AFRICAN ELEPHANT.Photo by J. W. McLellan][Highbury.AFRICAN ELEPHANT.The difference in profile between this and the Indian species is noticeable. The forehead is receding and the ears much larger in the African species.
Photo by J. W. McLellan][Highbury.AFRICAN ELEPHANT.The difference in profile between this and the Indian species is noticeable. The forehead is receding and the ears much larger in the African species.
Photo by J. W. McLellan][Highbury.
AFRICAN ELEPHANT.
The difference in profile between this and the Indian species is noticeable. The forehead is receding and the ears much larger in the African species.
Although there is no reason to doubt that the African elephant is as intelligent as the Asiatic species, its domestication has never been attempted by the Negro or Bantu races of Africa. It is believed, however, that the African elephant was in ancient times domesticated by the Carthaginians, and used by them in their wars with the Romans. The opinion, too, is generally held that the elephants with which Hannibal crossed the Alps were of the African species, as well as those which, after the conquest of Carthage, were used in the Roman amphitheatres and military pageants. On the other hand, it is well to remember that the late Mr. W. Cotton Oswell, who had had great experience both with African and Asiatic elephants, wrote as follows on this subject: "I believe some people suppose the Carthaginians tamed and used the African elephant; they could hardly have had mahouts Indian fashion, for there is no marked depression in the nape of the neck for a seat, and the hemming of the ears when erected would have half smothered them. My knowledge does not allow me to raise any argument on this point; but might not the same market have been open to the dwellersat Carthage as was afterwards to Mithridates, who, I suppose, drew his supply from India? I know in the representations of elephants on the medals of Faustina and of Septimus Severus the ears are African, though the bodies and heads are Indian; but these were struck nearly 400 years after Carthaginian times, when the whole known world had been ransacked by the Romans for beasts for their public shows; and I still think it possible that the Carthaginians—the great traders and colonisers of old—may have obtained elephants through some of their colonies from India."
An interesting example of the intelligence of these animals can be seen any day at the London Zoological Gardens. A large African elephant restores to his would-be entertainers all the biscuits, whole or broken, which strike the bars and fall alike out of his reach and theirs in the space between the barrier and his cage. He points his trunk at the biscuits, and blows them hard along the floor to the feet of the persons who have thrown them. He clearly knows what he is doing, because, if the biscuits do not travel far enough, he gives them a harder blow.
MALE AFRICAN ELEPHANT DRINKING.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.MALE AFRICAN ELEPHANT DRINKING.Note the great size of the tusks and base of the trunk.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.MALE AFRICAN ELEPHANT DRINKING.Note the great size of the tusks and base of the trunk.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
MALE AFRICAN ELEPHANT DRINKING.
Note the great size of the tusks and base of the trunk.
TAPIRS AND HYRAX.
BY W. P. PYCRAFT, A.L.S., F.Z.S.
Tapirsare odd-looking creatures, and, strange as it may seem, are nevertheless related on the one hand to the rhinoceroses, and on the other to the horses. They are furthermore extremely interesting animals, because they have undergone less modification of form than any other members of the group to which they belong. This we know because fossil tapirs, belonging to a very remote period of the world's history, are practically indistinguishable from those now living.
The general form of the body may perhaps be described as pig-like; the head, too, suggests that animal. But the pig's snout is here produced into a short proboscis, or trunk. The feet are quite unlike those of the pig, and resemble those of the rhinoceros. The fore feet have each four and the hind feet three toes; these are all encased in large horse-like hoofs. The tail is reduced to a mere stump.
Tapirs are shy and inoffensive animals, living in the seclusion of dense forests in the neighbourhood of water, in which element they are quite at home; indeed, it is said that they will frequently dive and walk along the bed of the river. They are also fond ofwallowing in mud, partly, it is believed, that they may encase themselves with it as a protection against the annoyance of flies. They feed on shoots of trees, bushes, leaves, and fallen fruits, foraging during the evening, and possibly far into the night.
MALAYAN TAPIR.Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.MALAYAN TAPIR.The largest of all the tapirs. Is easily distinguished from the American tapirs by the patch of white on the middle of its body.
Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.MALAYAN TAPIR.The largest of all the tapirs. Is easily distinguished from the American tapirs by the patch of white on the middle of its body.
Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.
MALAYAN TAPIR.
The largest of all the tapirs. Is easily distinguished from the American tapirs by the patch of white on the middle of its body.
Tapirs are hunted by the natives for the sake of their thick hides, which are cut into thongs for reins and bridles. The flesh also is esteemed by some. There are three methods of capture. In South America the lasso is used with occasional success. But when not foiled by undergrowth, the hunter often loses his victim by reason of the violence and force of its rush, which snaps the thong. The Gauchos intercept it with dogs on its way to the water, when it will fight furiously, and many dogs may be killed before its dispatch is accomplished. Others imitate its peculiar, shrill call, and shoot it on its approach in answer thereto. Captives are easily tamed, and may be seen walking about the streets in many South American towns. They wander into the forest by day, returning in the evening to be fed, and are said to display great affection. On account of their great strength, it has been suggested that such captives should be used as beasts of burden.
Except theMalayan Tapir, which is black and white, tapirs are black or dark brown in colour, and but scantily clothed with hair; but the young, it is interesting to note, are spotted and striped with white or fawn-colour on a dark ground, a coloration recalling that of the wild pig.
There are five different species of tapir. Their geographical distribution is remarkable, four species being South American, and one belonging to the Malayan region. But far back in the world's history, as we know from fossils, tapirs roamed over the warm and temperate regions of Europe, and their remains have been found in China and the United States. Thus the intervening gaps existing to-day have been made by the extinction of these intermediate species.
By nature the tapir appears to be a harmless and inoffensive animal, flying even before the smallest dog. Occasionally, however, it displays great courage and ferocity, and this appears to be especially the case with females deprived of their young. At such times they will charge with great spirit, and knock down, trample on, and bite their victim after the fashion of wild swine.
Man alone excepted, the most deadly foe of theAmerican Tapiris the jaguar, as is the tiger of the Malay species. The American tapir often gets rid of the jaguar by rushing at full speed into the dense jungle, thus sweeping its assailant from its back, the jaguar's claws finding but an insecure hold on its victim's thick hide. Tapirs are often found bearing scars all over the back, witnessing the terrible nature of the wounds received at such times.
That the tapir is a comparatively unknown animal is partly accounted for by the fact that it is but little sought after by the big-game hunter—who finds more excitement in pursuit of its larger relative the rhinoceros—and partly, perhaps, owing to its inhabiting regions comparatively little visited by Europeans. Nevertheless, the tapir is an animal of quite peculiar interest, having undergone but little change during long ages, whilst its ally the horse haseffected in the same time a complete transformation, not only in its general shape, but more especially in its teeth and feet. The gradual steps by which this transformation has been brought about we can trace through certain fossil forms, of which we can say little here.
Amongst these fossils occur remains of an animal bearing a very strong resemblance to the living tapir, but which, strangely enough, is not really so closely related thereto as to the horses. It does not, however, stand in the direct line of descent of these latter, but must be regarded as representing a collateral branch thereof. The occurrence of this distinct tapir-like animal is of great scientific interest.
The short, stout legs and spreading toes of the living tapirs, rhinoceroses, and ancestral horse are admirably adapted for plodding deliberately over soft and yielding ground, such as is afforded by reed-beds and banks of rivers, or the shady depths of forests. Speed in such surroundings is not necessary, food in plenty being always at hand, and escape from enemies being sought by concealment in thick herbage rather than flight. With a migration to drier and higher plains, the spreading foot has undergone a change. The short legs and numerous toes have given place to long ones, and of the several toes growth has taken place in one only—the third; whilst the others have slowly dwindled, till eventually only traces of the second and fourth remain, as in the modern horse. Thus has a firmer support over hard, unyielding ground been brought about, and great speed gained. The animals with this type of foot (in which the third is the largest toe) are known as the Odd-toed Hoofed Animals. The pigs, sheep, deer, and oxen have gained an equally efficient foot, yet retaining four toes. Of these, the third and fourth are equal in size, and serve as a support to the body, whilst the second and fifth have now become functionless, and do not reach the ground. This type of foot characterises that group of the hoofed animals known as the Even-toed.
The Hyrax.
This is one of the most remarkable of living mammals, and one of the greatest puzzles to zoologists, having no near living relatives. Though bearing some resemblance to an earless rabbit, it really belongs to the hoofed animals, and amongst them comes perhaps somewhat nearer the rhinoceros than to any other animal. It is theConeyof the Bible. It inhabits the rocky districts of Syria and parts of Africa. It is a vegetable-feeder, and very wary. About a dozen species are known.
COMMON AMERICAN TAPIR.Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.COMMON AMERICAN TAPIR.This tapir inhabits tropical America. It is a nocturnal animal, frequenting the depths of shady forests in the neighbourhood of water, to which it frequently resorts for the purpose of bathing, or as a refuge from pursuit.
Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.COMMON AMERICAN TAPIR.This tapir inhabits tropical America. It is a nocturnal animal, frequenting the depths of shady forests in the neighbourhood of water, to which it frequently resorts for the purpose of bathing, or as a refuge from pursuit.
Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.
COMMON AMERICAN TAPIR.
This tapir inhabits tropical America. It is a nocturnal animal, frequenting the depths of shady forests in the neighbourhood of water, to which it frequently resorts for the purpose of bathing, or as a refuge from pursuit.
THE RHINOCEROS.
BY F. C. SELOUS.
Of the five existing species ofRhinoceros, three are found in Asia, whilst two are inhabitants of Africa.
Of the three Asiatic species, two, theIndianand theJavan, are one-horned, and have a single pair of broad incisor teeth in the upper jaw, and a pair of sharp-edged and pointed tusks in the lower, the nasal bones being long and narrow, and terminating in a point. In both these species the skin is hairless (except for tufts or fringes at the extremity of the tail and on the edges of the ears), and is arranged in shield-like folds over the body. The arrangement of these folds, however, differs somewhat in the two species, and the large round tubercles with which the skin of the great Indian rhinoceros is profusely studded are wanting in the Javan species.
TheIndian Rhinocerosinhabits the Terai at the foot of the Himalaya from Bhutan to Nepal, and is said to be very abundant in Assam and the Bhutan Dooars. It frequents swampy ground, and lives amongst jungles and dense growths of reeds and grass, which attain a height sometimes of 20 feet, and cover vast areas of ground in the valley of the Brahmaputra and other rivers.
Owing to the nature of the country in which it lives, the Indian rhinoceros cannot often be hunted with much prospect of success, except with the aid of elephants, which sagacious animals are not only employed to carry the hunters, but are also used to beat the great grass jungles in which the rhinoceroses lie hidden, and drive them towards the guns.
Despite its great size and strength, the Indian rhinoceros seems to be regarded as, in general, a timid and inoffensive animal, and even when wounded it seldom charges home. Elephants, however, appear to be as a rule nervous when in the near proximity of rhinoceroses, perhaps objecting to the smell of those animals. When the Indian rhinoceros does make good its charge against either man or elephant, it cuts and rips its enemy with its teeth, and makes little use of its horn as an offensive weapon.
The Indian rhinoceros is said to live principally, if not entirely, on grass and reeds. As a rule it is a solitary animal, but sometimes several are found living in a comparatively small extent of grass-covered plain.
Large males of this species will stand from 5 feet 9 inches to 6 feet at the shoulder, and they are enormously bulky. Both sexes carry well-developed horns, which, however, do not usually attain a length of upwards of 12 inches. There is a specimen in the British Museum measuring 19 inches, and it is believed that in very exceptional instances a length of 2 feet has been attained.
TheJavan Rhinoceros, though it has been called the Lesser Indian Rhinoceros, is said by a late authority—Mr. C. E. M. Russell—to stand about the same height at the shoulder as the Indian species. It is found in the Sunderbunds of Eastern Bengal, and has been met with in the Sikhim Terai and in Assam, ranging eastwards through Burma and the Malay Peninsula to Sumatra, Java, and Borneo.
HAIRY-EARED SUMATRAN RHINOCEROS.Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.HAIRY-EARED SUMATRAN RHINOCEROS.This species is found in Eastern Bengal and in the Malay Peninsula and adjacent large islands.
Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.HAIRY-EARED SUMATRAN RHINOCEROS.This species is found in Eastern Bengal and in the Malay Peninsula and adjacent large islands.
Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.
HAIRY-EARED SUMATRAN RHINOCEROS.
This species is found in Eastern Bengal and in the Malay Peninsula and adjacent large islands.
GREAT INDIAN RHINOCEROS.Photo by J. W. McLellan][Highbury.GREAT INDIAN RHINOCEROS.The largest land mammal of the East after the elephant.
Photo by J. W. McLellan][Highbury.GREAT INDIAN RHINOCEROS.The largest land mammal of the East after the elephant.
Photo by J. W. McLellan][Highbury.
GREAT INDIAN RHINOCEROS.
The largest land mammal of the East after the elephant.
But little appears to be known of the habits of this species of rhinoceros. Although it is found in the swampy grass-covered plains of the Sunderbunds, its more usual habitat seems to be hilly forest-covered country, and both in Burma and Java it ascends to a height of several thousand feet above sea-level. It feeds principally upon leaves and the young shoots of trees and bushes. In disposition it is timid and inoffensive. Only the male carries a horn, which, being very short, is a very poor trophy for a sportsman.
The third Asiatic species of rhinoceros, known as theSumatran, is the smallest of all living rhinoceroses. This species carries two horns, and its skin, which is very rough, is usually thinly covered with hair of a dark brown colour and of considerable length. The folds in the skin of the Sumatran rhinoceros are not nearly so well developed as in its single-horned relatives, and the one behind the shoulders is alone continued over the back. Although furnished with tusks in the lower jaw, the small pair of incisor teeth, which in the other two Asiatic rhinoceroses are always present in front of these tusks, are wanting in the Sumatran species.
GREAT INDIAN RHINOCEROS.Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.GREAT INDIAN RHINOCEROS.This species inhabits the grass jungles of North-eastern India.
Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.GREAT INDIAN RHINOCEROS.This species inhabits the grass jungles of North-eastern India.
Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.
GREAT INDIAN RHINOCEROS.
This species inhabits the grass jungles of North-eastern India.
The Sumatran rhinoceros is rare in Assam, but is found in Burma and the Malay Peninsula, as well as in Siam, Sumatra, and Borneo. The two horns of this species are placed at some distance apart. Although they are as a rule very short, the front horn occasionally grows to a considerable length, sweeping backwards in a graceful curve.
In height adult males of the Sumatran species stand on the average from 4 feet to 4½ feet at the shoulder, and females sometimes not more than 3 feet 8 inches.
Like the Javan rhinoceros, the Sumatran species is by preference an inhabitant of hilly, forest-covered country, and browses on the leaves and shoots of trees and bushes. It is a timid and inoffensive animal, soon becoming tame in captivity. Its flesh is said to be much appreciated by the Dyaks of Borneo; and as its horns are of value for export to China, where they are used for medicinal purposes, it has of late years very much decreased in numbers in the province of Sarawak, but is more plentiful in Central and North Borneo. Living as it does in dense jungle, it is an animal which is seldom seen by European sportsmen, and its habits in a wild state have never been yet very closely studied.
Turning to the two species of rhinoceros which inhabit the continent of Africa, both are double-horned, and neither furnished with incisor teeth, the nasal bones being thick, rounded, and truncated in front. Both, too, are smooth-skinned and entirely hairless, except on the edge of the ears and extremity of the tail, which are fringed or tufted.
Of the two African species, theWhiteorSquare-mouthed Rhinocerosis the larger and the rarer. Until quite recently the range of this huge ungainly-looking animal, the biggest of all terrestrial mammals after the elephant, was supposed to be entirely confined to the southern portions of the African Continent; for although from time to time horns had found their way to Zanzibar which seemed referable to the square-mouthed rhinoceros, the fact of the existence of the white rhinoceros in any part of Africa north of the Zambesi remained in doubt until a female was shot in the year 1900, in the neighbourhood of Lado, on the Upper Nile, by Captain A. St. H. Gibbons, who brought its skin, skull, and horns to England.The fact, however, that the white rhinoceros has never been encountered by any other traveller in Central Africa seems to show that the animal is either very rare in those districts, or that it has an exceedingly limited range.
BLACK AFRICAN RHINOCEROSES.Photo by C. B. Hausburg, Esq.BLACK AFRICAN RHINOCEROSES.A splendid snapshot of two black African rhinoceroses taken on the open veldt. They were afterwards shot by the party.
Photo by C. B. Hausburg, Esq.BLACK AFRICAN RHINOCEROSES.A splendid snapshot of two black African rhinoceroses taken on the open veldt. They were afterwards shot by the party.
Photo by C. B. Hausburg, Esq.
BLACK AFRICAN RHINOCEROSES.
A splendid snapshot of two black African rhinoceroses taken on the open veldt. They were afterwards shot by the party.
ONE OF THE SAME RHINOCEROSES DEAD.Photo by C. B. Hausburg, Esq.ONE OF THE SAME RHINOCEROSES DEAD.This picture gives some idea of the size of the commonest surviving species.
Photo by C. B. Hausburg, Esq.ONE OF THE SAME RHINOCEROSES DEAD.This picture gives some idea of the size of the commonest surviving species.
Photo by C. B. Hausburg, Esq.
ONE OF THE SAME RHINOCEROSES DEAD.
This picture gives some idea of the size of the commonest surviving species.
In the early years of the nineteenth century the square-mouthed or white rhinoceros was found in large numbers over the whole of South Africa from the Orange River to the Zambesi, except in the waterless portions of the Kalahari Desert, or those parts of the country which are covered with rugged stony hills or dense jungle.
Speaking of his journey in 1837 through the western part of what is now the Transvaal Colony, Captain (afterwards Sir) Cornwallis Harris wrote: "On our way from the waggons to a hill not half a mile distant, we counted no less than twenty-two of the white species of rhinoceros, and were compelled in self-defence to slaughter four. On one occasion I was besieged in a bush by three at once, and had no little difficulty in beating off the assailants." Even so lately as thirty years ago the white rhinoceros was still to be met with in fair numbers in Ovampoland and other districts of Western South Africa, whilst it was quite plentiful in all the uninhabited parts of Eastern South Africa from Zululand to the Zambesi. In 1872 and 1873, whilst elephant-hunting in the uninhabited parts of Matabililand, I encountered white rhinoceroses almost daily, and often saw several in one day. At the present time, however, unless it should prove to be numerous in some as yet unexplored districts of North Central Africa, this strange and interesting animal must be counted one of the rarest of existing mammals, and in Southern Africa I fear it must soon become extinct. A few still exist amongst the wild loquat groves of Northern Mashonaland, and there are also a few surviving in Zululand; but I fear that even with themost rigid protection they are too few in number to restock the country. They have a better chance, I think, of increasing in numbers in Zululand than in Mashonaland, in which latter country it is at present impossible to afford them any protection either from natives or Europeans.
RHINOCEROS BATHING.Photo by J. W. McLellan][Highbury.RHINOCEROS BATHING.All the Asiatic species of rhinoceros are fond of bathing and wallowing in mud.
Photo by J. W. McLellan][Highbury.RHINOCEROS BATHING.All the Asiatic species of rhinoceros are fond of bathing and wallowing in mud.
Photo by J. W. McLellan][Highbury.
RHINOCEROS BATHING.
All the Asiatic species of rhinoceros are fond of bathing and wallowing in mud.
A full-grown bull white rhinoceros stands from 6 feet 6 inches to 6 feet 9 inches at the shoulder, and is very massively built, with short, stout legs. The head is very much elongated, and the mouth square, like that of an ox. When white rhinoceroses were still plentiful, very considerable differences were observable in the length and shape of their horns. The anterior horns of full-grown bulls might measure from 18 inches to 40 inches in length; those of cows from 24 inches to 60 inches. The longest horn known—that of a cow—which was brought from South Africa by the well-known hunter the late Roualeyn Gordon Cumming, measures 62½ inches over the curve. As a rule, the front horn of the white rhinoceros curved slightly backwards, but was often straight or bent slightly forwards, and sometimes curved strongly backwards. The posterior horn varied from a few inches to 2 feet in length.
The white rhinoceros lived in families, usually a bull, cow, and calf being found together; but there might be two or even three calves of different ages, and of which the youngest alone would be suckling, living with the father and mother. In the early South African spring (September and October), when the young green herbage was just sprouting after the first rains, two or three families of white rhinoceroses might be seen feeding in close proximity, presenting the appearance of a herd; but I fancy the several families of these animals had only been brought together for the sake of the young green grass. In Southern Africa the white rhinoceros lived entirely on grass, and I have never seen any evidence of their having eaten anything else. When either walking, trotting, or galloping, the white rhinoceros always carried its nose close to the ground. A calf always preceded its mother, and she appeared to guide it by holding the point of her horn on the little creature's rump; and in all changes of pace, no matter how sudden, this position was always maintained. The white rhinoceros was easily killed by a shot through the heart or through both lungs, but would travel very long distances, and probably, as a rule, ultimately recover from wounds in other parts of the body. They could travel at a great rate and for a considerable distance with a broken fore leg or shoulder, but if a hind leg were broken they were rendered almost immediately helpless. In disposition they were sluggish and inoffensive animals, lying asleep in the shade of trees or bushes during the heat of the day, and coming to the water to drink at night or often before sundown in parts of the country where they had not been much molested. When disturbed, white rhinoceroses would go off at a swift trot, but if chased on horseback would break into a gallop, which they were capable of maintaining for a considerable distance, and at a wonderful pace for so large and heavy an animal. The meat of the white rhinoceros was most excellent, the part in greatest favour amongst hunters being the hump on the back of the neck in front of the shoulder, which was cut off whole and roasted in the skin in a hole dug in the ground.
The colour of the so-called white rhinoceros is dark grey. The second species of African rhinoceros, which is also dark grey in colour, is known as theBlackorPrehensile-lipped Rhinoceros.
Less than a hundred years ago the range of this fast-disappearing species extended fromthe north-western districts of the Cape Colony to Abyssinia, and at that time it must have been plentiful over almost the whole of the intervening country. It never seems to have penetrated into the equatorial forest regions of West Central Africa, where the climate is probably too damp to suit its requirements; for both species of African rhinoceros appear to like a dry climate, and not to object to very arid surroundings. At the same time they never wander many miles from a river or pool, and drink regularly every night, and in hot weather probably very often a second time in the early morning.
In Southern Africa the black rhinoceros appears to attain to a larger size than in the countries farther north. To the south of the Zambesi large bulls of this species will stand 5 feet 8 inches at the shoulder; whilst the height of an adult bull, as taken by Mr. F. Jackson at Naivasha, in East Africa, was 5 feet 5 inches; and Mr. A. H. Neumann gives the standing height of another adult bull shot by himself still farther north, near Lake Rudolph, as only 4 feet 9 inches.
BLACK AFRICAN RHINOCEROS.Photo by Norman B. Smith, Esq.BLACK AFRICAN RHINOCEROS.This photograph, taken by a sportsman in Africa, shows a charging rhinoceros just before it was shot.
Photo by Norman B. Smith, Esq.BLACK AFRICAN RHINOCEROS.This photograph, taken by a sportsman in Africa, shows a charging rhinoceros just before it was shot.
Photo by Norman B. Smith, Esq.
BLACK AFRICAN RHINOCEROS.
This photograph, taken by a sportsman in Africa, shows a charging rhinoceros just before it was shot.
It is now generally recognised that there is but one species of prehensile-lipped rhinoceros in Africa, though the horns, and especially the hinder one, differ in length and shape to such an extent that it was long thought that there were at least two distinct species, those with both horns of equal or nearly equal length having been distinguished from the more common form, with a comparatively short second horn, as theKeitloa, this being the name in the Sechuana dialect for a prehensile-lipped rhinoceros with horns of equal length. Speaking on this subject, Mr. A. H. Neumann, who has had great experience with the black rhinoceros in East Africa, writes: "Length of horn is a purely fortuitous individual trait; and the extremely long horns (mostly of females) which have occasionally been obtained from traders on the east coast, and brought home, are merely exceptionally fine specimens, selected from among large numbers brought to the coast (the bulk of which, I am told, go to China to be ground up into medicine), and do not belong to any distinct species, nor come from any particular region. In proof of this contention I may mention that I have a 40-inch horn, the owner of which I myself shot at the northern base of the Jambeni Range (near Kenia), in a neighbourhood where I hunted a great deal and saw great numbers of rhinos, and shot a good many. The vast majority have quite short horns—under a foot—and anything over 18 inches is uncommon, while a length of 30 inches or upwards is extremely rare." The black rhinoceros, I believe, never eats grass, but browses on the young shoots of trees and bushes, which are often quite leafless and seem excessively dry. In this way it chews up and swallows great quantities of dry-looking twigs, much of which passes through its stomach undigested.
SUMATRAN RHINOCEROS.Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.SUMATRAN RHINOCEROS.This species of rhinoceros is the smallest of the three Oriental forms. It has two horns.
Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.SUMATRAN RHINOCEROS.This species of rhinoceros is the smallest of the three Oriental forms. It has two horns.
Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.
SUMATRAN RHINOCEROS.
This species of rhinoceros is the smallest of the three Oriental forms. It has two horns.
There has been a good deal of controversy as to the character and disposition of the black rhinoceros, some hunters and travellers regarding it as most dangerous and aggressive, whilst others are inclined to take an almost opposite view. That some black rhinoceroses are certainly aggressive and therefore dangerous animals, the experiences of C. J. Anderson and W. Cotton Oswell in South Africa many years ago, and of many travellers and hunters in East Africa during the last few years, certainly prove beyond a doubt; and as one never knows that any particular rhinoceros, when encountered, may not prove to be a vicious brute, a certain amount of caution should be employed in approaching one of these animals. In my own experience I always found that black rhinoceroses ran off at once on getting the wind of a human being; whilst, on the other hand, if they only heard one approaching, they would come towards the noise, and I have often known them to trot up to within twenty yards of where I was standing, snorting and puffing loudly; but as these animals always turned round and went off eventually without charging, I came to the conclusion that they were inquisitive and very short-sighted rather than vicious. When fired into, a black rhinoceros goes off at a gallop—his usual pace, when alarmed, being a very fast trot—puffing and snorting loudly. He can gallop at a very great pace, considering his size and weight; but a South African shooting-pony can easily come up with him, or get away from him if pursued. In death a black rhinoceros will often sink down on its knees, and remain in that position, looking as if it were simply resting. When dying, it often gives vent to a pitiful squeal, the sound seeming very small and thin for so large a beast. The meat of the black rhinoceros is not ill-flavoured, and, if fat, very palatable; but as a rule these animals are very lean, and their flesh tough and coarse. The tongue, however, if well cooked, is always good; and the liver, if first roasted under the ashes, and then, after being beaten up in a native wooden mortar, cooked with rice and fat, makes a dish which is good enough for a hungry man.
During the making of the Uganda Railway the engineers came upon something like a preserve of this species of rhinoceros, especially in the thick and waterless thorn jungle near the coast. The rhinoceros was almost the only animal, except the lion, which was able to penetrate the bush. As many as five of these animals were seen in one day when the line was being made; they did no injury to the coolies, other than by frightening them, and appeared to be stupid and by no means vigilant animals, perhaps because no other creature attacked them. The lion never meddles with a grown-up rhinoceros, though it might and probably does kill a calf occasionally, when the latter is no larger than a full-grown pig. The horns of some of these East African black rhinoceroses were of unusual length and thinness.
THE HORSE TRIBE.
ZEBRAS AND WILD ASSES.
BY F. C. SELOUS.
Zebras.
The Zebras have many points in common with the asses, from which latter group of animals they are principally distinguished by their beautifully striped skins. Both asses and zebras carry short, erect manes, and in both the upper portion of the tail is free from long hair. In both groups there are naked callosities on the fore legs only, whilst the head is larger in proportion to the size of the animal, and the ears longer than in the horse. InBurchell'sandGrevy's Zebrasthe hoof is intermediate between that of the horse and the ass; for although narrower than the hoof of the horse, it is broader and more rounded than that of the ass. In theTrue Zebra, however, the hoof is thoroughly asinine in character, and the ears very long.
MOUNTAIN-ZEBRA.Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.MOUNTAIN-ZEBRA.The true or mountain zebra is now becoming scarcer than formerly. At one time it was to be seen in great numbers on the mountains of Cape Colony.
Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.MOUNTAIN-ZEBRA.The true or mountain zebra is now becoming scarcer than formerly. At one time it was to be seen in great numbers on the mountains of Cape Colony.
Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.
MOUNTAIN-ZEBRA.
The true or mountain zebra is now becoming scarcer than formerly. At one time it was to be seen in great numbers on the mountains of Cape Colony.
TheTrueorMountain Zebraappears never to have had a very extended range. It was once an inhabitant of all the mountainous regions of the Cape Colony as well as of the great Drakensberg Range, and fifty years ago was also found amongst the rugged hills of Great Namaqualand. The mountain-zebra is the smallest of the group, standing only from 12 to 12½ hands at the shoulder. It is a most beautiful animal, the whole of the head, body, and limbs, with the exception of the under-parts and the insides of the thighs, being striped. The ground-colour of the body is white, the stripesbeing black and the muzzle bright brown. Both hind and fore legs are banded down to the hoofs. The stripes on the neck and body are narrower and more numerous than in Burchell's zebra, and on the hindquarters the median stripe, which runs down the centre of the back from the mane to the tail, is connected with the uppermost of the oblique longitudinal stripes by a series of short horizontal bars. The ears in this species are much larger than in Burchell's zebra.
GREVY'S ZEBRA.Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.GREVY'S ZEBRA.This species of zebra comes from the Galla country, and has narrower and more numerous stripes than the mountain-zebra.
Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.GREVY'S ZEBRA.This species of zebra comes from the Galla country, and has narrower and more numerous stripes than the mountain-zebra.
Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.
GREVY'S ZEBRA.
This species of zebra comes from the Galla country, and has narrower and more numerous stripes than the mountain-zebra.
The true zebra seems never to have been an inhabitant of the plains, like all its congeners, but to have confined its range entirely to mountainous districts. Speaking on this point, Captain (afterwards Sir) Cornwallis Harris wrote upwards of sixty years ago: "This beautiful and wary animal never of its own free will descends into the plain, as erroneously asserted by all naturalists, and it therefore never herds with either of its congeners, the quagga and Burchell's zebra, whose habitat is equally limited to the open and level lowlands. Seeking the wildest and most sequestered spots, the haughty troops are exceedingly difficult of approach, as well on account of their watchful habits and extreme agility and fleetness of foot, as from the abrupt and inaccessible nature of their highland abode."
An allied species, of which examples have been obtained by Mr. G. W. Penrice, occurs in Benguela, Portuguese West Africa.
I once saw the carcase of a zebra stallion which had been sent by rail to the Cape Town Museum by a farmer living in the neighbourhood of the village of Worcester. This animal had come down from the mountains, and joined a troop of donkeys running on the farm. Its intrusion was, however, resented by a male donkey, which fought with and overpowered it, and, having seized it with its teeth by the back of the neck, held it fast until it was secured by the farmer and his men. The captured animal, however, refused food, and soon died, when its carcase was sent to the Cape Museum for preservation.
Grevy's Zebrais the largest and perhaps the handsomest of all the zebras. This fine animal is an inhabitant of Eastern Africa, its range extending from the central portion of Somaliland southwards to the Tana River. It appears to be plentiful in the country between Mount Kenia and Lake Rudolph, but has not, I believe, been met with to the west of that lake. Full-grown specimens of Grevy's zebra will stand from 14½ to 15 hands at the shoulder, with a girth of body immediately behind the shoulders of nearly 5 feet. The arrangement of the stripes in this species differs considerably both from that of the mountain-zebra of the Cape Colony and also from Burchell's zebra. The body-stripes are very narrow, numerous, and deep black in colour, and are separated by equally narrow white bands. The longitudinal stripes on the haunches are also shorter and finer than in any other species of zebra, and on the top of the quarters there is a white unstriped space on each side of the median line which runs down the centre of the back from the neck to the tail. The belly and insides of the thighs are white, and the legs banded right down to the hoofs as in the mountain-zebra, and the ears are as large as in that species.
BURCHELL'S ZEBRA AT HOME.Photo by Percy Ashenden.BURCHELL'S ZEBRA AT HOME.This excellent photograph was taken in South Africa, and shows these animals in their native state.
Photo by Percy Ashenden.BURCHELL'S ZEBRA AT HOME.This excellent photograph was taken in South Africa, and shows these animals in their native state.
Photo by Percy Ashenden.
BURCHELL'S ZEBRA AT HOME.
This excellent photograph was taken in South Africa, and shows these animals in their native state.
Grevy's zebra is, as a rule, an inhabitant of open or thinly wooded country, and it appears to avoid anything in the nature of thick cover. In Central Somaliland Major Swayne met with it on low plateaux some 2,500 feet above sea-level, the sides of which fell in broken ravines to the river-valleys. This country is described as broken and hilly, and here Grevy's zebras were met with in small droves of about half a dozen. In the country between Mount Kenia and Lake Rudolph, Mr. A. H. Neumann frequently met with herds of Grevy's and Burchell's zebras consorting together. The contrast between the two species when thus seen side by side was very marked, the former animals looking like horses among a flock of ponies. Mr. Neumann never observed stallions of the two species fighting together, but on the other hand he states that the stallions of the larger species fight viciously amongst themselves for possession of the mares. Grevy's zebras seem never to collect in large herds, more than twenty, or at the outside thirty, being very seldom seen together.
THE HON. WALTER ROTHSCHILD'S TEAM OF ZEBRAS.Photo by J. T. Newman][Berkhamsted.THE HON. WALTER ROTHSCHILD'S TEAM OF ZEBRAS.Mr. Rothschild was practically the first Englishman to break in zebras to harness. At one time these animals were thought to be quite untamable.
Photo by J. T. Newman][Berkhamsted.THE HON. WALTER ROTHSCHILD'S TEAM OF ZEBRAS.Mr. Rothschild was practically the first Englishman to break in zebras to harness. At one time these animals were thought to be quite untamable.
Photo by J. T. Newman][Berkhamsted.
THE HON. WALTER ROTHSCHILD'S TEAM OF ZEBRAS.
Mr. Rothschild was practically the first Englishman to break in zebras to harness. At one time these animals were thought to be quite untamable.
Although this species is an inhabitant of arid plains and bare stony hills where the herbage is short, it requires to drink daily, and is never therefore found at any great distance from water.
The cry of Grevy's zebra is stated to be quite different from that of Burchell's. Mr. Neumann describes it as a very hoarse kind of grunt, varied by something approaching to a whistle, the grunts being long drawn out, and divided by the shrill whistling sound, as if the latter were made by drawing in the breath which had been expelled during the sustained grunt.
Like all other species of the genus to which they belong, Grevy's zebras, especially the mares when in foal, become very fat at certain seasons of the year, and their flesh is much appreciated both by natives and lions, the latter preying on them and their smaller congeners, Burchell's zebras, in preference to any other animal, now that the rinderpest has almost exterminated the great herds of buffalo which once roamed in countless numbers all over East Central Africa.
Burchell's Zebraonce inhabited the whole of South-western, South-eastern, Central, and Eastern Africa from the Orange River to Lake Rudolph; and though it has long ceased to exist in the more southerly portions of its range, it is still the most numerous and the best known of all the species of zebra.
HIGHLAND CATTLE.Photo by Charles Reid, Wishaw, N.B.HIGHLAND CATTLE.These magnificent cattle are bred in large numbers in the Scottish Highlands, whence they are brought to the richer pastures of England to fatten for the market.
Photo by Charles Reid, Wishaw, N.B.HIGHLAND CATTLE.These magnificent cattle are bred in large numbers in the Scottish Highlands, whence they are brought to the richer pastures of England to fatten for the market.
Photo by Charles Reid, Wishaw, N.B.
HIGHLAND CATTLE.
These magnificent cattle are bred in large numbers in the Scottish Highlands, whence they are brought to the richer pastures of England to fatten for the market.
The typical form of this species was first met with early last century by Dr. Burchell in Southern Bechuanaland. In this form the legs are white below the knees and hocks, and the body-stripes do not join the median stripe of the belly. In examples met with farther north the legs are striped down to the hoofs and the body-stripes join the belly-stripe. South of the Zambesi all forms of Burchell's zebra seem to have faint markings, known as shadow-stripes, on the pale yellow ground-colour of the spaces between the broad black stripes. North of the Zambesi varieties are met with in which these shadow-stripes are wanting. As, however, the differences between all the various sub-species of Burchell's zebra are superficial and not structural, and as, moreover, the habits of these animals seem to be the same in every part of their widely extended range, I shall henceforth speak of them as one species.
Burchell's zebra is without the small horizontal bars on the hindquarters, which in the mountain-zebra connect the dorsal stripe with the uppermost of the broad longitudinal bands running across the flanks. Its ears, too, are smaller than in the latter species, and its mane fuller. In size Burchell's zebra is intermediate between the mountain-zebra and Grevy's zebra, standing from thirteen to thirteen and a half hands at the shoulder.