SUB-ORDER II.—DOUBLE-TOOTHED RODENTS.
With the Cavies concludes the long series of simple-toothed Rodents, and some of them, as we have seen, present no small resemblance to the Hares and Rabbits which constitute the greater part of the second great group into which we have divided the order. The chief peculiarity of this section, as has been already stated, consists in the presence in the upper jaw of a pair of minute incisor teeth, placed immediately behind the large effective incisors; and in the newly-born animal the number of these teeth is even greater, there being six incisors in the upper jaw, two of which fallout at an early period. Though the number of species included in this section is very considerable (about fifty, according to Mr. Wallace’s estimate), it includes only two families, and each of these contains only a single genus. We will commence with that which includes the best-known forms, the Hares and Rabbits.
CAPYBARA.
CAPYBARA.
FAMILY XVII.—LEPORIDÆ (HARES AND RABBITS).
The general appearance of these animals hardly needs to be described, and we may, therefore, indicate merely the structural peculiarities which serve to define the family. These consist in the presence of six rootless molars on each side in the upper, and five in the lower jaw (seefigure on p. 82), each molar being divided into lobes by transverse folds of enamel; in the compressed form of the skull and the presence of wing-like post-orbital processes of the frontal bones; in the imperfect condition of the clavicles; the greater development of the hind limbs; and the presence of a short, bushy, upturned tail. The ears are long; the inner surface of the cheeks is more or less clothed with short hairs; the fore-limbs have five, and the hind-limbs only four toes; and the soles of the feet are hairy throughout. In all these characters, however they may differ in some respects, all the true Hares and Rabbits agree. The representatives of this family occur in nearly all parts of the world, but chiefly in the northern hemisphere, and the few species which pass down within the tropics are generally found only in mountainous regions. In the north they reach the Arctic regions in both continents. In the Old World a few species are scattered over India and Further India, and four or five occur in Africa, but chiefly in the southern part of the continent. In North America the species are numerous, and some of them range southward into Central America; but South America has only a single species, which occurs in the mountains of Brazil and upon the Andes.
As the whole of the family consists of animals to which in common parlance the names of Hares and Rabbits are given, we may take as examples of it the Hares and Rabbits which are so abundant in Great Britain, the other species agreeing generally with one or other of them in character and habits.
They may all be characterised as animals destitute of any means of defence against their enemies, except the rapidity of their movements, and as exceedingly shy and timid. Their general colour is a mixture of grey and brown, sometimes quite tawny, sometimes almost pure grey, and, as Mr. Bell remarks, “The admirable wisdom which has assigned such colours to a group of defenceless animals which conceal themselves amidst the brown sombre vegetation of woods and heaths, will appear more striking when it is recollected that certain species inhabiting the snowy regions of the north become wholly white in winter. All the members of the genus,” he adds, “are remarkable for their timidity, and their whole structure is such as at once to announce to them the presence of danger, and to enable them to escape from it. The eyes and ears are so formed and situate as to become instantly cognisant of even distant warnings of peril, and the limbs are admirably adapted for the most rapid flight.”
This last statement applies in a special manner to the COMMONHARE(Lepus europæus), which is singularly well adapted for getting over the ground rapidly by the great length and powerful development of its hind legs. These organs are nearly twice as long as the fore limbs, and, as most of us are well aware, the bones composing them are set in motion by an enormous mass of solid muscle. Owing to their great preponderance the Hare, when moving slowly in search of food, goes with a sort of lolloping gait; but the moment there is occasion for him to move with rapidity, the disproportionate hind limbs stand him in good stead, and he shoots along over the ground by a series of long leaps, and with great swiftness. At the same time, it is observed that the length of its hind legs causes the Hare to run with much greater facility up hill than down, and, in fact, it is said that in descending steep inclines the animal is obliged to run obliquely in order to escape over-balancing itself. When pursued, the Hare has the art of making sudden turns in its course, known as “doubles” or “wrenches,” by which the Dogs in chase of it are thrown out, for although most Greyhounds are swifter of foot than a Hare, they are incapable of changing their course so sharply, and thus, while they are carried some distance onwards by their own impetus, their intended victim is making off in a different direction. They adopt other cunning artifices in order to escape from their pursuers, and some of these indicate a considerable amount of intelligence. Under such circumstances, and also in search of a more plentiful supply of food, the Hare will take to the water readily, and swim across rivers. Mr. Yarrell observed a Hare even swimming across an arm of the sea about a mile broad.
The Hare lives chiefly in cultivated fields, where it resides in a small depression of the surface, which is called its “form.” It shifts the situation of this simple residence according to the season, selecting a shady spot in summer, and a sunny one in winter, and going into cover in wet weather. It is rather a nocturnal or crepuscular than a day-feeding animal, although it may not unfrequently be seen abroad in the day. In the evening and early in the morning it is most active, passing the brighter hours at rest in its form. When out in the field in search of food it goes hopping along among the herbage and cultivated plants, every now and then sitting upright on its haunches and listening with erected ears for the slightest sound indicative of approaching danger. Its food is exclusively of a vegetable nature, but it seems to embrace pretty nearly the whole round of cultivated plants. Cruciferous plants appear to be amongst its favourite articles of diet, but it also does much damage to fields of young wheat. In the winter, when the open fields are covered with snow frozen hard, and, indeed, sometimes in the summer, the Hare will make his way into gardens in search of food, or, if this resource is not at hand, into plantations of young trees, where it will gnaw off and feed upon the bark, thus destroying great numbers of the trees. Mr. S. Mawson has recorded finding the stomach of a Hare killed in winter filled with hawthorn berries. After its wanderings the Hare always returns to its own form.
Hares pair when they are about a year old, and from that time produce several broods every year, each consisting of from two to five young, which are born covered with hair and with their eyes open. From Mr. Bell’s statement, these animals would appear to breed almost all the yearround; he says that in mild winters young Hares have been found in January, and that he has known breeding continue till the middle of November. When captured young, the Hare may be easily tamed, and become an amusing pet, as, indeed, will be familiar to almost every one, through Cowper’s account of his Hares. Formerly the Hare used to be trained by jugglers to perform various tricks, one of which was the beating of a tambourine with its fore-feet, with which the animal will of its own accord drum upon the back of an offending companion. A relic of this practice is to be recognised in a common toy, which shows a small Hare sitting and beating a tambourine, its fore limbs being set in motion by the turning of the wheels of its stand.
The Common Hare is found spread over the greater part of Europe, from the south of Sweden and northern Russia to the Mediterranean and the Caucasus. It does not occur in Ireland. It varies somewhat in colour in different localities, and although it does not become white in winter, the northern forms show a tendency in that direction, and the others acquire a greyish tint at the approach of the cold weather.
COMMON HARE.
COMMON HARE.
THERABBIT, or CONY(Lepus cuniculus), differs from the Hare in various characters; its colour is a tawny brownish-grey, the disproportion between the fore and hind limbs is not so great, and the ears are shorter, not exceeding the head in length. Although the Wild Rabbit is so plentiful in England as to become a pest to the farmers in many places, it is supposed not to be a native of north-western and central Europe, but to have been naturalised in Britain, its original home being in the countries bordering the Mediterranean. It is, and always was, very abundant in Spain, the name of which country (Hispania) has been supposed to mean the “country of Conies,” from the Phœnician and Hebrew wordSchaphan, the name of the Hyrax or Cony of the Bible. Even in the presentday it is very local in its distribution north of the Alps, and is not found at all in eastern and northern Europe. In Australia it has proved to be a veritable scourge.
In its habits the Rabbit differs from the Hare more than in its form and structure. Instead of contenting itself with a shallow depression as a resting-place on the surface of the ground, it digs deep holes in the ground, into which it may retire to sleep or at the approach of danger. It prefers light sandy soils for its residence, as these present great facilities for burrowing, and wherever particularly favourable conditions exist the Rabbits are to be found living together in very large societies. Furzy heaths are favourite places with them, as the ground is easily worked, and the furze bushes not only serve as a protection to the burrows, but furnish the Rabbit with an abundant supply of food, the young shoots being eaten off as high as the animals can reach when standing on their hind feet. In wet moors the Rabbits avoid burrowing, and live in runs and galleries formed in the matted heather and long herbage. Mr. Bell says that in more than one instance he has known a family to take possession of a hollow tree, ascending its inclined and decayed trunk for some distance.
Like the Hare, the Rabbit is generally quiet during the day, although it will not unfrequently be abroad at all hours. The evening, however, is its principal time for activity, and then the inhabitants of the warren may be seen playing about near their abodes, or wandering to greater distances in search of the green vegetables on which they feed. The moment there is the smallest suspicion of danger, the whole company scamper off at once to seek safety in their burrows. As they go, their white tails are the most conspicuous objects to be seen, and the spectacle of some hundreds of them rushing along at full speed, vanishing one after the other down the burrows, is lively and amusing enough.
The Rabbit begins breeding at six months old, and has several litters in each year. The young are usually from five to eight in number, sometimes even more; they are born blind and naked, and are produced in a separate burrow which the female digs for their reception, and lines with fur pulled from her own body. This brood-chamber has usually only a single entrance, and this the mother closes with earth after visiting and suckling her young family, which she is said to do only at night.
When domesticated, the Rabbit, as is well known, differs materially from its wild state. It is larger, and its colours are usually white, black, brown, or fawn colour, sometimes alone, sometimes mixed in patches. Albinoes are common, and form a permanent race. The Angora Rabbit, which is usually albino, has the hairs very long; and the so-called “fancy Rabbits” have the ears more or less pendent at the sides of the head, and often so long as to touch the ground.
A third British species is the MOUNTAINHARE(Lepus variabilis), or Northern Hare, an inhabitant of all the northern parts of both hemispheres, which occurs in most parts of Scotland, and in Ireland, where, indeed, it takes the place of the common Hare. In its summer coat it is of a light fulvous grey colour, and is further distinguished from the common Hare by the shortness of the ears and tail, the former being shorter than the head, and the latter little more than half its length. In cold climates this animal becomes pure white in the winter. This Hare is absent from Central Europe, but reappears on the chain of the Alps.
It will be unnecessary to enter into details with regard to the other species of this family, all of which more or less resemble those just described, both in appearance and habits. They are distributed over nearly the whole world except the Australian region, but they are most numerous in North America, where a great many species have been described, which are reduced by Mr. Allen to twelve. Four of these, however, present well-marked local races, which double the number of recognised permanent forms.