tail, which is permanently turned
downwards. The limbs are very short and the claws well adapted for
burrowing, the centre fore-claws being especially enlarged. The home
of this curious animal, which is not common, is the sandy districts of
Western Argentina ; it has but one relative, from Bolivia (Chlamydo-
phorus retusus), which is not quite so small in size.
THE AARD-VARKS
THE Aard-Varks or Ant-Bears (Orycteropodidce) of Africa are placed
with the Edentates on much the same principle as the Cobego is asso-
ciated with the Insectivores, because they will not " fit in " anywhere
else, their relationship to the other families of this order being very
questionable.
They are most extraordinary-looking animals, about the size of small
Pigs, and something like a caricature of a Pig in appearance. The snout
is long, with the end broad, but the mouth small ; the ears long like a
Hare's, the tail very thick at the root and rapidly tapering, and the
limbs short and with four toes on the front and five on the hind paws,
all with strong straight claws. The mouth is well provided, except at
the front, with peg-like teeth, and the tongue is long, though not so
much so as in the Ant-eaters. In captivity, at any rate, the animal
often feeds in a different way, for one I watched sucked up its bread-
and-milk just like a Pig, and did not lick its food like an Ant-eater.
Yet in the wild state they appear to feed on Ants in the same way as
those animals. They are great burrowers, making huge earths, but, as
they come out at night, are rarely seen. There are two species or races,
the Ethiopian (Orycteropus cethiopicus) from North-East Africa, which
is nearly naked, and the Cape Ant-Bear (O. capensis), which is covered
with hair ; and both have been on view at the London Zoological
Gardens.
RED KANGAROOS
By C. E. Swan
THE RED KANGAROO
(Macropus rufus)
THE Red Kangaroo is the most beautifully-coloured of the large
species of the Kangaroo family (Macropodidce\ a group which are
so much alike that when one has been seen any of them can easily
be referred to its proper position. As every one knows, Kangaroos
belong to the order of Marsupials, or pouched animals, whose females
are typically characterised by a pouch on the abdomen in which the
young — born extremely tiny and imperfect — are placed by the mother
immediately on birth, and thereafter remain hanging to the teats for a
considerable period.
In addition to their characteristic bodily shape, with small fore-legs
and long hind ones, the Kangaroos are noticeable for their peculiar
hind-feet, which are chiefly made up of the huge fourth toe, which
is armed with a powerful claw; the fifth toe is of only about half the
length of this, and the second and third toes not only equally short,
but exceedingly slender, and bound up together in the skin, so that
only their two claws, which the animal uses for scratching itself, are
visible externally. The first or great toe is absent altogether.
The fore-feet have five ordinary-looking toes, and the animal uses
them as hands, in lifting its food to its mouth, &c. The teeth of the
Kangaroo are decidedly peculiar; there are no canines in the lower
jaw, and the upper pair are insignificant and early shed. The upper
incisors are six in number, the lower only two ; the grinders are suited
for crushing and chewing the food of these creatures, which, like the
hoofed animals, feed on herbage, and similar products of the vegetable
kingdom.
The leaping gait of the Kangaroo is well known to every one, and,
when going fast or far, is the only means of locomotion it has; the
fore-feet are only used when the creature is moving along slowly, when
it places these paws on the ground, and swings its hind-limbs forward
with the action of a person walking on crutches. In the ordinary way,
its leaps are not more than a yard or so, but when pressed it bounds
ii. lfll x
162 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
along in leaps of three or four yards, and can keep up this exertion
for an hour or two, clearing in its course obstacles which are serious
to pursuers, such as Dogs, which employ the ordinary quadruped way
of going about. When thus travelling, it alights only on the toes of
the hind-feet, and it can also stand upright on these, with the aid of
the powerful tail, when it wishes to take a look round. On a slope
the Kangaroo is awkward and liable to overbalance itself, and so
avoids such ground when pursued. It swims well and powerfully, and
will often take to water when brought to bay. In this case, however,
it stands up on its hocks, and seeks to grapple its antagonist and force
him under water. On land, it takes up a similar position, and strikes
terrible blows with the powerful claws of the hind-feet, which are
quite capable of disembowelling an antagonist in the case of large
species like this. The Red Kangaroo is, indeed, the largest of the
family — a male measuring over eight feet in total length, of which
a yard is tail. The great difference between the sexes in this species
is rare among Marsupials ; the male only being red, while the female
is grey — often much more so than the specimen figured,
The rose-pink colour on the male's throat looks unnatural in a
beast, and indeed it is not in the fur itself, but is due to staining by
a pollen-like substance — a sort of natural rouge which is secreted by
the skin in that part. Kangaroos have but one young one at a time,
and these are born not only blind and naked, but with the limbs
of nearly equal length ; the young are excessively small, being in a
large species like this only about as big as one's thumb at birth.
The mother places them in her pouch with her lips, holding it open
with her paws. When they cease to cling on to the teat, from which
they can at first be only removed by force, they put out their little
heads and begin to browse on the grass like their mother ; then they
venture out to hop about and play, but in case of alarm rush hastily
back to the old one and tumble head first into the pouch. A hunted
doe Kangaroo, if carrying a big young one, and hard pressed, will
fling the "Joey," as it is called in Australia, aside to lighten herself,
returning to look for it afterwards if she escapes with her life. So
swift is the female of the Red species, when unencumbered, that she
is called the " Flying Doe," and can hardly be caught by a Dog
except on soft ground ; the male is slower.
THE RED KANGAROO 163
Kangaroos are hunted in Australia not only for sport, but on
account of the harm they do to the not too abundant pasturage, as
their peculiar teeth, of which the lower incisors project forward and
can be slightly separated and brought together, having besides sharp
inner edges, fairly cut the grass out by the roots.
The Hound used in hunting them is very similar to a Greyhound,
but rather more powerful, and, though derived from crosses in the
first place, is now a distinct breed. They used to be imported into
India in my time, and no doubt are so still, as they are excellent
Dogs for swift game.
The present species of Kangaroo is, however, not so much hunted
as the commoner Great Kangaroo (Macropus giganteus), as it inhabits
chiefly the eastern and southern hilly districts, whereas the other is
found almost all over Australia; it has, like all these large Kangaroos,
plenty of courage, and the male specimen mentioned in Gould's
magnificent work on the Mammals of Australia as being procured
by him for the British Museum was not captured, he says, without
making a fierce and desperate resistance. This beast weighed two
hundred pounds, and his meat supported Gould and his party, who
were making a forced march, for four days. The best part of a
Kangaroo, it may be mentioned, is the thick powerful tail, which is
much esteemed for making soup.
Though not nearly so common in captivity as the Great Kangaroo,
the Red species is not rare in collections, and, like Kangaroos generally,
thrives well even in close confinement, and breeds freely.
The typical Kangaroos are all Australian, with the exception of a
few in New Guinea, New Britain, and the Am Islands, one of which
(Macropus brunt) was the first Kangaroo to be brought to the notice
of science. They vary a good deal in size, from large species like the
Red, the Common, and the Wallaroo (Macropus robustus), through
the smaller species called Wallabies, to some not bigger than Hares.
Their habits also present some differences in detail, some being beasts
of the plains, while others never leave the hills, where they hop about
from rock to rock.
The Rock Wallabies have the tail less thick at the base than the
more typical kinds.
164 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
THE TREE KANGAROOS
FROM the Rock Wallabies the transition is easy to the Tree Kangaroos (Den-
drolagus), of which there are a few kinds inhabiting Australia and New Guinea.
In these animals the fore- and hind-limbs are proportioned as in ordinary animals,
and the tail is not thickened at the base ; yet they sit upright and jump on
their hind-feet, and are unmistakable Kangaroos, in spite of these climbing and
perching habits. They spend most of their time in trees, feeding on the leaves
as they climb and jump among the boughs. They are moderate-sized animals
for Kangaroos, not being bigger than an ordinary Dog, and are seldom seen in
confinement, though our Zoological Gardens have exhibited two of the species.
THE RAT KANGAROOS
THE Rat Kangaroos (Aepyprymnus, Bettongia, Potorous) are small creatures, only
about as big as Rabbits, with pointed ratty-looking heads, short ears, and
thin tails ; their form is also rather Rat -like, the hind-limbs being shorter than
in the larger Kangaroos. There are several kinds, found in Australia and Tas-
mania. They are very different in habits from the large Kangaroos, being more
like some rodents. They have but little speed, and are solitary and nocturnal,
taking refuge in holes when disturbed, and making concealed nests of grass in
cavities scratched out under a bush. Their tails are prehensile, though never
used in climbing, as these are ground animals, but employed for bringing home
the grass for the nest, which is grasped in a bundle by the tail. In addition
to herbage, they live on roots, which they scratch up with their long fore-claws.
THE MUSK KANGAROO
(Hypsiprymnodon moschatus)
THIS curious little beast is the smallest of the Kangaroos — being only as big as
a Rat, and resembling this animal in its naked scaly tail. Its most remarkable
peculiarity, however, is the fact that, unlike other Kangaroos, it has a great toe
on the hind-foot ; this is nailless, and set far up, not far from the heel, but is
opposable, and thus this animal forms a link between the Kangaroos and the
Phalangers. It is found in Queensland, where it lives in the forests, hiding by
day in a nest lined with leaves, and feeding on roots, berries, and also — a
remarkable diet for a Kangaroo — insects and worms. It has two young at a
birth. Though it seems not to be rare, it has never been brought to England.
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THE VULPINE PHALANGER
(Trichosurus vulpecula)
THE Vulpine Phalanger is the animal commonly known in Australia
as the Opossum, although it is a very different animal in many ways
from the true Opossums of America, and belongs to a family (Phalan-
geridce) closely allied to the Kangaroos ; although the general shape
of the creature is very different, and quite of the ordinary quadruped
type. The limbs of this Australian Opossum are short, and all the
paws have five toes ; those on the fore-foot present nothing peculiar
in appearance, but in the hind-foot the second and third toes are
joined in a common skin up to the claws, and the first, which is
opposable to the others like a thumb, has no nail. The tail is bare
on the under-surface at the end, and it is prehensile.
The teeth of the Phalanger are a fairly complete set, there being
six incisors in the upper jaw and four in the lower, while canines are
present in the upper only, and are not large. The grinders are well
represented, and the centre pair of lower incisors are large, as in
Kangaroos. In size this pretty animal rather exceeds an ordinary Cat ;
its coat is thick and soft, and in colour generally corresponds with
the specimens shown in the illustration, over most of Australia. In
Tasmania, however, the creature grows to a greater size, and is sooty-
brown all over. A pretty white specimen was once shown at our
Zoological Gardens ; its eyes were dark brown, not pink as is so
often the case in albinistic animals.
This beast is presumably the proverbial " 'Possum " which lives up
gum-trees, those trees being so important an element in the Australian
flora; it is a true climbing animal, seldom coming to the ground, and
moving slowly when there. Even on a tree it is not very active, and
can be caught by a good climber. It is quite nocturnal, and spends
the day sleeping in a hole in a tree, whence it is sometimes rudely
extracted by the Australian blacks, who jerk the poor 'Possum out by
the tail, and dash its head against the trunk before it has time to bite
and scratch in self-defence. It is relished by these people as food,
but their liking for eating it would not be much recommendation to a
186
166 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
European, as they are some of the most omnivorous of savages. The
Australian Opossum's meat, however, is quite passable, being much
like Rabbit. This is not surprising, as it is chiefly a vegetable feeder,
devouring shoots and fruit, though, as it likes an occasional small
bird in captivity, it is evidently not a pure vegetarian. In the
breeding season it utters loud cries ; the young are one or two only
in number, and remain a long time in the pouch of the mother.
The fur of this animal is esteemed for the manufacture of rugs,
and it is presumably on account of its utility for this purpose that the
beast has been introduced into New Zealand, although it is destruc-
tive in orchards, as might be expected from its feeding-habits. I have
heard that the fur in New Zealand examples is finer, following the
usual rule, that furred creatures grow better fur in a cool than a
warm climate. In captivity the Vulpine Phalanger thrives well and
breeds freely; it will live in an outdoor hutch, and so far abandons
its nocturnal habits as to take food by day. It is always well
represented in our Zoological Gardens.
The Phalangers are the most numerous family of Marsupials, and
vary considerably in size and to some extent in form, though all are
short-legged climbing animals. Only a few of the more remarkable
can be noticed here.
THE CUSCUSES
THE Cuscuses (Phalanger) are noticeable for the fact that their pre-
hensile tails are naked for the end half; they have shorter ears and
muzzles than the Vulpine Phalanger, which they resemble in size and
generally in habits, though less vegetarian in their tastes. They are
the most westerly in range of all the Marsupials of the Old World, as
only one is found in Australia, and they extend from New Guinea to
Amboyna. There are about half-a-dozen species in all, and some of them
are extremely variable in colour, being pied and spotted, as is so com-
monly the case in domestic animals, and so rarely in wild ones.
THE FLYING PHALANGERS
THE Flying Phalangers are provided with an extension of skin along
the flanks, similar to what is found in the Cobego and the Flying
THE KOALA 167
Squirrels, and they perform sailing "flights" from tree to tree in the
same way; indeed the smaller Flying Phalangers are commonly called
Squirrels in Australia, there being no true Squirrels there, though
true native Rats and Mice of various kinds occur. These Flying
Phalangers vary a great deal in size more than the Flying Squirrels,
the biggest (Petaurista taguanoides) being as big as a Cat, while the
smallest (Acrobates pygmaus) is not larger than a Mouse, and is
indeed known locally as the "Opossum Mouse."
One of the Flying Phalangers (Petaurus breviceps\ a lovely little
animal about as big as our Squirrel, with exquisitely soft grey
chinchilla-like fur, is constantly to be seen at our Zoological Gardens,
and has bred freely there.
THE KOALA
(Phascolomys ursinus)
WHEN watching the quaint appearance and antics of Bears in
menageries, many people may have regretted that Nature has not
been kind enough to provide a Bear small enough to be a safe and
convenient pet; but such an animal practically exists in the Koala,
this Marsupial being popularly called "Native Bear" in Australia. It
is really a member of the Phalanger family, but differs from all these
in the absence of a tail, and it is larger than any of them, though
not exceeding a Terrier in size. In general appearance it is extremely
Bear-like, and its ears are tufted like those of the Indian Sloth-Bear;
its teeth, however, are not at all of the Bear pattern, but resemble
those of the Vulpine Phalanger in type, and its fore-paws are quite
unlike those of any other beast, the thumb and forefinger being
opposed to the other fingers, as the thumb alone is in Monkeys ; the
hind-paws are like those of the Vulpine Phalanger. The coat of the
Koala is of soft thick grey fur, the nose having a large naked pad.
The creature lives almost entirely in the trees, and is very slow in its
movements on the ground ; it has but one cub at a time, and when this
is big enough to leave the pouch, it rides on its mother's back —
another resemblance to the Sloth-Bear. The food of this creature con-
sists practically entirely of the shoots of the gum-trees, and it is not
easy to keep in captivity unless this food can be supplied. It has,
however, been exhibited in our Zoological Gardens, and I should
suggest that any one trying to bring it home should get a quantity
168 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
of gum-leaves dried, and make tea of them, mixing this and the
leaves with artificial food ; when once in England gum-leaves could
sometimes be obtained for the animal, so that it need not be entirely
deprived of its natural diet.
THE NOOLBENGER
( Tarsipes restrains)
THIS extraordinary little Australian animal, which is of about the size
of a Mouse, is very different from all other Phalangers. It has very
short claws and a nearly naked prehensile tail ; its jaws are long and
slender, and poorly provided with tiny, pointed teeth, though there are
two long lower incisors. The mouth is small, and the tongue long
and pointed ; it is used to lick honey from the flowers, this being the
only beast which lives on honey, though the little Flying Phalangers
also partake of it. In captivity the Noolbenger readily eats insects,
and no doubt does so at large. It is, of course, an excellent climber.
Although it would make a nice pet, it seems never to have been
brought to Europe.
THE WOMBATS
THE Wombats (Phascolomyidce), of which there are three species found
in Australia and Tasmania, are very like giant Guinea-Pigs in appear-
ance, and even have rodent-like teeth, the canines being absent, and
the incisors two only in each jaw, enamel-faced and continually
growing. They are, however, true Marsupials, of rather large size,
being about two or three feet long and very bulky. There are five well-
developed toes on the fore-feet, but on the hind the first toe is very
short and nailless, and the three middle ones joined at the base.
These creatures are nocturnal burrowing animals, living on the ground,
and feeding, like rodents, on roots and herbage. They are singularly
harmless, sluggish, and inoffensive ; one has even been known to allow
itself to be picked up and carried, though on an attempt being made to
tie its legs it at length lost its temper, made a whizzing noise, and
snapped sharply enough. As might be expected in the case of such
philosophical animals, they bear captivity well, and one or other kind
may constantly be seen in our Zoological Gardens.
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THE TASMANIAN DEVIL
(Sarcophilus ursinus)
So varied are the types of Marsupials that the order is almost an
epitome of the whole class of beasts, putting on one side the fish-like
Cetaceans and Sirenians and the flying Bats ; in addition to the
vegetable-feeding types we have been considering, we have Marsupial
carnivores of various grades, of which the Australasian group of Dasyures
(Dasyurida) are the chief. Among these the Tasmanian Devil has
attained special notoriety on account of its ferocity, and, with one
exception, it is the biggest carnivorous Marsupial, though not larger
than a Badger. There are five toes on the fore-feet, and four on the
hind, the first being absent; the beast goes on the soles of the feet
like a Bear, and much resembles a small one, except for having a tail
of ordinary length. The teeth are singularly like those of the true
Carnivora, with large canines and small incisors ; the latter, however,
are eight instead of six in the upper jaw. The grinders are very
large and powerful, and in strength and bone-cracking power may be
compared to those of the Hyaenas. In fact, no animal of the size can
boast of such a set of teeth.
The Tasmanian Devil is confined to the island whence it takes its
name ; " remote, unfriended, solitary, slow," it prowls about at night
in search of food, which consists of the flesh of any creature it can
catch and overpower, and, although not a large animal, it is a serious
enemy to Sheep as well as to poultry. It will also feed on carrion,
and is believed to search the beach for stranded fish. When eating,
it will use its fore-paws to hold up its food, unlike most of the true
Carnivora. It is a really fierce animal ; resents interference by savage
snorts and growls, when disturbed in its lair among the rocks, and is
credited with snarling with its dying breath, according to Herbert
Spencer, who tauntingly alludes to the admiration it gains thereby ;
but surely so "game" a Marsupial need not fear the comments of a
peevish philosopher I
The number of young is three to five ; thus it might easily increase
and be a serious pest, but it is easily trapped with any meat bait.
n.
170 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
In captivity it acts up to its character ; furiously resents interference,
greedily devours its rations, and quarrels with its companions. It may
generally be seen in our Zoological Gardens, and sometimes even in a
travelling menagerie, for which it forms a nice sensational exhibit. It is
worth mentioning that the Devil's flesh has been eaten and found to
taste like veal, because it does not look like the sort of animal one
would care to eat ; but in the early days of Australasian colonisation people
were not disposed to be particular, so long as they got some fresh meat.
THE THYLACINE
( Thylacinus cynocephalus)
THE Thylacine is the largest carnivorous Marsupial at present living,
and bears a remarkable resemblance to one of the Dog family,
especially in its head, muzzle, and limbs. The coat, however, is close
and flat, like that of so many tame Dogs, not furry like a Wolfs or
Fox's, and the tail is not of the " brush " type, being very long, straight,
and covered with close, short hair ; it is also very thick at the root.
The colour of the animal is light brown, banded across the hinder
part of the back with bold black stripes, whence the names of "Tiger"
and "Zebra- Wolf" often applied to the beast. This colouration only
recurs in the Banded Duiker among the Antelopes, and, if the two
animals lived in the same country, would certainly be set down to
" mimicry." In size the Thylacine is rather smaller than a Wolf, and is
long-bodied and low on the leg ; its teeth differ from those of the true
Dogs in being more numerous ; as in the " Devil," there are eight
upper incisors, and the grinders are also more numerous than in the
true Carnivora. This animal is nocturnal, and hides by day in the
clefts of rocks ; it used to be a pest to Sheep-owners, and has con-
sequently been so much persecuted that it is very near extinction,
being, like the Tasmanian Devil, confined to Tasmania. Indeed, it
would now pay to preserve the few survivors in the mountains, as,
although the beast has been exhibited in our Zoological Gardens, it is
rare in the animal trade, and would be worth twenty pounds a
specimen alive.
THE TYPICAL DASYURES
THESE animals (Dasyurus), which are known in Australia as Native
Cats, somewhat resemble the Mongooses among the true Carnivora in
THE TAPOA-TAFA— THE BANDED ANT-EATER 171
general form, but have larger heads ; in size they are considerably
smaller than an ordinary Cat. Their fur is very peculiarly coloured,
being light-brown with white spots ; black varieties are quite common,
and, as these retain the white spots, they have a very striking
appearance. In habits these creatures resemble the Martens ; they are
good climbers, and prowl about the trees at night in search of birds
and other prey ; in the day they retire into hollow boughs to sleep. They
have about six young ones at a time. From their carnivorous tastes,
these animals are a great pest to poultry-keepers, and are persecuted
in consequence. They are easily kept in captivity, and the commonest
(Dasyurus viverrinus] is usually to be seen in our Zoological Gardens.
There is a species in New Guinea, as well as four in Australia.
THE TAPOA-TAFA
(Phascologalt penicillata)
THE Tapoa-Tafa is Rat-like in size, form, and general colour, but has
a very characteristic tail, covered for the last two-thirds with long
black hairs. This animal is similar in its general habits to the
Dasyures, and is equally bloodthirsty ; it is generally distributed over
Australia, except in the north.
Allied to it are a whole series of smaller carnivorous Marsupials,
of a Rat- or Mouse-like type, some of them climbers and some ground-
livers, which take the place in Australia of the Shrews and other
Insectivora, which do not exist in that continent. One of them
(Antechinomys lanigerd) is a jumping species, and thus curiously
recalls the Elephant-Shrews of Africa.
THE BANDED ANT-EATER
(Myrmecobius fasciatus)
THIS peculiar little creature is much the most distinct of this varied
family of Marsupial carnivores. In size it is insignificant enough,
being no larger than a Squirrel, and, as it has a long bushy tail, it
is at first sight not unlike one until the long slender muzzle is
noticed. The colouration is very remarkable and pretty, being chest-
nut, with the back covered with transverse bands of black and white
alternately. Like the two Ant-eaters of America and the African
Pangolins, it has a long worm-like tongue ; but, unlike these crea-
172 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
tures, it retains a very full set of teeth, numbering from fifty to fifty-
four ; all, however, are very small, and set apart from each other,
except the last four lower grinders. These teeth are remarkably like
those of some of the earliest fossil beasts known, so that this little
insignificant creature is perhaps the oldest beast now living. It is a
ground animal, feeding on Ants and other insects, and has no pouch ;
the young, however, hang on to the mother's nipples as in other
Marsupials, and are concealed by her long fur.
THE BANDICOOTS
THE name Bandicoot properly applies to a large Indian species of Rat
(Nesokia bandicotd), but it has been transferred to a curious family
of Marsupials (Peramelidce], which agree with the Kangaroos in the
structure of the hind-feet, having the second and third toes thin and
united, and the fourth very large and strongly clawed ; the fifth is of
fair size, but the first rudimentary. In their teeth, however, the Bandi-
coots show undoubted resemblance to the carnivorous Marsupials of
the last family, the canines being well developed and the lower in-
cisors six in number. In spite of the Kangaroo-like structure of the
hind-foot, this member is not prolonged, and the general form of the
creature is like that of a large, long-snouted, short-tailed Rat, and they
resemble Rats in their movements. The fore-feet have the middle toes
large and strongly clawed, and the outside ones rudimentary ; the foot
is, in fact, adapted for digging, and the animals are ground-livers and
feed largely on roots, though they also freely partake of such animal
food as they can get, in the shape of insects, &c. ; they are, in fact,
omnivorous. There are a good many species, found not only in
Australia, but in the islands adjacent. Two Australian Bandicoots
differ so much from the ordinary kinds, however, as to demand special
notice ; these are the Rabbit Bandicoot (Peragale lagotis), which has
Rabbit-like ears and a fully-haired tail, and is bigger than the others,
being as large as a real Wild Rabbit ; and the very remarkable Pig-
footed Bandicoot (Chczroptis castanotis\ which is hardly as large as a
Rat, with long ears and most peculiar feet. The limbs are long and
slender, and there are only two toes in the fore-foot, with small claws ;
while on the hind-foot all the toes are exceedingly small and useless
except the fourth, which is large, with a short claw ; ,the creature is thus
almost in the position of a hoofed animal, and it goes about on tip-
toe in a very similar way.
COMMON AMERICAN OPOSSUM
By Louis A. Sargent
THE COMMON AMERICAN OPOSSUM
(Didelphys virginianus)
THE familiar 'Possum of American natural history and folk-lore enjoys
the distinction of being the only Marsupial found in the northern
part of the world, and thus it was the first of these pouched beasts
to come under the notice of naturalists.
Although considerably the largest of its family (Didelphyidce), it
is not a very big animal, hardly equalling an ordinary Cat in size ;
and in general structure it is a good type of the American Opossums,
which are a very uniform group in most respects.
Its short legs have five toes on each foot, all clawed with the
exception of the great toe of the hind-feet, which can be opposed to
the others like a thumb, so as to aid in climbing. The teeth much
resemble those of the true Carnivora in general appearance, the canines
being large, the molars sharp, and the incisors insignificantly small.
The incisors, however, are more numerous than in the Carnivora proper,
which never have more than six in each jaw, whereas the Opossum's
incisors are ten in number in the upper and eight in the lower jaw;
their size is, however, so small that they cannot be of very much use
to the animal.
The tail is only hairy at the root, being bare and scaly like a Rat's
for the rest of its length, and it is strongly prehensile, so that the
animal can suspend itself by it when it wishes to lower itself down to
reach something from a higher bough when foraging for food in a tree.
The ragged-looking coat varies a good deal in colour, not only
locally, but individually and as a matter of age; in the mixture of
black and white hairs it presents the darker colour predominates in
the younger specimens, and the light in the older ones.
This Opossum has much the widest range of its family, being, in
fact, a member of a tropical group which has intruded, or succeeded
in maintaining itself, in a temperate region, much like the Kingfisher
among our British birds ; for it is not confined to North America, but
ranges through Central America down through Brazil, the so-called Crab-
eating Opossum of South America not being a really distinct species.
173
174 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
It is a slow-moving, rather stupid animal, largely arboreal in its
habits, and very omnivorous in its food ; it devours birds and their
eggs, Squirrels and any other small animals which fall in its way in
its nocturnal prowlings, for it is a creature of the night. Fruit also
forms part of its food, nor does it disdain the tender shoots of plants
which show themselves in the spring, when it is pinched with hunger
after the hard times of winter. Sometimes, it is said, it even lives in
towns and acts as a street-scavenger by night, retiring into drains or
climbing up to the roofs to escape observation by day. It not unfre-
quently gets into trouble by robbing hen-roosts, but in compensation
for the harm thus done, it itself furnishes a valued article of food,
though its meat is most especially appreciated by the "nigger" element
of the American population, who take the keenest possible delight in
a 'Possum hunt by torchlight, and consider 'Possum stew as one of
the greatest delicacies they can obtain. With this idea in mind, they
do their best to capture the Opossum alive after he has been "treed"
by their Dogs, and carry him home in triumph to be fattened up for
the table on bread, potatoes, and so forth, of which he consumes a
most unprofitable quantity. One very characteristic trait of the Opos-
sum is that when brought to bay it proceeds to feign death, a trick so
familiar that " playing 'Possum " has become a proverbial expression
for deception. This death-feigning instinct is found in many other
animals of very diverse kinds — the Fox, for example — but the Opossum
is considered to be a particularly skilful artist in this line. It is as
well, however, to handle him with caution when apparently defunct,
or a severe bite may remind his incautious captor that he is not so
dead as he looks. When provoked in captivity, the Opossum snarls
in a peculiar way, opening his mouth, which is remarkably wide, and
showing his fine set of teeth, without making any noise.
The young Opossums are brought forth in a very helpless state and
very minute, as in Marsupials generally ; they are only half-an-inch
long, and have no claws on the hind-toes at first ; about a dozen form
a litter. During the first fortnight after they are born the old Opos-
sum keeps her pouch very tightly closed, and the young ones are not
as big as Mice till nearly a month old. As in the case of the Kan-
garoos, they do not leave the pouch entirely for some time. This
Opossum has long been well known in menageries, but is not very
commonly kept, as it does not make at all an attractive pet.
THE WATER-OPOSSUM— THE MARSUPIAL MOLE 175
Taken as a group, all these American Opossums are much alike,
so that any species of them can be readily referred to its family. All
the other species are much smaller than this common North American
one, some being hardly bigger than Mice; and most of them have
but a rudimentary pouch or even none at all. The young of several,
when they cease to cling on to the nipples of the old ones, ride on
her back, holding on not only with their paws, but also by twining
their tails round that of their mother. One beautiful little species
of this group is the Murine Opossum (Didelphys murina), a pretty
chestnut-coloured animal hardly bigger than a Dormouse, but with its
tiny head a perfect miniature of the big Opossum's, and the same
habit of noiseless snarling. The last specimen of this little creature
exhibited in our Zoological Gardens was imported accidentally along
with bananas.
Some of the small Opossums are very like Shrews, having com-
paratively short and non-prehensile tails ; and, indeed, these little
Opossums seem to be the natural representatives of these Insectivores
in South America.
THE WATER-OPOSSUM
(Chironectes yapock)
THE Water-Opossum enjoys the distinction of being the only truly
aquatic Marsupial, and, in adaptation to this habit, has large webbed
hind-feet. Like an Otter — by which name it is called in Demerara —
the Water-Opossum lives in holes in the banks, and feeds on fish
and other aquatic creatures. Its cheeks are pouched to hold its food,
and it has the marsupial brood-pouch fully developed. The litter are
about six in number. This Opossum is about as large as a Rat,
and peculiarly coloured, being light grey, with some large transverse
dark-brown patches on the upper parts. It is found in Brazil as well
as in Guiana, but has never been exhibited at our Zoological Gardens.
THE MARSUPIAL MOLE
{Notoryctes typhlops)
THIS curious little animal, which is the sole representative of its
family (Notoryctidce) is of peculiar interest as exemplifying the great
variety among these pouched animals ; it is a quite recent discovery,
176 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
having only been described in 1891. In general form it is quite
Mole-like, with very short limbs, in which the second and third toes
in the fore-foot are greatly developed at the expense of the other three,
and bear enormous claws. The muzzle is shorter than in the true
Moles, and has a callous pad at the tip; the eyes are covered by the
skin.
The teeth are very peculiar, though on the whole conforming
to the general type of the carnivorous Marsupials. The canines,
however, are small, and the teeth vary remarkably in number, being
sometimes different on the two sides of the jaw. This creature lives
in the dry and arid districts of Central Australia ; it is essentially a
burrower, and very few specimens have ever been captured.
THE RATON RUNCHO
(Canolestes obscurus)
THE "Opossum Rat," to give this animal an English name, is, except
its relative Ccznolestes fuliginosus, the only living representative of
the family Epanorthidce, though these are well known as fossil
animals. Only one specimen of each of the living species has ever
been taken, and C. fuliginosus was described fifty years ago, from
Ecuador. The " Raton Runcho " was captured at Bogota, and is
about the size of a small Rat, and resembles one in shape and is of
a dark colour. On the fore-paws it has five toes, the first and fifth
bearing nails instead of claws ; the hind-feet have practically only four
toes, the first being rudimentary.
The teeth are very remarkable ; in the upper jaw are several incisors
and well-developed canines, as in the carnivorous Marsupials ; but in
the lower jaw we find the two great projecting incisors of the vege-
tarian Phalangers and Kangaroos, the canines are very small, and the
grinders also are like those of Phalangers. There is, however, no
union between the second and third toes of the hind-foot, which are
free, as in carnivorous Marsupials. Moreover, the creature, which is a
climber, is said to live on small birds and their eggs, so that to a
certain extent it unites two great Marsupial divisions, though it must
be referred rather to the herbivorous section as far as structure goes.
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THE ECHIDNA
(Echidna hystrix)
BEING a frequent exhibit at the Zoological Gardens, the Common Echidna
is the best known — though not the most remarkable— of the extra-
ordinary order of beasts known as Monotremata, the lowest of milk-
giving creatures, for, unlike all others which suckle their young, they
lay eggs like birds. It must not be supposed that on this account
they form in any way a link between birds and beasts, although in
some particulars of their anatomy also they are bird-like. But in these
points they are reptilian also, and it will be remembered that most
reptiles are egg-layers. The fact appears to be that both beasts and
birds arose from reptilian types, so that they form as it were the two
branches of a letter Y, the reptiles being the stem ; and our living
monotremes are the sole survivors of a race which branched off from
the beast stem very soon after the departure from reptiles, when all
these great classes were more alike than they are now.
The Echidna has, it must be admitted, a very bird-like head, with
its narrow toothless beak and want of external ears ; the jaws, however,
are united nearly to the tips, where there is a small mouth, and the
nostrils are also at the end, as in a beast's muzzle. The tongue is
long and worm-like, as in the Ant-eaters.
The short, stumpy, awkward-looking limbs bear each five huge claws,
those on the fore-feet particularly strong and broad ; on the hind-foot
the toes are turned out and back in a very peculiar way, unlike what
is seen in other beasts. The tail is very short, and concealed by a
cluster of the spines which cover the upper parts of the broad squat
body, the lower, as is always the case in spiny beasts, being hairy.
On the middle of the back the spines of the opposite sides overlap
each other.
In length the creature measures about a foot from muzzle to
II. m Z
178 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
tail ; it may be compared to a small Rabbit. The sexes are alike in
general appearance, but the male is provided with a spur on the
heel, horny like a Cock's, but perforated by the duct of a gland on
the leg.
The Echidna inhabits Australia and New Guinea; it shows a con-
siderable amount of local variation, three races being distinguished, of
which the most distinct is the Tasmanian Echidna, in which a thick
coat of fur grows between the spines and almost conceals them from
view. A similar difference, it will be remembered, exists between the
species of American Porcupines. The food of the Echidna consists of
Ants, which, like an Ant-eater or Pangolin, it licks up with its long
worm-like tongue. Along with these it swallows a great deal of sand,
and sometimes nothing but this is found in its interior, for it has the
power of living a long time without food, being able to exist thus for
weeks together. This is, of course, a reptilian peculiarity, and another
is the creature's low temperature, which is only about 78°.
The Echidna is a nocturnal animal, frequenting sandy and rocky
districts, where it hides in holes in the daytime ; when on the move,
it shuffles about actively enough, though with a very awkward gait,
with the fore-toes turned inwards and the hind ones outwards. It has
no means of active defence, but is a "passive resister" of the first
order ; it not only can roll itself up like a Hedgehog, but is so strong
and struggles so vigorously that the only way to handle it without
getting hurt is to catch hold of it by one hind-leg while it is unrolled.
When disturbed, it also tucks in its head, and clings to the ground
so tenaciously that the only way of moving it is to fairly scrape it off
the surface with a spade. This is on a hard surface like boards ; on
the ground it will soon get out of reach, for it is, as might be ex-
pected from its structure, a remarkably powerful and rapid burrower.
When asleep, it generally rolls itself up; in performing its toilet, it
shows considerable power of change of position, as the work is done
entirely with the hind claws. Unlike its relative the Platypus, it seems
to have no voice.
The Australian natives call this creature in some places Nickobejan,
THE ECHIDNA 179
and in others Jannocumbine and Cogera. They eat it — as they do
most things — their method of cooking being to roast it in the skin,
and fifty years ago, at any rate, it was considered good eating by our
colonial countrymen also.
It is, however, the reproduction of this animal that has the greatest
scientific interest. About the beginning of August — which is, of course,
winter in Australia — the female lays her one egg, which is about as
big as a Sparrow's, but rounder in shape, and of a yellowish colour
without markings ; a specimen of it can be seen in the South Kensing-
ton Museum in the case devoted to this group of animals. The egg,
when laid, is placed by the animal in her pouch, which is a special
temporary development, having been formed, a short time before the
egg is laid, by an overgrowth of a fold of the skin. The temperature
of this pouch is higher than that of the body generally, and thus aids
in the incubation of the egg. The young one has a hard pimple on its
snout, like the "egg-tooth" which can be seen on the bill of a newly-
hatched chicken, its purpose being similarly the breaking of the shell,
which is then removed from the pouch by the mother.
She has no teats, but the milk oozes from the surface of the skin
and collects on tufts of hairs, which are sucked by the young one.
This, at birth, is very small, weak, and quite naked ; it remains in
the pouch till it is as big as one's fist, but the spines do not appear
till after the fur has grown. When caught at this age, it can be reared
on milk.
As soon as it becomes prickly, the mother, probably finding it an
uncomfortable object to keep in her pocket, digs a burrow and puts it
there while she roams abroad. When at length she abandons it as
able to shift for itself, her pouch gradually shrinks away, not to re-
appear till the next breeding season.
During the driest part of the year the creature falls into the state
of " aestivation," or summer sleep, which in some animals living in hot
dry countries, answers to the hibernation of some of those inhabiting
climates with a severe winter. The only enemy which seems to attack
the Echidna, other than man, is the Thylacine or Marsupial Wolf of
180 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
Tasmania, which appears to be able to overcome it as the Fox and
Badger with us do the Hedgehog.
The Echidna is not difficult to keep in captivity, feeding on minced
raw meat, chopped hard-boiled egg, and milk ; probably a mixture of
dried " Ants' eggs " and dried " Flies," as used for insectivorous birds,
would be a beneficial addition to this diet. Only the typical Australian
race has been exhibited in this country at the time of writing.
THE THREE-TOED ECHIDNA
(Proechidna bruijni)
BESIDES a local race of the ordinary Echidna, there exists in New
Guinea a very distinct species. In this animal the muzzle is much
longer than in the common kind, and is curved downwards. The body
is much more furry than in the Australian Echidna, and is less spiny,
thus recalling the Tasmanian race. But the most notable distinction
is the fact that there are only three toes on each foot — though this is
not invariable, for sometimes others are developed on a small scale,
and a specimen has been found with five toes on the fore-feet and
four on the hinder pair. In size this creature is larger than the
Common Echidna.
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THE PLATYPUS
(Ornithorhynchus anatinus)
IT is not astonishing that the first specimens of this creature which
reached Europe should have been suspected of being " faked " ; for no
one could reasonably be expected to believe in the genuineness of a
skin which seemed to have come from a web-footed Mole as big as a
small Rabbit, provided with a Duck's bill I The bill of the creature
has, indeed, a peculiarly artificial look, as the skin of it is continued
as a sort of flap at the base, giving it the appearance of being fastened
on ; it is much softer in life than would appear from the examination
of stuffed specimens, and the nostrils are situated towards the tip, not
at the base as in most real Ducks, though in one of our British species,
the Golden-eye Duck (Clangula glaiicion} they occupy much the same
position. The inside of these Duck-like jaws is provided in the Platypus
with flat horny plates, which serve as teeth in chewing the food ; but
in young specimens there are true teeth, two pairs of broad flat
grinders with very complicated crowns, and a minute pair in front of
these. Like the Echidna, the Platypus has no external ears.
The legs of the creature are excessively short and furnished on
each foot with five toes, strongly clawed and fully webbed ; on the
fore-feet, indeed, the web extends well beyond the tips of the claws,
but it is folded back when the animal is walking or engaged in digging.
On the hind feet there is in the male a horny spur on the heel, per-
forated to discharge the secretion of a gland in the leg, as in the case
of the male Echidna. There has been considerable discussion as to
this structure, so analogous to the poison-fangs and glands of veno-
mous Snakes ; and it seems that the secretion is poisonous, though
very faintly so, while the animal is not in the ordinary way at all
inclined to use its spurs in self-defence. It is, however, not the
easiest creature to handle, as its skin is so loose that it feels as if
181
182 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
enclosed in a fur bag, while its appearance, as it shuffles along, is so
quaint and unnatural that Dogs prefer barking at it to biting it, and
Cats fairly run away from it. The fur of the Platypus is thick and
soft, and composed of two sorts of hair, the under-fur being shorter,
while the end portions of the longer hairs are stouter. On the upper
part of the flattened tail, which, by the way, ends off squarely, not
tapering as tails usually do, the hair is coarser and stronger than else-
where, and the under-side of the tail is nearly naked in adult specimens,
though covered with fine silvery-white fur in the young. Young
animals also have the under-jaw white, this becoming mottled in the
old ones ; the under-part of the upper jaw, which is quite soft, is of a
flesh colour. As happens to some extent in the case of some of the
softer-billed Ducks, the beak loses considerably in appearance in the
dried specimens, becoming hard and leathery-looking. The bill is much
used by the beast in dressing its fur, and it also combs itself with the
claws of the hind-feet.
Any one, on looking at this creature, could see at once that it
was aquatic in its habits, and, indeed, it is usually seen in the water,
where it swims well, propelling itself with the fore-paws, and with
the head only above the surface, the body being level with it. The
high position of the eyes in the head is an advantage to the animal
when swimming, but renders it liable to run against objects when
travelling on land, where it runs awkwardly, but rapidly enough. It
is, of course, a good diver, and seldom remains for long together on
the surface, while it is very shy, diving at once when alarmed, after
which it is hard to see it again. It is most active in the early morning
and the evening, and especially affects weedy places in the rivers. In
suitable localities the Platypus is widely distributed over Australia,
and it is found in Tasmania also. Its method of feeding is, as might
be expected, very similar to that of a Duck, and its food is the same
as that especially sought by those birds — water-snails and other shell-
fish, and small aquatic life generally. The cheeks are provided with
pouches, and these the animal fills with food before rising to the
surface to chew it with its teeth. The true teeth of young specimens
THE PLATYPUS 183
are gradually worn away by this, and the permanent horny teeth
gradually grow up round and replace them. Much sand is taken in
as well as food, after the manner of birds.
The home of the Platypus is a burrow, dug by the beast itself, for
it is an excellent burrower as well as a good swimmer; the tunnel
may be as much as twenty feet long, and has two entrances, one
under the water, and one a foot or more from it. At the end of the
hole is to be found an enlarged chamber which is lined with dry
weed. It is here that the young ones are deposited when old enough
to be left by the mother for a time, and it is believed that the eggs,
which are two in number, yellowish, and flexible-shelled like a Snake's,
are deposited also in the burrow, for the female Platypus does not
develop a nursing-pouch like the Echidna. She resembles that animal,
however, in having no teats, the milk exuding upon the surface of the
skin. The young have short bills, adapted for sucking it up ; and
when first born they are blind and naked.
The Platypus is known to the Australian blacks by the names of
Mullingong and Tambreet ; they eat it, especially esteeming the young
ones, the sight of a plump young Platypus fairly making a "black-
fellow's " mouth water, The colonists, by whom the beast is known
as " Duckbill " and " Water-Mole," used to use the fur for rugs, and
I am sorry to say sometimes do so still, although this most interest-
ing and harmless animal is very properly protected by law. Such an
animal as this would be a most desirable exhibit in any Zoological
Garden, but so far it has not been brought to Europe alive. Even
the Australian Zoological Gardens do not exhibit it ; but this is not
surprising, as there seems to be at present but little knowledge of the
management of delicate animals at the Antipodes.
Delicate the Platypus certainly is, compared to its relative the
Echidna ; but it has been successfully kept in captivity in Australia
for some weeks, and even taken some distance on the homeward
journey.
Dr. Bennett, in his Wanderings of a Naturalist, gives a very in-
teresting account of a couple of young specimens which he kept for
184 WILD BEASTS OF THE WORLD
some time ; they appeared to have been very nice little pets, much
resembling Puppies in many of their ways, as they constantly played
with each other, and would nibble at his fingers sportively with their
bills. They enjoyed bathing and rolling about in shallow water, but
did not like a deep bath, nor did they stay in for more than a quarter
of an hour at a time. This indicates the sort of accommodation such
creatures should have when closely confined for a voyage to Europe ;
it would be best to keep them in a cage, and let them out for a bath
two or three times a day. They slept a great deal, curled up into
balls, and usually together ; when disturbed they growled, a habit also
common to old specimens. The food given them — soaked bread,
chopped egg, and finely minced meat — does not seem to have agreed
with them ; but on such a diet many of the more delicate insectivorous
birds, such as Nightingales, would not long survive ; yet these are
kept for long periods by our fanciers on more suitable diet, including
plenty of live food, and there seems no reason why this very bird-like
beast should not be treated in the same way, using " dried flies " and
"dried Ants' eggs" — well soaked, of course — with the addition of
Mealworms. Earthworms and Water-Snails could easily be taken in
sufficient quantity to last the whole voyage if only a few of the Platypus
were shipped ; it would surely be worth while to go to considerable
trouble and expense to import an animal of such surpassing scientific
and popular interest, the only Monotreme besides the Echidnas.
INDEX
AARD-WOLF, i. 100
Aard-Varks, ii. 160
,, Cape, ii. 160
„ Ethiopian, ii. 160
Acouchy, i. 215
Addax, ii. 44
African Buffalo, ii. 31
,, Civet, i. 90
,, Elephant, ii. 12
,, Mouse-Deer, ii. 104
„ Ratel, i. 128
,, Rhinoceros, ii. 15-16
„ Great, ii. 16
„ Wild Cat, i. 80
Agoutis, i. 215
Aguara-guazu, i. 108
Almiqui, i. 172
Alpaca, ii. Ill
Alpine Marmot, i. 192
American Badger, i. 127
,, Bison, ii. 25-26
„ Black Bear, i. 151-
152
„ Caribou, ii. 97
,, Chipmunk, i. 191
„ Marten, i. 117
„ Mink, i. 119
,, Opossum, ii. 173-175
„ Raccoon, i. 116
„ Tapir, ii. 17-18
Angolan Guereza, i. 22
„ Pallah, ii. 40
Anoa, ii. 32
Ant-Bear, ii. 153-154
,, Cape, ii. 160
,, Ethiopian, ii. 160
Ant-Eaters, Banded, ii. 171-172
„ Great, ii. 153-154
„ Little, ii. 155-156
„ Tamandua, ii. 155
Antelopes, Four-horned, ii. 58
,, Harnessed, ii. 56
„ Kob, ii. 47
,, Roan, ii. 46-47
,, Royal, ii. 60
„ Sable, ii. 45-46
Aoudad, ii. 72
Ape, Barbary, i. 27
Arabian Tahr, ii. 68
Arctic Fox, i. 1 1 1
„ Lemming, i. 195
Aigali, ii. 70
Arimau-dahan, i. 77
Armadillos, Ball, ii. 159
,, Giant, ii. 159
„ Hairy, ii. 157-159
Arui, ii. 72
Asiatic Ibex, ii. 67
„ Two-horned Rhinoceros,
ii. 15
Ass, ii. 23-24
Aswail, i. 150
Aurochs, ii. 27
Arahi, i. 55
Awantibo, i. 56
Aye-aye, i. 56
II.
BABAKOTO, i. 55
Babirusa, ii. 121-123
Baboons, Black, i. 36
„ Gelada, i. 36
,, Sacred, i. 36
Bactrian Camel, ii. 108
Badger, i. 125-127
,, American, i. 127
Bagdas, i. 90
Baird's Tapir, ii. 18-19
Bald Chimpanzee, i. 2
,, Ouakari, i. 47
Ball Armadillos, ii. 159
Bamboo-Rats, i. 203
Banded Ant-Eater, ii. 171-172
,, Duiker, ii. 59
Bandicoots, ii. 172
,, Pig-footed, ii. 172
,, Rabbit, ii. 172
Banteng, ii. 28
Barbary Ape, i. 27
Barking Deer, i. 84
Barrigudos, i. 39-40
„ Humboldt's, i. 40
Bassaricyon, i. 139
Bats, Fishing, i. 183
,, Long-eared, i. 184
,, Rat-tailed, i. 183-184
„ South American White, i.
141, 144
Bay Lynx, i. 81
Beaked Whales, ii. 132
Bear, American Black, i. 151-152
,, Blue, i. 144
„ Brown, i. 145-148
„ Cat, i. 92
,, Grizzly, i. 148
Himalayan, i. 151
Japanese, i. 151
Malayan, i. 152
Pied, i. 144
Polar, i. 141-144
„ Spectacled, i. 152
Bear-Pig, i. 128
Beatrix, ii. 43-44
Beaver, i. 185-188
Beech-Marten, i. 118
Beira, ii. 39
Beisa Oryx, ii. 41-42
Beluga, ii. 140
Bhaloo-soor, i. 128
Bharal-hay, i. 73
Bighorn, ii. 70
Binturong, i. 92
Biscay Right Whale, ii. 143
Bison, American, ii. 25-26
,, European, ii. 27
Black Baboon, i. 36
,, Bear, American, i. 151-
152
Cat, i. 1 19
Fox, i. 1 19
Guereza, i. 23
Howler, i. 46
Lemur, i. 54
Leopard, i. 65-67
185
Black Tamarin, i. 51
,, Wildebeest, ii. 35
Black-backed Jackal, i. 105-106
Blackbuck, ii. 40
Black-eared Marmoset, i. 51
Blackfish, ii. 139-140
Blackheaded Ouakari, i. 47
Black Rat, i. 200
Black-tailed Deer, ii. 94
„ Gnu, ii. 33-34
,, Marmoset, i. 52
Bladdernose, i. 164
Bleauwbok, ii. 47
Blesbok, ii. 36
Blind Mole-Rat, i. 203
Blue Bear, i. 144
,, Whale, ii. 144
,, Wildebeest, ii. 33
Boar, European Wild, ii. 119-
120
„ Indian Wild, ii. 117-
119
Bongo, ii. 54-55
Bonnet Monkey, i. 25
Bontebok, ii. 36
Bottle-nose, ii. 132
Bottle-nosed Dolphin, ii. 136
Brazilian Otter, i. 135
,, White-eared Marmo-
set, i. 51
Brindled Gnu, ii. 33
Brockets, ii. 95
„ Red, ii. 95
Brown Bear, i. 145-148
„ Capuchin, i. 41-44
,, Hare, ii. 3
,, Howler, i. 46
,, Hyaena, i. 98-99
„ Monkey, i. 25
Brush-tailed Porcupine, i. 206-
207
Burchell's Zebra, ii. 21-22
Buffalo, ii. 25
,, African, ii. 31
,, Dwarf, ii. 31
„ Indian, ii. 29-31
Bunder, i. 25-28
Bun manus, i. II
Burmese Civet, i. 90
Burrhel, ii. 72
Burrhel-Tiger, i. 73
Bushbucks, ii. 55-56
Bush-Cow, ii. 31
CACHALOT, ii. 129-132
Cacomistle, i. 140
Ca'ing Whale, ii. 139-140
Californian Grey Whale, ii. 144
,, Sea- Lion, i. 153-156
Calling-Hares, ii. 4
Camel, ii. 105-107
„ Bactrian, ii. 108
„ One-humped, ii. 105
„ Two-humped, ii. 108
Canadian Lynx, i. 81
Porcupine, i. 206-207
Cape Eland, ii. 49
Capuchin, Brown, i. 41-44
„ Horned, i. 41
,, Smooth-headed, i. 41
,, White-throated, i. 41
Capybara, i. 213-214
Caracal, i. 83-84
Carcajou, i. 121
Caribou, ii. 97-100
,, American, ii. 97
,, Woodland, ii. 98, 99
Cat, African Wild, i. 80
„ Bear-, i. 92
,, Black, i. 119
,, Servaline, i. 79
„ Wild, i. 79-80
Caucasian Turs, ii. 68
Cavy, Patagonian, i. 214
Central American Tapir, ii. 19
Chacma, i. 36
Chamois, ii. 61-62
Cheetah, i. 85-88
Cherry-crown Monkey, i. 32
Chevrotain, Little Malay, ii. 103
,, Water, ii. 104
Chigetia, ii. 24
Chilian Pudu, ii. 95
Chimpanzee, i. 1-4
„ Bald, i. 2
Chinchilla, i. 211-212
,, Long-tailed, i. 212
„ Short-tailed, i. 212
Chipmunk, American, i. 191
Chiru, ii. 39
Civet, i. 89-90
,, African, i. 90
,, Burmese, i. 90
,, Large Indian, i. 90
,, Small Indian, i. 90
Clawless Otter, i. 135
Clouded Leopard, i. 77-78
Coast- Rat, i. 203
Coati, Ring-tailed, i. 137
„ White-nosed, i. 137-138
Coatimondis, i. 137-138
Cobego, i. 174-176
Collared Fruit-Bat, i. 180
„ Peccary, ii. 125-127
Colobus Monkey, i. 21
Colugo, i. 173
Coney, ii. 7
Couendou, i. 208
Cougar, i. 69
Cow, Mountain, ii. 18
Coyote, i. 104
Coypu, i. 204
Crab-eating Macaque, i. 27
„ Raccoon, i. 138
Cuscuses, ii. 166
D ALL'S Sheep, ii. 71
Dassie, ii. 5-7
,, Syrian, ii. 7
Dasyures, Typical, ii. 170-171
Deer, Barking, ii. 84
,, Blacked-tailed, ii. 94
2 A
186
INDEX
Deer, Milou, ii. 92
Pampas, ii. 95
Spotted, ii. 87-88
Typical, ii. 83
Virginian, ii. 93-94
White-tailed, ii. 93
Derbian Eland, ii. 52
Desert-Hares, ii. 4
Desman, i. 168
,, Pyrenean, i. 168
Devil-fish, ii. 144
Devil, Indian, i. 122
„ Tasmanian, ii. 169-171
Dhole, i. 113-115
„ Malay, i. 113
Diademed Sifaka, i. 55
Diana Monkey, i. 29-32
Dibatag, ii. 38-39
Dikdiks, ii. 60
Dingo, i. 107-108
Dog, Red Wild, i. 113-115
Dolphin, Bottle-nosed, ii. 136
,, Common, ii. 135-136
„ Risso's, ii. 139
,, White-beaked, ii. 136
„ White-sided, ii. 136
Dormice, i. 204
Douroucoulis, i. 48
Duckbill, ii. 183
Duikers, ii. 58-59
,, Banded, ii. 59
,, Common, ii. 59
„ Jentink's, ii. 59
„ Yellow-backed, ii. 59
Dumba, ii. 79
Dwarf Buffalo, ii. 31
,, Lemurs, i. 55
„ Right Whale, ii. 143
EASTERN Porpoise, ii. 134
Echidna, ii. 177-180
„ Three-toed, ii. 180
Egyptian Jerboas, i. 202
,, Mongoose, i. 95-96
Eland, ii. 49-52
„ Cape, ii. 49
,, Derbian, ii. 52
,, Livingstone's, ii. 49
Elephant, African, ii. 12
„ Indian, ii. 9-12
,, White, ii. :o
Elephant-Shrew, i. 171
Elk, ii. 89-92
Emperor Marmoset, i. 52
Endrina, i. 55
Enjocko, i. 8
Ermine, i. 120
European Bison, ii. 27
„ Ibex, ii. 67
„ Mink, i. 119
,, Wild Boar, ii. 119-
120
FALLOW-Deer, ii. 88
,, , , Giant, ii. 89
Fat Dormouse, i. 204
Fat-tailed Lemurs, i. 55
Fennec, i. 112
Field-Mouse, Long tailed, i.
199
Field-Vole, i. 196
Fisher, i. 118
Fishing Bat, i. 183
Five-toed Sloth, i. 149
Flittermouse, i. 184
Flying-Fox, Indian, i. 177-180
Flying Phalangers, ii. 166-167
Flying-Squirrels, i. 191
Forest-Hog, ii. 124
Fossa, i. 92
Four-horned Antelope, ii. 58
,, Hog, ii. 121
Fox, i. 109-111
,, Arctic, i. in
,, Black, i. 119
„ Red, i. 109
„ Silver, i. 109
Fruit-Bat, Collared, i. 180
„ Long-tongued, i. 180
Fur-Seals, i. 155-156
GALAGOS, i. 55
Garden Dormouse, i. 204
Gaur, ii. 27-28
Gelada Baboons, i. 36
Gemsbok, ii. 43
Genets, i. 90-91
,, Common, i. 91
Geoffrey's Marmoset, i. 52
Gerenook, ii. 39
Ghorpkur, ii. 24
Giant Armadillo, ii. 159
„ Fallow-Deer, ii. 89
Gibbon, Hainan, i. 16
„ Javanese, i. 15
,, Silvery, i. 14
Giraffe, ii. 73-76
Glutton, i. 121-123
Gnu, Black-tailed, ii. 33-34
„ Brindled, ii. 33
„ White-bearded, ii. 33
,, White-tailed, ii. 34-35
Goat, Rocky-Mountain, it 63,
141
„ Wild, ii. 66-67
Golden-headed Marmoset, i. 51
Golden Moles, i. 172
Golden-tailed Tupaia,i. 169-170
Gophers, i. 202
Coral, ii. 62
Gorilla, i. 5-8
Grampus, ii. 137-138
„ Risso's, ii. 139
Great Ant-Eater, ii. 153-154
,, Kangaroo, ii. 163
Green Monkey, i. 31
Greenland Whale, ii. 143
Gravy's Zebra., ii. 23
Grey Indian Mongoose, i. 93-94
„ Seal, i. 163
,, Whale, Californian, ii. 144
Grison, i. 123-124
Grizzly Bear, i. 148
Ground-Squirrels, i. 191-192
Grysbok, ii. 59
Guanaco, ii. 109-112
Guatemalan Howler, i. 46
Guereza, i. 21-24
,, Angolan, i. 22
„ Black, i. 23
,, Kirk's, i. 23
Guinea-Pig, i. 214-215
HAINAN Gibbon, i. 16
Hairy Armadillo, ii. 157-159
,, Rhinoceros, ii. 15
„ Saki, i. 47
Hamster, i. 197-198
Hangul, ii. 86
Hare, Brown, ii. 3
,, Common, ii. 1-3
„ Jumping, i. 201
,, Mountain, ii. 3
„ Polar, ii. 3
Harnessed Antelope, ii. 56
Harp Seal, i. 163-164
Harrisbuck, ii. 45
Hartebeests, ii. 35-36
,, Bastard, ii. 36
Harvest-Mouse, i. 199-200
Hedgehog, i. 165-167
Himalayan Bear, i. 151
,, Lungoor, i. 19
,, Lynx, i. 81
„ Serow, ii. 63
Hippopotamus, ii. 113-116
,, Pigmy, ii. 116
Hog, Pigmy, ii. 120
„ Four-horned, ii. 121
Hog- Badger, i. 127-128
Hoolock, i. 13-16
Horned Capuchin, i. 41
Horse, Prezevalsky's, ii. 24
„ Wild, ii. 24
Horse-Whale, i. 157
House-Mouse, i. 199
,, Rat, i. 200
Howler, Black, i. 46
,, Brown, i. 46
,, Guatemalan, i. 46
,, Red, i. 200
Huemul, ii. 95
Humboldt's Barrigudo, i. 40
Humpback, ii. 144
Hunting-Dog,!. 115-116
,, Leopard, i. 85
Hyaena, Brown, i. 98-99
„ Spotted, i. 99-100
„ Striped, i. 97-98
IBEXES, ii. 67-68
„ Asiatic, ii. 67
,, European, ii. 67
„ Persian, ii. 66
Ichneumons, i. 93
Indian Buffalo, ii. 29-31
,, Civet, Large, i. 90
,, Civet, Small, i. 90
,, Devil, i. 122
„ Elephant, ii. 9-12
,, Flying -Fox, i. 177-
180
„ Jackal, i. 106-107
,, Marten, i. 118
,, Mongoose, Grey, i. 93-
94
,, Mouse -Deer, ii. 101-
l°3
,, Ratel, i. 128
,, Rhinoceros, ii. 13-14
,, Striped Squirrel, i. 189-
190
„ Vampire, i. 183
,, Wild Boar, ii. 117-119
Inyala, ii. 55
JACKAL, Black-backed, i. 105-
106
„ Indian, i. 106-107
,, Maanhaar, i. 100
,, Maned, i. 100
Jaguar, i. 74-76
Jamrack's Mangaby, i. 32
Japanese Bear, i. 151
„ Monkey, i. 28
Javanese Gibbon, i. 15
Jentink's Duiker, ii. 59
Jerboas, i. 202
11 Egyptian, i. 202
Jerrow, ii. 87
Jumping Hare, i. 201
KAGUAN, i. 173
Kalong, i. 180
Kanchil, ii. 103
Kangaroos, i. 57
,, Common, ii. 163
„ Free, ii. 164
,, Great, ii. 163
„ Musk, ii. 164
„ Red, ii. 161-163
Kansu Musk-Deer, ii. 83
Kiang, ii. 24
Killer, ii. 137-138
Kinkajou, i. 139-140
Kirk's Guereza, i. 23
Klipspringer, ii. 60
Koala, ii. 167-168
Kob Antelopes, ii. 47
., White-eared, ii. 47
Koodoo, ii. 53-54
„ Lesser, ii. 54
Kulong, i. 173
LABBA, i. 215-216
Lake-Cow, ii. 115
Large Indian Civet, i. 90
Lechwe, ii. 48
Lemming, i. 194-195
„ Arctic, i. 195
Lemurs, Black, i. 54
„ Dwarf, i. 55
„ Fat-tailed, i. 55
,, Mouse, i. 55
,, Ring-tailed, i. 54
„ Ruffed, i. 53-54
Slow, i. 56
Leopard, i. 65-68
,, Black, i. 65-67
„ Clouded, i. 77-78
,, Hunting, i. 85
Lesser Koodoo, ii. 54
Leucoryx, ii. 44
Linsangs, i. 90-91
Lion, i. 57-60
,, Marmoset, i. 49-52
Little Ant-Eater, ii. 155-156
,, Malay Chevrotain, ii. 103
Livingstone's Eland, ii. 49
Llama, ii. Ill
„ Wild, ii. 109-112
Long-eared Bat, i. 184
Long-tailed Chinchilla, i. 212
,, Field-Mouse,i. 199
„ Monkey, i. 28
Long-tongued Fruit-Bat, i. 180
Loris, Slender, i. 56
„ Slow, i. 56
Lucivee, i. 8 1
Lungoor, i. 17-20
,, Himalayan, i. 19
,, Madras, i. 19
,, Malabar, i. 19
„ White, i. 32
Lynx, i. 81-83
Bay, i. 81
Canadian, i. Si
Himalayan, i. 81
Northern, i. 8l
Spotted, i. 81
MAANHAAR Jackal, i. 100
Macaque, i. 26-27
„ Crab-eating, i. 27
Madras Lungoor, i. 19
„ Tree-Shrew, i. 169
Malabar Lungoor, i. 19
Malay Chevrotain, Little, ii. 103
„ Dhole, i. 113
INDEX
187
Malayan Bear, i. 152
„ Tapir, ii. 19-20
Mammoth, ii. 12
Mandrill, i. 33-36
Maned Jackal, i. 100
„ Wolf, i. 1 08
Mangabeys, i. 32
„ Jamrack's, i. 32
„ Sooty, i. 32
„ White-collared, i. 32
Mara, i. 214
Marco Polo's Sheep, ii. 69-71
Markhor, ii. 65-66
Marmoset, Black-eared, i. 51
„ Black-tailed, i. 52
„ Brazilian White-
eared, i. 51
,, Emperor, i. 52
„ Geoffrey's, i. 52
,, Golden-headed, i. 51
,, Lion, i. 49-52
„ Pigmy, i. 50, 51
„ Silky, i. 52
Marmots, i. 192
,, Alpine, i. 192
., Prairie, i. 96
Marshbucks, ii. 56
Marsupial Mole, ii. 175-176
Marten, American, i. 117
„ Beach, i. 118
„ Indian, i. 118
„ Pine, i. 117
„ Stone, i. 118
Meerkat, i. 96
,, South African, i. 71
Mexican Tree-Porcupine, i. 208
Mias, i. II
Milou Deer, ii. 92
Mink, i. 119
American, i. 119
European, i. 119
Mo es, i. 167-168
Golden, i. 172
Marsupial, ii. 175-176
North American, i. 168
Star-nosed, i. 168
Mole-Rats, i. 203
Mongoose, Egyptian, i. 95-96
,, Grey Indian, i. 93-94
,, White-tailed, i. 22
Monkey, Bonnet, i. 25, 27
Brown, i. 17-25
Cherry-crown, i. 32
Colobus, i. 21
Diana, i. 29-32
Green, L 31
Japanese, i. 28
Long-tailed, i. 28
Negro, i. 40
Proboscis, i. 19
Red-faced Spider, i.
37-39
Rhesus, i. 52
Snub-nosed, i. 20
Squirrel, i. 48
Tchelli, i. 26
White-whiskered Spi-
der, i. 37, 39
,, Woolly Spider, i. 39
Moose, ii. 89-92
Mouflon, ii. 71
Mountain Cow, ii. 18
„ Hare, ii. 3
,, Zebra, ii. 22-23
Mouse-Deer, African, ii. 104
„ Indian, ii. 101-103
Mouse-Hares, ii. 4
Mouse Lemurs, i. 55
Mouse, Opossum, ii. 167
Moustached Tamarin, i. 52
M'pungu, i. 8
Mule-Deer, ii. 94
Mullingong, ii. 183
Muntjac, ii. 84
Murine Opossum, ii. 175
Musk- Deer, ii. 81-83
„ Kansu, ii. 83
Musk Kangaroo, ii. 164
Musk-Ox, ii. 64
Musk-Rat, i. 171, 193
Musk Shrew, i. 171
Musquash, i. 193-194
NAPU, ii. 103-104
Narhwal, ii. 141-142
Negro Monkey, i. 40
Nilghai, ii. 57-58
Nilgiri Tahr, ii. 68
Nisnas, i. 30
Noctule, i. 184
Noolbenger, ii. 168
North American Mole, i. 168
„ >, Otter, i. 135
Northern Lynx, i. 81
„ Raccoon, i. 138
Ntschego, i. 8.
Nyam, ii. 70
OCELOT, i. 78-79
Okapi, ii. 77-79
Old English Rat, i. 200
Onager, ii. 24
One-humped Camel, ii. 105
Opossum, ii. 165-166
„ Common American,
ii- 173
„ Mouse, ii. 167
,, Murine, ii. 175
Opossum Rat, ii. 176
Orang, i. 9-12
Orang-utan, i. 9-12
Oribis, ii. 59
Oryx, Beisa, ii. 41-42
,, Tufted, ii. 42
Otter, i. 133-135
Brazilian, i. 135
Clawless, i. 135
North American, i. 135
Small-clawed, i. 135
Spotted-necked, i. 135
Otter Shrew, i. 171-172
Ouakari, Bald, i. 47
„ Black-headed, i. 47
„ Red, i. 47
Ounce, i. 73-74
Ox, Wild, ii. 28
PACA, i. 215-216
,, Tailed, i. 216
Painter, i. 69
Pallah, ii. 40
,, Angolan, ii. 40
Pampas Deer, ii. 95
Panda, i. 140
Pangolins, ii. 156
Panther, i. 65, 66
Paradoxures, i. 91
Patagonian Cavy, i. 214
Patas, i. 30
Peccary, Collared, ii. 125-127
„ White-lipped, ii. 127-
128
Pekan, i. 118
Persian Ibex, ii. 66
Phalangers, Flying, ii. 166-167
,, Vulpine, ii. 165-166
Pichiciago, ii. 159-160
Pied Bear, i. 144
Pig-footed Bandicoot, ii. 172
Pigmy Hippopotamus, ii. 116
„ Hog, ii. 1 20
„ Marmoset, i. 50, 51
,, Shrew, i. 170
„ Sperm-Whale, ii. 144
Pikas, ii. 4
Pike-Whale, ii. 144
Pinchaque Tapir, ii. 19
Pinche', i. 51, 52
Pine Marten, i. 117
Pipistrelle, i. 184
Platypus, ii. 181-184
Pocket-Gopher, i. 202
Polar Bear, i. 141-144
„ Hare, ii. 3
Polecat, i. 1 19
Pongo, i. 8
Porcupines, Brush-tailed, i. 206-
207
,, Canadian, L 205-
206
„ Common, i. 207-
208
Porpoise, ii. 133-135
,, Eastern, ii. 134
,, Prickly-finned, ii. 134
Potto, i. 56
Prairie-dog, i. 192
„ Marmot, i. 96
Prevost's Squirrel, i. 190
Prezevalskys Horse, ii. 24
Prickly-finned Porpoise, ii. 134
Proboscis Monkey, i. 19
Prong-Buck, ii. 79-80
Pudas, ii. 95-96
„ Chilian, ii. 95
Puma, i. 69-72
Pyrenean Desman, i. 168
QUAGGA, ii. 21
„ Bonte, ii. 21
RABBIT, ii. 3-4
„ Bandicoot, ii. 172
Raccoon, i. 138-139
„ American, i. 116
„ Crab-eating, i. 138
,, Northern, i. 138
Raccoon-Dog, i. 116
Rasse, i. 90
Rat Kangaroos, ii. 164
„ „ Old English, i.
200
,, „ Opossum, ii. 176
Rat-Shrew, i. 166
„ Small, i. 166
Rat-tailed Bat, i. 183-184
Ratel, African,!. 128
„ Indian, i. 128
Raton Runcho, ii. 176
Red Brocket, ii. 95
„ Cat, i. 84
,, Deer, ii. 85-87
,, Fox, i. 109
„ Howler, i. 45~47
,, Kangaroo, ii. 161-163
,, Ouakari, i. 47
,, River-Hog, ii. 1 20
„ Wild Dog, i. 113-115
Red-backed Saki, i. 47
Red-faced Spider Monkey, i.
37-39
Red-handed Tamarin, i. 51
Reedbucks, ii. 47
Reindeer, ii. 97-100
Rhebok, ii. 59
Rhesus, Common, i. 25
,, Monkey, i. 52
Rhinoceros, Asiatic Two-horned,
ii. 15
Black, ii. 15-16
Common African,
ii. 15-16
Great African, ii. 16
Hairy, ii. 15
Indian, ii. 13-14
Sondaic, ii. 15-16
Square - mouthed,
ii. 16
„ White, ii. 16
Right Whales, ii. 143
» » Biscay, ii. 143
» ,, Dwarf, ii. 143
Ring-tailed Coati, i. 137
,, Lemur, i. 54
Ringed Seal, i. 163
Risso's Dolphin, ii. 139
,, Grampus, ii. 139
River-Hog, Red, ii. 120
River-Horse, ii. 1 1 3
Roan Antelope, ii. 46-47
Rock-Hares, ii. 4
Rock-Rabbit, ii. 5-7
Rock Wallabies, ii. 163
Rocky-Mountain Goat, 11.63, 141
Roe, ii. 38
Roes, ii. 96
Roloway, i. 29
Rooi-Kat, i. 84
Rorquals, ii. 143-144
,, Common, ii. 144
„ Rudolphi's, ii. 144
Royal Antelope, ii. 60
Rudolphi's Rorqual, ii. 144
Ruffed Lemur, i. 53-54
Runcho, Raton, ii. 176
SABLE, i. 117-119
„ American, i. 117
,, Antelope, ii. 45-46
Sacred Baboon, i. 36
Saiga, ii. 39-40
Saki, Hairy, i. 47
,, Red-backed, i. 47
Sambur, ii. 87
Sand-Mole, i. 203
Sassaby, ii. 36
Scaly-tailed Squirrels, i. 192
Sea-Elephant, i. 164
Sea-Lion, Californian, i. 153-156
Sea-Otter, i. 136
Sea-Unicorn, ii. 141-142
Seal, Common, i. 161-163
„ Grey, i. 163
„ Harp, i. 163-164
„ Ringed,!. 163-164
„ West Indian, i. 164
Serows, ii. 63
,, Himalayan, ii. 63
Serval, i. 79
Servaline Cat, i. 79
Sewer-Rat, i. 200
Sheep, Dall's, ii. 71
,, Marco Polo's, ii. 69-71
Short-tailed Chinchilla, i. 212
Shrews, i. 170
,, Common, i. 170
,, Elephant, i. 171
,, Musk, i. 171
188
INDEX
Shrews, Otter, i. 171
„ Pigmy, i. 170
„ Water, i. 171
Siamang, i. 16
Siberian Tiger, i. 92
Sifaka, Diademed, i. 55
Silky Marmoset, i. 52
,, Tamarin, i. 49
Silver Fox, i. 109
Silvery Gibbon, i, 14
Sing-Sing, ii. 47
Sitatunga, ii. 48, 56
Skunk, i. 129-130
„ Small, i. 131-132
„ Southern, i. 131
Slender Loris, i. 56
Sloth, Five-toed, i. 149
„ Ursine, i. 149
Sloth-Bear, i. 149-150
Slow Lemurs, i. 56
,, Loris, i. 56
Small-clawed Otter, i. 135
Small-headed Capuchin, i. 41
Small Indian Civet, i. 90
„ Rat-Shrew, i. 166
„ Skunk, i. 131-132
Snow- Leopard, i. 73
Snub-nosed Monkey, i. 20
Sondaic Rhinoceros, ii. 14-15
Sooty Mangabey, i. 32
South African Meerkat, i. 71
South American White Bat, i,
141, 144
Southern Skunk, i. 131
Spanish Tur, ii. 68
Spectacled Bear, i. 152
Sperm-Whale, ii. 129-132
,, „ Pigmy, ii. 132
Spider-Monkey, i. 37-38
„ ,, Red-faced, i.
37-39
„ „ White-whis-
kered, i. 38, 39
„ „ Woolly, i. 39
Spotted Deer, ii. 37-38
„ Hyjena, i. 99-100
,, Lynx, i. 81
Spotted -necked Otter, i. 135
Springbuck, ii. 37-38
Spring-Haas, i. 2OI
Square-mouthed Rhinoceros, ii.
16
Squirrel, Common, i. 190-191
„ Indian Striped, i. 189-
190
Squirrel, Prevost's, i. 190
,, Scaly-tailed, i. 192
Squirrel Monkey, i. 48
Star-nosed Mole, i. 168
Steinbok, ii. 59, 67
Stoat, i. 120
Stone Marten, i. nS
Striped Hyoena, i. 97-98
Suricate, i. 96
Syrian Dassie, ii. J
TAHR, ii. 68
,, Arabian, ii. 68
,, Nilgiri, ii. 68
Tailed Paca, i. 216
Takin, ii. 64
Talapoin, i. 31
Tamandua Ant-Eater, ii. 155
Tamarao, ii. 32
Tamarin, Black, i. 51, 52
,, Moustached, i. 52
,, Red-handed, i. 51
,, Silky, i. 49
Tambreet, ii. 183
Tana, i. 169
Tangalung, i. 90
Tapir, American, ii. 17-18
,, Baird's, ii. 18-19
,, Central American, ii. 19
„ Malayan, ii. 19-20
,, Pinchaque, ii. 19
Tapoa-Tafa, ii. 171
Tarsier, i. 56
Tasmanian Devil, ii. 169-170
Tayra, {.123
Tcheli Monkey, i. 26
Teetees, i. 48
Teledu, i. 123
Tenrec, i. 172
Three-toed Echidna, ii. 180
Thylacine, ii. 170
Tiger, i. 61-64
,, Siberian, i. 62
Tiger-Horse, ii. 23
Timber Wolf, i. 103
Toddy-Cat, i. 91
Tree-Civets, i. 91
Tree-Dassies, ii. 7-8
Tree Kangaroo, ii. 164
Tree-Porcupine, Mexican, i. 208
Tree-Shrew, Madras, i. 169
Tsine, ii. 28
Tufted Oryx, ii. 42
Tupaia, Golden-tailed, i. 169-
170
Turs, ii. 68
,, Caucasian, ii. 68
,. Spanish, ii. 68
Two-horned Rhinoceros, Asiatic,
ii. 15
Two-humped Camel, ii. 108
Typical Dasyures, ii. 170-171
„ Deer, ii. 83
URIAL, ii. 71-72
Ursine Sloth, i. 149
Urus, ii. 27, 28
VAMPIRE, i. 181-182
.. Indian, i. 183
Vervet, i. 31
Vicugna, ii. 109, 112
Virginian Deer, ii. 93-94
Vizcacha, i. 209-211
Vlack-Vark, ii. 123-124
Vulpine Phalanger, ii. 165-166
WALLABIES, i. 57
,, Rock, ii. 163
Wallaroo, ii. 163
Walrus, i. 157-160
Wanderoo, i. 19, 28
Wapitis, ii. 86
Waree, ii. 127-128
Waterbuck, ii. 47-48
Water-Buffalo, ii. 29-30
Water Chevrotain, ii. 184
Water-Civet, i. 92
Water-Deer, ii. 96
Water-Hog, ii. 123-124
Water-Mole, ii. 183
Water-Opossum, ii. 175
Water-Rat, i. 196
Water Shrew, i. 171
Water-Tiger, i. 135
Water- Vole, i. 196
Weasel, i. 120
West Indian Seal, i. 164
Whaiapu-Sais, i. 48
Whalebone Whales, ii. 141-142
Whales, Beaked, ii. 132
Biscay Right, ii. 143
Blue. ii. 144
Ca'ing, ii. 139-140
Californian Grey, ii. 144
Dwarf Right, ii. 143
Greenland, ii. 143
Right, ii. 143
Whalebone, ii. 141-142
White, ii. 140. 141
Wh*
White-beaked Dolphin, ii. 136
White-bearded Gnu, ii. 33
White-collared Mangabey, i.
ite-eared Kob, ii. 47
,, Marmoset, Brazi-
lian, i. 51
White Elephant, ii. 10
White-lipped Peccary, ii. 127-
128
White Lungoor, i. 32
White-nosed Coati, i. 137-138
White Rhinoceros, ii. 16
White-sided Dolphin, ii. 136
White-tailed Deer, ii. 93
Gnu, ii. 34-35
„ Mongoose, i. 22
White-throated Capuchin, i. 41
White Whale, ii. 140, 141
White-whiskered Spider Mon-
key, i. 38-39
Wild Boar, European, ii. 119-
120
„ Indian, ii. 117-119
Cat, i. 79-80
,, African, i. 80
Dog, Red, i. 113-115
Goat, ii. 66-67
Horse, ii. 24
Llama, ii. 109-112
Ox, ii. 28
Wildebeest, Black, ii. 35
„ Blue, ii. 33
Wolf, i. 101-104
„ Maned, i. 108
,, Timber, i. 103
Wolverine, i. 121
Wombats, ii. 168
Woodchuck, i. 192
Woodland Caribou, ii. 98
Wood-Mouse, i. 199
Woolly Spider Monkey, i. 39
YAK, ii. 27
Yellow-backed Duiker, ii. 59
ZEBRA, Burchell's, ii. 21-22
,, Grevy's, ii. 23
,, Mountain, ii. 22-23
Zebra- Wolf, ii. 170
Zebus, ii. 28
Zee-Koe, ii. 115
Zorillas, i. 132
,, African, i. 132
Zwart-wit-pens, ii. 45
THE END
The text is printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & Co., Edinburgh
The plates by BBMROSE 6° SONS LTD., Derby
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