Opening
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Transcriber’s Notes
This e-text is based on ‘Cassell’s Natural History, Vol. III,’ from 1893. Inconsistent and uncommon spelling and hyphenation have been retained; punctuation and typographical errors have been corrected.
The spelling of toponyms might differ slightly from today’s orthographical conventions.
Underscores have been used to indicate italic text in the original. Small capitals have been converted to UPPERCASE LETTERS.
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CASSELL’S
NATURAL HISTORY
EDITED BY
P. MARTIN DUNCAN M.B. (LOND.) F.R.S. F.G.S.
PROFESSOR OF GEOLOGY IN AND HONORARY FELLOW OF KING’S COLLEGE LONDON CORRESPONDENT OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES PHILADELPHIA
VOL. III.
ILLUSTRATED
CASSELL AND COMPANY LIMITED LONDON PARIS & MELBOURNE 1893
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
UNGULATA:-- RUMINANTIA.
A. H. GARROD, M.A., F.R.S.
RODENTIA.
W. S. DALLAS, F.L.S.
EDENTATA.
P. MARTIN DUNCAN, M.B. (LOND.), F.R.S., F.G.S.
MARSUPIALIA.
P. MARTIN DUNCAN, M.B. (LOND.), F.R.S., F.G.S.
AVES.
R. BOWDLER SHARPE, F.L.S., F.Z.S.
Chapter I
ARTIODACTYLA--RUMINANTIA:
BOVIDÆ--SHEEP, GOATS, AND GAZELLES. PAGE
Ruminantia--Chewing the Cud--Metaphorical Expression--The Complicated Stomach: Paunch, Honey-comb Bag, Manyplies, Reed--Order of Events in Rumination--Feet and Dentition of Ruminants--Brain--Classification--HORNED RUMINANTS--Divided into two Groups--Difference between them--BOVIDÆ--Horns--Aberrant Members--SHEEP AND GOATS--General Characteristics--Sheep of South-Western Asia--Merino Sheep--Breeds of Great Britain--Dishley, or Improved Leicesters--Mr. Bakewell’s Description--Southdowns, Cheviots, Welsh, and other British Breeds--Table of the Importation of Colonial and Foreign Wool into the United Kingdom--MARCO POLO’S SHEEP--OORIAL--SHAPOO--MOUFLON--AMMON--BURHEL--AMERICAN ARGALI--WILD SHEEP OF BARBARY--THE GOAT--Compared with the Sheep--Descent--Cashmere Goat--IBEXES--PASENG--Their remarkable Horns--Old Theories as to the Use of the Horns--MARKHOOR--TAHR--GAZELLES--General Characteristics--Sir Victor Brooke’s Classification--THE GAZELLE--Appearance--Habits--ARABIAN GAZELLE--PERSIAN GAZELLE--SOEMMERRING’S GAZELLE--GRANT’S GAZELLE--SPRINGBOK--SAÏGA--CHIRU--THE PALLAH, OR IMPALLA--THE INDIAN ANTELOPE, OR BLACK BUCK 1
Chapter II
ARTIODACTYLA--RUMINANTIA:
BOVIDÆ: (continued)--ANTELOPES.
THE STEINBOKS: KLIPSPRINGER, OUREBI, STEINBOK, GRYSBOK, MADOQUA--THE BUSH-BUCKS--Appearance--Distinctive Marks--THE FOUR-HORNED ANTELOPES--Peculiarity in the Chikarah--THE WATER ANTELOPES: NAGOR, REITBOK, LECHÈ, AEQUITOON, SING-SING, WATER-BUCK, POKU, REH-BOK--THE ELAND--Beef--Appearance--Captain Cornwallis Harris’ Description--Hunting--Scarcity--THE KOODOO--Appearance--King of Antelopes--ANGAS’ HARNESSED ANTELOPE--THE HARNESSED ANTELOPES: GUIB--BUSH BUCK, OR UKOUKA--Appearance--Pluck--THE BOVINE ANTELOPES--THE BUBALINE--HARTEBEEST--BLESBOK--BONTEBOK--SASSABY--THE GNU--Grotesque Appearance--Habits--BRINDLED GNU--THE CAPRINE ANTELOPES--SEROW--Ungainly Habits--GORAL--CAMBING-OUTAN--TAKIN--MAZAMA--THE CHAMOIS--Distribution--Appearance--Voice--Hunted--THE ORYXES--BLAUBOK--SABLE ANTELOPE--BAKER’S ANTELOPE--ORYX--BEISA--BEATRIX--GEMSBOK--ADDAX 17
Chapter III
ARTIODACTYLA--RUMINANTIA:
BOVIDÆ (concluded)--OXEN, PRONGHORN ANTELOPE, MUSK [DEER], AND GIRAFFE.
THE NYL-GHAU--Description--Habits--THE MUSK OX--Difficulties in associating it--Distribution--Habits--THE OX--Chillingham Wild Cattle--Their Habits--Domestic Cattle--The Collings, Booth, and Bates Strains--American Breeding--Shorthorns, and other Breeds--Hungarian Oxen--Zebu--Gour--Gayal--Curious mode of Capturing Gayals--Banting--THE BISONS--Description--European Bison, or Aurochs--Almost extinct--Cæsar’s Description of it--American Bison--Distribution--Mythical Notions regarding it--Their Ferocity and Stupidity--“Buffalo” Flesh--THE YAK--Habits--THE BUFFALOES--Varieties--Description--Fight between two Bulls--THE ANOA--THE PRONGHORN ANTELOPE--Peculiarity as to its Horns and Skull--Professor Baird’s and Mr. Bartlett’s Independent Discovery of the Annual Shedding of the Horns--Habits--Peculiarity about its Feet--Colour--Difficulties as to its Position--THE MUSK [DEER]--Its Perfume--Where is it to be placed?--Description--Habits--Hunters for the Perfume--Their Sufferings--THE GIRAFFE--Peculiarities--Skull processes--Its Neck--Habitat--Running power--Habits--Hunting 29
Chapter IV
THE CERVIDÆ, OR ANTLERED RUMINANTS:
THE ELK, ELAPHINE, SUB-ELAPHINE, AND RUSINE DEER.
The Deer Tribe--Distinguishing Characters--Exceptions to the rule--The Musk (Deer) and Chinese Water Deer--Other Characters of the Cervidæ--Antlers, their Nature, Growth, and Shedding--The Knob--“Velvet”--Getting rid of the “Velvet”--Full equipment--Contests--Interlocking Antlers--Distribution--Classification--Development of Antlers in the Common RED DEER--Explanation of the various stages--Splendid “Heads”--Simple and Complex Antlers--Types of Antlers--THE ELK, OR MOOSE DEER--Appearance--Antlers--Habits--Hunting--THE ELAPHINE DEER--THE RED DEER--Distribution--Appearance--Hunting--THE WAPITI--Acting of the Fawns--THE PERSIAN DEER, OR MARAL--THE CASHMERIAN DEER, OR BARASINGHA--Habits and General Appearance--BARBARY DEER--SUB-ELAPHINE DEER--THE JAPANESE, FORMOSAN, AND MANTCHURIAN DEER--THE FALLOW DEER--Peculiarity of its Antlers--THE PERSIAN FALLOW DEER--THE RUSINE DEER--THE SAMBUR, OR GEROW--Habits--Species of Java, Formosa, Sumatra, Borneo, Timor, Ternate, and The Philippines--THE HOG DEER--THE AXIS DEER--PRINCE ALFRED’S DEER--THE SWAMP DEER--SCHOMBURGK’S DEER--ELD’S DEER, OR THE THAMYN--Description--Habits--Hunting--Shameful havoc 46
Chapter V
THE MUNTJACS--THE ROEBUCK--CHINESE DEER--REINDEER--AMERICAN DEER--DEERLETS--CAMEL TRIBE--LLAMAS.
THE MUNTJACS--Distribution--Characters--THE INDIAN MUNTJAC, OR KIDANG--Hunting--THE CHINESE MUNTJAC--Habits--DAVID’S MUNTJAC--“Shanyang”--THE ROEBUCK--THE CHINESE WATER DEER--Peculiarity--Chinese Superstition regarding it--THE CHINESE ELAPHURE--Peculiarity of its Antlers--THE REINDEER--Distribution--Character--Colouration--Antlers--Canadian Breeds--Food--THE AMERICAN DEER--THE VIRGINIAN DEER--THE MULE DEER--THE BLACK-TAILED DEER--THE GUAZUS--THE BROCKETS--THE VENADA, OR PUDU DEER--THE CHEVROTAINS, OR DEERLETS--Antlerless--Their Position--Bones of their Feet--General Form and Proportions--Species--THE MEMINNA, OR INDIAN DEERLET--THE JAVAN DEERLET--THE KANCHIL--THE STANLEYAN DEERLET--THE WATER DEERLET--THE CAMEL TRIBE--Their Feet--Stomach--Its Peculiarity--The Water Cells--THE (TRUE) CAMEL--Description--The Pads of Hardened Skin--Its Endurance--Its Disposition--Anecdote of its Revengeful Nature--THE BACTRIAN CAMEL--THE LLAMAS--Description--Habits--Used as Beasts of Burden--Wild and Domesticated Species--THE HUANACO--THE LLAMA--THE VICUNA--THE ALPACA--The Alpaca Industry--FOSSIL RUMINANTIA--Strata in which they are Found--Chœropotamus--Hyopotamus--Dichobune--Xiphodon --Cainotherium--Oreodon--Sivatherium--Fossil Deer, Oxen, Goats, Sheep, Camels, Llamas, Antelopes, Giraffes--The Irish Elk--Its huge Antlers--Its Skeleton--Ally--Distribution 61
ORDER RODENTIA.
Chapter I
INTRODUCTION--THE SQUIRREL, MARMOT, ANOMALURE, HAPLODONT, AND BEAVER FAMILIES.
Character of the Order--A well-defined Group--Teeth Evidence--Kinds and Number of Teeth--The Incisors: their Growth, Renewal, and Composition--The Molars--The Gnawing Process--Skeleton--Brain--Senses--Body--Insectivora and Rodentia--Food of Rodents--Classification--THE SIMPLE-TOOTHED RODENTS--Characteristics--THE SQUIRREL-LIKE RODENTS--SCIURIDÆ--Distinctive Features--THE COMMON SQUIRREL--Form--Distribution--Food--Bad Qualities--Habits--THE GREY SQUIRREL--THE FOX SQUIRREL--Flying Squirrels--Their Parachute Membrane--THE TAGUAN--Appearance--Habits--Other Species--THE POLATOUCHE--THE ASSAPAN--The Genus Xerus--THE GROUND SQUIRRELS--THE COMMON CHIPMUNK--THE MARMOTS--Distinguishing Features--THE SPERMOPHILES--THE GOPHER--THE SISEL, OR SUSLIK--THE BARKING SQUIRRELS--THE PRAIRIE DOG--Description--Species--Habits--Burrows--Fellow-inmates in their “Villages”--THE TRUE MARMOTS--THE BOBAC--THE ALPINE MARMOT--THE WOODCHUCK--THE HOARY MARMOT, OR WHISTLER--ANOMALURIDÆ--Tail Peculiarity--Distinctive Features--HAPLODONTIDÆ--Description--THE SEWELLEL--CASTORIDÆ--THE BEAVER--Skeletal Peculiarities--General Form--Appearance--Distribution--The Beavers of the Old and New World--Habits--Wonderful Sagacity--The Building Instinct--Their Method of Working--The various Stages--Their Lodges--Their Dams--Activity by Night--Flesh--Hunted--The Castoreum 81
II. THE DORMOUSE, LOPHIOMYS, RAT, AND MOUSE FAMILIES
THE MOUSE-LIKE RODENTS--MYOXIDÆ--Characteristics--THE DORMOUSE--Description--Habits--Activity--Food--Winter Condition--THE LOIR--THE GARDEN DORMOUSE--LOPHIOMYIDÆ--How the Family came to be Founded--THE LOPHIOMYS--Milne-Edwards’ Opinion--Skull--General Form--Habits--MURIDÆ--Number of Species--Characteristics--Variety of Forms--Distribution--The Murine Sub-Family--THE BROWN RAT--History--Fecundity and Ferocity--Diet--At the Horse Slaughter-houses of Montfaucon--Shipwrecked on Islands--Story of their Killing a Man in a Coal-pit--In the Sewers of Paris and London--THE BLACK RAT--THE EGYPTIAN RAT--THE COMMON MOUSE--Habits--Destructiveness--Colours--THE LONG-TAILED FIELD MOUSE--Description--Food--THE HARVEST MOUSE--Description--Habits--In Winter--Agility--Their Nest--THE BANDICOOT RAT--THE TREE RAT--THE STRIPED MOUSE--Allied Genera--THE WHITE-FOOTED HAPALOTE--The American Murines--THE WHITE-FOOTED, OR DEER MOUSE--THE GOLDEN, OR RED MOUSE--THE RICE-FIELD MOUSE--THE AMERICAN HARVEST MOUSE--THE FLORIDA RAT--Description--Their Nest--Food--Mother and Young--THE BUSHY-TAILED WOOD RAT--THE COTTON RAT--THE RABBIT-LIKE REITHRODON--THE HAMSTERS--Characteristics--Appearance--Distribution-- Burrows--Disposition--Food--Habits--THE TREE MICE--THE BLACK-STREAKED TREE MICE--THE GERBILLES--Characteristics--Habits--Other Genera--THE WATER MICE--Characteristics--Species--THE SMINTHUS--THE VOLES--Characteristics--THE WATER VOLE--Appearance--Distribution--Food--THE FIELD VOLE--THE BANK VOLE--THE SOUTHERN FIELD VOLE--THE SNOW MOUSE--THE ROOT VOLE--THE MEADOW MOUSE--THE PINE MOUSE--THE MUSQUASH, MUSK RAT, OR ONDATRA--Distinguishing Features--Habits--His House--THE LEMMING--Description--Food--Habits--Disposition--Their Extraordinary Migrations--Other Lemmings--THE ZOKOR 101
Chapter III
MOLE RATS, POUCHED RATS, POUCHED MICE, JERBOAS, AND OCTODONTIDÆ.
SPALACIDÆ, OR MOLE RATS--Characteristics of the Family--Habits--Food--THE MOLE RAT--Distribution--Description--THE CHESTNUT MOLE RAT--THE NAKED MOLE RAT--THE STRAND MOLE RAT--Description--Habits--THE CAPE MOLE RAT--GEOMYIDÆ, OR POUCHED RATS--Characteristics of the Family--The Cheek-pouches--THE COMMON POCKET GOPHER--Distribution--Description--Burrowing--Runs--Subterranean Dwelling--THE NORTHERN POCKET GOPHER--HETEROMYINÆ, OR POUCHED MICE--Difficulties as to Position--Characteristics--PHILLIPS’ POCKET MOUSE--Where Found--Description--THE YELLOW POCKET MOUSE--THE LEAST POCKET MOUSE--DIPODIDÆ, OR JERBOAS--Organisation for Jumping--Characteristics--Distribution--THE AMERICAN JUMPING MOUSE--Description--Characters peculiar to itself--Habits--THE TRUE JERBOAS--Characters--THE JERBOA--Distribution--Habits--Mode of Locomotion--THE ALACTAGA--THE CAPE JUMPING HARE--THE PORCUPINE-LIKE RODENTS--OCTODONTIDÆ--Characteristics--Sub-Family CTENODACTYLINÆ--THE GUNDI--THE DEGU--Description--Habits--THE BROWN SCHIZODON--THE TUKOTUKO--THE CURURO--THE ROCK RAT--Sub-Family, ECHINOMYINÆ--THE COYPU--One of the Largest Rodents--Description--Burrows--Habits--Mother and Young--THE HUTIA CONGA--THE HUTIA CARABALI--THE GROUND RAT 120
Chapter IV
PORCUPINES--CHINCHILLAS--AGOUTIS--CAVIES--HARES AND RABBITS--PIKAS.
HYSTRICIDÆ, THE PORCUPINES--Conversion of Hairs into Spines--Skull--Dentition--Tail--Sub-families--The True Porcupines--The Tree Porcupines--THE COMMON PORCUPINE--Distribution--Description--The Crest of Bristles--Nature of the Spines--Habits--Young--Flesh--On the Defensive--Other Species--Species of Tree Porcupines--THE COUENDOU--THE COUIY--Description--Habits--THE URSON, OR CANADA PORCUPINE--Description--Habits--Food--CHINCHILLIDÆ, THE CHINCHILLAS--Characteristics--THE VISCACHA--Description--Life on the Pampas--Their Burrows--Habits--The Chinchillas of the Andes--THE CHINCHILLA--THE SHORT-TAILED CHINCHILLA--CUVIER’S CHINCHILLA--THE PALE-FOOTED CHINCHILLA--DASYPROCTIDÆ, THE AGOUTIS--Characters--THE AGOUTI--Distribution--Appearance--Habits--AZARA’S AGOUTI--THE ACOUCHY--THE PACA--Appearance--Distribution--Habits--DINOMYIDÆ--Founded for a Single Species--Description--Rarity--CAVIIDÆ, THE CAVIES--Characteristics--THE RESTLESS CAVY--Appearance--Habits--The Guinea-Pig Controversy--THE BOLIVIAN CAVY--THE ROCK CAVY--THE SOUTHERN CAVY--THE PATAGONIAN CAVY, OR MARA--Peculiar Features--Its Burrows--Mode of Running--THE CAPYBARA--Its Teeth--Where Found--Habits--THE DOUBLE-TOOTHED RODENTS--Characteristics--LEPORIDÆ, THE HARES AND RABBITS--Structural Peculiarities--Distribution--Disposition--THE COMMON HARE--Hind Legs--Speed--Its “Doubles”--Other Artifices--Its “Form”--Habits--Food--Pet Hares--THE RABBIT--Distribution--Habits--Domesticated--THE MOUNTAIN HARE--LAGOMYIDÆ, THE PIKAS--Characteristics--Distribution--THE ALPINE PIKA--THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN PIKA 133
V. FOSSIL RODENTIA
Families of Rodents represented by Fossil Remains--State of the “Record of the Rocks”--THE SCIURIDÆ--Sciurine Genera now Extinct--No Fossil ANOMALURIDÆ and HAPLODONTIDÆ--ISCHYROMYIDÆ--_Pseudotomus hians_--Gymnoptychus--CASTORIDÆ--Mr. Allen’s CASTOROIDIDÆ--THE MYOXIDÆ--No Fossil LOPHIOMYIDÆ--THE MURIDÆ--THE SPALACIDÆ--THE GEOMYIDÆ--THE DIPODIDÆ--THE THERIDOMYIDÆ--THE OCTODONTIDÆ--THE HYSTRICIDÆ--THE CHINCHILLIDÆ--THE DASYPROCTIDÆ--THE CAVIIDÆ--THE LEPORIDÆ--THE LAGOMYIDÆ--Mesotherium cristatum--Difficulties concerning it--Mr. Alston’s Suggestion--THE HEBETIDENTATA--Teeth--Skull--Skeleton--Conclusions regarding it--Table of Rodent Families--Concluding Remarks 151
ORDER EDENTATA, OR BRUTA (ANIMALS WITHOUT FRONT TEETH).
I. SLOTHS
The South American Forests--Discovery of the Sloth--How it derived its Name--Peculiarities of Dentition--Food--Fore Limbs and Fingers--Hind Limbs and Heel--Other Modifications of Structure--Kinds of Sloth--Waterton’s Captive Sloth--Habits of the Animal--Burchell’s Tame Sloths--Manner of Climbing Trees--Disposition--Activity among Trees--Naturalists’ Debate about Anatomy--Probable Conclusion regarding it--Skeleton--Vertebræ--the Rudimentary Tail--Most Distinctive Skeletal Characters--Arm, Wrist, Hand, Fingers, Claws--Mode of Walking--Great Utility of the Claws--Face of Sloth--Skull--Teeth--Classification--TARDIGRADA--BRADIPODIDÆ--Genus BRADYPUS--Characteristics--Genus ARCTOPITHECUS--Characteristics--CHOLŒPODIDÆ--THE COLLARED SLOTH--Description--Skull Bones--Habits--Circulation of the Blood--Rete Mirabile--THE AI--THE UNAU--Appearance--Skull and Teeth--Skeleton--Interesting Anatomical Features--Stomach--HOFFMANN’S SLOTH--Description--Habits 158
II. THE ANT-EATERS
THE CAPE ANT-EATER--The Cage at “the Zoo”--Appearance of the Animal--Its Prey--The Ant-hills-How the Orycteropus obtains its Food--Place in the Order--Teeth--Skull--Tongue--Interesting Questions concerning the Ant-eater--THE PANGOLINS, OR SCALY ANT-EATERS--THE AFRICAN SCALY ANT-EATERS--Differences between the Pangolins and Cape Ant-eaters--Their Habitat--Description--TEMMINCK’S PANGOLIN--Habits--Food--How it Feeds--Superstitious Regard for it shown by the Natives--Scarcity--Appearance--THE LONG-TAILED, OR FOUR-FINGERED PANGOLIN--THE GREAT MANIS--THE ASIATIC SCALY ANT-EATERS--THE SHORT-TAILED, OR FIVE-FINGERED PANGOLIN--The Species of Manis--Skull--Stomach--Claws fitted for Digging--Other Skeletal Peculiarities--THE AMERICAN ANT-EATERS--General Appearance--Genera--THE GREAT ANT-BEAR--Habits--Diet--How it Procures its Food--Distribution--Mode and Rate of Locomotion--Stupidity--Manner of Assault and Defence--Stories of its Contests with other Animals--Appearance--THE TAMANDUA--Description--Where Found--Habits--Odour--THE TWO-TOED ANT-EATER--Appearance--Two-clawed Hand--Habits--Von Sach’s Account of his Specimen 169
III. THE ARMADILLO FAMILY
The Armour-plates--How the Shields are formed--Their connection with the Body--Description of the Animals--Mode of Walking--Diet--Skeleton--Adaptation of their Limbs for Burrowing--Classification--THE GREAT ARMADILLO--Appearance--Great Burrower--THE TATOUAY--THE POYOU, OR YELLOW-FOOTED ARMADILLO--THE PELUDO, OR HAIRY ARMADILLO--THE PICHIY--THE PEBA, OR BLACK TATOU--THE MULE ARMADILLO--THE BALL ARMADILLO--Dr. Murie’s Account of its Habits--Description--The Muscles by which it Rolls itself up and Unrolls itself--THE PICHICIAGO--Concluding Remarks: Classification of the Order, Fossil Edentates, the Allied Species of Manis in South Africa and Hindostan 181
ORDER MARSUPIALIA, MARSUPIAL OR POUCHED ANIMALS.
SUB-ORDER MARSUPIATA.
I. THE KANGAROO AND WOMBAT FAMILIES
THE GREAT KANGAROO--Captain Cook and the Great Kangaroo--Habitat--Appearance of the Animal--Marsupials separated from the other Mammalian Orders, and why (Footnote)--Gestation and Birth of Young (Footnote)--Mode of Running--The Short Fore Limbs--The Marsupium, or Pouch--Head--Dentition--Peculiarities in the Teeth--Hind Extremities--Foot--Great Claw--How the Erect Position is maintained--Whence their Jumping Power is derived--Other Skeletal Peculiarities--Kangaroo Hunts--Becoming Rarer--Mode of Attack and Defence--Hands--Bones of the Fore Limbs--Skull--Stomach--Circulation of Blood--Peculiarity in Young--Nervous System not fully developed--Brain--The Baby Kangaroo in the Pouch--THE HARE KANGAROO--THE GREAT ROCK KANGAROO--THE RED KANGAROO--THE BRUSH KANGAROO--THE BRUSH-TAILED ROCK KANGAROO--THE COMMON TREE KANGAROO--THE KANGAROO-RATS--Characteristics--THE RAT-TAILED HYPSIPRYMNUS--Description--THE WOMBAT FAMILY--THE WOMBAT--Peculiarities--Description--Habits--Teeth--Skeleton 191
II. THE PHALANGER, POUCHED BADGER, AND DASYURE FAMILIES
THE PHALANGER FAMILY--THE KOALA--Habits--Characteristics--THE CUSCUS--THE VULPINE PHALANGER--THE DORMOUSE PHALANGER--Habits--Remarkable Characters--THE FLYING PHALANGERS--Its Flying Machine--Habits--THE SQUIRREL FLYING PHALANGERS--Habits--The Parachute-like Membrane--Exciting Scene on board a Vessel--Characteristics--THE OPOSSUM MOUSE--THE NOOLBENGER, OR TAIT--A Curiosity among Marsupials--Distinctive Features--THE POUCHED BADGER FAMILY--Characteristics--THE RABBIT-EARED PERAMELES--THE BANDICOOT--THE BANDED PERAMELES--THE PIG-FOOTED PERAMELES--Discussion regarding it--Characteristics--THE DASYURUS FAMILY--Characteristics--THE POUCHED ANT-EATERS--THE BANDED MYRMECOBIUS--Description--Great number of Teeth--History--Food--Habits--Range--THE URSINE DASYURE--Appearance--“Native Devil”--Ferocity--Havoc among the Sheep of the Settlers--Trap to Catch them--Its Teeth--A True Marsupial, though strikingly like the Carnivora--Skeletal Characters peculiar to itself--MAUGE’S DASYURE--THE DOG-HEADED THYLACINUS--Description--Resemblance to the Dog--Habits--Peculiarities--THE BRUSH-TAILED PHASCOGALE--Description--Other Varieties 203
III. THE OPOSSUMS
Prehistoric Opossums--Description of the Animal--Their Teeth--Habits--THE COMMON OPOSSUM--Appearance--Use of its Tail--Food--The Young--How they are Reared--D’AZARA’S OPOSSUM--THE CRAB-EATING OPOSSUM--THE THICK-TAILED OPOSSUM--MERIAN’S OPOSSUM--Pouchless Opossums--Their Young--THE MURINA OPOSSUM--THE ELEGANT OPOSSUM--THE YAPOCK--Classification of Marsupial Animals--Geographical Distribution of the Sub-Order--Ancestry of the Marsupials--Fossil Remains 219
SUB-ORDER--MONOTREMATA.
Chapter IV
THE PORCUPINE OR LONG-SPINED ECHIDNA AND DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS.
Why the Monotremata are formed into a Sub-order--The lowest of the Mammalian Class--THE PORCUPINE OR LONG-SPINED ECHIDNA--An Ant-eater, but not an Edentate--Its Correct Name--Description of the Animal--Habits and Disposition--Manner of Using the Tongue--Where it is Found--Anatomical Features: Skull, Brain, Marsupial Bones--The Young--Species of Van Diemen’s Land and New Guinea--THE WATER-MOLE, OR DUCK-BILLED PLATYPUS--The most Bird-like Mammal--Various Names--Description--Their Appearance and Movements in Water--Their Burrows--Habits of an Individual kept in Confinement--Used by Natives as Food--How they are Captured--The Young--A Family in Captivity--The Snout--Jaws--Teeth--Tongue--Fore and Hind Feet--Heel--Spur--The Shoulder Girdle--Breastbone--Concluding Remarks on the Sub-orders--Postscript 227
THE CLASS AVES.--THE BIRDS.
I. INTRODUCTION--WING STRUCTURE AND FEATHERS--DISTRIBUTION
Introduction--Distinctive Characters of the Class Aves--Power of Flight--The Wing--Its Structure--The Six Zoo-geographical Regions of the Earth--Birds peculiar to these Regions 235
II. THE ANATOMY OF A BIRD
The Three Divisions of the Class Aves--ANATOMY OF A BIRD--The Skeleton--Distinctive Features--Peculiar Bone Character--The Skull--Difference between the Skull of Birds and that of Mammals--The Jawbones--Vertebral Column--Sternum--Fore-limbs--Hind-limbs--Toes--The Muscular System--How a Bird remains Fixed when Asleep--The Oil-gland--The Nervous System--The Brain--The Eye--The Ear--The Digestive System--The Dental papillæ--The Beak--Tongue--Gullet--Crop--Stomach--Uses of the Gizzard--Intestine--The Liver, Pancreas, and Spleen--The Blood and Circulatory System--Temperature of Blood of a Bird--Blood Corpuscles--The Heart--The Respiratory System--Lungs--Air-sacs--The Organs of Voice--The Egg--Classification of the Class Aves 239
III. DIVISION I.--THE CARINATE BIRDS (CARINATÆ)
THE ACCIPITRINE ORDER--BIRDS OF PREY.
VULTURES AND CARACARAS.
The Birds of Prey--Distinctive Characters--The Cere--How the Birds of Prey are Divided--Difference between a Hawk, an Owl, and an Osprey--The Three Sub-orders of the Accipitres--Sub-order FALCONES--Difference between the Vultures of the Old World and the Vultures of the New World--THE OLD WORLD VULTURES--Controversy as to how the Vultures reach their Prey--Waterton on the Faculty of Scent--Mr Andersson’s, Dr. Kirk’s, and Canon Tristram’s Views in Favour of Sight--THE BLACK VULTURE--THE GRIFFON VULTURE--Its Capacity for Feeding while on the Wing--THE EARED VULTURE--One of the Largest of the Birds of Prey--Whence it gets its Name--THE EGYPTIAN VULTURE--A Foul Feeder--THE NEW WORLD VULTURES--THE CONDOR--Its Appearance--Power of Flight--Habits--THE KING VULTURE--THE TURKEY VULTURE--THE CARACARAS--Distinctive Characters--Habits--THE SECRETARY BIRD--How it Attacks Snakes--Habits--Appearance--THE ÇARIAMA 254
IV. THE LONG-LEGGED HAWKS AND BUZZARDS
THE BANDED GYMNOGENE--Habits--Its Movable Tarsi--THE HARRIERS--Distinctive Features--THE MARSH HARRIER--Habits--Its Thievish Propensities--THE HARRIER-HAWKS--Colonel Greyson’s Account of their Habits--THE CHANTING GOSHAWKS--Why so Called--Habits--THE TRUE GOSHAWKS--Distinctive Characters--THE GOSHAWK--Distribution--In Pursuit of its Prey--Appearance--THE SPARROW-HAWKS--Distinctive Characters--THE COMMON SPARROW-HAWK--Habits--Appearance--THE BUZZARDS--Their Tarsus--THE COMMON BUZZARD--Where Found--How it might be turned to Account--Food--Its Migrations--Habits--Appearance--THE HARPY 267
V. EAGLES AND FALCONS
THE EAGLES--THE BEARDED EAGLE, OR LÄMMERGEIER--A Visit to their Nest--Habits--A Little Girl carried off Alive--Habits in Greece--Appearance--Von Tschudi’s and Captain Hutton’s Descriptions of its Attacks--THE TRUE EAGLES--THE WEDGE-TAILED EAGLE--Eye--Crystalline Lens--How Eagles may be Divided--THE IMPERIAL EAGLE--THE GOLDEN EAGLE--In Great Britain--Macgillivray’s Description of its Habits--Appearance--THE KITE EAGLE--Its Peculiar Feet--Its Bird’s-nesting Habits--THE COMMON HARRIER EAGLE--THE INDIAN SERPENT EAGLE--THE BATELEUR EAGLE--THE WHITE-TAILED EAGLE--A Sea Eagle--Story of Capture of some Young--THE SWALLOW-TAILED KITE--On the Wing--THE COMMON KITE--THE EUROPEAN HONEY KITE--Habits--ANDERSSON’S PERN--THE FALCONS--The Bill--THE CUCKOO FALCONS--THE FALCONETS--THE PEREGRINE FALCON--Its Wonderful Distribution--Falconry--Names for Male, Female, and Young--Hawks and Herons--THE GREENLAND JER-FALCON--THE KESTRELS--THE COMMON KESTREL--Its Habits and Disposition 277
VI. THE OSPREYS AND OWLS
THE OSPREY--Distribution--Food--How it Seizes its Prey--Nesting Communities--STRIGES, or OWLS--Distinctions between Hawks and Owls--Owls in Bird-lore and Superstition--Families of the Sub-order--THE FISH OWL--PEL’S FISH OWL--THE EAGLE OWL--Dr. Brehm’s Description of its Appearance and Habits--THE SNOWY OWL--HAWK OWLS--PIGMY OWLETS--THE SHORT-EARED OWL--THE LONG-EARED OWL--THE BARN OWL--The Farmer’s Friend--Peculiar Characters--Distribution 296
THE SECOND ORDER.--PICARIAN BIRDS.
VII. THE PARROTS
Characteristics of the Order--The Sub-orders--ZYGODACTYLÆ--THE PARROTS--Their Talking Powers--Sections of the Family--THE GREAT PALM COCKATOO--THE PYGMY PARROTS--THE AMAZON PARROTS--THE AMAZONS--THE GREY PARROT--Court Favourites--Historical Specimens--In a State of Nature--Mr. Keulemans’ Observations--THE CONURES--THE ROSE-RINGED PARRAKEET--Known to the Ancients--Habitat--Habits--THE CAROLINA CONURE--Destructive Propensities--THE PARRAKEETS--THE OWL PARROT--Chiefly Nocturnal--Incapable of Flight--How this Fact may be accounted for--Dr. Haast’s Account of its Habits--THE STRAIGHT-BILLED PARROTS--THE BRUSH-TONGUED PARROTS--THE NESTORS--THE KAKA PARROT--Skull of a Parrot--The Bill 308
THE SECOND ORDER.--PICARIAN BIRDS. SUB-ORDER I.--ZYGODACTYLÆ.
Chapter VIII
CUCKOOS--HONEY GUIDES--PLANTAIN-EATERS--WOODPECKERS--TOUCANS--BARBETS.
THE CUCKOOS--THE BUSH CUCKOOS--THE LARK-HEELED CUCKOOS, OR COUCALS--THE COMMON CUCKOO--Its Characteristics--Mrs. Blackburn’s Account of a Young Cuckoo Ejecting a Tenant--Breeding Habits--The Eggs--The Call-notes of Male and Female--Food--Its Winter Home--Its Appearance and Plumage--THE HONEY GUIDES--Kirk’s Account of their Habits--Mrs. Barber’s Refutation of a Calumny against the Bird--THE PLANTAIN-EATERS--THE WHITE-CRESTED PLANTAIN-EATER--THE GREY PLANTAIN-EATER--THE COLIES--THE WHITE-BACKED COLY--THE WOODPECKERS--How they Climb and Descend Trees--Their Bill--Do they Damage Sound Trees?--THE WRYNECKS--THE YAFFLE--THE RED-HEADED WOODPECKER--THE SPOTTED WOODPECKER--THE TOUCANS--Mr. Gould’s Account of their Habits--Mr. Waterton’s Account--The Enormous Bill--Azara’s Description of the Bird--Mr. Bates’ History of a Tame Toucan--THE BARBETS--Messrs. Marshall’s Account of the Family--Mr. Layard on their Habits 323
THE SECOND ORDER.--PICARIAN BIRDS. SUB-ORDER II.--FISSIROSTRES.
Chapter IX
THE JACAMARS, PUFF BIRDS, KINGFISHERS, HORNBILLS, AND HOOPOES.
THE JACAMARS--THE PUFF BIRDS--THE KINGFISHERS--Characters--THE COMMON KINGFISHER--Distribution--Its Cry--Habits--After its Prey--Its own Nest-builder--Mr. Rowley’s Note on the Subject--Nest in the British Museum--Superstitions concerning the Kingfisher--Colour--Various Species--CRESTED KINGFISHER--PIED KINGFISHER--Dr. Von Heuglin’s Account of its Habits--New World Representatives--OMNIVOROUS KINGFISHERS--THE AUSTRALIAN CINNAMON-BREASTED KINGFISHER--Macgillivray’s Account of its Habits--THE LAUGHING JACKASS of Australia--Its Discordant Laugh--The “Bushman’s Clock”--Colour--Habits--THE HORNBILLS--Character--Their Heavy Flight--Noise produced when on the Wing--Food--Extraordinary Habit of Imprisoning the Female--Native Testimony--Exception--Fed by the Male Bird--Dr. Livingstone’s Observations on the point, and Mr. Bartlett’s Remarks--Strange Gizzard Sacs--Dr. Murie’s Remarks--Mr. Wallace’s Description of the Habits of the Hornbills--Capture of a Young One in Sumatra--THE GROUND HORNBILLS--South African Species--Kaffir Superstition regarding it--Habits--Mr. Ayres’ Account of the Natal Species--How it Kills Snakes--The Call--Habits--Mr. Monteiro’s Description of the Angola Form--Turkey-like Manner--Wariness--Food--THE HOOPOES--Appearance--Distribution--THE COMMON HOOPOE--Habits--The Name--How does it produce its Note?--THE WOOD HOOPOES--Habits 343
Chapter X
THE BEE-EATERS--MOTMOTS--ROLLERS--TROGONS--NIGHTJARS, OR GOATSUCKERS--SWIFTS--HUMMING-BIRDS.
THE BEE-EATERS--Their Brilliant Plumage--Colonel Irby’s Account of the Bird in Spain--Shot for Fashion’s sake--THE MOTMOTS--Appearance--Mr. Waterton on the Houtou--Curious Habit of Trimming its Tail--Mr. O. Salvin’s Observations on this point--Mr. Bartlett’s Evidence--THE ROLLERS--Why so called--Canon Tristram’s Account of their Habits--Colour--Other Species--THE TROGONS--Where found--Peculiar Foot--Tender Skin--Inability to Climb--Their Food--THE LONG-TAILED TROGON, OR QUESAL--Mr. Salvin’s Account of its Habits--Its Magnificent Colour--How they are Hunted--THE NIGHTJARS, OR GOATSUCKERS--Appearance--Distribution--The Guacharo, or Oil Bird--“Frog-mouths”--Mr. Gould’s Account of the Habits of the Tawny-shouldered Podargus--How it Builds its Nest--Mr. Waterton’s Vindication of the Goatsucker--What Services the Bird does really render Cattle, Goats, and Sheep--Its Cry--THE COMMON GOATSUCKER--THE SWIFTS--THE COMMON SWIFT--Migration--Their Home in the Air--When they Breed--Nest--TREE SWIFTS--The Edible-Nest Swiftlets--Mr. E. L. Layard’s Visit to the Cave of the Indian Swiftlet--THE HUMMING BIRDS--Number of Species--Distribution--Professor Newton’s Description of the Bird--Mr. Wallace on their Habits--Wilson on the North American Species 360
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
PAGE
The Chamois Frontispiece.
The Water Deerlet, or Chevrotain 1
Stomach of a Ruminating Animal: exterior and interior 2
Brain of a Sheep 3
Merino Sheep 5
The Ammon 8
The Ammon 9
The Barbary Wild Sheep 10
The Ibex 11
The Markhoor 12
The Dorcas Gazelle 14
The Saïga 15
The Indian Antelope 16
Head of Female Bush-buck 18
The Water-buck 19
The Eland 20
The Koodoo 22
The Bubaline Antelope 24
The Gnu 25
The Goral 26
Head of the Chamois 27
The Oryx 28
The Nyl-ghau 30
Musk Oxen 31
Chillingham Cattle 32
The Hungarian Bull 33
The European Bison 36
The American Bison 37
The Yak 38
The Anoa 39
Skull of the Pronghorn Antelope 40
The Pronghorn Antelope 41
Skull of the Musk [Deer] 42
The Musk [Deer] 43
Skeleton of the Giraffe 44
Giraffes 45
Head of Red Deer, in which the growing Antlers are seen covered with “velvet” 46
Head of Red Deer, in which the Antler is fully developed and the “velvet” has disappeared 47
Various Types of Antlers 49
Elk Hunt 50
Young Elk 51
The Red Deer 53
Red Deer and Fallow Deer in Winter 54
Red Deer Fighting 55
The Fallow Deer 56
The Sambur Deer 57
The Borneo Rusine Deer 58
The Axis Deer To face page 59
Schomburgk’s Deer 60
The Indian Muntjac 62
The Roebuck: Male, Female, and Young 63
The Chinese Water Deer 64
The Chinese Elaphure 65
Reindeer at a Lapp Encampment 66
The Reindeer 67
The Guazuti Deer 69
The Javan Deerlet 70
The Stanleyan Deerlet--Foot of Camel 71
Stomach of the Llama--Water Cells of the Camel 72
Head of the (true) Camel 73
The (true) Camel 74
The Bactrian Camel 75
Huanaco attacked by a Puma 76
The Alpaca To face page 77
The Llama 77
Skeleton of the Irish Elk 79
The Irish Elk (Restored) 80
The Prairie Dog 81
Skull of the Taguan, a Flying Squirrel--Dentition of the Hare 82
Skeleton of the Rabbit 83
Brain of Beaver, from above and in profile 84
Teeth of the Taguan 85
The Common Squirrel 86
The Black Fox Squirrel 88
The Taguan 89
The Polatouche 90
The Common Chipmunk 91
Molar Teeth of the Marmot--The Striped Spermophile, or Gopher 92
Burrows of the Prairie Dog 93
The Alpine Marmot 95
The Fulgent Anomalure--Molar Teeth of the Anomalure 96
Molar Teeth of the Beaver 97
The Beaver 98
Molar Teeth of the Dormouse--The Dormouse 102
The Garden Dormouse 103
Skull of Lophiomys--The Lophiomys 104
Molar Teeth of the Black Rat 105
The Brown Rat 106
The Black Rat 107
Harvest Mice 109
Molar Teeth of the Hapalote 111
Head of the Rabbit-like Reithrodon 112
Hamster To face page 113
Molar Teeth of the Hamster 113
Molar Teeth of the Gerbille--Skull of the Water Mouse--Teeth of Sminthus 114
Molar Teeth of the Water Rat 115
The Southern Field Vole 116
The Musquash 118
The Lemming 119
Skull of Mole-Rat--The Mole-Rat 121
Molar Teeth of the Mexican Pouched Rat--Under Surface of the Head of Heteromys 122
Skull of the Mexican Pouched Rat 123
Skull of the Cape Jumping Hare 124
The American Jumping Mouse--Molar Teeth of the Jerboa 125
The Jerboa 126
The Alactaga--Molar Teeth of the Jumping Hare 127
The Cape Jumping Hare 128
The Degu 129
Dentition of the Rock Rat--Teeth of the Spiny Rat 130
The Coypu 131
The Hutia Conga--Teeth of Plagiodon--Molar Teeth of Loncheres 132
Skull of Loncheres 133
Skull of the Porcupine--The Common Porcupine 134
The Tree Porcupine 136
Mexican Tree Porcupines 137
Viscachas To face page 139
Molar Teeth of the Chinchilla--The Chinchilla 139
Molar Teeth of the Agouti--Azara’s Agouti 140
Skull of the Paca--The Paca 141
The Dinomys 142
The Patagonian Cavy 144
Molars of the Capybara 145
The Capybara 146
The Common Hare 148
The Alpine Pika 150
Side View of Skull and Lower Jaw of Mesotherium Cristatum--Dentition of Mesotherium Cristatum 155
Group of Sloths 158
Skeleton of the Sloth 161
Bones of Hand of Three-toed Sloth 162
Skull of Sloth 163
The Collared Sloth 164
The Ai 165
Skull of Ai 166
Stomach of Sloth 167
Hoffmann’s Sloth 168
The Cape Ant-eater 170
Skull of the Cape Ant-eater 171
Temminck’s Pangolin 172
The Four-fingered Pangolin 173
The Five-fingered Pangolin 175
The Great Ant-Bear 177
The Two-toed Ant-eater 180
Bones of Claw of Great Armadillo 181
Skeleton of the Armadillo--Skull of the Armadillo 182
The Great Armadillo--Brain of the Armadillo 183
The Poyou 185
The Ball Armadillo 188
The Pichiciago 189
The Great Kangaroo To face page 191
Skeleton of the Great Kangaroo 192
Teeth of the Great Kangaroo 193
Stomach of the Great Kangaroo 195
Brain of the Great Kangaroo 196
The Brush-tailed Rock Kangaroo 197
The Common Tree Kangaroo 198
The Kangaroo Rat--Teeth of the Kangaroo Rat 199
Fore and Hind Foot of Hypsiprymnus 200
Skeleton of the Wombat 201
The Wombat--Lower Jaw of the Wombat 202
Teeth of the Wombat 203
The Koala 204
The Cuscus 205
The Vulpine Phalanger 206
The Squirrel Flying Phalanger 208
The Banded Perameles 210
The Dasyure 213
Teeth of the Dasyure--Brain of the Dasyure 214
Upper and Under View of Skull of Dasyure 215
The Dog-headed Thylacinus 216
Skeleton of the Dog-headed Thylacinus 217
The Brush-tailed Phascogale--The Antechinus 218
Opossum and Young To face page 219
Teeth of the Opossum 219
Skeleton of the Crab-eating Opossum 220
The Crab-eating Opossum 221
Merian’s Opossum 222
The Yapock 223
Pelvic Arch of the Echidna 227
The Porcupine Echidna 228
Mouth and Nose-snout of Echidna 229
Jaws of the Duck-billed Platypus 231
Fore and Hind Foot of the Duck-billed Platypus--Shoulder-girdle and Sternum of the Echidna 232
The Duck-billed Platypus 233
The Imperial Eagle 235
Bones of Wing of Bird--Feathers of Wing of Bird 237
Parts of a Feather 238
Skeleton of Eagle 241
Skull of Young Ostrich from above and from below 242
Sternum of Fregilupus varius--Pelvis of an Adult Fowl, side view 243
Section of the Eye of the Common Buzzard 246
Digestive Organs of the Kingfisher 248
Front View and Section of Inferior Larynx of Peregrine Falcon 251
Diagrammatic Section of a Fowl’s Egg 252
Head and Bill of Sea Eagle 255
Bill of Egyptian Vulture, to show form of Nostril--Bill of Turkey Vulture, to show the perforated Nostril 256
The Griffon Vulture 259
The Egyptian Vulture 261
The Condor 262
The Brazilian Caracara 264
The Secretary Bird 266
The Marsh Harrier 269
The Goshawk 272
The Sparrow-Hawk 273
Hind View of Tarsus of Buzzard, showing the plated arrangement of Scales--Hind View of Tarsus of Serpent Eagle, showing the reticulated arrangement of Scales 274
The Common Buzzard 275
The Harpy 276
The Bearded Eagle, or Lämmergeier 279
Eye of Eagle, showing Crystalline Lens 280
The Golden Eagle 282
The Bateleur Eagle 285
The White-tailed Eagle 287
The Common Kite 289
The Peregrine Falcon 292
A Hooded Falcon--Falcon’s Hood 293
The Common Kestrel 295
The Osprey 296
Skull of Tengmalm’s Owl 297
The Little Owl 298
The Eagle Owl To face page 301
The Snowy Owl 303
The Short-eared Owl 304
Face of the Barn Owl 305
Breast-bone of the Barn Owl 307
Cockatoos To face page 309
The Amazon Parrot 311
Great Macaws To face page 313
The Grey Parrot 313
The Rose-ringed Parrakeet 314
The Rosella 316
The Owl Parrot 317
The Lorikeet 319
Tongue of Nestor 320
The Kaka Parrot 321
Skull of the Grey Parrot 323
The Common Cuckoo 326
The Great Spotted Cuckoo 328
The Honey Guide 329
The White-crested Plantain-eater 331
Colies 333
“Hyoid” Bone of Adult Fowl--Side View of Dissection of Head of Common Green Woodpecker 334
Upper View of Skull of Green Woodpecker--Dissection of Head of Green Woodpecker, viewed from below 335
The Wryneck 336
The Great Black Woodpecker and Great Spotted Woodpecker To face page 337
The Green Woodpecker 337
The Toucan 340
Bill of Toucan 341
The Pearl-spotted Barbet 342
The Common Kingfisher 345
The Pied Kingfisher 348
The Laughing Jackass 350
The Great Hornbill 352
The Ground Hornbills of Abyssinia 355
The Common Hoopoe 358
The Australian Bee-eater--Bill of Motmot 361
The Motmot 362
Tail-feathers of Motmot 363
The Blue Roller 365
The Long-tailed Trogon, or Quesal To face page 367
Mouth of Goatsucker--The Oil-bird 368
The Common Goatsucker 369
The Whip-poor-will 370
The Lyre-tailed Nightjar 371
Foot of the Common Goatsucker 372
The Common Swift 373
The Tree Swift 374
The Edible-nest Swiftlets 375
The White-throated Spine-tailed Swift 376
The Sword-bill Humming Bird 377
The White-booted Racket Tail 378
The Common Topaz Humming Bird 379
The Crested Humming Bird 380
CASSELL’S NATURAL HISTORY.
Chapter I
ARTIODACTYLA--RUMINANTIA: BOVIDÆ--SHEEP, GOATS, AND GAZELLES.
Ruminantia--Chewing the Cud--Metaphorical Expression--The Complicated Stomach: Paunch, Honey-comb Bag, Manyplies, Reed--Order of Events in Rumination--Feet and Dentition of Ruminants--Brain--Classification--HORNED RUMINANTS--Divided into two Groups--Difference between them--BOVIDÆ--Horns--Aberrant Members--SHEEP AND GOATS--General Characteristics--Sheep of South-Western Asia--Merino Sheep--Breeds of Great Britain--Dishley, or Improved Leicesters--Mr. Bakewell’s Description--Southdowns, Cheviots, Welsh, and other British Breeds--Table of the Importation of Colonial and Foreign Wool into the United Kingdom--MARCO POLO’S SHEEP--OORIAL--SHAPOO--MOUFLON--AMMON--BURHEL--AMERICAN ARGALI--WILD SHEEP OF BARBARY--THE GOAT--Compared with the Sheep--Descent--Cashmere Goat--IBEXES--PASENG--Their remarkable Horns--Old Theories as to the Use of the Horns--MARKHOOR--TAHR--GAZELLES--General Characteristics--Sir Victor Brooke’s Classification--THE GAZELLE--Appearance--Habits--ARABIAN GAZELLE--PERSIAN GAZELLE--SOEMMERRING’S GAZELLE--GRANT’S GAZELLE--SPRINGBOK--SAÏGA--CHIRU--THE PALLAH, OR IMPALLA--THE INDIAN ANTELOPE, OR BLACK BUCK.
The Swine, together with those animals which most nearly approach them, namely, the Peccaries and Hippopotami, form but a small division of the cloven-hoofed order of the Mammalian animals; by far the greater number of the species of the Artiodactyla being included in a group known familiarly as that of the Ruminantia, because, as part of the digestive process, they chew the cud.
This chewing the cud is a phenomenon restricted to the group of animals now under consideration, although it may be mentioned that some naturalists have thought that the Kangaroos among the Marsupials do the same to a certain extent.
As to the details of the process, the individual, a Cow, for instance, whilst grazing, nips off the grass between the large cutting teeth in the front of the lower jaw, and the tough pad which replaces in these creatures the similarly situated teeth of the upper jaw. After each mouthful it does not proceed to masticate the food, but swallows it forthwith, and continues thus to graze until it has satisfied its appetite. Seeking a quiet and shaded spot, it then seats itself that it may ruminate, or chew the cud, at leisure. If watched it will be seen that it commences shortly to perform a slight hiccough action, in which some contraction of the flanks is to be noticed. Its mouth, which was previously empty, is found to be full of what it is not difficult to recognise to be coarsely-masticated grass, which has been forced up into it; and this it immediately proceeds to chew between its back or grinding teeth, in a slow and continuous manner, moving its lower jaw uniformly from one side to the other--from right to left. When this chewing process has lasted for a time sufficient to convert the food into a pulpy state, it is again swallowed, after which another bolus is brought up to undergo a similar operation. And this is repeated at frequent intervals until most of the food swallowed has been masticated.
A complicated stomach is necessary for the operation of this elaborate chewing process, the undisturbed duration of which has led to the word by which it is designated being applied metaphorically to a brooding condition of mind. Thus the poet of the “Night Thoughts” says:--
“As when the traveller, a long day past In painful search of what he cannot find, At night’s approach, content with the next cot, There ruminates awhile his labour lost.”
This complicated stomach is not identical in all the Ruminantia. In the Camels and the Llamas it presents many points of difference from that of all the other members of the group, and in the Chevrotains it has slight peculiarities of its own.
This organ, as found in the Ox--and it is almost identically the same in the Giraffes, the Antelopes, the Sheep, and Deer--is seen to be divided into four well-defined compartments, as represented in the accompanying figures. These are known as--
1. The Rumen, or Paunch (b). 2. The Reticulum, or Honey-comb Bag (c). 3. The Psalterium, or Manyplies (d). 4. The Abomasum, or Reed (e).
The paunch (b) is a very capacious receptacle, shaped like a blunted cone bent partly upon itself. Into its broader base opens the œsophagus, or gullet (a), at a spot not far removed from its wide orifice of communication with the second stomach, or honey-comb bag (c). Its inner walls are nearly uniformly covered with a pale skin (known as mucous membrane), which is beset with innumerable close-set, short, and slender processes (known as villi), resembling very much the “pile” on velvet. It is this organ, together with its villi, which constitutes the well-known article of food termed “tripe.”
The honey-comb bag (c) is very much smaller than the paunch. It is nearly globose in shape, and receives its name on account of the peculiar arrangement of the ridges on the mucous membrane which lines it, these being distributed so as to form shallow hexagonal cells all over its inner surface, as seen in the figure on the previous page.
It is situated to the right of the paunch, with which, as well as with the manyplies (d), it communicates. Running along its upper wall there is a deep groove coursing from the first to the third stomach. This groove plays an important part in the mechanism of rumination; its nature must therefore be fully understood.
Its walls are muscular, like those of the viscus with which it is associated, which allows its calibre to be altered. Sometimes it completely closes round so as to become converted into a tube by the apposition of its edges. At others it forms an open canal.
The manyplies (d) is a very peculiar organ. It is globular, but most of its interior is filled up with folds, or laminæ, running between its orifices of communication with the second and fourth stomachs. These folds are arranged very much like the leaves of a book, and very close together. They are, however, not of equal depth, but form series of greater or less breadth. Their surfaces are roughened by the presence of small projections or papillæ.
The reed (e) is the stomach proper, corresponding with the same organ in man. Its shape is somewhat conical. The valve which partially obstructs its communication with the intestine is at the left of the foregoing figure. Its walls are formed of a smooth mucous membrane, which secretes gastric juice, and it is this stomach that, in the manufacture of cheese, is employed to curdle the milk.
Whilst grazing, the possessor of this complicated stomach fills its paunch with the imperfectly masticated food, and it is not until it commences to chew the cud that any of the other parts are brought into play.
In the act of rumination, the following is the probable order of events:--The paunch contracts, and in so doing forces some of the food into the honey-comb bag, where it is formed into a bolus by the movement of its walls, and then forced into the gullet, from which, by a reverse action, it reaches the mouth, where it is chewed and mixed with the saliva until it becomes quite pulpy, whereupon it is again swallowed. But now, because it is soft and semi-fluid, it does not divaricate the walls of the groove communicating with the manyplies, and so, continuing on along its tubular interior, it finds its way direct into the third stomach, most of it filtering between the numerous laminæ on its way to the fourth stomach, where it becomes acted on by the gastric juice. After the remasticated food has reached the manyplies, the groove in the reticulum is pushed open by a fresh bolus; and so the process is repeated until the food consumed has all passed on towards the abomasum, or true digestive stomach.
There are other features also which are characteristic of the ruminating animals. Their symmetrical four-toed feet (in which the thumb on the fore and the great toe on the hind are entirely absent) have the toes so proportioned that the axis of the limb runs down between the two middle toes at the same time that both the inside and outside toes are much reduced in size, and lost entirely in the Camel tribe, the Giraffe, and the Cabrit.
Another peculiarity which exists in all ruminating animals is the absence of cutting-teeth in the middle of the upper jaw; and it is only in the Camels and their intimate allies, the Llamas, that there are any upper cutting-teeth at all, they being replaced in all the others by a callous pad, on which the lower cutting-teeth impinge in mastication.
The canine teeth, which correspond to the tusks of the Lion and Dog, also deserve attention. Those of the lower jaw are always present, and are modified so as to appear like lateral cutting-teeth. In the upper jaw they are most often absent, but are enormous, projecting far down outside the lip, in the Musk, the Chinese Water Deer, and the Muntjacs. In some other Deer they are present, but small, and generally they are wanting.
The grinders are six on each side of each jaw, and are so formed that their surfaces wear down unevenly by the lateral movement to which they are subject during mastication. As in the Elephant, this depends upon each tooth being made up of alternate layers of enamel, dentine, and cementum, which, being of different degrees of hardness, are differently affected by the grinding action.
The ruminating animals exhibit a fair amount of intelligence, never, however, attaining that power of perception and memory exhibited by the Carnivora and other higher forms. The figure of the surface of the brain of the Sheep indicates that the convolutions of the brain are far from inconsiderable in number, and its allies of the same size agree with it in this respect, whilst larger species have more, and smaller less elaborate brain-markings, as is nearly always found to be the case in every group.
The accompanying table gives an outline sketch of the classification of the ruminating animals which has been adopted by zoologists:--
Sub-order. Section. Division. Group.
{ Ox-tribe { (Bovidæ). { HORNED RUMINANTS. { { { Deer-tribe { TRUE RUMINANTS. { { (Cervidæ). { { CHEVROTAINS OR RUMINANTIA. { { DEERLETS { CAMEL TRIBE. { (Tragulidæ). { (Tylopoda).
The large sub-order of the Ruminantia is seen to be primarily divided into two sections, namely, the typical Ruminants and the aberrant Ruminants (the Tylopoda). The typical Ruminants, in which the stomach is formed upon the plan of that described above in the Oxen, fall into two divisions, the smaller of which--that of the Chevrotains or Deerlets--possesses no psalterium, or third stomach, except in a rudimentary condition. The Horned Ruminants, including the Deer, Muntjacs, Elk, Oxen, and Antelopes, compose by far the largest number of the whole sub-order, and will be first described.
HORNED RUMINANTS.
The Horned Ruminants--with which, anomalous as it may at first seem, have to be included one or two hornless species, on account of their so closely resembling them in other respects--have their cranial appendages developed after one or other of two principles. In one group, which, from the fact that the Oxen are included with them, are named the Bovidæ, the horns are hollow, straight, or variously-twisted cones, supported upon bony prolongations from the forehead, resembling them in shape upon a smaller scale. These horns are permanent, except in the American Antelope, increasing in size each year, at the same time that they often exhibit transverse markings, which indicate the annual increase. In the other group--the Cervidæ, or Deer Tribe--the horns or antlers are deciduous, being cast off each year, to be shortly replaced by others, which share the fate of their predecessors. These antlers are entirely made of bone, and when fully grown are not covered with any less dense investment.
To commence, then, with the Bovidæ, or Oxen, and their allies.
THE BOVIDÆ, OR HOLLOW-HORNED RUMINANTS.
In these ruminating animals the permanent bone-cones on the forehead are covered with a black horny coating, which is not shed during the whole life of their owners, and in which, as they continue to grow until adult life at least, the tips are the oldest parts. The females in some species have horns like their mates, but smaller, as in the Ox and Eland; while in others--the Koodoo and the Sing-Sing Antelope, for example--the males alone are horned. The most aberrant members of this group are the Giraffe, the Cabrit, and the Musk, which will be considered after the less peculiar genera have been discussed. These include the Oxen, Bush-Bucks, Antelopes, Koodoos, Goats, Sheep, &c., which will be referred to more in detail.
THE SHEEP AND GOATS.[1]
Between the bearded Goat and the beardless Sheep there exist intermediate species, which so completely fill up the gaps that it is almost impossible to separate the two into different genera. With triangular, curved, and transversely-ridged horns in both sexes, a characteristic general appearance, and feet formed for mountain climbing, the species present differences which are recognised with facility.
With reference to the domestic Sheep, it is the opinion of most naturalists that it has descended from several distinct species. “Abel was a keeper of Sheep,” is a Biblical statement from which the immense antiquity of a domestic breed may be inferred, whose origin cannot be better studied than by a comparison of the different forms found wild in Asia, the head-quarters of the genus. That no Sheep existed in Australia when that continent was first discovered is a well-known fact.
“Endowed by nature,” as Mr. Spooner, in his work on the Sheep aptly puts it, “with a peaceable and patient disposition, and a constitution capable of enduring the extremes of temperature, adapting itself readily to different climates, thriving on a variety of pastures, economising nutriment where pasturage is scarce, and advantageously availing itself of opportunities where food is abundant,” it is not to be wondered at that the animal has become the companion of man from the earliest times.
The fleece of the wild species of Sheep is composed of hair with wool at its roots, in the same way that in the Duck there is a covering of feathers and down. In the domesticated species the hair, by selection, has been reduced to a minimum, so that the wool forms the only coat.
In the southern parts of Western Asia many of the Sheep have a curious tendency to the deposition of fat on the tail rather than under the skin of the body generally, and this may occur to such an extent that the thus loaded caudal appendage may contain a large part of the entire weight of the body.
The Astracan breed, of small size, has a fine spiral black and white wool, sometimes entirely black, which is obtained from the lamb when the finest furs are required.
Of all the breeds of Sheep the Merino of Spain is one of the most important, on account of the excellence of its wool. In England the breed can hardly be said to exist, because the dampness of the climate does not suit its constitution. It is extensively found in Germany, and is the Sheep of Australia. The animal is small, flat-sided, and long-legged. The males have long horns, these appendages being absent in the females. The face, ears, and legs are dark, and the forehead is woolly, at the same time that the skin about the throat is lax. The body-wool is close-set, soft, twisted in a spiral, and short.
In Great Britain the breeds of Sheep are very numerous, some of the best being of quite recent origin. First among the heavy breeds are the Dishley, or Improved Leicesters, which, from their early maturity, aptness to fatten, smallness of bone, and gentle disposition, well deserve the high repute in which they stand. It is to the persevering energy and acuteness of Mr. Bakewell that we are indebted for the present animal, which in origin is far from pure bred. His aim was entirely in the direction of the carcass, and in his object he and his followers have quite succeeded, notwithstanding an inherent delicacy in constitution and an inferiority of the wool. “The head of this breed,” we are told, “should be hornless, long, small, tapering towards the muzzle, and projecting horizontally forwards; the eyes prominent, and with a quiet expression; the ears thin, rather long, and directed backwards; the neck full and broad at its base, where it proceeds from the chest, but gradually tapering towards the head, and being particularly fine at the junction of the head and neck; the neck seeming to project straight from the chest, so that there is, with the slightest possible deviation, one continuous horizontal line from the rump to the poll; the breast broad and full; the shoulders also broad and round, and no uneven or angular formation where the shoulders join either the neck or the back, particularly no rising of the withers or hollow behind the situation of these bones; the arm fleshy through its whole extent, and even down to the knee; the bones of the leg small, standing wide apart, no looseness of skin about them, and comparatively bare of wool; the chest and barrel at once deep and round; the ribs forming a considerable arch from the spine, so as in some cases--and especially when the animal is in good condition--to make the apparent width of the chest even greater than the depth; the barrel ribbed well home; no irregularity of line on the back or the belly, but on the sides, the carcass very gradually diminishing in width towards the rump; the quarters long and full, and, as with the fore-legs, the muscles extending down to the hock; the thighs also wide and full; the legs of a moderate length; the pelt moderately thin, but soft and elastic, and covered with a good quantity of white wool, not so long as in some breeds, but considerably finer.”
The large-sized Lincoln Sheep, with lengthy fleece, those of the Cotswold Hills, the Teeswater, and Romney Marsh, are also heavy breeds, not equal in the totality of their points to the Improved Leicesters, although excelling them either in quantity of wool or hardiness of constitution.
The Short-woolled Southdowns, with close-set fleece of fine wool, face and legs dusky brown, curved neck, short limbs, and broad body, is one of the oldest and most valuable unmixed breeds that we possess. Their mutton greatly excels that of the Improved Leicesters, which, taken in association with their other good qualities, has caused them to extend to nearly every county. In parts of Hampshire, Shropshire, and Dorsetshire there are local breeds of Short-woolled Sheep which replace the Southdowns.
The Cheviot and the Black-faced, or Heath breed of our northern counties are mountain Sheep, of small size and hardy constitution, the former horned, the latter hornless and with a white face.
Welsh mutton is obtained from the small, soft-woolled Sheep with a white nose and face. The rams alone have horns, wherein the breed differs from that of the higher mountains, in which the ewes also are horned, at the same time that a ridge of hair is present along the top of the neck.
As wool forms so important an element of the mercantile transactions of Great Britain, and as Sheep-farming has so rapidly increased in Australia and New Zealand, a few words with reference to the statistics of the subject will not be out of place.
In 1788, when Governor Phillip landed at Port Jackson, there was not a Sheep in all Australia, and it was not until 1793 that about thirty of the Indian breed reached Sydney, their number being shortly augmented by the importation of breeding-stock from England and the Cape of Good Hope, principally Merinos. The progeny soon spread towards the interior, where the growing of wool became a lucrative pursuit. Sheep were first imported into New Zealand in 1840. It is estimated there are now one hundred million sheep in Australia, and nearly thirty million in New Zealand.
The following table of the number of bales of wool imported into Great Britain at twenty-year intervals, that is, in 1836, 1856, and 1876, gives a better idea than can be otherwise obtained as to the changes in the sources of wool as well as to the richness of each colonial district:--
IMPORTATION OF COLONIAL AND FOREIGN WOOL INTO THE UNITED KINGDOM (IN BALES).
-------------------------------+----------+---------+---------- | =1836.= | =1856.= | =1876.= -------------------------------+----------+---------+---------- New South Wales and Queensland | 19,066 | 59,342 | 169,874 Victoria | None | 64,843 | 306,803 Tasmania | 15,449 | 17,951 | 20,480 South Australia | None | 16,618 | 102,067 West Australia | None | 1,267 | 7,510 New Zealand | None | 6,840 | 162,154 +----------+---------+---------- Total Australasian | 34,515 |166,861 | 768,888 Cape of Good Hope | 1,740 | 50,607 | 169,908 +----------+---------+---------- Total Colonial | 36,255 |217,468 | 938,796 +----------+---------+---------- German | 90,426 | 22,272 | 29,580 Spanish and Portuguese | 20,451 | 8,106 | 7,906 East Indian and Persian | 1,981 | 45,236 | 86,678 Russian | 15,072 | 4,181 | 34,511 River Plate } | | 5,151 }| Peru, Lima, and Chili } | 16,653 } | 52,477 }| Alpaca } | } | }| 118,593 Mediterranean and Africa | 14,714 | 13,665 }| Mohair |No returns| 13,515 }| Sundry | 12,784 | 10,735 }| +----------+---------+---------- Total Foreign |172,081 | 175,338 | 277,268 +----------+---------+---------- TOTAL IMPORTATION |=208,336= |=392,806=|=1,216,064= -------------------------------+----------+---------+----------
So much for the domestic Sheep; of other species of the genus Ovis we have Marco Polo’s Sheep.[2] This splendid Sheep, one of the finest species of the genus, has horns, describing a spiral of about a circle and a quarter when viewed from the side, pointing directly outwards, and sometimes measuring as many as sixty-three inches from base to tip along their curve, and as much as four and a half feet from tip to tip. At the shoulder the animal measures just under four feet. It inhabits the high lands in the neighbourhood of the lofty Thian Shan mountains, north of Kashgar and Yarkand, not descending below an elevation of 9,000 feet above the sea level, often ascending much higher. It is on account of the rarefaction of the air in these regions that there is considerable difficulty in obtaining specimens which have been wounded, because Horses at these heights are much distressed in their breathing, whilst the Sheep are not so. Mr. N. A. Severtzoff, an eminent Russian naturalist, has described three or four other species closely allied to Marco Polo’s Sheep, which are smaller than it, from Turkestan and the district east of it. In this Sheep, during the winter, the sides of the body are of a light greyish-brown, changing to white below. There is a white mane all round the neck and a white disc round the tail. A dark line runs the whole length of the middle of the back. In summer the grey changes to dark brown.
The OORIAL and the SHAPOO are bearded Sheep, from Ladakh and the Suliman range of the Punjab respectively, with large horns, which form not more than half a circle in the Shapoo and nearly a complete one in the Oorial. The colour of the Oorial is a reddish-brown above, paler beneath, the abdomen being white. A lengthy dark beard, reaching to the knees, fringes the whole length of the neck from the chin to the chest. The points of the horns are directed inwards. It is found at altitudes of 2,000 feet. The Shapoo is brownish-grey, white below, with a short brown beard. Its horns turn outwards at the tips. It is never found at altitudes lower than 12,000 feet.
The MOUFLON at one time abounded in Spain, but is now restricted to the islands of Corsica and Sardinia. The species is a small one, of a brownish-grey colour, with a dark streak along the middle of the back, at the same time that there is a varying amount of white about the face and legs. The horns, present in the males only, are proportionately not large, curve backwards and then inwards at the tips. The tail is very short, in which respect they differ strikingly from the domestic Sheep, to which otherwise they are intimately related. The Mouflon frequents the summits of its native hills in small herds, headed by an old ram. Its skin is used by the mountaineers for making jackets. It breeds freely with the domestic species.
The AMMON of Tibet has been known to measure as much as four feet and an inch at the shoulder, and has a most imposing appearance on account of the erect attitude in which it holds its head. Its horns attain a great size, being sometimes as much as four feet long and twenty-two inches in circumference at their bases, forming a single sweep of about four-fifths of a circle, their points being turned slightly outwards and ending bluntly. Its body colour is dark brown above, paler posteriorly and below. A mane surrounds its neck, white in the male, dark brown in the female. The tail measures only an inch in length. In the female the horns do not exceed twenty-two inches in length.
The BURHEL, or Himalayan “blue wild Sheep,” stands three feet at the shoulder, and has horns which, commencing very close together on the forehead, describe a half circle of two feet or so, and are directed very much outwards and backwards. In the female the horns do not exceed eight inches in length, and stand backward instead of diverging. The coarse fleece of winter is of an ashy-blue colour, which, in summer, is replaced by one that is much darker. The abdomen is white, and a black stripe runs along each side of the body, the front of the legs and the chest being also black. It has no beard.
The AMERICAN ARGALI, or BIG-HORN, inhabits the range of the Rocky Mountains. Its height is three and a half feet at the shoulder. The horns form a complete circle, and are nearly three feet long in the male. They are said to come so far forward and downward that old rams find it impossible to feed on level ground. Its flesh is peculiarly well flavoured.
The WILD SHEEP OF BARBARY, known also as the TRAGELAPHUS, is a large and handsome species, with a comparatively lengthy tail, tufted at its end. The hair on the chin is short, whilst that along the lower margin of the neck, as well as on the front of the knees, attains a great length. The horns are not massive, and hardly exceed two feet in length. They are black, and are directed outward as well as backward.
THE GOATS.[3]
Modern naturalists, as intermediate forms become more numerous, find much difficulty in separating off the Goats (which constitute the genus Capra of earlier authors) from the Sheep (Ovis). In the Goats the horns are flattened from side to side, and rough in front and arched backwards, whilst in the Sheep they are more uniformly cylindrical, turned laterally, curling downwards, and often cork-screwed. A beard is a common addition to the former animal, and a most unpleasant odour is emitted by them.
The domestic Goat is almost certainly descended from the Paseng, or Ibex, of the mountains of Asia, with little or no admixture of other blood. In it, however, the female is bearded as well as the male, which is not the case with the Paseng. It has been subjugated from time immemorial, when the flesh of the kid was considered a delicacy. Its sure-footedness and its boldness are proverbial, as is its unpleasant odour. The power possessed by the species of ascending precipitate heights is marvellous. On more than one occasion it has been recorded--contrary to the teaching of Æsop--that whilst two individuals have met on a path too narrow for both to pass, one has lain down in order that the other might go over its back. With no great bulk of body; coarse hair of different lengths and tints, springing from out of a mass of much shorter wool; horns of varying size, but always out-turned at the tips; narrow ears, an almost entirely hair-covered nose; sight, hearing, and smell all acute; powerful thick-set legs, and a short tail naked below, it stands its own in mountainous and less civilised districts. Varieties occur with large pendulous instead of upright ears; others with extra horns, occasionally spiral as in Nepaul, or none at all. In the Angora and Cashmere breeds the hair is white.
The Goat of Cashmere is famous on account of the long and very fine wool with which it is covered, which is employed in the manufacture of Cashmere shawls. It is said that the wool of ten of these Goats is required for the material of a single shawl.
The IBEX is found in the Alpine heights of Europe and of Western Asia, including the Himalayas. The large scythe-blade-shaped horns of the male curve boldly upwards and backwards, diverging all the way. Along the front of their convex surfaces there is a series of protuberances or partial rings, which are only just indicated laterally. The largest specimens reach three feet and a half in height at the shoulder, which is a little less than the length their horns sometimes attain. The body colour is a yellowish-grey, white below, with a dark brown line along the middle of the back. The soft and close-set hair hides an under-fur still finer. The beard is black. European specimens are smaller than those from Asia, rarely exceeding two feet and a half in height, with horns three feet in length. The species inhabits the most precipitous and dangerous parts of mountain regions, and is wonderfully sure-footed.
The PASENG is the wild Goat of Western Asia; it is also found on the northern side of the Caucasus and in some of the islands of the Ægean. In height the male measures two feet and three-quarters at the withers, the female being nearly six inches less. In the male the horns may measure as much as four feet in length. They are flattened, slender, curved backwards as part of a large circle, having their points turned sometimes inwards, so much so as now and again to cross, whilst at others they are directed outwards. Along their anterior edges are protuberances, separated by a greater distance as they approach the tips, indicative of the age of the animal, as after the third year a fresh knob is formed in each succeeding one. Mr. Danford, who has made a special study of the species, remarks, with reference to the reputed use to which their owners turn their immense cranial appendages, that “regarding the use of the great horns carried by the Ibex family, the general idea among the older authors was that they were employed to break the animal’s fall in leaping from a height. Pennant relates that Monardes was witness to the wild Goat saving itself in this way; and Gesner says: ‘Cadens ab alto totum corpus inter cornua protegit a collisione et ictus lapidum magnorum excipit cornibus!’[4] This view is confirmed by Mr. Hutton, whose tame Aegagrus [Paseng] repeatedly used his horns for this purpose. I made many inquiries among the native hunters, and they all agreed in saying that the horns were never so used, or for any purpose except fighting; and the result of my own observations is, that during the leap the head is carried as far back as possible, though it may be that the situations in which I observed the animals did not necessitate the employment of the horns in the way referred to.” The horns of the female are not more than a foot long, the knobs being almost obsolete. Unlike its consort, also, it has no beard. The general colour of the species is grey, shaded with reddish-brown. A blackish-brown line extends from the similarly coloured forehead along the spine.
The MARKHOOR, or “Serpent Eater,” of North-east India and Cashmere, is a fine Goat of larger size than the Ibex, with much-flattened triangular horns, which, while running upwards from the head, are spiral and attain an immense size, sometimes as much as five feet along their curve. The spiral twist is much more open in some specimens than in others, depending on the locality in which they are found. The body colour is a dirty light blue-grey, the lengthy beard being of a darker colour. It inhabits very similar localities to the Ibexes and is very shy.
The TAHR of the Himalayas is a not common Goat, with small horns curved directly backwards, not much more than a foot in length, flattened from side to side, with a notched anterior margin. The body colour is a fawn-brown; the hair of the neck, chest, and shoulders being of great length and reaching to the knees. In the female the horns are much smaller and of lighter colour. According to Captain Kinloch, “the Tahr is, like the Markhoor, a forest-loving animal, and although it sometimes resorts to the rocky summits of the hills, it generally prefers the steep slopes which are more or less clothed with trees. Female Tahr may be frequently found on open ground, but old males hide a great deal in the thickest jungle, lying during the heat of the day under the shade of trees or overhanging rocks. Nearly perpendicular hills, with dangerous precipices, where the forest consists of oak and ringall cane, are the favourite haunts of the old Tahr, who climb with ease over ground where one would hardly imagine that any animal could find a footing. Tahr ground, indeed, is about the worst walking I know, almost rivalling Markhoor ground; the only advantage being that, bad as it is, there are generally some bushes or grass to hold on to.”
THE GAZELLES.[5]
Under the title of Gazelles are included several strikingly elegant, small, slender, sandy-coloured species of ruminating animals, in which the males always, and the females in most cases, carry horns, which are transversely ringed, and vary considerably in the direction which they take, many having them curved in such a way that the two together form a lyre-shaped figure, at the same time that in others they are nearly straight, turned slightly backwards or forwards, and diverging or converging at the tips. Where present, the horns of the females are more slender than in the corresponding males.
The Gazelles inhabit Africa, Arabia, Persia, India, and Central Asia only. They rarely exceed thirty inches in height at the shoulder; the largest, the Swift Antelope of Pennant (Gazella mohr), reaching nearly three feet. In all the Gazelles the face is marked with a white band running from the outer side of the base of each horn nearly down to the upper end of each nostril, cutting off a dark triangular central patch, and bordered externally by a diffused dark line. The under surface of the abdomen is white, and there is a dark line traversing the flank which bounds this. The rump is also white, which in many cases encroaches more or less upon the haunches.
Of the twenty species of Gazelles known to naturalists, only a few of the best known will be specially mentioned here. By Sir Victor Brooke they have been thus arranged, in accordance with certain easily ascertained distinctive features in coloration and shape of horn:--
I.--BACK UNSTRIPED.
A. The white colour of the rump not encroaching on the fawn colour of the haunches.
a. Both sexes bearing horns.
1. HORNS LYRATE OR SEMI-LYRATE.
The Gazelle (Arabia and N.E. Africa). Isabelline Gazelle (Kordofan). Korin (Senegal). Sundevall’s Gazelle (Sennaar). Black-tailed Gazelle (Bogosland).
2. HORNS NOT LYRATE.
Cuvier’s Gazelle (Morocco). Small-horned Gazelle (Sennaar). Speke’s Gazelle (Somali Country). Muscat Gazelle (Muscat). Arabian Gazelle (S. Arabia). Bennett’s Gazelle (India). Dusky-faced Gazelle (Persia).
b. Females hornless.
Persian Gazelle. Mongolian Gazelle. Ladakh Gazelle.
B. The white colour of the rump projects forward in an angle into the fawn colour of the haunches.
Dama Antelope (S. Nubia). Swift Antelope (Senegal). Soemmerring’s Antelope (E. Africa). Grant’s Gazelle (Ugogo).
II.--BACK WITH A MEDIAN WHITE STRIPE.
Spring-bok (S. Africa).
The GAZELLE par excellence, from Syria, Egypt, and Arabia, stands scarcely two feet high. The elegance of its proportions are too well known to need description. The beauty of its eyes is not to be compared with that of some of the other ruminating animals, the whole face being far too sheep-like, and this remark equally applies to all its near allies. The Dorcas Gazelle is a name by which it is also known. Like many other members of the genus, it has a tuft of hair upon each knee. The tail is long and tapering; the body hair rather coarse and of a pale fawn colour. The hips, as well as the breast and the abdomen, are white. As to their habits, Mr. Blanford, in his work on Abyssinia, tells us that, so far as his observation went, “neither the Dorcas nor Bennett’s Gazelle is ever seen in large flocks, like the animals of the Spring-bok group. Usually both are seen solitary, or from two to five together, inhabiting thin bushes generally on broken ground. They feed much upon the leaves of bushes. The male has a peculiar habit, when surprised, of standing still and uttering a short, sharp cry. Like most Antelopes, they keep much to the neighbourhood of some particular spot. After long observation, I am convinced that Bennett’s Gazelle never drinks; and all that I could ascertain of the Dorcas Gazelle leads to the same conclusion in its case.”
Captain Baldwin says that, “like other Antelopes, the little Ravine Deer [by which is meant Bennett’s Gazelle] has many enemies besides man. One day, when out with my rifle, I noticed an old female Gazelle stamping her feet, and every now and then making that ‘hiss’ which is the alarm-note of the animal. It was not I that was the cause of her terror, for I had passed close to her only a few minutes before, and she seemed to understand by my manner that I meant no harm. No; there was something else. I turned back, and on looking down a ravine close by, saw a crafty Wolf attempting a stalk on the mother and young one. Another day, at Agra, a pair of Jackals joined in the chase of a wounded Buck.
“The Chikarah [again another name for Bennett’s Gazelle] is as easily tamed as the common Antelope; they are favourite pets, and become strongly attached to those who rear and feed them. I have seen tame ones driven out with a herd of Goats to graze, and never attempt to make their escape. It is not at all unusual to find the wild Gazelles feeding close to, sometimes almost mingling with, herds of Goats, when the latter have been driven out to pasture.... Like all Antelopes, the eyesight of the Chikarah is very acute, and the animal is perpetually on the watch against danger. It, however, appears to be gifted with only a moderate sense of hearing, and still less so of smell.”
THE ARABIAN, OR ARID GAZELLE, is the same size as the preceding, differing, as may be gathered from the table given on page 13, in the shape of its horns, which, from being directed upwards and outwards, turn at their tips more outward and also forward. The speed of the Gazelle, like that of most of its allies, is very great; its eyes are large and lustrous, and its general colour a rich yellowish-brown.
The PERSIAN GAZELLE stands twenty-six inches. Its body colour is grey fawn colour, the breast and abdomen being white. Of its habits, Major St. John says that, “like the wild Ass, it especially affects the neighbourhood of the salt deserts. It appears to retire generally to the valleys at the base of hills to breed, and is most commonly seen in small parties of three to half a dozen. The fleetest Greyhound cannot come up with the Gazelle when it gets a fair start; but when suddenly roused from a hollow, or when the ground is heavy after rain, good Dogs will often pull down males. The does are more difficult to catch.”
SOEMMERRING’S GAZELLE stands two feet and a half high. The body colour is sandy fawn above; the horns are massive and lyrate, more slender in the female. It lives in pairs, and is a powerful species.
The horns of GRANT’S GAZELLE are larger than in any other of the species.
The SPRING-BOK derives its name from the habit it has of leaping straight up in the air for several feet when alarmed or whilst running. Its height is two feet and a half. The horns are lyrate, being very small in the females. Its colour is yellow dun, with the under parts, as usual, white. A peculiar white line along the middle of the back can be varied in extent within certain limits by the animal at pleasure. Major C. Hamilton Smith, when writing of this species, tells us that it assembles in South Africa in vast herds, “migrating from north to south and back with the monsoons. These migrations, which are said to take place in the most numerous form only at the interval of several years, appear to come from the north-east, and in masses of many thousands, devouring, like locusts, every green herb. The Lion has been seen to migrate and walk in the midst of the compressed phalanx, with only as much room between him and his victims as the fears of those immediately around could procure by pressing outwards. The foremost of these vast columns are fat, and the rear exceedingly lean while the direction continues one way; but with the change of the monsoon, when they return towards the north, the rear become the leaders, fattening in their turn.”
The SAÏGA[6] and CHIRU[7] differ from the Gazelles but slightly, and approach the Sheep; the former belonging to Eastern Europe and Western Asia, the latter to Tibet.
The Saïga is as large as a Fallow Deer, tawny yellow in summer, light grey in winter; being specially peculiar about the nose which is much lengthened, at the same time that the nostrils are expanded to such a degree that in feeding they have to walk backwards. The horns, found only in the males, are not a foot long, slightly lyrate, and annulated. In its native haunts--which are barren, sandy, and salt--it assembles frequently in vast herds. It runs rapidly when pursued, but is soon exhausted.
The CHIRU is slightly smaller, of a reddish fawn colour, with the face and front of the limbs black. The slender jet-black horns, very small in the female, are ringed nearly to the tips, curved forward, and about two feet long. From Captain Kinloch’s account we learn that “in the early part of the summer the Antelope appears to keep on the higher and more exposed plains and slopes where snow does not lie; as the season becomes warmer, the snow which has accumulated on the grassy banks of the streams in the sheltered valleys begins to dissolve, and the Antelope then comes down to feed on the grass which grows abundantly in such places, and then is the time that they may most easily be stalked and shot. They usually feed only in the mornings and evenings, and in the day-time seek more open and elevated situations, frequently excavating deep holes in the stony plains in which they live, with only their heads and horns visible above the surface of the ground.”
THE PALLAH.[8]
THE PALLAH, OR IMPALLA, of South and South-east Africa, is another closely-allied form of large size, being more than three feet high at the shoulder. Its colour is dark red above, yellow dun on the sides, and white below. There are no false hoofs in the usual situation on the lengthy legs: a peculiarity which it shares with the Cabrit and the Giraffe. The eyes are very large and liquid. The horns, wanting in the female, are twenty inches long in the male, and lyrate; they are ringed nearly to their tips. They are abundant on or near to hills, and collect in herds of from twenty to thirty. Mr. Drummond, vividly describing his South African experience, on an occasion whilst hunting Buffalo, “saw something red moving among the trees, and stopped to watch it. It turned out to be a troop of Impalla coming back from water and making for some of the grassy glades. There might have been seventy or eighty of them, picking their way along in Indian file, nibbling here and there, but always moving, and seeming like a troop of ghosts in the dim twilight and silence.”
THE INDIAN ANTELOPE.[9]
THE INDIAN ANTELOPE, OR BLACK BUCK.--This species differs but little from the Gazelles in many respects, whilst its peculiarities are striking. Like the Nylghau, the male differs greatly from the female in its colour. The female has no horns; those in the male are black and of great size, spirally twisted for three or four turns like a corkscrew, slightly divergent, and often reaching thirty inches in length. It stands a little over two feet and a half at the shoulder. The colour of the males is deep brown-black above, with an abrupt line of separation from the pure white of the belly. This dark colour extends down the outer surface of each limb. The face is also black, with a white circle round the eyes and nose. In the females and young of both sexes the black and brown are replaced by a light fawn colour. The tail is very short and white below. At certain seasons of the year the glands below the eyes are much enlarged and form a prominent feature in the face of the male.
The Black Buck is one of the swiftest of the Antelopes, no Greyhound having any chance against it. Its flesh, being dry and unsavoury, is rarely eaten. The species falls a frequent prey to the Tiger, and is generally found in herds, fifty does, or so, accompanied by a single buck. The height to which they can bound is very great. According to Major C. Hamilton Smith, the native Indians “have raised the common Antelope among the constellations, harnessed it to the chariot of the moon, and represented it as the quarry of the gods. In the opinion of Hindoos the animal is sacred to Chandra, female devotees and minstrels lead it, domesticated, by the harmony of their instruments, or the power of their prayers, and holy Brahmins are directed to feed upon their flesh, under certain circumstances prescribed by the Institutes of Menu.”
II. RUMINANTIA: BOVIDÆ (continued)--ANTELOPES
THE STEINBOKS: KLIPSPRINGER, OUREBI, STEINBOK, GRYSBOK, MADOQUA--THE BUSH-BUCKS--Appearance--Distinctive Marks--THE FOUR-HORNED ANTELOPES--Peculiarity in the Chikarah--THE WATER ANTELOPES: NAGOR, REITBOK, LECHÈ, AEQUITOON, SING-SING, WATER-BUCK, POKU, REH-BOK--THE ELAND--Beef--Appearance--Captain Cornwallis Harris’ Description--Hunting--Scarcity--THE KOODOO--Appearance--King of Antelopes--ANGAS’ HARNESSED ANTELOPE--THE HARNESSED ANTELOPES: GUIB--BUSH BUCK, OR UKOUKA--Appearance--Pluck--THE BOVINE ANTELOPES--THE BUBALINE--HARTEBEEST--BLESBOK--BONTEBOK--SASSABY--THE GNU--Grotesque Appearance--Habits--BRINDLED GNU--THE CAPRINE ANTELOPES--SEROW--Ungainly Habits--GORAL--CAMBING-OUTAN--TAKIN--MAZAMA--THE CHAMOIS--Distribution--Appearance--Voice--Hunted--THE ORYXES--BLAUBOK--SABLE ANTELOPE--BAKER’S ANTELOPE--ORYX--BEISA--BEATRIX--GEMSBOK--ADDAX.
THE STEINBOKS.
THE KLIPSPRINGER, the OUREBI, the STEINBOK, and the GRYSBOK form a small section of the African Antelopes, elegant and small, with horns only in the males, these being straight, or nearly so. Their body hair is harsh. The Klipspringer stands a little under two feet high; it is the heaviest in build of the four; its horns are four inches long and curved a little forward. Its colour is olive. It lives singly or in pairs, in mountainous districts, and it was at one time so abundant in the neighbourhood of the Cape of Good Hope that its hair was employed to stuff saddles with.
The Ourebi, in height and length of horn, resembles the last-mentioned species. Its build is very delicate, its general colour being a tawny yellow, white below. Its speed is very great. According to Mr. Drummond, “its peculiar colour so much resembles the soil on which it lies that, trusting to remain unobserved, it often allows you to get within fifteen or twenty yards of where it is squatting. It is a handsome and peculiarly graceful Antelope, extremely good eating, and well worth the hunter’s attention. One thing he should bear in mind is, that however slightly they may be wounded, they will go and lie down within a few hundred yards, if not chased by a Dog, and will in such cases very generally allow him to get within shot again.” The Steinbok is twenty inches high, with straight horns four inches long, large ears, and a mere stump of a tail. Its colour is red-brown, white below.
The Grysbok, with the same measurement, is chocolate-red.
The MADOQUA of Abyssinia is not bigger than a Hare, standing fourteen inches high, the slender legs being comparatively long. The horns, present only in the males, are not more than half the length of the head, being nearly straight, and curved a little forward. The tail is a mere stump. The back is reddish-brown, the sides grey; the face, together with a peculiar tuft between the horns, is red, as are the legs. The under parts are white.
THE BUSH-BUCKS.[10]
The Bush-bucks form a clearly-defined group of small Antelopes peculiar to tropical and Southern Africa. They are also known by sportsmen as Duykers, or Bush-goats. They are characterised by the possession of horns in the male sex, which are short, straight, and simple cones, very much depressed, or slanting backwards, and rising some distance behind the eyes; at the same time that there is a tuft of lengthy hair, directed backwards, which is arranged in a kind of horseshoe shape between the ears. The crumen or gland in front of each eye is also peculiar. Instead of it being a sac with a circular opening, it is spread out in the form of a curved line, and not contracted to form an orifice at all. This feature, which is not observed in any other animal, may be seen in the drawing of the head of the female Bush-buck. The muffle, or extremity of the nose, is much like that of the Ox, comparatively large and always moist. The tail is very short, whilst the ears are of a fair size and oval in form. The legs are particularly slender and delicate, terminated by minute hoofs. In most the forehead is strongly convex. The coloration of the many species is not striking, being a uniform red-brown, dark bluish-grey, or sooty-black. The smallest of the species, the Pigmy Bush-buck, is not bigger than a Rabbit, and might at first sight, especially the female, be mistaken for a Deerlet. According to Mr. Drummond, “it feeds principally on certain berries and shrubs found growing in the jungles, and seems to be on the move, more or less, the whole day, though, in common with the rest of the animal creation, it is most often to be seen at early morning and evening.”
Of the Bush-bucks, the Philantomba, of West Africa, is grey-brown; the Blau-bok, of Southern Africa, a bluish-grey; the Duyker-bok, of South Africa, a yellowish-brown; the Coquetoon, a deep reddish-bay; the Bay Antelope, of West Africa, a dark bay, whilst there are other species black, brown, &c.
THE FOUR-HORNED ANTELOPES.[11]
In India and Tibet there are two peculiar species of small Antelopes, the true Four-horned and the Brown Indian Antelope. In the former of these, known also as the Chikarah, different from what is found as a natural condition in any other living animal, there are two pairs of well-developed horns; the hinder, which are the larger, being five inches long, in the usual situation; the smaller, an inch and a half long, are close together not far behind the eyes. In the Brown Indian Antelope the anterior pair of horns are rudimentary, and nothing more than knobs. All these horns are straight and conical. Neither species is common. Their size is about that of the Arabian Gazelle; their colour a reddish-brown, becoming lighter below; the hair is coarse; the female is hornless. Captain Kinloch says of them that “four-horned Antelopes are generally found alone, or frequently in pairs; they conceal themselves in long grass or among low bushes, and somewhat resemble hares in their habits. They are seldom to be seen out feeding, but usually jump up at the feet of the hunter and bound away at a great pace.”
THE WATER ANTELOPES.[12]
The NAGOR, the REITBOK, the LECHÈ, the AEQUITOON, the SING-SING, and the WATER-BUCK are closely allied African Antelopes, with good-sized horns (only present in the males), which are transversely wrinkled, curved forwards, and a little inwards at the tips. Most of them are water-loving animals, and abound in marshy districts on the banks of rivers.
The Nagor is a little more than two feet and a half in height at the shoulder, the horns being six inches long, and the tail ten inches. The colour of the long, loose hair is fulvous-brown above, white below. The Reitbok is of a grizzly ochreate colour. Its height is nearly three feet, the horns being twelve inches long. According to Dr. Kirk, the species is “commonly found feeding in small herds; in the heat of the day it rests in long grass, and may be approached within fifty yards before starting. It seldom runs far without stopping to look round. Before again making off it gives a shrill whistle, as it does often when first started. Should the female have young unable to run far, and danger near, she places her foot on the shoulder and presses it to the ground; after which it never moves until almost trodden upon, and is expected to remain in the same spot until the return of the mother.” The Lechè is of a pale brown colour above and white below. Sir John Kirk says it “is a water Antelope, frequenting damp, marshy places, and taking to impassable swamps, among reeds and papyrus. It goes in considerable herds, accompanied by several males, mingling often with the ‘Poku,’ another Antelope peculiar to that region (the valley of the Zambesi). In the distance the Lechè may be known by the peculiar way in which it allows its horns to recline back, almost touching the withers.” The POKU, Vardon’s Antelope of Livingstone, is smaller than the Lechè, and thicker in the neck; otherwise it closely resembles it.
The Sing-sing Antelope and Water-buck are much alike, the former wanting a white elliptical patch, which is found near the base of the tail in the latter. The body colour is a greyish-brown. Long hair on the neck produces a mane. At the shoulder they stand four feet six inches, and the pale horns are two feet and a half long. “The Water Antelope,” says Mr. Drummond, “is an extremely fine animal, and so plentiful that there are, perhaps, more of them shot than of any of the other large Antelopes. The large ringed horns which, in the male, crown its brow, bear a strong resemblance to those of the Reedbuck [Reitbok], while the habits and general appearance of both species are almost identical. Both frequent thickets and reedy places near water, and are principally found in pairs or small groups. The hair of the species [of Water-buck] inhabiting Eastern Africa is very long and coarse, though that of the one found in Central Africa [the Sing-Sing] is remarkably soft, and is highly prized by the natives as being so.”
The REH-BOK of South Africa, “though almost approaching a Fallow Deer in size, more nearly,” says Mr. Drummond, “resembles a Chamois in other particulars; indeed, it has been called the African Chamois, and so far deserves the title, that it certainly possesses many of the characteristics and habits of the European species--decidedly more so than any other of the Antelope genus found in South Africa, with the exception of the Klipspringer. Their colour is light grey, the hair being somewhat long and coarse, and the horns are straight [bent forwards at the tips], and by no means unusually large for the animal’s size. They are never found but on the bare hills, among rocks and stones, and their powers of springing are wonderful. It seems extraordinary how their delicate limbs escape injury, when they take bound after bound like an indiarubber ball, in places that a Cat would shudder at.” According to Major C. H. Smith, “it is an animal of great swiftness, moving with wonderful rapidity by lengthened stretches, close to the ground, so as to seem to glide over the desert like a mist driven by the winds, and, favoured by the indistinct colours of the fur, is immediately out of sight. The Bushmen and western tribes [of South Africa] make lance-heads, awls, and other tools of the horns, and occasionally cloaks of their skins for the women.”
THE ELAND.[13]
This fine species attains to the size of an Ox, the bull standing six feet and a half at the withers. Attempts have within the last few years been made to breed it in England for the sake of its flesh, which is as good as the best beef. It is, however, found to be impossible to get the price sufficiently low for market purposes. Two varieties are known, one of a pale fawn colour from Central Africa, the other, from South Africa, of a bright yellow tan colour, marked transversely with narrow white lines, about fifteen in number, running from a black line which goes along the back, to the belly. These marks are present in all young individuals, and disappear or fade considerably in the adults. The full-grown bull has a broad tuft of lengthy slight brown hair on the forehead, between and in front of the horns, which are situated some distance behind the eyes, being straight, a foot and a half in length, and at their bases carrying a thick and conspicuous screw-like ridge which extends in some cases nearly to their ends. In the females the horns are never quite so large as in the males. A large dewlap hangs from the throats of the bulls, whilst a dark, short mane continues from the forehead backwards. The tail is about two feet and a quarter in length, with a large tuft of brown hair at its end.
According to Captain W. Cornwallis Harris, “in size and shape the body of the male Eland resembles that of a well-conditioned Guzerat Ox, not unfrequently attaining the height of nineteen hands, and weighing two thousand pounds. The head is strictly that of an Antelope, light, graceful, and bony, with a pair of magnificent straight horns, about two feet in length, spirally ringed, and pointed backwards. A broad and deep dewlap fringed with brown hair reaches to the knee. The colour varies considerably with the age, being dun in some, in others an ashy blue with a tinge of ochre; and in many also sandy-grey approaching to white. The flesh is esteemed by all classes in Africa above that of any other animal; in grain and colour it resembles beef, but is better tasted and more delicate, possessing a pure game flavour, and the quantity of fat with which it is interlarded is surprising, greatly exceeding that of any other game quadruped with which I am acquainted. The female is smaller and of slighter form, with less ponderous horns.”
When writing on the hunting of these creatures, known in South Africa as the Impoofo, the same author remarks that, “notwithstanding the unwieldy shape of these animals, they had at first greatly exceeded the speed of our jaded horses, but being pushed they soon separated; their sleek coats turned first blue and then white with froth; the foam fell from their mouths and nostrils, and the perspiration from their sides. Their pace gradually slackened, and with their full brilliant eyes turned imploring towards us, at the end of a mile, each was laid low by a single bullet.”
With reference to these animals, the Hon. W. H. Drummond tells us that “more Eland are killed from horseback than on foot; for as it is utterly out of the question to make a practice of running them down, and as they generally inhabit the treeless flats, where they cannot, except by chance, be stalked, while the uncertainty of their movements and their keeping out of cover render it impossible to find them, like the large animals, by the aid of their spoor, some more certain method is needed than the chance meetings which occur to the hunter when in pursuit of other game, more especially as their hide is held in great repute by the Dutch colonists, who make trek-tows for their wagons, and reins for their oxen from it, even preferring it to that of a Buffalo. The demand thus induced has so diminished their numbers as to have restricted this noble Antelope to a few favoured localities, even in which it is becoming more scarce every day, while not many years ago it formed a component part of almost every landscape in the southern and eastern portions of Africa.”
THE KOODOO.[14]
This is one of the handsomest of all the Antelopes. It is more slender in build and smaller than the Eland, which it somewhat resembles. The horns are about four feet long, and form most graceful open spirals like corkscrews, there being a ridge along their whole length. The females are hornless. The ear is large and trumpet-shaped, moved at the slightest noise towards its source. The eyes are large and liquid. The body colour is slaty-grey, with transverse white markings, like those on the striped variety of the Eland. A small mane extends along the neck and withers, and another from the chin to the throat and breast. The tail is of moderate length, and hairy. This species is most abundant in Southern Africa, but it extends as high as Abyssinia. It is able to travel with very great speed, and makes prodigious bounds. It stands about five feet in height at the shoulders.
“Majestic in its carriage,” writes Captain Harris, with all the enthusiasm of a true sportsman, “and brilliant in its colour, this species may with propriety be styled the king of the tribe. Other Antelopes are stately, elegant, or curious, but the solitude-seeking Koodoo is absolutely regal! The ground colour is a lively French grey approaching to blue, with several transverse white bands passing over the back and loins: a copious mane, and deeply fringed, tricoloured dewlap, setting off a pair of ponderous yet symmetrical horns, spirally twisted, and exceeding three feet in length. These are thrown along the back as the stately wearer dashes through the mazes of the forest or clambers the mountain-side. The old bulls are invariably found apart from the females, which herd together in small troops, and are destitute of horns.”
ANGAS’ HARNESSED ANTELOPE.[15]
This elegant animal, much like the Koodoo in its proportions, stands three feet four inches high at the shoulders. In the male, which alone bears horns, these appendages are nearly two feet long, twisted and sub-lyrate, having sharply-pointed tips of a pale straw colour, their other parts being of a brownish-black, deeply ridged for half their length from their bases. The colour of the body is greyish-black, tinged with purplish-brown and ochre, white transverse stripes, like those of the Koodoo, being present on the neck, flanks, and cheeks. A black mane courses down the neck, whilst from the neck and belly depends long shaggy hair in abundance, reaching to the knees. The ears are large, and the face is of a bright sienna-brown. The tail is one foot eight inches long, black above, with under side and tip white. The female is small, and of a bright rufous colour, with transverse stripes more numerous than in the male.
This species is found in troops of eight or ten together, feeding on the mimosa bushes in the Zulu country. Closely allied to it is a second from Central Africa, which is of a dull bay, nearly uniform, colour, the horns reaching thirty inches in length. It is known as Speke’s Antelope.
THE HARNESSED ANTELOPES.[16]
The HARNESSED ANTELOPES proper are all of small size, the elegant GUIB not being larger than a Goat, its proportions being infinitely more delicate. It is of a pale bay colour, and the distinct transverse white streaks, running down from the middle of its back with connecting bands, have given the origin to its name.
The BUSH BUCK differs in wanting any body stripes. It is also African. Writing of it, Mr. Drummond remarks that the Bush Buck, “the male of whom is known as the ‘Ukouka,’ and the female as the ‘Umbabala,’ and which differ so greatly that experience is necessary to teach one that they are of the same species, is undoubtedly the finest in every way of all the Antelopes, whether found in the [Cape] Colonies or interior, that are known to the hunter as ‘small game.’ In size it resembles a full-grown Fallow Buck, weighing, according to age and condition, from nine to thirteen stone; its colour is a dark reddish-brown, often verging into black, and with indistinct markings on the sides, haunches, and legs; it has a great deal of hair, and a considerable mane, while the neck, which is thick out of all proportion, is nearly bare. The last mentioned peculiarity detracts from the otherwise graceful outlines of its body, the more so, perhaps, from the head being so finely shaped and small. The horns are nearly straight, rough, and ringed for about three inches from their base, and then taper away, smooth and polished, to an almost invisible point; they vary from nine inches to a foot long, and from the way in which they are set on the skull, the immense strength in the neck and shoulders of the animal, and their extreme sharpness, form about as formidable weapons as could well be imagined, especially as their owner is the most plucky Antelope, without exception or consideration of size, with which I have become acquainted in Africa. I do not think that in all my experience ... I remember a single instance in which a Ukouka has not tried to charge when wounded and brought to bay; and no one, even after a very moderate experience, would ever allow any Dog on which he placed any value to attack them.”
THE BOVINE ANTELOPES.[17]
The BUBALINE ANTELOPE, together with the HARTEBEEST, has a peculiarly elongated and narrow head, at the same time that the body is not elegant in its proportions, being triangular in form, heavy in the shoulders, and falling away behind. The horns, which are smaller in the females, are turned abruptly backwards at their tips after having been directed forwards and upwards in a lyrate manner. The Bubaline of North Africa is of a uniform bay colour, and the much more recently discovered TORA ANTELOPE of Eastern Africa resembles it in this respect, whilst its horns differ slightly in their direction and size, being more divergent and slender. The Hartebeest is grey-brown, and black on the outer sides of the limbs, with large, triangular white spots on the haunches; a black line also runs down the middle of the face from between the horns.
Mr. Pringle, when writing on the Hartebeest, says of it that it “is one of the largest and handsomest of the Antelope family.... In the nooks of the narrow ravines, through which the game are wont to descend from the steep and stony mountains, for change of pasturage, or to drink at the fountains that ooze from their declivities, I have frequently found fresh skulls and horns of the Hartebeest, those slight relics being all that remained to indicate that there the Lion had surprised and rent his prey, and that the ferocious Hyæna had followed and feasted on the fragments, devouring even the bones, except the skull and a few other unmanageable portions.”
The BLESBOK, BONTE-BOK, and SASSABY are about the size of a calf three months old. Their horns are lyrate and ringed at their bases. The two former are of a purple-red colour, white faces and white rumps. Of the Blesbok, Mr. C. J. Andersson remarks--“It is of a beautiful violet colour, and is found in company with black wilde-beests and Spring-boks in countless thousands, on the vast green plains of short, crisp, sour grass occupying a central position in South Africa. Cattle and Horses refuse to pasture on the grassy products of these plains, which afford sustenance to myriads of this Antelope, whose skin emits a most delicious and powerful perfume of flowers and sweet-smelling herbs.”
The Sassaby, or Bastard Hartebeest of the Cape colonists, stands four feet and a half in height. It has strong horns a foot in length, crescentic, with the points directed inwards. Its body colour is a dark purple-brown above, which changes into dusky-yellow underneath, a slate-coloured patch extending from the shoulder and the hip down to the knee and hock, at the same time that the rump is fawn-coloured. The tail is nearly two feet long.
THE GNUS.[18]
The GNU and the BRINDLED GNU are two of the most grotesque of creatures. With the head not unlike that of a small Cape Buffalo, it has the limbs and hind-quarters not unlike those of a pony, in proportions as well as size. The nose is broad and flattened, with a bristly muzzle. The horns are broad at the base, where they nearly meet, and after turning downward as well as forward, they again turn up abruptly in a hook-like manner. They are found abundantly in Southern Africa, where, as their flesh is worthless, they are not much hunted. They are extremely wild and fearless, and remarkably tenacious of life. Their speed is great, and they have a habit of prancing about and kicking out furiously when suspecting danger. Both species have a mane along the neck, and lengthy hair between the forelegs. In both the tail is long, covered with a mass of hair not unlike that of the Horse.
The Common Gnu is of a deep brown-black, the tail and mane being white, whilst the bushy beard, running back to the chest and between the forelegs, is black. Lengthy black hairs, diverging and ascending from a median line, cover the upper part of the nose, at the same time that other smaller tufts under the eyes help to give a most ferocious aspect to the face. From Captain Harris’s description of the animals of South Africa, an excellent idea of the peculiarities of the creature may be gained. “Of all quadrupeds,” he writes, “the Gnoo is probably the most awkward and grotesque. Nature doubtless formed him in one of her freaks, and it is scarcely possible to contemplate his ungainly figure without laughter. Wheeling and prancing in every direction, his shaggy and bearded head arched between his slender and muscular legs, and his long white tail streaming in the wind, this ever-wary animal has at once a ferocious and ludicrous appearance. Suddenly stopping, showing an imposing front, and tossing his head in mock defiance, his wild red sinister eyes flash fire, and his snort, resembling the roar of a Lion, is repeated with energy and effect. Then lashing his sides with his floating tail, he plunges, bounds, kicks up his heels with a fantastic flourish, and in a moment is off at speed, making the dust fly behind him as he sweeps across the plain.”
In the Brindled Gnu the front of the face lacks the lengthy hair of its ally; the tail is also black instead of white. Its body colour is a dirty dun, variegated with obscure pale streaks. This species, as well as the Common Gnu, is the constant companion of the equally abundant Quaggas of the same region.
THE CAPRINE ANTELOPES.
The SEROW (sometimes written Surrow) of India, the CAMBING-OUTAN of Sumatra, with the GORAL of North India, form a small group of strongly-built Goat-like Antelopes, with short, conical, upright horns, ringed at the base, and of nearly equal size in both sexes. The feet are large, and the tapering tail short.
Captain Kinloch gives us the following account of the Serow. He says it “is an ungainly-looking animal, combining the characteristics of the Cow, the Donkey, the Pig, and the Goat! It is a large and powerful beast.... The body is covered with very coarse hair, which assumes the form of a bristly mane on the neck and shoulders, and gives the beast a ferocious appearance, which does not belie its disposition. The colour is a dull black on the back, bright red on the sides, and white underneath, the legs also being dirty white. The ears are very large; the muzzle is coarse.... The Serow has an awkward gait; but in spite of this can go over the worst ground; and it has, perhaps, no superior in going down steep hills. It is a solitary animal, and is nowhere numerous; two or three may be found on one hill, four or five on another, and so on. It delights in the steepest and most rocky hillsides, and its favourite resting-places are in caves, under the shelter of overhanging rocks, or at the foot of shady trees.”
Of the Goral, the same author remarks that it “is an active little beast, and much resembles a small Goat, but the back is more arched. The prevailing colour is a brownish-grey, with a dark stripe along the back, and dark markings on the legs. Underneath the throat is a large white spot, which is very conspicuous when the animal is standing above one, and often betrays its presence when it would otherwise have escaped observation. The hair is soft but rather coarse, and about two inches long.” In the male the horns reach nine inches in length.
The Cambing-outan stands about two feet and a quarter at the shoulder. Its long, coarse hair is brown-black in colour, the mane and throat alone being white. The horns are not more than six inches in length, cylindrical, slightly annulated and curved backwards at their lips. Mountain forests, where it leads a particularly active life, are its haunts.
Dr. J. Anderson remarks of the TAKIN, or BUDORCAS, another allied species, “Major Stewart informs me that it is found in all the high ranges of the north-east of Debrooghur, and is far from uncommon. The Mishnees, with their very inferior appliances to shoot and catch them, are, nevertheless, frequently dressed in their skins, or have a part of a skin with the hair on as an ornament, which would seem to indicate that they are numerous.... They are seen in pairs, and sometimes in herds of twenty or more. They are swift of foot and good climbers.”
In Formosa and Japan there are also Goat-like Antelopes, that from the former locality being named after Mr. Swinhoe, who discovered it. Its horns are short and conical, its brown fur harsh and crisp. Both closely resemble the Cambing-outan. There is still another with a long tail inhabiting Northern China.
The MAZAMA, or Mountain Goat of California and the Rocky Mountains, is an allied species, with short, thick, conical, recurved horns, and long, straight, soft hair of a white colour, specially abundant in the region of the throat, shoulders, sides, and tail. Its size is that of a large Sheep, which it much resembles in physiognomy. The flesh has an unpleasant musky flavour, the skin is thick and spongy, at the same time that the hair is considered of but little value.
THE CHAMOIS.[19]
This well-known Goat-like Antelope inhabits the snow-clad mountains of Europe, from the Pyrenees to the Caucasus, ascending during the summer, and in winter going below the line of snow in search of food. Both sexes possess horns--black, short, and cylindrical--rising perpendicularly and parallel from the forehead for some distance, then forming a small hook directed backwards to their pointed tips. These rarely exceed seven inches in length. The female is slightly smaller than the male, which stands a little over two feet at the shoulder. In winter the colour of the lengthy, hairy coat is dark brown, which becomes a brownish-yellow in the summer, a darker streak along the back alone remaining. The head is pale yellow, darker from the nose upwards to between the ears and around the eyes. Behind the horns and between the ears is a pair of peculiar glands, opening externally, the function of which is unknown. The voice of the species is a rough bleat under all ordinary circumstances; but when the one which watches whilst the others feed--and there is always found to be one such in every herd--finds cause to fear, it gives a shrill whistle as a danger signal to its companions.
The senses of sight, hearing, and smell of the Chamois are developed to a maximum, and this fact, taken in association with the animal’s great sure-footedness among the lofty, snow-covered Alps, in which it has its home, makes hunting it a task of no mean difficulty and danger. Dogs are of no service on the rocky eminences to which the Chamois will retreat when it is pursued, and the sportsman has to rely upon his own sure-footedness and courage in climbing the steep and slippery precipices, whither he is tempted by the sight of game. If so hard pressed that it is driven to some height beyond which it cannot go, it is said that it will precipitate itself upon its pursuer, sending him down into the depths below. Besides man, the eagle is an enemy whose constant endeavour is to obtain the kids from their watchful mothers. Its skin is much valued for its toughness combined with its pliability. Its flesh is also greatly esteemed.
THE ORYXES.[20]
Of the Antelopes there is a fairly well-marked section, distinguished by the possession of horns in both sexes, at the same time that the body is peculiarly deep at the shoulder, whilst the lengthy tail is cylindrical and tufted at the extremity. Among these there is a mane along the neck in three closely-allied species, the BLAUBOK, or Equine Antelope of South Africa, the SABLE ANTELOPE of the Transvaal and the eastern coast of Africa, and BAKER’S ANTELOPE, or the Maarif of Upper Nubia, as well as in the ORYX, which is found in many parts of Africa, the BEISA of Abyssinia, the BEATRIX ANTELOPE of Arabia, and the GEMSBOK of South Africa; whilst in the not distant ADDAX ANTELOPE of North Africa there is no nape-mane, but a slight one on the throat.
In the Blaubok, which stands more than four feet and a half at the shoulder, with a glaucous, grey coat upon a black skin; in the Sable Antelope, which stands four feet and a half, being black except upon the abdomen, as well as in streaks upon the face, which are white; and in Baker’s Antelope, which stands four feet eight inches, being of a pale fulvous liver colour, the horns are two feet and more in length, and curved gently backwards, being ringed transversely except at the tips, where they are smooth. In the Oryx, the Beisa, the Beatrix Antelope, and the Gemsbok, the lengthy conical horns, although similarly ringed, are much more slender, starting backwards in a line with the face, whilst in those previously mentioned they rise at an angle from it, being straight in the Gemsbok and Beisa, very slightly curved backwards in the Beatrix, and more so in the Oryx. In the nearly allied Addax the similarly-constructed horns are gently twisted in a corkscrew manner. All these last-mentioned Antelopes are pale in colour, being almost white, with the throat protected by long black hair.
Whilst speaking of the Beisa Antelope, Mr. Blanford remarks that “the appearance of a herd of Oryx is very imposing. They are some of the most elegant and symmetrical of animals, the motions being those of a Wild Horse rather than of an Antelope. Their favourite pace appears to be either a steady quick walk or a trot; they rarely break into a gallop unless greatly alarmed. When frightened they dash off, sometimes snorting and putting their heads down, as if charging, raising their long tails, and looking very formidable. They are wary animals, though far less so than some other Antelopes. It is said that they frequently attack when wounded, and their long, straight horns are most deadly weapons.”
Of the Gemsbok, Captain Harris tells us that it “is about the size of an Ass, and nearly of the same ground colour, with a black list stripe down the back and on each flank, white legs variegated with black bands, and a white face, marked with the figure of a black nose-band and head-stall, imparting altogether to the animal the appearance of being clad in half-mourning. Its copious black tail literally sweeps the ground; a mane reversed, and a tuft of flowing black hair on the breast, with a pair of straight, slender horns (common to both sexes) three feet in length, and ringed at the base, completing the portrait.” The resemblance between the Gemsbok, when seen from the side view, and the Unicorn of heraldry, is sufficiently striking to make it more than probable that the conception of the latter originated in the former.
The author just quoted says of the Blaubok, or Roan Antelope, by which name it is also known, that it “is an inhabitant of the elevated downs and ridges about the source of the river Limpopo [four degrees to the west of Delagoa Bay, and a little north of it], and being utterly destitute of speed, may be ridden to a standstill without difficulty.... It is heavily built, and has an upright mane, long asinine ears, and robust scimitar-shaped horns.”
Chapter III
ARTIODACTYLA: RUMINANTIA--BOVIDÆ (Concluded).--OXEN, PRONGHORN ANTELOPE, MUSK [DEER], AND GIRAFFE.
THE NYL-GHAU--Description--Habits--THE MUSK OX--Difficulties in associating it--Distribution--Habits--THE OX--Chillingham Wild Cattle--Their Habits--Domestic Cattle--The Collings, Booth, and Bates Strains--American Breeding--Shorthorns, and other Breeds--Hungarian Oxen--Zebu--Gour--Gayal--Curious mode of Capturing Gayals--Banting--THE BISONS--Description--European Bison, or Aurochs--Almost extinct--Cæsar’s Description of it--American Bison--Distribution--Mythical Notions regarding it--Their Ferocity and Stupidity--“Buffalo” Flesh--THE YAK--Habits--THE BUFFALOES--Varieties--Description--Fight between two Bulls--THE ANOA--THE PRONGHORN ANTELOPE--Peculiarity as to its Horns and Skull--Professor Baird’s and Mr. Bartlett’s Independent Discovery of the Annual Shedding of the Horns--Habits--Peculiarity about its Feet--Colour--Difficulties as to its Position--THE MUSK [DEER]--Its Perfume--Where is it to be placed?--Description--Habits--Hunters for the Perfume--Their Sufferings--THE GIRAFFE--Peculiarities--Skull processes--Its Neck--Habitat--Running power--Habits--Hunting.
THE NYL-GHAU, OR BLUE OX.[21]
This is the largest of the Antelopine animals found in India, the adult male standing over four feet in height at the shoulders, which are at a considerably higher level than the haunches. The female is about one-third smaller than her consort, and without horns, which in the male are but short, rarely exceeding nine inches in length, and rising perpendicularly from the head. Each horn is black, smooth, angular, and turned slightly forward, ending in a sharp point.
The body colour of the male is a slate blue, darker about the head and under parts of the body, whilst the legs are black; the female is tawny-red; the aged bull is nearly black. A short mane runs along the neck and over the highest part of the shoulder, in which latter situation it is of greater length. There is a considerable tuft of dark hair hanging from the middle of the front of the neck, over six inches in length, which is situated just below a conspicuous white, anchor-shaped throat-patch, the shank of which runs up between the two halves of the lower jaw almost to the lip. On each cheek also there is a circular white spot below and behind the eye. A transverse white line above and below each fetlock stands out conspicuously also. The inner sides of the thighs are white, this colour extending for some distance upwards and inwards. There is a white patch also in front of each pastern joint. The tail is lengthy, and tufted at the end. The ears are nearly of the same length as the horns. The limbs are elegantly shaped, though rather heavy, and their proportions show a tendency towards those of the Giraffe, which animal it also resembles in the employment of its tongue for seizing food, and not its lips.
The Nyl-Ghau is found only in continental India, where it abounds in parts, not being a favourite with sportsmen, because its small horns are so insignificant a trophy, but more so with the larger members of the Cat tribe--the Tiger and the Leopard--as well as the wild Dog, with whom it is a frequent meal. Its temper is uncertain, which fact, when taken in connection with its powerful build, makes it a dangerous pet. It lives well in confinement. When attacking, it drops on its knees, and thus advances until it feels itself within a sufficient distance of its foe to make a sudden leap upon it, which it can do with great velocity and force. The leather manufactured from its skin is valuable, but its flesh is never eaten by the Hindoos, on account of their belief that it belongs to the Ox tribe, which it is not lawful to slay. With a good Horse in open country, the Blue bull may be hunted successfully with spears. It is very tenacious of life. The first specimens introduced into England were brought from Bombay by Lord Clive in 1767.
THE MUSK OX[22]
is an animal whose exact affinities it is not easy to determine. By some naturalists it has been thought to be intermediate between the Sheep and the Ox, whence its scientific generic name, Ovibos. It is found only in Arctic America north of latitude 60°, and exhales a strong musky odour at certain seasons of the year, an approach to which is recognisable in several of the Bovidæ. It is a heavy-built, but not large creature, with short legs, and a very lengthy brown hairy coat, which almost reaches to the ground. Its horns are very similar in form to those of the Cape Buffalo, and in the bulls they meet in the middle line of the forehead. The tail is very short, being entirely hidden by the fur of the haunches. The nose is not naked, as in the Oxen, but is almost entirely covered with hair, as in the Elk and Reindeer, both Arctic ruminants also. The spread of their feet is considerable, and they can cover the ground at no little speed. Captain Franklin describes their habits as follows:--“The Musk Oxen, like the Buffalo, herd together in bands, and generally frequent barren grounds during the summer months, keeping near the rivers, but retire to the woods in winter. They seem to be less watchful than most other wild animals, and when grazing are not difficult to approach, provided the hunters go against the wind. When two or three men get so near a herd as to fire at them from different points, these animals, instead of separating or running away, huddle closer together, and several are generally killed; but if the wound is not mortal they become enraged, and dart in the most furious manner at the hunters, who must be very dexterous to evade them. They can defend themselves with their powerful horns against Wolves and Bears, which, as the Indians say, they not infrequently kill. The Musk Oxen feed on the same substances as the Reindeer; and the prints of the feet of these two animals are so much alike, that it requires the eye of an experienced hunter to distinguish them. The largest killed by us did not exceed in weight three hundred pounds.”
THE OX.[23]
It being quite unnecessary to describe the general form and proportions of this animal, as seen among us in a domesticated state--Shorthorns, Alderney, Highland, &c.--we will at once proceed to notice the famous cattle of Chillingham Park, in Northumberland, which are known to have been in existence in the thirteenth century. The wild cattle there are all cream white, with a brown muzzle, with the insides and tips of the ears reddish-brown, at the same time that the horns are white tipped with black, of which latter colour are the hoofs. Calves more or less coloured are occasionally born, but these are promptly destroyed by the keepers. Some of the bulls have a thin, short mane. Their habit, on strangers approaching them, is to “set off in a full gallop, and at a distance of about two hundred yards make a wheel round and come boldly up again, tossing their heads in a menacing manner. On a sudden they make a full stop at the distance of forty or fifty yards, looking wildly at the object of their surprise; but upon the least motion being made, they all again turn round and fly off with equal speed, but not to the same distance, forming a shorter circle; and again returning with a bolder and more threatening aspect than before, they approach much nearer, probably within thirty yards, when they again make another stand, and then fly off. This they do several times, shortening their distance, and advancing nearer and nearer, till they come within such a short distance that most people think it proper to leave them, not choosing to provoke them further.” They differ from domestic cattle in that they feed at night, and generally sleep during the day. They also hide their calves.
In all the so-called wild cattle of Great Britain the forehead is flat or slightly concave, the head is small, the back is straight, and the legs are short.
It is now almost universally agreed that domestic cattle are descended from two or three species of the genus Bos, which existed in late geologic or prehistoric times, the remains being found in Switzerland, Ireland, and other parts of Europe. The Zebu, Yak, Gayal, and Arni, to be referred to immediately, have also been domesticated.
Cattle have been so distributed and mixed in breeding that any precise arrangement of the breeds according to their ancestral affinities can scarcely be tabulated. Most important of the heavy breeds are the well-known Shorthorns of the north of England, so carefully and successfully developed by Charles and Robert Colling between 1780 and 1818, at Ketton and Barmpton, close to Darlington, in Durham, by a process of in-and-in breeding--“Hubback,” the “Duchess,” “Lady Maynard,” “Young Strawberry,” “Foljambe,” and “Comet,” the last bull of which, at Charles Colling’s sale in 1810, fetched a thousand guineas.
Following close upon the Collings came the Booths--Richard, Thomas, and J. Booth--between 1814 and 1864, at Studley, Killerby, and Warlaby, where “Isabella,” the twin sisters “Necklace” and “Bracelet,” were parents of goodly herds, “Commander-in-Chief” being one of the latest gems. On one occasion, it is stated, Mr. Richard Booth, of Warlaby, refused the unique offer of fifteen hundred guineas for a cow named “Queen of the May.”
In 1810 Thomas Bates, of Ridley Hall, and afterwards of Kirkleavington, then a well-known breeder of cattle, purchased at Charles Colling’s sale “Young Duchess,” daughter of “Comet,” a granddaughter of “Duchess” by “Daisy” bull, and she became the founder of the famous “Duchess” tribe. In 1831, with the accession of the bull “Belvidere,” a descendant of Robert Colling’s “Princess” tribe, the “Duchess” breed produced “Short Tail” and the renowned “Duke of Northumberland.” The “Matchem” cow, purchased at the same date, did much to improve the stock. Mr. Bates died in 1849.
Several enterprising American breeders have, since 1817, introduced Shorthorns into the United States and Canada, Colonel Lewis Sanders, of Kentucky, being the first who did so on anything like thorough principles. Others followed his example with success, especially about the year 1852, when a fresh impulse was given to their production because of the rise of price in meat, as well as the foreign demand for it. The Booth and Bates bloods predominate in these animals, and form the basis of much of the beef now re-shipped to England.
The great advantage of the Shorthorn breed is that they, together with a good temper, combine the advantages of great size and aptitude to fatten, rapidly reaching maturity. For dairy purposes they are excelled by the Suffolk Duns and Ayrshire cattle, the latter, with their enormous udders, broad hips, and deep flanks, being the best as milkers. Hereford, North Devon, and Scottish black Shorthorns are inferior to those of the northern counties in their slowness of growth and power of filling out. Those of North Devon are particularly symmetrical in form. The mountain cattle of the western Highlands, otherwise known as the Kyloe breed, are best known from the hardiness of their constitutions, protected as they are by their thick hides and shaggy coats. The Welsh and Shetland cattle resemble them in many respects.
In Hungary, Turkey, and Western Asia there is a breed of large cattle with peculiarly long and slender outward-spreading horns, black-tipped, and greyish throughout the rest of their length.
In India, the Sacred Cattle, or ZEBUS, with convex forehead, short horns, large drooping ears, and a short head, possess a high hump upon the withers, as well as an ample dewlap falling in undulating folds along the whole length of the neck. Their disposition is mild, as is indicated by their expression, and the liberty they are allowed in India is wonderful. They vary greatly in size, some being not bigger than an average month-old calf. The breed has extended in times gone by through Persia into Eastern Africa, where it is found with a narrower and flatter face, at the same time that the hump is smaller.
The introduction of steam, as well as the extension in the employment of the Horse, has almost entirely superseded the use of cattle as beasts of burden or draught in highly civilised nations.
The GOUR, the GAYAL, and the BANTING are three species of wild cattle found in the Oriental world from India to Java, peculiar in possessing a ridge running along the middle of the back, and horns which, after running outwards from the head, are directed upwards and not backwards. Of these the Gour of Central India is the largest, measuring six feet at the withers, having also a convex profile, very high withers, and an arched back, which makes the line from the nose to the root of the tail, along the spine, a fairly continuous curve. Its colour is a deep brown glossy black, excepting a ring of white encircling the base of each hoof, and a white tuft on the forehead. There is not any trace of a dewlap in either sex. The horns are not more than two feet in length, strong, and curved boldly upwards at their tips. The Gour is found abundantly in herds of twenty or so around the tablelands, especially of South Bahar, feeding on the young leaves of the trees and shrubs. It appears to have resisted all attempts at domestication. The Gayal is found in the hill-region east of the Brahmaputra. It is much the size of English cattle. The bull is bold, and the cow easily domesticated. Its home is the deep jungle, where it can obtain the young leaves and shoots of the brushwood. According to Mr. Macrae the following is the method employed by the Kookies of the Chittagong hill-region to catch the animal:--“On discovering a herd of wild Gayals in the jungle, they prepare a number of balls, of the size of a man’s head, composed of a particular kind of earth, salt, and cotton. They then drive their tame Gayals towards the wild ones, when the two herds soon meet and assimilate into one; the males of the one attaching themselves to the females of the other, and vice versâ. The Kookies now scatter their balls over such parts of the jungle as they think the herd most likely to pass, and watch its motions. The Gayals, on meeting these balls as they pass along, are attracted by their appearance and smell, and begin to lick them with their tongues; and relishing the taste of the salt, and the particular earth composing them, they never quit the place until all the balls are consumed. The Kookies, having observed the Gayals to have once tasted their balls, prepare a sufficient supply of them to answer the intended purpose, and as the Gayals lick them up they throw down more; and it is to prevent their being so readily destroyed that the cotton is mixed with the earth and the salt. This process generally goes on for three changes of the moon, or for a month and a half, during which time the tame and the wild Gayals are always together, licking the decoy balls, and the Kookie, after the first day or two of their being so, makes his appearance at such a distance as not to alarm the wild ones. By degrees he approaches nearer and nearer, until at length the sight of him has become so familiar that he can advance to stroke his tame Gayals on the back and neck without frightening the wild ones. He next extends his hand to them, and caresses them also, at the same time giving them plenty of his decoy balls to lick. Thus, in the short space of time mentioned, he is able to drive them, along with the tame ones, to his parrah, or village, without the least exertion of force; and so attached do the Gayals become to the parrah, that when the Kookies migrate from one place to another, they always find it necessary to set fire to the huts they are about to abandon, lest the Gayals should return to them from the new grounds.”
The Gayal carries its nose forwards, as a rule, like a Buffalo. Its ears are longer than those of the Ox. It possesses a dewlap smaller than in the Zebu. The tail is short, not descending below the hock. Its general colour is a varying and generally dark brown, the abdomen and the legs being white in parts. Its cry is a shrill, insignificant lowing. Its horns are conical, turned directly outwards, and a little upwards at their tips, not exceeding one foot and a half in length.
The Banting extends from Cochin China, through the Indo-Malay archipelago, to the islands of Bali and Lombok. Its colour and proportions are almost exactly those of the Gour.
THE BISONS.[24]
Closely related to the Oxen are the Bisons of Europe and of North America, together with the Tibetan Yak. The two species of Bison agree closely with one another in general appearance, the American form being shorter and weaker in the hind-quarters, and a little smaller altogether.
The hair of the head and neck is very abundant and long, forming a mane of very dark colour, at the same time that it nearly conceals the eyes and ears as well as the base of the short conical horns, which are directed outwards and upwards. Under the chin there is a lengthy beard. A line of lengthy hair also extends along the back nearly to the tail, which is itself only covered with short soft hair, except at the end where there is a lengthy tuft. There is a hump developed on the shoulders, at which spot the adult male is nearly six feet in height, the female being smaller.
The European Bison, or Aurochs, is on the verge of extinction, surviving only in the forests of Lithuania, Moldavia, Wallachia, and the Caucasus, on account of the severe laws against its destruction. The horns are longer and more curved than in the American species. The females are less hairy and smaller than their mates. Its strength is very great, and an old bull is said to be a match for at least four Wolves. Its speed is considerable, and it raises its hoofs above the level of its lowered head whilst galloping.
In his description of the Black Forest (Sylva Hercynia) Cæsar describes the species (the Urus) thus:--“They are but little less than Elephants in size, and are of the appearance, colour, and form of a Bull. Their strength as well as their speed is very great. They spare neither man nor beast that they see. They cannot be brought to endure the sight of men, nor can they be tamed, even when taken young. The people, who take them in pitfalls, assiduously destroy them; and young men harden themselves in this labour, and exercise themselves in this kind of chase; and those who have killed a great number, the horns being publicly exhibited in evidence of the fact, obtain great honour. The horns, in magnitude, shape, and quality, differ much from the horns of our Oxen. They are much sought for, and after having been edged with silver at their open ends, are used for drinking vessels at great feasts.”
According to some authorities, however, it is a mistake to identify the European Bison with the Aurochs.
To all intents and purposes the American Bison is an extinct animal, killed off by the rifle and the rail and the encroachment of man upon its haunts. A few specimens are preserved with what may be described as laudably jealous care in the Yellowstone Park, and small herds may be found in Montana, Texas, and Canada.
Huge herds, numbering millions of individuals, “so numerous as to blacken the plains as far as they can reach,” were once a common sight on the prairies, and repeatedly stopped the Kansas Pacific Railway when first formed. Hunters spread false notions as to the organisation of these herds, which was of a most simple character, excellently explained by Mr. Allen, who says that the timidity and watchfulness of the cows, accustomed as they were to the care of their offspring, led them to take the initiative in the movements of the herd, and this kept them near the front, especially when the herd was moving. The popular belief that the bulls kept the cows and the young in the middle of the herd, and formed themselves, as it were, into a protecting phalanx, had some apparent basis; but the theory that the old bulls, the least watchful of all the members of the herd, were sentinels posted on the outskirts to give notice of an approaching enemy, was wholly a myth, as was also the supposition that the herd consisted of small harems.
These “Buffaloes,” as they were generally called, were much like domestic cattle in their habits. They were, however, fond of wallowing in the mud, and so coating themselves with a protection from their insect pests. Their ferocity of appearance was not evident in their true natures, for their disposition was sluggish and fearful. Colonel Dodge remarked of them that, “endowed with the smallest possible amount of instinct, the little he has seems adapted rather for getting him into difficulties than out of them. If not alarmed at sight or smell of a foe, he will stand stupidly gazing at his companions in their death-throes, until the whole herd is shot down. He will walk unconsciously into a quicksand or quagmire already choked with struggling dying victims. Having made up his mind to go a certain way it is almost impossible to swerve him from his purpose.”
The flesh of the “Buffalo” was thought equal to the best beef if from the young animal, but dry and insipid when from the adult. The tongue and hump were esteemed great delicacies. Pemmican was made mostly from the dried flesh, pounded fine and mixed with an equal weight of tallow.
The YAK differs from the Bisons mostly in the distribution of its long hair, which, instead of being situated on its hump and neck, forms a lengthy fringe along the shoulders, flanks, and thighs, and completely invests the tail, which latter is much prized in India, where it is known as “Chowry,” and is employed as a fly-switch in great ceremonials.
The Yak is a native of the high ground of Tibet, where it is rigorously protected by the native government against the foreign sportsman. Its colour is black, except some spots upon the face, which are white or grey. Its tail is often white, as is frequently the long hair tuft on the top of the withers. Its horns reach nearly a yard in length, and are directed outwards, forwards, and then upwards. Its voice is much like that of a Pig, whence the name Grunting Ox, by which it sometimes goes.
As to the habits of the creature, Captain Kinloch tells us that “the Yak inhabits the wildest and most desolate mountains; it delights in extreme cold; and is found, as a rule, at a greater elevation than any other animal. Although so large a beast, it thrives upon the coarsest pasturage, and its usual food consists of a rough, wiry grass, which grows in all the higher valleys of Tibet, up to an elevation of nearly 20,000 feet.... Yak seem to wander about a good deal. In summer, the cows are generally to be found in herds varying in number from ten to one hundred, while the old bulls are for the most part solitary or in small parties of three or four. They feed at night or early in the morning, and usually betake themselves to some steep and barren hillside during the day, lying sometimes for hours in the same spot.”
THE BUFFALOES.[25]
The BUFFALOES have the horns flattened and triangular in section, inclined outwards and backwards, turning up at the tips. The Common Buffalo is found in Southern Europe, North Africa, and the Indian region. The huge Indian variety, with most lengthy horns, is also known as the Arni. Its horns are elongated and narrow, sometimes reaching six feet and a half in length. It stands nearly or quite six feet at the shoulder, its proportions are bulky, and its general colour dusky-black. It lives in small herds numbering not more than twenty, and solitary bulls are often met with which attack sportsmen in a most vicious manner without provocation. The Cape Buffalo has shorter horns, expanded at their bases, so that they almost meet in the middle line of the forehead. It is found all over Central and South Africa, and is a formidable animal when wounded, as, quite regardless of the cloud of smoke which follows the shot aimed at it, it charges right through it, and so does frequent injury to the experienced hunter. Its general colour is blue-black, but in some cases it has a reddish tinge. The Hon. W. H. Drummond gives the following account of a fight between two bulls of which he was an eye-witness. After having had his attention attracted by a loud clattering noise, he remarks that, “on looking through the edge of the last thicket which had concealed them, I saw two Buffalo bulls standing facing each other with lowered heads, and, as I sat down to watch, they rushed together with all their force, producing the loud crash I had before heard. Once the horns were interlocked they kept them so, their straining quarters telling that each was doing his best to force the other backwards. Several long white marks on their necks showed where they had received scratches, and blood dripping over the withers of the one next me proved that he had received a more severe wound. It was a magnificent sight to see the enormous animals, every muscle at its fullest tension, striving for the mastery. Soon one, a very large and old bull, began to yield a little, going backwards step by step; but at last, as if determined to conquer or die, it dropped on to its knees. The other, disengaging its horns for a second, so as to give an impetus, again rushed at him, but, whether purposely or not I could not tell, it did not strike him on the forehead, but on the neck, under the hump, and I could see that with a twist of his horns he inflicted a severe wound. However, instead of following up his seeming advantage, he at once recoiled, and stood half facing his antagonist, who, getting on his legs again, remained in the same position for several minutes, and then with a low grunt of rage, rushed at him. This time he was not met, and his broad forehead struck full on his rival’s shoulder, almost knocking it over. The old bull then went a few yards off and stood watching the other for fully a quarter of an hour, when he walked slowly away in the opposite direction.”
The Cape Buffalo, which is found all over Africa south of the equator, is replaced in the north-eastern portion of the continent by a smaller variety, of a browner colour, and with much shorter horns, which are not closely approximated at their bases, at the same time that they spread out almost horizontally instead of curving downwards and backwards.
In western and the western-equatorial parts of Africa there is again another still smaller variety in which the hair is yellowish-red instead of nearly black or brown, the short horns being, as well, directed considerably upwards instead of directly outwards.
In the Island of Celebes the smallest species of Buffalo is found, which differs but little in appearance from the young of the Cape species. It is known as the ANOA; is black, with short, wavy hair, and has short, parallel prismatic horns directed upwards from the forehead.
THE PRONGHORN ANTELOPE.[26]
This Antelope of North America, one of the few forms of the Hollow-horned Ruminants which inhabit the New World, is different from all the other members of the group in two respects at least, namely, that its horns are branched, as implied in the name, and that they are annually shed.
The accompanying figure is a side view of the skull of the animal, whose size is nearly that of a Fallow Deer, although its build is not so heavy. It is there seen that each horn-core forms a blade-shaped projection six inches long, with the pointed end behind, situated above the eyes perpendicular to the line of the face, rounded posteriorly and sharpened in front. Each horn itself is a foot or so in its greatest length, is pointed and gently curved backwards, at the same time that from the front of it, very slightly above the middle of its height, a short branch arises which is directed forwards, the whole there dividing into two. Each horn is flattened from side to side, is not annulated, and in its structure scarcely differs from that of a Sheep or Goat.
For some years before it was certainly known to be the case, it had been rumoured by the hunters of Fort Union that the Pronghorn Antelope shed its horns each year; and in the year 1858 Dr. C. A. Canfield, of Monterey, California, in writing to Professor Baird, of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, informed him that in specimens in his possession “their horns drop off annually.” This letter remained unprinted until in England Mr. A. D. Bartlett, Superintendent of the Zoological Gardens in Regent’s Park, London, in 1865 drew attention to the same fact, which was observed by him in a male animal living in the Gardens at the time.
The horns--not antlers, be it noticed--are, it is now certain, detached each year from their supporting cores, and subsequently dropped, to be replaced by others which at the time of shedding have already advanced some way in growth, although at first they are very pale and soft. In this respect the Pronghorn is not resembled by any other Antelope, and differs entirely from the Deer.
Of the species Dr. Canfield, in the letter above referred to, gives several interesting details as to its habits, from which we may infer that they are not so cunning or so fleet as their allies in Africa and India:--“From the 1st of September to the 1st of March they run in bands, the bucks, does, and kids all together,” shortly after which time the young are born, upon which the bucks separate and wander about alone until the following season. “A band of Pronghorn Antelopes, when frightened, never run directly away from you, but cross over in front of you, running across your path from one side to the other repeatedly, and keeping about a hundred yards ahead. On this account it is sometimes easy, on a smart Horse, to run into a drove of them and catch one of them with a noose. When one is alone, and is watched by a person or animal and becomes frightened, it makes a sort of shrill blowing noise like a whistle, and then commences bounding off. On the neck it has a heavy, thick, chestnut-coloured mane, five or six inches long, and on the rump a white patch of coarse hair; and when the animal is frightened it always erects the mane and the hair and this white spot, thus giving it a very singular and characteristic appearance as it runs bounding away from you. The Antelope has a very peculiar odour, strong and, to some people, offensive.... On the whole, I consider the meat of the Pronghorn to be very excellent.”
There is a peculiarity in the feet of the Pronghorn in which it resembles the Giraffe, a few Antelopes, and the different members of the Camel tribe, namely, that the false hoofs, as well as their supporting bones, are entirely absent, from which it may be inferred, as is the case, that the number of digits in each foot is only two.
In the females of the species the horns are present, but they are much reduced in size, and almost hidden in the hairy covering of the head. The end of the nose--in other words, the muffle--is hairy, and not, therefore, damp at all times in any part, as is that of the Ox and most ruminants. The tail is very short; the fur is very short and close set, being stiff and wavy. Its colour is a pale fawn above and on the limbs, whilst the breast as well as the abdomen are a yellowish-white, at the same time that the tail and round about it are pure white, as is the inside of the ear.
Although the Pronghorn is here described after all the more ordinary hollow-horned Ruminantia, it is far from impossible that it is much more intimately related to some one of the above-mentioned families than to the others. It must either have originated direct from the earliest type of Bovine Ruminant, and from that time continued isolated until the present day, or it may have been a straggler from some already differentiated group, like the Gazelles, for instance, that, arriving in a land so unlike the haunts of its progenitors, took on itself from altered circumstances peculiar modifications in its horn-growth and foot-form which have resulted in its present characteristics.
THE MUSK [DEER].[27]
This interesting animal, from the male of which is obtained a powder contained in a pouch about the size of an orange, on the surface of the abdomen, and which is one of the most fragrant of perfumes, is generally included among the Cervidæ. Nevertheless, there are many reasons in favour of its being considered an Antelopine animal. Apart from the fact that it has a gall-bladder, which is not found in any Deer, but in almost all Antelopes, its pale grey hair is peculiarly coarse and Goat-like, and the absence of antlers or horns in both sexes tells in neither direction, for, as in the Brockets of South America and the Chinese Muntjac, the antlers are rudimentary, so are the horns in the Bush-bucks of Africa, and in some domestic Sheep as well as Oxen.
The presence of enormous canine tusks, three inches long, would at first sight seem to be in favour of its relations with the Deer, because in the Muntjacs they are also found. Nevertheless there is no à priori reason why these formidable weapons should not be developed in a hollow-horned ruminant; for, cropping up independently in genera so distant as the Deerlets, the Muntjacs, and the Water Deer, why should they not do so in the Antelopes as well?
The Musk is twenty inches in height, its ears large, and its tail rudimentary. Its hoofs are small, but their spread is large, because of the yielding attachment of the false hoofs, as in the Reindeer. The coarse and brittle hair is grey and slightly brindled. Its habitat is Central Asia, from the Himalaya Mountains to Pekin, at elevations above 8,000 feet.
“The Musk Deer,” according to Captain Kinloch, “is a solitary and retiring animal; it is nearly nocturnal in its habits, remaining concealed in some thick bush during the daytime, and only coming out to feed in the mornings and evenings. It frequents the highest parts of the forest, preferring the birch, rhododendron, and juniper, and is almost always found alone, rarely in pairs, and never in flocks. No animal seems more indifferent to cold, from which it is well protected by its thick coat of hollow hair, which forms as it were a sort of cushion, which acts as an insulator, and enables the Deer to lie even on snow without much loss of animal heat. It is amazingly active and sure-footed, bounding along without hesitation over the steepest and most dangerous ground. Its usual food seems to be leaves and flowers, but the natives say that it will kill and eat Snakes.”
The value of the Musk perfume causes the animal to be persecuted beyond measure. From Chardin we learn that the hunters are obliged to cover the nose and mouth with linen when removing the scent-sac, to prevent pulmonary hæmorrhage. “I have,” says he, “gained accurate information respecting this circumstance, and as I have heard the same thing talked of by some Armenians who had been to Boutan, I think that it is true. The odour is so powerful in the East Indies that I could never support it, and when I trafficked for musk I always kept in the open air, with a handkerchief over my face, and at a distance from those who handled the sacs; and hence I know by experience that this musk is very apt to give headaches, and is altogether insupportable when quite recent. I add that no drug is so easily adulterated, or more apt to be so.”
THE GIRAFFE.[28]
Apart from its unique proportions and its size, the Giraffe presents peculiarities in its organisation which compel us to separate it from the Deer on the one hand, and the hollow-horned ruminants on the other. In both these groups the appendages on the head, whether developed as antlers or as horns, are distinct prolongations from the forehead bones themselves. In the Giraffe, however, the three bony appendages, one median and two lateral, all covered with skin, instead of being produced as outgrowths from any portion of the skull, are separate and independent conical bony “processes” which stand upon the skull, capping roughened conical prominences destined to support them. Neither are horns, like those of Sheep or Oxen, nor antlers like those of the Deer, ever found upon these processes, a tuft of hair alone surmounting the lateral pair.
The neck of the Giraffe is longer than that of any other living animal, notwithstanding which it conforms to what, on account of its almost constant applicability, may be termed a law, namely, that there are but seven vertebræ which go to form the neck of a mammalian animal. In this animal, such being the case, each vertebra is very long, which makes the neck correspondingly awkward and inflexible; so that when the head is much carried to the side, the conformation and enumeration of the bones in the cervical region is not a matter of any difficulty.
The Giraffe is a native of Africa south of the Sahara. Most of the specimens which reach Europe in a living state are brought from Nubia and the north-east of the continent generally. The adult male attains a height of sixteen feet, the female rarely exceeding fourteen feet. They live and have bred well in captivity, although, as may be readily imagined, they are most delicate, and require much special care, particularly to prevent the joints of their lengthy limbs from being injured.
M. Thibaut, who, in 1836, obtained the first specimen of the Giraffe alive for the Zoological Gardens in Regent’s Park, tells us that “the first run of the Giraffe is exceedingly rapid. The swiftest Horse, if unaccustomed to the desert, could not come up with it unless with extreme difficulty. The Arabs accustom their coursers to hunger and to fatigue; milk generally serves them for food, and gives them power to continue their exertions during a very long run. If a Giraffe reaches a mountain, it passes the height with rapidity; its feet, which are like [not exactly in structure] those of the Goat, endow it with the dexterity of that animal; it bounds over ravines with incredible power; Horses cannot, in such situations, compete with it.”
“The Giraffe eats with great delicacy, and takes its food leaf by leaf, collecting them from the trees by means of its long tongue. It rejects the thorns, and in this respect differs from the Camel.... It is extremely fond of society, and is very sensible. I have observed one of them shed tears when it no longer saw its companions or the persons who were in the habit of attending it.”
By Le Valliant and other sportsmen most graphic accounts have been given of the hunting of the Giraffe. Quoting from Captain Harris, we learn that “the rapidity with which the awkwardly-formed animals can move is beyond all things surprising, our best Horses being unable to close with them under two miles. Their gallop is a succession of jumping strides, the fore and hind leg on the same side moving together instead of diagonally, as in most other quadrupeds; the former being kept close together, and the latter so wide apart, that in riding by the animal’s side the hoof may be seen striking on the outside of the Horse, threatening momentarily to overthrow him. Their motion, altogether, reminded me rather of the pitching of a ship or rolling of a rocking-horse, than of anything living; and the remarkable gait is rendered still more automaton-like by the switching, at regular intervals, of the long black tail, which is invariably curled above the back, and by the corresponding action of the neck, swinging as it does like a pendulum, and literally imparting to the animal the appearance of a piece of machinery in motion. Naturally gentle, timid, and peaceable, the unfortunate Giraffe has no means of protecting itself but with its heels; but even when hemmed into a corner, it seldom resorts to this mode of defence.”
Chapter IV
THE CERVIDÆ, OR ANTLERED RUMINANTS: THE ELK, ELAPHINE, SUB-ELAPHINE, AND RUSINE DEER.
The Deer Tribe--Distinguishing Characters--Exceptions to the rule--The Musk (Deer) and Chinese Water Deer--Other Characters of the Cervidæ--Antlers, their Nature, Growth, and Shedding--The Knob--“Velvet”--Getting rid of the “Velvet”--Full equipment--Contests--Interlocking Antlers--Distribution--Classification--Development of Antlers in the Common RED DEER--Explanation of the various stages--Splendid “Heads”--Simple and Complex Antlers--Types of Antlers--THE ELK, OR MOOSE DEER--Appearance--Antlers--Habits--Hunting--THE ELAPHINE DEER--THE RED DEER--Distribution--Appearance--Hunting--THE WAPITI--Acting of the Fawns--THE PERSIAN DEER, OR MARAL--THE CASHMERIAN DEER, OR BARASINGHA--Habits and General Appearance--BARBARY DEER--SUB-ELAPHINE DEER--THE JAPANESE, FORMOSAN, AND MANTCHURIAN DEER--THE FALLOW DEER--Peculiarity of its Antlers--THE PERSIAN FALLOW DEER--THE RUSINE DEER--THE SAMBUR, OR GEROW--Habits--Species of Java, Formosa, Sumatra, Borneo, Timor, Ternate, and the Philippines--THE HOG DEER--THE AXIS DEER--PRINCE ALFRED’S DEER--THE SWAMP DEER--SCHOMBURGK’S DEER--ELD’S DEER, OR THE THAMYN--Description--Habits--Hunting--Shameful havoc.
The Deer tribe, known scientifically as that of the CERVIDÆ, is more circumscribed, and therefore better defined, than are the BOVIDÆ, or hollow-horned ruminants. Their best distinguishing character is that in the males there is each year developed a pair of antlers which is shed at the end of the season to be reproduced in the following spring. The females do not carry antlers, except in the case of the Reindeer, in which, although these elegant appendages are of the same form as in their mates, they are constructed upon a much smaller scale. There are, however, one or two Deer in which not even the males carry antlers, and these are the only members of the family with reference to which there is any serious doubt on the subject of affinity. The Musk (Moschus moschiferus) may be taken as an example. In this pretty creature, which is more fully described on pages 42-3, there are no antlers and no horns. Nevertheless, other peculiarities in its organisation have led most naturalists to include it among the Cervidæ, a position which is, however, so doubtful that it is quite possible that it may be an aberrant member of the bovine section, as we have for several reasons thought best to consider it.
A more certain Deer without antlers is the Water Deer of China, the flesh of which has formed an article of food among the natives of Shanghai for years. This small Deer has lengthy tusks, as has the Musk Deer, and nearly every member of the family in which the antlers are diminutive. Its very existence was not known in Great Britain until the year 1862, when Mr. Swinhoe, then our consul at Shanghai, described it, which shows how ignorant we still may be of the creatures which inhabit the mighty Celestial Empire.
In most other respects the Deer closely resemble the hollow-horned ruminants. Their complicated stomach does not differ from that of the Ox, and their other organs are constructed upon the same plan, except the liver, which, like that of the Giraffe, lacks a gall-bladder, this reservoir being present in nearly all the Bovidæ. Their general proportions are also much the same. The Red Deer and the Fallow Deer are those best known to most of us, as both are to be found living in Great Britain, as is the Roebuck in the north of Scotland.
The nature, growth, and shedding of the antlers deserve special consideration. In the commencement of the spring a pair of knobs is to be seen upon the forehead of the adult male animal. This is covered with a nearly smooth dark skin; and a scar can be detected in the middle of each, which is that left by the antler of the year before, where it fell off.
As the weather becomes more propitious these knobs commence to grow, feel warm to the touch, and are evidently filled with actively-circulating blood, supplied by special vessels which are developed at the time. They do not increase regularly in all directions, for if they did the antler would be a sphere, but they sprout out, as it may be termed, around the above-mentioned scar; in most cases there being one branch which takes a direction forward, whilst a second larger one makes its way backward. These become, in the fully-formed antler, the brow antler and the main beam; and it is by other branches growing upon the beam, according to definite laws, different in different species, that the elaborate complications of the fully-developed structure are produced.
As long as the antler, which is composed of genuine bone of very dense texture, is increasing in size, it will be found to be covered with the same warm black skin as is the knob from which it sprang; and as this skin is covered with short, fine, close-set hair, it has received the name of the “velvet.” It is this “velvet” which secretes the bony texture of the antler from its inner surface, just in the same way that the outer covering (the periosteum) of any long bone of the body is mainly concerned in the formation of the bone itself. As, also, in the same way, if we seriously graze our shins, and scrape off this covering, the bone exposed is very apt to die, so in the Deer any mishap to the “velvet” injures the growth of the antler in the part affected. The animals, therefore, during the time they are “in velvet” are more than usually careful to protect their cranial appendages, and are inoffensive even to strangers.
When their antler-growth has ceased their natures change. The “velvet” has performed its function and dries into a parchment-looking membrane, to get rid of which the Deer adopt a very simple method. They rub their antlers against any neighbouring trees, and force them into the soft earth until there is none left, and the bare bone, with scarcely any trace of hollow in the middle of it, is completely exposed. Now, in the glory of their full equipment, they go in search of others of their kind, having previously maintained a comparative solitude. They try their strength by butting at imaginary enemies, and choose their wives, unless prevented by others of their species mightier than themselves, with whom, if fairly matched, they enter into the most formidable contests, to win or to be driven from the herd with ignominy. During these contests the sound of their battering antlers may be heard for considerable distances, whilst now and then, by accident, they interlock themselves inextricably, and perish both, as is attested by skulls so found, and to be seen in more than one museum.
Looking upon the Deer generally, we find them inhabiting many parts of the world--Europe, Asia, and America. In Africa none occur south of the Sahara, they being there replaced by members of the Bovine section of the order. None are found in Australia, and in America they are far less common than in Great Britain. To understand the peculiar features and the distribution of the various species, it is necessary to classify them in groups of kindred genera, most falling into sections which are distinguishable without difficulty.
In arranging the different members of the Deer-tribe for description, there are peculiarities in their outward conformation which agree with those internal differences upon which all correct notions of relationship alone can be established. In classifying animals, naturalists must always be guided by the totality of the structure of each member of each group; but, as in describing them to those who have not made the minute details of their organisation their special study it is impossible to lay stress on all the various parts which have to be included by the student in arriving at the desired result, those outward features only can be mentioned which are found to tally with their total structure, namely, their osteology, their visceral anatomy, and their muscular arrangement. As an example of the relative importance of different external structures, we may mention that the late Dr. J. E. Gray, in his Catalogue of the Ruminant Mammalia in the British Museum, gives the following arrangement of the genera, in which the length of the tail suggests one distribution of them, whilst the shape of the antlers is in favour of another, which is very different:--
1.--_Tail very short 2.--_Tail elongate, with or clubbed._ longer hair at the end._
Antlers { Mantchurian Deer. Red Deer and its near allies. elaphine { Japanese Deer. { Fallow Deer. Eld’s Deer. } Barasingha Deer. } Antlers { Hog Deer. Schomburgk’s Deer. } rusine { Spotted Axis. Sambur and its near allies. }
Roebuck. } Antlers Chinese Elaphure. } capreoline.
This table is useful as a means of comparing the tails of the different genera; but other points of structure do not in the least support the classification suggested by that appendage, as a result of which it has to be ignored in the consideration of distant affinities, although, where questions of specific proximity are concerned, it is found to be of considerable value.
The antlers render much more trustworthy information in the determination and expression of relationships; and their characterising features can be most readily grasped by having an ideal type in the mind wherewith to compare all aberrant and complicated specimens. This ideal type may be derived in one or other of two ways. The first of these is from the study of the antlers as they are each year developed in any given kind of Deer, commencing with its earliest age. For example, in the Common Red Deer: in the spring of the year following its birth the antlers are nothing more than straight, conical, and unbranched “beams,” the animal being then known as a “Brocket.” In the following spring the antler has, besides the “beam,” a small branch from its base, directed forwards, known as the “brow antler;” it is then termed “Spayad.” In the third year an extra front branch is formed, known as the “tres,” and the whole antler is larger. This “tres” is sometimes seen in the smaller antler of the Spayad. In the fourth year the brow-antler is doubled, to form the “brow” and “bez-tyne,” at the same time that the top of the main beam divides into the “sur-royals” of the “Staggard,” or four-year male. In the fifth year the sur-royals become more numerous, the whole antler of the “Stag” being heavier than previously, only to be exceeded in weight by those of the fully adult “Great Hart,” with ten or more “points,” each being larger and longer than the year before. In Great Britain the conditions of life and the food are not of the quality which develops first-rate antlers, at the same time that it is--in Scotland, at least--the habit to shoot those with the finest heads, and so leave the indifferent specimens to perpetuate their species. In some of the ancient forests of Germany superb heads of the Red Deer are to be obtained, whilst in several of the old castles of that country antler trophies are preserved as memorials of sport in times gone by, with as many as six-and-sixty points. Lord Powerscourt has in his possession a pair with five-and-forty tynes.
The second way is from the study of the antlers of the species in which they are simple, in comparison with those in which they are particularly complex, both methods as they ought to do, leading to the same result. There are Deer--as, for example, the American Brockets, David’s Deer, and Reeves’ Muntjac--in which the antler is never more than a simple dag, like that of the “Brocket” stage in the Red Deer. There are others with never more than a single tyne besides the beam, as instances of which may be mentioned the Indian Muntjac and the Huamel. Others, again--and these form an important section of the family--are triply branched, as in the Spayad, the beam bifurcating some distance above the brow-antler. As instances of these we find the Sambur Deer of India, with its large and thus simple antlers; the closely-allied Javan and Swinhoe’s Deer; the Spotted Axis; the Hog Deer, and the Roebuck.
We have now arrived at the stage in which the beam has bifurcated, and almost all the more elaborate forms result from an excess in the development of both, or one or other, of the limbs of this bifurcation. In the Deer known as Elaphine--because they more or less resemble the Red Deer (Cervus elaphus)--the front of these two branches (the “tres”) does not increase or become complicated, whilst from the much-enlarged hind one the numerous sur-royals spring in the biggest species, such as the Wapiti, Cashmere, Red, and Barbary Deer, as well as the Maral, of Persia. In the smaller species which follow this type of structure the sur-royals are less developed, at the same time that the brow-antler does not split in two to form a “bez” as well, examples of which are to be seen in the Mantchurian, Formosan, and Japanese Deer, as well as in the Fallow Deer and its newly-discovered ally from Mesopotamia. These two last-named differ also in the “palmation” of their antlers--a peculiarity referred to further in the special description of the species.
The accompanying outline diagram represents the most important types of antlers, to one or other of which those of almost every known Deer can be referred. To facilitate future description, they may be named as follows:--
Fig. 1.--Rusine type. 2.--Normal Rucervine type. 3.--Intermediate Rucervine type. 4.--Extreme Rucervine type. 5.--Sub-elaphine type. 6.--Elaphine type.
(A) Brow-tyne. (B) Tres-tyne. (C) Royal-tyne.
The Rusine type (1), in which the brow-tyne (A) is simple, at the same time that the beam ends in a simple bifurcation, is found in the Sambur Deer (Rusa Aristotelis) of India. The Rucervine type, in which the bifurcate beam is further subdivided, tends to be prolonged in the direction of the tres-tyne (B), at the same time that there is a corresponding reduction of the royal (C). In Schomburgk’s Deer (Rucervus Schomburgki) of Siam, both branches of the beam are equally developed (2); in the Swamp Deer (Rucervus Duvaucelli) of India (3), the tres (B) is larger than the royal (C); whilst in Eld’s Deer (Rucervus Eldi) (4), of Burmah, there is but a small snag (C) at the back of the enormous tres-tyne (B) to represent the royal. The Red Deer (Cervus elaphus) (6), besides having the brow-tyne (A) re-duplicated, has the royal (C) developed at the expense of the tres (B), and much divided up in well-grown animals. In the Japanese Deer (Cervus sika) (5) and its allies the relative proportions of the tynes are much the same, although the brow-tyne (A) is simple.
THE ELK, OR MOOSE DEER.[29]
The Elk, the largest of the family of the Cervidæ, is found in North America, Northern Europe, and the coldest parts of Asia, thinly scattered in all but the first-named locality. At the shoulder it may attain so great a height as eight feet when adult. The female is antler-less. In the male these appendages possess quite a peculiar shape, the two together forming a kind of basin, on account of their being developed into huge palmated concave sheets of bony tissue, which diverge laterally from the skull.
At nine months old the antlers first appear, not being more than straight and rounded dags in the first year. They reach their full length in the fifth year, from which period for many more years they increase in breadth and weight, and add, it is said, a fresh point to their palmated margins until the fourteenth, when the creature is considered quite adult.
The colour of the animal is a deep blackish-brown; the neck is short and thick, with a peculiar bob-shaped, pendulous, and hair-covered lap of skin hanging down from its middle, just behind the angles of the jaw. The limbs, especially the front ones, are long; the tail is rudimentary. The coat is formed of close-set harsh angular hair, which breaks when bent, produced into a mane upon the neck and shoulders. Sir John Richardson gives the following account of the habits and food of the Elk, with the mode of hunting it:--“In the more northern parts the Moose Deer is quite a solitary animal, more than one being very seldom seen at a time, unless during the rutting season or when the female is accompanied by her fawns. It has the sense of hearing in very great perfection, and is the most shy and wary of all the Deer species, and on this account the art of Moose-hunting is looked upon as the greatest of an Indian’s acquirements, particularly by the Crees, who take to themselves the credit of being able to instruct the hunters of every other tribe. The skill of a Moose hunter is most tried in the early part of the winter; for during the summer the Moose, as well as other animals, are so much tormented by Mosquitoes that they become regardless of the approach of man. In the winter the hunter tracks the Moose by its footmarks in the snow, and it is necessary that he should keep constantly to leeward of the chase, and make his advance with the utmost caution, for the rustling of a withered leaf or the cracking of a rotten twig is sufficient to alarm the watchful beast. The difficulty of approach is increased by a habit which the Moose Deer has of making daily a sharp turn in its route, and choosing a place of repose so near some part of its path that it can hear the least noise made by one that attempts to track it. To avoid this, the judicious hunter, instead of walking in the animal’s footsteps, forms his judgment from the appearance of the country of the direction it is likely to have taken, and makes a circuit to leeward until he again finds the track. This manœuvre is repeated until he discovers by the softness of the snow, in the footmarks and other signs, that he is very near the chase. He then disencumbers himself of everything that might embarrass his motions, and makes his approach in the most cautious manner. If he gets close to the animal’s lair without being seen, it is usual for him to break a small twig, which, alarming the Moose, it instantly starts up, but not fully aware of the danger, squats on its hams and waits a minute before setting off. In this posture it presents the fairest mark, and the hunter’s shot seldom fails to take effect in a mortal part. In the rutting season the bucks lay aside their timidity, and attack every animal that comes in their way, and even conquer their fear of man himself. The hunter then brings them within gunshot by scraping on the blade-bone of a Deer, and by whistling, which, deceiving the male, he blindly hastens to the spot to assail his supposed rival. If the hunter fails in giving it a mortal wound as it approaches, he shelters himself from its fury behind a tree, and I have heard of several instances in which the enraged animal has completely stripped the bark from the trunk of a large tree by striking with its fore-feet. In the spring time, when the snow is very deep, the hunters frequently run down the Moose on snow-shoes, which give them immense advantage, because the slender legs of the animal sink into the snow for their whole length each step they take, which makes their progress very slow.”
The usual pace of the Moose is a high shambling trot, and its strides are immense. On account of their necks being short at the same time that their legs are long, they browse upon the bushes rather than on the ground, which they find difficulty in reaching with their mouths.
THE ELAPHINE DEER.[30]
This group is characterised by the presence of a bez-tyne in all its members--except that under the influence of protracted bad nutrition individuals resident in barren parts may lose it--whilst the tres-tyne is small, and the third main branch of the antler splits up into several snags, sometimes arranged in the form of a cup. The deep brown coat is varied by a conspicuous light, almost white patch upon the rump, in which the uncovered rudiment of a tail is included. All the species are large, the best known to us being
THE RED DEER.[31]
This species is a native of the British Isles and many parts of Europe. Northern specimens are much the smaller, and carry far inferior antlers, those of South Germany and Hungary possessing heads worthy, of the species. In England they are still to be found wild in Exmoor Forest, in Scotland north of the Forth and Clyde; and in Ireland about Killarney, Connemara, and Erris.
A well-grown Stag stands over four feet at the withers, with a thickly-coated neck of a greyish tint, a rich red-brown body-colour, uniformly curved symmetrical antlers, and head held high. The Stag in summer is a lordly creature. In winter its coat is longer and of a greyer tint. As is the case in allied species, and all but a few of the Rusine Deer, the new-born calves are brilliantly spotted with white.
The pairing season occupies the early part of October. The calves are born at the end of May or the beginning of June; whilst the Stags drop their antlers between the end of February and the earlier days of April, the youngest latest. Up till the age of twelve the animal continues to increase in bulk and strength, and it is highly probable that they do not ever much outlive twenty years, although superstition credits them with very many more.
It is towards the end of August or the beginning of September that the well-nourished Stags, having already cleared their antlers of their “velvet,” leave their retirement, and with swollen necks as well as restless mien, seek out the hinds. During the rutting season, which lasts about three weeks, they eat but little, and lose weight rapidly, to be regained in the subsequent repose upon the summer-developed foliage. In the southern counties of Great Britain the hunting of the Stag has degenerated into the repeated chase of a few individuals, deprived of their antlers, and let out of boxes shortly before the sportsmen put in an appearance; whilst long-ranged rifles have reduced the difficulties of what not many years ago--more especially in Scotland--was a form of sport which very severely taxed the physical capacities of the most determined and courageous.
The WAPITI, the PERSIAN, the CASHMERIAN, and the BARBARY DEER resemble the Red Deer in almost every detail except size, the first and second being considerably larger. Their antlers all branch in the same manner, except that the proportionate sizes of some of the snags are apt to vary. Superb heads of Wapiti are numerous in Great Britain, with their brown beams and white burnished tips.
The Wapiti is kept in confinement without difficulty, although in autumn the stags become savage. Its home is the woodlands and the mountains of North America, where it is generally incorrectly called the “Elk.” Stalking the species is a common sport, but there is not so much interest associated with it as with Moose-stalking, because it is a more stupid creature, and its senses are less acutely developed. When started, a herd will make off for a short distance, and stop to recognise the source of danger before continuing its flight. Its food is mostly leaves of trees and shrubs, though it frequently eats grass and weeds. Dr. J. D. Caton, of Ottawa, Illinois, who has had much experience in the preserving of American Deer, has published many interesting details with regard to this species. Among others he mentions, with reference to the young, that “the most prominent instinct of the young fawn is that of deception. I have several times come across fawns evidently but a few hours old, left by the mother in supposed security. They affect death to perfection, only they forget to shut their eyes. They lie without a motion, and if you pick them up they are as limp as a wet rag, the head and limbs hanging down without the least muscular action, the bright eye fairly sparkling all the time.” The venison is excellent; it is said to be more nutritious than any other meat.
The Persian Deer, or Marāl, differs from the Cashmerian Deer but little. Its head, however, is longer and more pointed.
The Cashmerian Deer, or Barasingha, again, is hardly distinguishable from the Wapiti. Professor Leith Adams remarks, with reference to it, that “the Cashmere forests seem the head-quarters of this species on the western ranges, for it is seldom, if ever, met with between Mussouree and the Vale of Cashmere. The dense forests and fertile valleys of the latter country are particularly inviting to this species. In habits and general appearance the Cashmere Stag bears a striking resemblance to the Red Deer. Although it is seldom, nowadays, that individuals of the latter species escape the hunter so long as to attain the size and magnitude of the Barasingha [twelve points], yet I think it will be found that the horns of those killed in the forests of Scotland in former years are equal in size to any at present met with in Cashmere. It is in the dense pine forests on the Northern Pinjal, and in the many beautiful valleys among these ranges, that we find the species most abundant. There are very few on the southern ranges. In the secluded depths of these solitudes they lie all day, to issue forth at dusk and feed on the grassy hill-sides, or descend even into the Valley of Cashmere when forced by the snows of winter. An adult Stag averages thirteen hands in height. The colour of the coat varies but little in the sexes or the seasons of the year; dark liver-colour, with reddish patches on the inner sides of the hips; belly and lower parts white, or a dirty white. The male has the hair on the lower part of the neck long and shaggy (wanting in the female); the horns large, and usually very massive, with from ten to fifteen or more points, according to age (the largest pair of horns I have measured were four feet round the curves, with six and seven points). They are shed in March; and the new horn is not completely formed until the end of October, when the rutting season commences, and the loud bellowings of the Stags are heard all over the mountains. During vigorous winters they are frequently driven to seek for shelter and food around the villages in the valleys, when many are destroyed by natives, who hunt them with Dogs. The Cheetahs, Wild Dogs, and Bears are said to kill the young.”
The very similar Barbary Deer is most interesting, in that it is the only member of the Cervine group which is found in Africa.
THE SUB-ELAPHINE DEER.[32]
The JAPANESE, FORMOSAN, and MANTCHURIAN DEER are all species allied to those just described, but differing in being smaller in size, at the same time that the antlers conform to the sub-elaphine type, in which the bez-tyne is never present, and the sur-royals are but inconsiderably branched. They are all strongly spotted in their summer dress, which, especially in the Mantchurian--the largest of the species--is most brilliant. In the winter their coats are nearly uniform, and of a dark brown colour. A fawn-red is the groundwork of the summer coat, the spots being yellowish-white, whilst a black streak, in perfect contrast, runs the whole length of the middle of the back, continuing down the tail and expanding slightly at its base. The throat is white. The sombre winter coat is a nearly uniform dark red-brown.
The FALLOW DEER (Dama vulgaris), so well known on account of its being preserved in a semi-domesticated state in so many English parks, has antlers constructed upon the same plan as those of the Mantchurian Deer (sub-elaphine). These, however, present special peculiarities found in none of the allied species, for they are palmated in their upper parts, in the region of the sur-royals, the digitations or terminal points being developed along the convex posterior margins of the palmated surface. The buck is about three feet high at the shoulder. The head is short and broad, the tail between seven and eight inches long. The colour of the wild animal, both buck and doe, is a rich yellowish-brown in summer, spotted with white all over. In winter the tints are more sombre and greyish. Domestic varieties vary immensely, both in the distinctness of the spotting and the general colouration. Until six years of age the buck receives a separate name each year from sportsmen--fawn, pricket, sorrel, soare, buck of the first lead, and buck complete, being the terms employed--the antlers not being developed at all in the fawn, being simple snags in the pricket, with two front branches in the sorrel, with slight palmation of the extremity of the beam in the soare, and the whole antler larger and larger until the sixth year. The venison of the Fallow Deer is fatter than that of the Red Deer, and is preferred by most.
The species is not a native of Britain, having most certainly been introduced, although exactly when is not known. The dark-coloured and more hardy breed was brought from Norway by James I. Its true wild habitat was probably the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, both north and south.
The PERSIAN FALLOW DEER,[33] so closely related to the species just referred to that they breed together, was made known to us in 1875 by Sir Victor Brooke, who described it from specimens sent to England by Mr. Robertson, the British Vice-Consul at Busrah. It resembles the Common Fallow Deer in almost every detail, except that it is slightly larger, and that the antlers are not the same. As stated above, in the Common Fallow Deer the antlers, whilst developed on the sub-elaphine type, are palmated in the region of the royals, with several snags projecting from the upper margin, at the same time that the lower portion of the beam, the tres, and the brow-tynes are cylindrical, as usually is the case in other species.
In the Persian Fallow the palmation at the extremity of the antlers is much less conspicuous, and scarcely exists, although many snags are present there, directed upwards. The palmation is at the bases of the antlers instead, including the brow-tyne and the beam, so that the general appearance of the antlers is quite peculiar to the species.
THE RUSINE DEER.[34]
The SAMBUR, OR GEROW (Rusa Aristotelis), of India, is found abundantly in all the hill-districts of that country. It is nearly five feet high, of a deep brown colour, with the hair of the neck developed almost into a mane. The tail is of fair length. Its build is massive, as are its antlers, which present three powerful points, and reach over three feet in length. Above the considerable brow-tyne the beam bifurcates high up into two fairly equal snags, and no more in well-grown antlers. The hind is much less massive, and of a yellowish tint. Captain Kinloch says of the species that “Sambur delight in stony hills, where there is plenty of cover, and where they can have easy access to water. They browse more than graze, and are nearly nocturnal in their habits. During the daytime they seek the most shady retreats, and old Stags especially are most difficult to find, frequently betaking themselves to almost inaccessible places, where the uninitiated would never dream of looking for them. The experienced hunter, indeed, has frequently to depend more upon fortune than his own knowledge of woodcraft.” In Java an almost identical species differs mostly in having the hinder of the two branches of the beam of the antler longer than the one in front. Swinhoe’s Deer from Formosa is also almost indistinguishable, at the same time that Sumatran and Bornean specimens agree with it in being particularly dark in colour.
Three smaller species, with antlers branched in exactly the same manner, are found in the islands of Borneo, Timor, Ternate, and the Philippines.
The HOG DEER of India and Ceylon is not bigger than the Roebuck although the legs are shorter and the body heavier. Its antlers consist of a brow-tyne and bifurcate beam, of which the posterior tyne is short, and turned inwards; they rarely exceed a foot and a half in length. It is of a uniform dark brown colour, rarely spotted indistinctly with white. Their name is derived from the pig-like way in which they run, with their heads low, when pursued.
The SPOTTED HOG DEER is a rare species, of a slightly lighter colour, and with pale yellow spots.
The AXIS DEER of India, sometimes called the Cheetal, resembles the Fallow Deer in size and colouration most closely, although its antlers serve to show that its true relations are quite different. These latter are not palmated at all, and are quite rusine in type, presenting the three points characteristic of them, the front tyne of the bifurcate beam being of great length. There is a beauty in the intensity of the spotting of the coat of this species which is unequalled by any other member of the Cervidæ, and it is interesting to know that according to the universal testimony of sportsmen, the effect of sunlight through foliage so much resembles it that it is almost impossible to recognise the animal in the woods. They have a reputation for being indolent, as they feed during the night, and sleep throughout the day, frequenting the heavy grass jungles along the banks of rivers. Their cry is a shrill bark at the approach of danger. The accompanying figure (see Plate 26), drawn from a specimen in captivity, gives an excellent idea of the immense length attained by the antlers, which in this particular case are blunt-tipped, because not quite fully grown. The hinder tyne on the right side, it will be noticed, is almost entirely hidden in the hair of the flank.
PRINCE ALFRED’S DEER,[35] about the size of the Fallow Deer, was first described by Dr. Sclater from a specimen brought from the Philippine Islands by the Duke of Edinburgh in 1870. Its glossy coat is of a rich chocolate colour, covered with pale yellow spots; a broad line along the back, as in all spotted Deer, being uninterrupted; the under parts are of a pale yellow. The antlers are only nine inches in length, but comparatively thick, and simply branched upon the rusine type, with three points. The legs are rather short, at the same time that the body is heavy.
The SWAMP DEER.[36] The name Barasingha, signifying “twelve points,” is applied to two very different species of Indian Deer, the Cashmerian Deer, previously mentioned, and the Swamp Deer.
The Swamp Deer of India and Assam is slightly smaller than the Sambur, not exceeding four feet in height. Its colour is a rich light yellow. As its name signifies it delights in moist situations, where it congregates in herds of great numbers. Its antlers are large, and of the intermediate rucervine type. The brow-tynes reach a foot in length, and are directed forwards with an upward turn at their tips. The beam is long, and branches into an anterior, massive, and branched continuation of itself, as well as a posterior smaller bifurcate tyne.
In Siam this species is replaced by the closely-allied SCHOMBURGK’S DEER, a little-known species, in which the antlers are extremely elegant, the long brow-tyne being followed by a short beam which bifurcates into two equal branches, these again, each of them, bifurcating in a similar manner.
ELD’S DEER, OR THE THAMYN.[37] This Deer, which differs from the Swamp Deer only in its antlers, was discovered by Captain Eld, in 1838. It abounds in the swamp lands of Burmah, and extends as far east as the Island of Hainan. Its form is slimmer than that of the Red Deer, at the same time that it is somewhat smaller, attaining a height of over four feet. During the summer months its body-colour is a light rufous brown, with a few faint indications of white spots. Its under parts are nearly white, as are the insides of the hairy ears. Its tail is short, and black above. In winter its lengthy hair takes on a darker tint.
Lieutenant R. C. Beavan has given an excellent account of the habits of Eld’s Deer, from which we learn that their food must consist almost entirely of grass and paddy, which grow both cultivated and wild, in the swamps in which they dwell. “In habits they are very wary and difficult of approach, especially the males. They are also very timid, and easily startled; the males, however, when wounded and brought to bay with Dogs, get very savage and charge vigorously. On being disturbed they invariably make for the open, instead of resorting to the heavy jungle like Hog Deer and Sambur. In fact the Thamyn is essentially a plain-loving species; and, although it will frequent tolerably open tree-jungle for the sake of its shade, it will never venture into dense or matted underwood.... When first started the pace of the Thamyn is great. It commences by giving three or four large bounds like the Axis or Spotted Deer, and afterwards settles down into a long trot, which it will keep up for six or seven miles on end when frequently disturbed.” As to the means employed to hunt them, the same author informs us that “a large number of men would assemble from the neighbouring villages, and gradually encircle three or four moderate-sized herds with long strings, upon which plantain-leaves were tied so as to flutter in the wind. The circle, originally formed at some distance, was gradually lessened as the Deer, afraid to pass the scarecrows, got gradually driven together, until they were completely surrounded and at the mercy of the hunters. The object was to get them into a corner near the heavy jungle, into which, if they attempted to run, they either became entangled, or allowed their pursuers to get up quite close. As many as a hundred and fifty to two hundred, my informant tells me, he has himself seen killed in one battue in former years. To such a length was this [shameful] system carried, and such enormous havoc was thereby created, that the Burmese Government, fearing the species would be utterly exterminated, wisely put a stop to the practice.”