TheCapybarais the largest of all rodents. This species is, in fact, a gigantic water-guinea-pig. It is found in all the great rivers of South America, from the Orinoco to the La Plata. It swims as well as a water-rat, though it is as large as a small pig. It feeds on reeds, water-plants, and grass. A capital photograph of this animal appears onpage 146.
PATAGONIAN CAVY.Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.PATAGONIAN CAVY.This large species of cavy has been acclimatised successfully both in England and in France.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.PATAGONIAN CAVY.This large species of cavy has been acclimatised successfully both in England and in France.
Photo by Scholastic Photo. Co.][Parson's Green.
PATAGONIAN CAVY.
This large species of cavy has been acclimatised successfully both in England and in France.
Pikas, Hares, and Rabbits.
The last two families of the Rodents have a small pair of rudimentary incisor teeth behind the large ones in the upper jaw. ThePikas, orCalling-hares, resemble the marmot tribe in general appearance. Their heads are short, their ears rounded, and, being tailless, they still less resemble the common hare; but their dentition marks them as allied. One species, about 9 inches long, is found in Siberia; and another, only 7 inches long, in the Rocky Mountains. The former has a habit of cutting grass and storing it in small stacks outside its hole for winter use; the Rocky Mountain species carries its hay into its burrows.
TheHaresare a widely distributed group. They are found from the north of Scotland (where the grey mountain species turns white in winter) to the south of India, in South Africa, and across the continent of Asia to Japan. TheMountain-haretakes the place of the brown species in Scandinavia, Northern Russia, and Ireland; it is rather smaller, and has shorter ears and hind legs.
WOOD-HARE.By permission of Professor Bumpus][New York.WOOD-HARE.This is one of the forms intermediate between the hares and rabbits.
By permission of Professor Bumpus][New York.WOOD-HARE.This is one of the forms intermediate between the hares and rabbits.
By permission of Professor Bumpus][New York.
WOOD-HARE.
This is one of the forms intermediate between the hares and rabbits.
As early as 54B.C., Cæsar, in his account of Britain, writes that theCommon Harewas kept by the ancient Britons as a pet, but not eaten by them. It was protected by the Normans in the second list, or schedule, of animals reserved for sport. The first list included theBeasts of the Forest, the second theBeasts of the Chase, of which the hare was one of the first. The word "chase" has here a technical meaning, by which was understood an open park, or preserved area, midway in dignity between a forest and an enclosed park. "Hare parks" were also made, perhaps the most recent being that made at Bushey for the amusement of the sovereign when at Hampton Court Palace. Thename is often found surviving elsewhere. At Hokham, the Earl of Leicester's seat in Norfolk, a walled park of 1,500 acres holds almost all the hares on the estate. If these parks and forest laws had not existed at an early date, it is probable that the hare would have become very scarce in this country.
Hares produce their leverets about the middle of April, though in mild seasons they are born much earlier. The number of the litter is from two to five. They are placed in a small hollow scraped out by the doe hare, but not in a burrow of any kind.
The instinct of concealment by remaining still is very highly developed in the hares and rabbits. They will often "squat" on the ground until picked up rather than take to flight. This seems almost a perverted instinct; yet hares often exhibit considerable courage and resource when escaping from their enemies. The following is an instance:—A hare was coursed by two young greyhounds on some marshes intersected by wide ditches of water. It first ran to the side of one of these ditches, and doubled at right angles on the brink. This caused the outer dog to lose its balance and to fall heavily into the deep and cold water. The hare then made straight for the line of walkers, and passed through them, with the other greyhound close behind it. The dog reached out and seized the hare by the fur of the back, throwing it down. The hare escaped, leaving a large patch of fur in the dog's jaws, doubled twice, and was again seized by the second dog, which had come up. It escaped from the jaws of the second pursuer, leapt two ditches 12 feet wide, and then sat for a moment behind a gate on a small bridge. This use of the only cover near caused the dogs to lose sight of it; they refused to jump the second drain, and the hare escaped.
WILD RABBITS.Photo by C. Reid][Wishaw, N.B.WILD RABBITS.The wild rabbit has now spread to the north of Scotland, where this picture was taken. It is also common in the Hebrides.
Photo by C. Reid][Wishaw, N.B.WILD RABBITS.The wild rabbit has now spread to the north of Scotland, where this picture was taken. It is also common in the Hebrides.
Photo by C. Reid][Wishaw, N.B.
WILD RABBITS.
The wild rabbit has now spread to the north of Scotland, where this picture was taken. It is also common in the Hebrides.
TheRabbitis too well known to need description either of its habits or appearance. It originally came from the countries south of the Mediterranean, but is now common in Northern Europe, and has become a pest in Australia and New Zealand. The rabbit breeds when six months old, and has several litters in each year.
THE BATS AND INSECT-EATING MAMMALS.
BY W. P. PYCRAFT, A.L.S., F.Z.S.
These two groups are really closely allied; but the bats are generally considered apart, on account of their totally different mode of life. Originally, like their more commonplace relatives, they were dwellers upon the earth, or, more correctly, among the trees. By gradual modification of the fore limbs, and a corresponding development of folds of skin attached thereto, and to the body, they have acquired the power of flight. The cobego, to be mentioned presently, gives us a hint of how this may have come about.
The bats are the only members of the Mammalia which possess the power of true flight. The so-called flying-squirrels do not rightly deserve this title, for they have no wings. The wings of the bat have been formed by modification of the fore limbs, the finger-bones having become excessively lengthened, so as to serve as a support to a thin web of skin extending outwards from the body, much as the ribs of an umbrella support the covering. The hand of the bat is therefore a quite unique organ.
AUSTRALIAN FRUIT-BAT, OR "FLYING-FOX."Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.AUSTRALIAN FRUIT-BAT, OR "FLYING-FOX."This photograph shows the "flying-fox" in its customary resting position. A photograph of it flying is shown onpage vof Introduction.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.AUSTRALIAN FRUIT-BAT, OR "FLYING-FOX."This photograph shows the "flying-fox" in its customary resting position. A photograph of it flying is shown onpage vof Introduction.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.
AUSTRALIAN FRUIT-BAT, OR "FLYING-FOX."
This photograph shows the "flying-fox" in its customary resting position. A photograph of it flying is shown onpage vof Introduction.
The wing-membrane serves yet another purpose, for its sense of touch is exceedingly delicate, enabling even blind bats (for bats are not blind usually, as is popularly supposed) to avoid objects placed in their path. Some bats, however, appear to depend also in some slight degree upon hearing. The sense of touch is still further increased by the development of frills or leaf-like expansions of skin round the nose and mouth, and by the excessive development of the external ears. Delicate hairs fringing these membranes probably act like the "whiskers" of the cat.
Insect-eating bats inhabiting regions with a temperate climate must in winter, when food-supplies cease, either hibernate or migrate to warmer regions. The majority hibernate; but two species at least of Canadian bats perform extensive migrations, it is supposed to escape the intense cold.
The power of flight has made the bats independent of the barriers which restrict the movements of terrestrial animals, and accordingly we find them all over the world, even as far north as the Arctic Circle. But certain groups of bats have an extremely restricted range. Thus the Fruit-bats occur only in the warmer regions of the Old World, the Vampires in America, whilst some of the more common insect-eating forms are found everywhere. Those forms with a restricted distribution are, it should be noticed, all highly specialised—that is to say, they have all become in some way adapted to peculiar local conditions, and cannot subsist apart therefrom. It is the more lowly—less specialised—forms which have the widest geographical range. There are some spots, however, on the world's surface from which no bat has yet been recorded—such are Iceland, St. Helena, Kerguelen, and the Galapagos Islands.
AUSTRALIAN FRUIT-BATS.Photo by Henry King][Sydney.AUSTRALIAN FRUIT-BATS.In their roosting-places these bats hang all over the trees in enormous numbers, looking like great black fruits. Although shot in thousands, on account of the damage they do to fruit orchards, their numbers do not appear to be reduced.
Photo by Henry King][Sydney.AUSTRALIAN FRUIT-BATS.In their roosting-places these bats hang all over the trees in enormous numbers, looking like great black fruits. Although shot in thousands, on account of the damage they do to fruit orchards, their numbers do not appear to be reduced.
Photo by Henry King][Sydney.
AUSTRALIAN FRUIT-BATS.
In their roosting-places these bats hang all over the trees in enormous numbers, looking like great black fruits. Although shot in thousands, on account of the damage they do to fruit orchards, their numbers do not appear to be reduced.
TUBE-NOSED FRUIT-BAT.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.TUBE-NOSED FRUIT-BAT.The tubular nostrils distinguish this and a species of insect-eating bat from all other living mammals.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.TUBE-NOSED FRUIT-BAT.The tubular nostrils distinguish this and a species of insect-eating bat from all other living mammals.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
TUBE-NOSED FRUIT-BAT.
The tubular nostrils distinguish this and a species of insect-eating bat from all other living mammals.
The Fruit-bats.
These represent the giants of the bat world, the largest of them, theKalong, orMalay Fox-bat, measuring no less than 5 feet from tip to tip of the wing. The best known of the fruit-bats is theIndian Fox-bat. Sir J. E. Tennent tells us that a favourite resort of theirs near Kandy, inCeylon, was some indiarubber-trees, "where they used to assemble in such prodigious numbers that large boughs would not infrequently give way beneath the accumulated weight of the flock." An observer in Calcutta relates that they occasionally travel in vast hordes, so great as to darken the sky. Whether they are performing some preconcerted migration or bent only on a foray to some distant feeding-ground is a matter for speculation. These hordes are quite distinct from the "long strings" which may be seen every evening in Calcutta on their way to neighbouring fruit-trees.
One of the most remarkable of this group is theTube-nosed Fruit-bat, in which the nostrils are prolonged into a pair of relatively long tubes. Strangely enough, a group of insect-eating bats has developed similar though smaller tubes. Except in these bats, such tubes are unknown among mammals. Their function is not known.
PIPISTRELLE BAT.Photo by Fratelli Alinari][Florence.PIPISTRELLE BAT.This is one of the commonest of the British bats. It is the first to appear in the spring, and the last to retire at the fall of the year.
Photo by Fratelli Alinari][Florence.PIPISTRELLE BAT.This is one of the commonest of the British bats. It is the first to appear in the spring, and the last to retire at the fall of the year.
Photo by Fratelli Alinari][Florence.
PIPISTRELLE BAT.
This is one of the commonest of the British bats. It is the first to appear in the spring, and the last to retire at the fall of the year.
Insect-eating Bats.
The vast majority of the bats comprising this group feed exclusively on insects. Some, however, have acquired the habit of fruit-eating, like the true fruit-bats; and a few have developed quite ogre-like habits, for they drink blood—indeed, they subsist upon nothing else. This they obtain from animals larger than themselves.
Many of the bats of this group have developed curious leaf-like expansions of skin around the nose and mouth, which are supposed to be endowed with a very delicate sense of touch. In some, as in theFlower-nosed Bat, the nose-leaf is excessively developed, forming a large rosette. The upper border of this rosette is furnished with three stalked balls, the function of which it is surmised is probably ornamental—from the bat's point of view. To our more æsthetic taste the whole effect is hideous.
LEAF-NOSED BAT.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.LEAF-NOSED BAT.The leaf-nosed are the most highly organised of all the bats. The remarkable leaf-like folds of skin around the nose or chin, as the case may be, serve as delicate organs of perception. There are numerous species of leaf-nosed bats.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.LEAF-NOSED BAT.The leaf-nosed are the most highly organised of all the bats. The remarkable leaf-like folds of skin around the nose or chin, as the case may be, serve as delicate organs of perception. There are numerous species of leaf-nosed bats.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
LEAF-NOSED BAT.
The leaf-nosed are the most highly organised of all the bats. The remarkable leaf-like folds of skin around the nose or chin, as the case may be, serve as delicate organs of perception. There are numerous species of leaf-nosed bats.
Limited as is our space, wecannot pass over theSucker-footed Bats. These are met with, strangely enough, in countries so far apart as Brazil and Madagascar. The suckers from which they derive their name, in the Brazilian species, are small circular, hollow disks, attached to the thumb and the sole of the foot, recalling the suckers of the cuttle-fish and brown water-beetle. By their means the animal is enabled to climb over smooth vertical surfaces.
A white bat is a rarity in the bat world. We cannot therefore afford to pass without mention the fact that Central and South America possess two species ofWhite Bats. This colour is probably developed for protection's sake, the bats being found nestling between the silvery leaves of a cocoanut-palm. Brilliant coloration, on the other hand, is by no means so rare.Welwitsch's Bat, for instance—a West African species—is remarkable for its gorgeous coloration, the colours being orange and black. An Indian species, known as thePainted Bat, is said to be so brilliantly coloured as to resemble a gorgeous butterfly rather than a bat.
COBEGO.Photo W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.COBEGO.Back view of the cobego, with the limbs extended, showing the great size of the flying-membranes, or parachute.
Photo W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.COBEGO.Back view of the cobego, with the limbs extended, showing the great size of the flying-membranes, or parachute.
Photo W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.
COBEGO.
Back view of the cobego, with the limbs extended, showing the great size of the flying-membranes, or parachute.
Ugliness is more common than beauty amongst the bats, and perhaps the ugliest of all the tribe is theNaked Batof the Malayan region. It is absolutely repulsive. The skin is naked, save for a collar of hair round the neck; whilst on the throat it gives rise to an enormous throat-pouch, which discharges an oily fluid of a peculiarly nauseating smell. On either side of the body is a deep pouch, in which the young are carried—a very necessary provision, for they would be quite unable to cling to the body of the parent, as do the young of fur-bearing bats, on account of the naked skin.
Of the great group of theVampire-batswe can only make mention of the blood-sucking species. These are natives of South America. It is to Dr. Darwin that we owe our first absolutely reliable information about these little animals. Before the account in his Journal, it was uncertain to which of the vampires belonged the unenviable distinction of being the blood-sucker. During the stay of the great naturalist in Chili one was actually caught by one of his servants, as evening was drawing on, biting the withers of a horse. In the morning the spot where the bite had been inflicted was plainly visible, from its swollen condition. These two species, it has been stated, "are the only bats which subsist entirely on a diet of blood, yet it is possible that ... some of theJavelin-batsor their allies may on occasion vary their ordinary food with it."
The Insectivora, or Flightless Insect-eaters.
Some members of this group have departed from the traditional insect diet. Thus the cobego feeds upon leaves, a curious aquatic shrew—the Potamogale of West Africa—upon fish, and the moles upon worms.
The group has a very wide geographical distribution, but there are nevertheless large portions of the globe in which they are conspicuous by their absence. They are never found in Australia or South America. Madagascar, Africa, and the West India Islands produce the most remarkable forms.
COBEGO.Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.COBEGO.Vertical (front) view of the cobego, with newly born and naked young attached. Note the extension of the membrane between the toes of the fore feet of the adult.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.COBEGO.Vertical (front) view of the cobego, with newly born and naked young attached. Note the extension of the membrane between the toes of the fore feet of the adult.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.
COBEGO.
Vertical (front) view of the cobego, with newly born and naked young attached. Note the extension of the membrane between the toes of the fore feet of the adult.
The Cobego.
This is a peculiarly interesting animal, which lives in the forests of Sumatra, Borneo, the Malay Peninsula, and the Philippine Islands. It dwells among the trees, moving from one to another by taking flying leaps through the air, covering as much as seventy yards at a jump. Prodigious leaps like this would be quite impossible but for the fact that the animal, which is almost as large as a cat, is provided with a sort of parachute, formed by a broad web of skin stretched between the body on either side and the fore and hind limbs, and between the hind limbs and the tail.
Shrews, Hedgehogs, and Tenrecs.
The variation in form presented by the members of this group is considerable. The most noteworthy examples of this variation are furnished by the pretty little squirrel-likeTree-shrewsof India and Borneo and neighbouring lands, the mouse-likeJumping-shrewsof Africa, theHedgehogs, theTenrecs, the elegant littleMouse-like Shrewsof almost world-wide distribution, and theWater-shrews. Of these, hedgehogs and tenrecs have undergone the greatest transformation. By a curious modification of their original hairy covering they have developed a formidable armour of sharp spines. When alarmed, the former roll themselves up into a ball by the contraction of powerful muscles, and so present an almost impregnable armour to an enemy. Stoats and foxes, however, appear at least occasionally to succeed in overcoming this defence and making a meal of the vanquished.
Tenrecs are found in Madagascar. TheCommon Tenrecis the largest of all insect-eaters,and one of the most prolific, as many as twenty-one having been produced at birth. Of all living mammals it is the one most nearly allied to the Marsupials.
COBEGO ASLEEP.Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.COBEGO ASLEEP.All four limbs are used in suspending itself when asleep, as in the sloths. In this position the cobego closely resembles, and is mistaken by its enemies for, the fruits of one of the native trees. It is a nocturnal animal.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.COBEGO ASLEEP.All four limbs are used in suspending itself when asleep, as in the sloths. In this position the cobego closely resembles, and is mistaken by its enemies for, the fruits of one of the native trees. It is a nocturnal animal.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.
COBEGO ASLEEP.
All four limbs are used in suspending itself when asleep, as in the sloths. In this position the cobego closely resembles, and is mistaken by its enemies for, the fruits of one of the native trees. It is a nocturnal animal.
THREE BABY HEDGEHOGS.Photo by L. Melland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.THREE BABY HEDGEHOGS.Young hedgehogs are born blind and naked. The spines on their first appearance are quite soft; they soon harden, and at the same time the power to roll the body up into a ball is acquired.
Photo by L. Melland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.THREE BABY HEDGEHOGS.Young hedgehogs are born blind and naked. The spines on their first appearance are quite soft; they soon harden, and at the same time the power to roll the body up into a ball is acquired.
Photo by L. Melland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
THREE BABY HEDGEHOGS.
Young hedgehogs are born blind and naked. The spines on their first appearance are quite soft; they soon harden, and at the same time the power to roll the body up into a ball is acquired.
The Moles.
TheCommon Moleshows a most perfect adaptation to its underground mode of life. The general form of the animal is long, cylindrical, and pointed in front, whilst the legs are exceedingly short, the foot only in the fore limb projecting from the body. This foot is very broad and spade-like and immensely powerful, its use being to force a way—often with incredible speed—through the soft, yielding soil, and not to support the body, as in running or walking. The hind feet are weak, but resemble those of its allies the shrews, for instance. The eyes have become reduced to mere vestiges, very difficult to find. The fur has become so altered in structure that it will lie equally smooth whether brushed towards head or tail, so that it should not be damaged when the animal travels backwards in its burrow. External ears have been dispensed with.
Worms form the staple diet of the mole, but besides underground insects of all kinds are greedily devoured. This animal is one of the most voracious feeders, falling ravenously upon its prey. It has been said with truth that so great is the ferocity displayed by the mole that if it could be magnified to the size of the lion it would be one of the most terrible of living creatures. That a constant supply of food is necessary to satiate its enormous appetite is shown by the fact that a mole will succumb to an abstinence of from ten to twelve hours. Moles fight among themselves furiously; and if two are confined together, the weaker will be attacked and devoured. They take readily to the water, and instances of moles observed in the act of crossing streams are numerous.
It is a curious fact, but the mole is unknown in Ireland; yet it ranges from England in the west through Asia to Japan.
Careful observation seems to have shown that with the common mole males are more numerous than females. Whether this is true of other species remains to be seen. The moles of North America form a group distinct from those of the Old World, though closely allied thereto. TheWeb-footedand theStar-nosed Molesare the most interesting of the American forms.
COMMON MOLE.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.COMMON MOLE.Note that this mole is changing its coat.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.COMMON MOLE.Note that this mole is changing its coat.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
COMMON MOLE.
Note that this mole is changing its coat.
COMMON MOLE.Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.COMMON MOLE.The skeleton is here revealed by the Röntgen rays.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.COMMON MOLE.The skeleton is here revealed by the Röntgen rays.
Photo by W. Saville-Kent, F.Z.S.][Croydon.
COMMON MOLE.
The skeleton is here revealed by the Röntgen rays.
Speaking of the prodigious speed with which these animals burrow their way through the ground, Dr. Hart Merriam remarks that in a single night, after rain, they have been known to make a gallery several yards in length, and that he had himself traced a fresh tunnel for nearly a hundred yards. As he says, we can only appreciate the magnitude of this labour by comparison, and "computation shows that, in order to perform equivalent work, a man would have to excavate in a single night a tunnel thirty-seven miles long, and of sufficient size to easily admit of the passage of his body."
The star-nosed mole is peculiar in that its nose is surrounded by a ring of finger-like processes, forming a kind of rosette, which probably acts as a highly sensitive organ of touch; furthermore, it differs from other moles in the great length of its tail, which is nearly as long as its body. Like the mole, this species makes its way through the ground with great speed.
Beneficial as moles undoubtedly are in destroying worms and obnoxious insects, yet they are regarded as a pest both by the farmer and gardener. That there is some justification for this dislike must be admitted; for the farmer suffers in that, in the search for food, crops are damaged by cutting through the roots of plants—the gardener not only for the same reason, but also because the ridges and hillocks which they make in their course disfigure the paths and beds of a well-kept garden.
The nearest allies of the moles are the curious aquaticDesmansof Russia, and theShrews, some of which are quite mole-like in form, owing to their having adopted a similar mode of life.
GOLDEN MOLE.Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.GOLDEN MOLE.This is found only in South Africa. The name is derived from the wonderful metallic lustre of the fur: the brilliancy of the hues is intensified by immersion in spirit.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.GOLDEN MOLE.This is found only in South Africa. The name is derived from the wonderful metallic lustre of the fur: the brilliancy of the hues is intensified by immersion in spirit.
Photo by A. S. Rudland & Sons.
GOLDEN MOLE.
This is found only in South Africa. The name is derived from the wonderful metallic lustre of the fur: the brilliancy of the hues is intensified by immersion in spirit.
TheBurrowing Shrewsare not the only forms in the great group which have assumed a mole-like shape, for allied to the hedgehog-likeTenrecsis a remarkable animal known as theGolden Mole. The mole-like shape of the body of this animal is another instance of adaptation to a similar mode of life. The fore limb of the golden mole is provided with huge claws, which are used for digging purposes; the hand is not broadened out spade-like, as in the common mole, the claws rendering this unnecessary.
THE ELEPHANT, TAPIR, HYRAX, AND RHINOCEROS.
THE ELEPHANT.
BY F. C. SELOUS.
A FINE TUSKER.Photo by M. E. F. Baird, Esq.A FINE TUSKER.The male Indian elephant has smaller tusks than the African species.
Photo by M. E. F. Baird, Esq.A FINE TUSKER.The male Indian elephant has smaller tusks than the African species.
Photo by M. E. F. Baird, Esq.
A FINE TUSKER.
The male Indian elephant has smaller tusks than the African species.
At once the mightiest and most majestic of all terrestrial mammals, the elephant appeals to the imagination more forcibly than any other living animal, not only on account of its great sagacity and the strangeness and singularity of its outward appearance, but also because it is such an obvious link between the world of to-day and the dim and distant past of Pleiocene and Miocene times.
There are two existing species of elephant, theAfricanand theAsiatic, the latter, from the structure of its molar teeth and the shape of its skull, appearing to be very nearly related to theMammoth, which lived upon the earth in comparatively recent times—geologically speaking—and was undoubtedly contemporary with man in Europe during the Stone Age.
There are very considerable differences both in the external appearance and also in the habits of the two existing forms of elephant. In the African species the forehead is more convex and the eye relatively larger than in its Asiatic cousin; and whilst the ears of the latter are only of moderate size, those of the former are so large that they at once arrest the attention, and are one of that animal's most remarkable external characteristics. Both sexes of the African species, with few exceptions, carry well-developed tusks, but in the Asiatic form the tusks of the females are so small as scarcely to protrude beyond the jaws. In Asia, too, tuskless bull elephants are common, whilst males of the African species without tusks are extremely rare. The latter species has but three nails on the hind foot, the Asiatic elephant four. In the African species the middle of the back is hollowed, the shoulder being the highest point, whilst in the Asiatic elephant the back is arched, and the top of the shoulder lower than the highest part of the back. The extremity of the proboscis is also different, in the two species, the African elephant being furnished with two nearly equal-sized prolongations, the one on the front, the other on the hinder margin, with which small objects can be grasped as with the finger and thumb of the human hand, whilst in the Asiatic species the finger-like process on the upper margin of the end of the trunk is considerably longer than that on the under-side. In external appearance the skin of the African elephant is darker in colour and rougher in texture than that of the Asiatic form. The molar teeth of the former animal are, too, of much coarser construction, with fewer and larger plates and thicker enamel than in the latter, which would naturally lead one to suppose that the African elephant is accustomed to eat coarser, harder food than the Asiatic species. This supposition is borne out by fact; for whilst the Asiatic elephant feeds mainly upon grass, the leaves and fruit of the wild plantain, and the young shoots of the bamboo, together with the leaves, twigs, and bark of certain trees, the African species never eats grass, and, although very fond of certain kinds of soft and succulent food, such as wild fruits and the inner bark of certain trees, is constantly engaged in chewing up the roots and branches of trees as thick as a man's wrist for the sake of the sap and bark, the woody portions being rejected after having been reduced to pulp. The Asiatic elephant appears to be far less tolerant of exposure to the heat of the sun than the African; and whilst the latter may often be found standing at rest or sleeping throughout the hottest hours of the day in long grass or scrubby bush of a height not sufficient to afford any protection from the sun to the whole of the upper portion of the head and body, the former, when in a wild state, is said to always seek the shade of the densest forests it can find during hot weather.
A YOUNG INDIAN ELEPHANT.Photo by Fratelli Alinari][Florence.A YOUNG INDIAN ELEPHANT.This animal has been trained to "salute" by raising its trunk and foot. It has lost the end of its tail.
Photo by Fratelli Alinari][Florence.A YOUNG INDIAN ELEPHANT.This animal has been trained to "salute" by raising its trunk and foot. It has lost the end of its tail.
Photo by Fratelli Alinari][Florence.
A YOUNG INDIAN ELEPHANT.
This animal has been trained to "salute" by raising its trunk and foot. It has lost the end of its tail.
The Asiatic elephant often lies down when resting and sleeping. This is in marked contrast to the African species, which, if it ever does lie down at all, except to roll in mud or rub itself against an ant-heap, can only do so very rarely, since in all my experience, though I have seen some thousands of African elephants standing sleeping during the heat of the day, I have never yet seen one of these animals lying down, nor found the impress in the ground where one had been so lying.
When excited and charging, both species of elephant raise their heads and cock their ears, which in the African animal stand out at such a time like two sails, and, being each upwards of 3½ feet in breadth, cover, together with the animal's head, an expanse of fully 10 feet. The Asiatic elephant is said to remain mute whilst charging, and to hold its trunk tightly curled up between its tusks. The African elephant, on the other hand, usually accompanies a charge with a constant succession of short, sharp trumpeting screams. Sometimes, though rarely, however, animals of this species remain mute whilst charging, but they never, I believe, coil their trunks up under their throats. Often an African elephant will swing round for a charge with a loud scream and trunk held high in the air; but in my experience, when settling down to a chase, it drops its trunk and holds it pointing straight down in front of its chest.
THE CHIEF OF CHIENGMAI'S CARRIAGE.Photo by M. E. F. Baird, Esq.THE CHIEF OF CHIENGMAI'S CARRIAGE.This victoria was drawn by a young Indian elephant.
Photo by M. E. F. Baird, Esq.THE CHIEF OF CHIENGMAI'S CARRIAGE.This victoria was drawn by a young Indian elephant.
Photo by M. E. F. Baird, Esq.
THE CHIEF OF CHIENGMAI'S CARRIAGE.
This victoria was drawn by a young Indian elephant.
In the southern portions of the African Continent the average standing height at the shoulder of full-grown bull elephants ranges from 10 feet to 10 feet 6 inches, though individuals have doubtless been met with in those districts which have much exceeded these dimensions. In North Central Africa the average standing height appears to be some inches higher, approaching 11 feet, and in those districts it is quite possible that individuals exist which exceed 12 feet in height. African cow elephants stand from 8 feet to 8 feet 6 inches at the shoulder. The Asiatic species is considerably smaller than the African, the average height of full-grown males not exceeding 9 feet, though certain individuals now and then attain to a much greater size, as is indicated by the fact that there is a mounted skeleton of an Indian elephant in the Museum at Calcutta which stands 11 feet 3 inches at theshoulder. In the size of its tusks the African elephant far surpasses the Asiatic species. In India a pair of tusks measuring 5 feet in length and weighing 70 lbs. the pair would, I think, be considered large, though an elephant was killed by Sir Victor Brooke in the Garo Hills with a single tusk measuring 8 feet in length, 17 inches in circumference, and weighing 90 lbs., and a few tusks even exceeding these dimensions have been recorded. In Southern Africa the tusks of full-grown bull elephants usually weigh from 80 to 120 lbs. the pair, and measure about 6 feet in length, with a circumference of from 16 to 18 inches; but these weights and measurements have often been much exceeded, and in my own experience I have known of two pairs of elephants' tusks having been obtained south of the Zambesi, each of which weighed slightly over 300 lbs., each tusk measuring upwards of 9 feet in length, whilst a single tusk brought from the neighbourhood of Lake Ngami in 1873 weighed 174 lbs. The average weight of cow-elephant tusks in Southern Africa is from 20 to 30 lbs. the pair, but I have seen the tusk of a cow elephant killed in Matabililand which weighed 39 lbs. and measured over 6 feet in length, whilst its fellow almost equalled it in size and weight. In North Central Africa, according to Sir Samuel Baker, the tusks of full-grown elephants average about 140 lbs. the pair, and tusks weighing upwards of 100 lbs. each are not at all uncommon, whilst many of a much greater size have been obtained.
TIMBER-ELEPHANTS.Photo by M. E. F. Baird, Esq.TIMBER-ELEPHANTS.This photograph was taken at Lakou, in Upper Siam. Notice the large teak log in the foreground.
Photo by M. E. F. Baird, Esq.TIMBER-ELEPHANTS.This photograph was taken at Lakou, in Upper Siam. Notice the large teak log in the foreground.
Photo by M. E. F. Baird, Esq.
TIMBER-ELEPHANTS.
This photograph was taken at Lakou, in Upper Siam. Notice the large teak log in the foreground.
Until quite recently a tusk in the possession of Sir E. G. Loder, which weighs 184 lbs. and measures 9 feet 5 inches in length, with a circumference of 22½ inches, was supposed to be the largest in existence; but in 1899 two tusks were obtained near Kilimanjaro, in East Central Africa, both of which much exceed this weight. These enormous tusks were at first stated to be a pair taken from a single elephant; but though nearly equal in weight they are said to be differently shaped, and as their history is not yet fully known it is possible, though not probable, that they originally belonged to two different elephants. The larger of these two tusks has recently been purchased for the collection of the BritishMuseum (Natural History), where it may now be seen. It weighs 228 lbs., measures 10 feet 2½ inches on the outside curve, and 24¼ in girth at the thickest part. The tusks of cow elephants are also considerably larger and heavier on the average in East Central and North Central Africa than in the southern portions of the continent.
FEMALE INDIAN ELEPHANT DRAGGING TEAK.Photo by M. E. F. Baird, Esq.FEMALE INDIAN ELEPHANT DRAGGING TEAK.The teak logs are floated down the Burmese rivers and dragged out by elephants.
Photo by M. E. F. Baird, Esq.FEMALE INDIAN ELEPHANT DRAGGING TEAK.The teak logs are floated down the Burmese rivers and dragged out by elephants.
Photo by M. E. F. Baird, Esq.
FEMALE INDIAN ELEPHANT DRAGGING TEAK.
The teak logs are floated down the Burmese rivers and dragged out by elephants.
At the present time the Asiatic elephant is found in a wild state in most of the forest-covered tracts of India, Ceylon, Assam, Burma, Siam, Cochin-China, Sumatra, and Borneo; whilst the African species, although it has been hunted out of large tracts of country in South and South-western Africa, still inhabits the greater part of the continent south of the Sahara, and in many districts of Central Africa appears to be extraordinarily abundant. In the Cape Colony two herds still exist under the protection of the Government.
As might be expected from the greater length of its legs, and consequent longer stride, the African elephant is admitted by those who have had experience of both species to be a more active animal than its Asiatic cousin. Speaking of the walking and running powers of the Indian elephant, that great authority Mr. Sanderson says that "the only pace of the elephant is the walk, capable of being increased to a fast shuffle of about fifteen miles an hour for very short distances. It can neither trot, canter, nor gallop. It does not move with the legs on the same side, but nearly so. A very good runner might keep out of an elephant's way on a smooth piece of turf, but on the ground in which they are generally met with any attempt to escape by flight, unless supplemented by concealment, would be unavailing." This description exactly coincides with my own experience of the African elephant, except that I think that animals of the latter species, especially cows and young bulls, are capable of getting up a pace of at least twenty miles an hour, and keeping it up for from 100 to 200 yards, when charging.
INDIAN ELEPHANTS BATHING.Photo by M. E. F. Baird Esq.INDIAN ELEPHANTS BATHING.These animals love a bath, and will walk on the bottom of a deep river with only their trunks raised above the water.
Photo by M. E. F. Baird Esq.INDIAN ELEPHANTS BATHING.These animals love a bath, and will walk on the bottom of a deep river with only their trunks raised above the water.
Photo by M. E. F. Baird Esq.
INDIAN ELEPHANTS BATHING.
These animals love a bath, and will walk on the bottom of a deep river with only their trunks raised above the water.
In disposition both African and Asiatic elephants are as a rule timid animals, and, excepting in the case of males of the latter species when suffering from sexual excitement, are always inclined to shun danger. I have never heard of male elephants of the African species becoming savage and aggressive at any season of the year; indeed, old bulls always appeared to me to be less inclined to charge than cows or young bulls. The eyesight of the elephant—of the African species at least—is bad, and his hearing not particularly acute; but his olfactory nerves are probably more highly developed than in any other animal, and, aided by this exquisite sense of smell, he will avoid a human being if possible. But if elephants are attacked and wounded, they become savage and dangerous animals; and the charge of an African elephant, coming on with the great ears outspread, to the accompaniment of a quick succession of short, sharp trumpeting screams, besides being very sudden and rapid, is very disconcerting to the nerves of a man unaccustomed to such experiences. I remember the case of a young Englishman who was killed in Matabililand many years ago by the first elephant he had ever seen. This animal—an old bull—had retired, after having been wounded, into a small but dense patch of thorn-bush, into which its pursuer thought it unadvisable to follow on horseback. He therefore left his horse, and advanced on foot towards the cluster of trees amongst which the elephant was concealed. The latter, having either seen or smelt the approaching enemy, at once charged out, screaming loudly; and the young hunter, instead of standing his ground and firing at the advancing monster, lost his presence of mind, and, turning, ran for his horse; but before he reached it he was overtaken and killed. It seemed to the friend who found his body (he was close at hand shooting another elephant at the time, and pieced the story together from the tracks of man, horse, and elephant) that the victim had first been struck in the back of the head by one of his pursuer's tusks—at any rate his skull had been smashed to pieces and emptied of its brains. Then the elephant had rushed upon him where he fell, and, after first having driven a tusk right through his chest and deep into theground, had stamped him into a bloody pulp with his huge feet. A waggon was brought the same night, and the mangled body carried to the hunter's camp on the banks of the Ramokwebani, where it was buried.
The strength of the elephant is proverbial; and in India and Burma, where this animal has for ages past been trained in the service of man, this power is habitually made use of in moving and stacking large baulks of timber, or in dragging heavy guns through muddy ground or up steep ascents. In Africa the traveller is often astonished at the size of trees which have been uprooted and overturned by elephants. These trees, however, have no taproot, and have not therefore a very firm hold in the ground, especially during the rainy season, when the ground is soft. At this time of year large trees are butted down by elephants, which push against their stems with the thick part of their trunks, and get them on the swing, until the roots become loosened and the trees are at last overturned. Small trees of 2 or 3 inches in diameter, as well as branches, they break off with their trunks. In 1878 a tuskless bull elephant—I met the same animal again in 1885, and he is the only African bull elephant without tusks I have ever seen—killed a native hunter in Mashonaland. This man, a big powerful Zulu and a great friend of my own, was torn into three pieces. I imagine that, after having caught him, the elephant held the unfortunate man down with his foot or knee, and then, twisting his trunk round his body, tore him asunder—surely a terrible exhibition of strength.
The elephant is a very slow-growing and long-lived animal, not arriving at maturity until upwards of thirty years of age; and since cases are on record of elephants having lived for upwards of 130 years in captivity in India, it is probable that in a wild state these animals, both in Asia and Africa, often attain to an age of 150 years. The female elephant produces, as a rule, but one calf at birth, the period of gestation lasting from eighteen to nearly twenty-two months. The mammæ of the cow elephant are placed between the fore legs, and the new-born calf sucks with its mouth, holding its trunk turned back over its head. I have seen elephant calves so engaged.