JERSEY COW.Photo by J. T. Newman][Berkhamsted.JERSEY COW.The property of Lord Braybrooke. Though small in size, the Jersey cows produce more butter than any English breed.
Photo by J. T. Newman][Berkhamsted.JERSEY COW.The property of Lord Braybrooke. Though small in size, the Jersey cows produce more butter than any English breed.
Photo by J. T. Newman][Berkhamsted.
JERSEY COW.
The property of Lord Braybrooke. Though small in size, the Jersey cows produce more butter than any English breed.
Formerly there were several other herds of ancient white cattle. One was at Gisburne, in Yorkshire; another at Chatelherault Park, in Lanarkshire; and records of herds at Bishop Auckland in Durham, Barnard Castle, Blair Athol, Burton Constable, Naworth Castle, and other ancient parks are preserved. Probably all were of a breed highly prized in ancient days, which was allowed the run of the forests adjacent to the homes of their owners; then, as the forests were cleared, they were gradually taken up and enclosed in parks. Another theory is, that they were the white cattle of North-western Italy, imported by the first settlements of Italian monks after the conversion of the Saxons.
SOME DOMESTICATED CATTLE.
The various species of European domestic cattle have in most cases been brought to a degree of excellence even higher than that which might be expected from the long period of time in which their improvement has been an object of solicitude to man. Of the foreign races, the dark red cattle of the Spanish Peninsula—animals which have been exported to the Canary Islands and Madeira with great success—are justly famous. The white oxen of North-east Italy have been famous since the days of the Romans. The tall long-horned cattle of Hungary are excellent alike as beasts of draught and for beef. The black-and-white Dutch cows are, and have been, the mainstay of the dairy industry of Holland, and later of Denmark; while the small Brittany cows are perhaps the best butter-producers on the continent of Europe. But England and the Channel Islands may justly claim to rear the finest cattle of the temperate parts of the world. The diminutive Jersey cows, now reared in all parts of the kingdom, surpass all the animals of Europe or America in the richness of their milk, while stock from the pedigree herds of various English breeds is eagerly sought by foreign and continental buyers on both sides of the Atlantic, and in New Zealand and Australia. These foreign strains need constant replenishing from the English herds, and the result is a golden harvest to the breeders in these islands.
SPANISH CATTLE.Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.SPANISH CATTLE.These belong to the long-horned race of Southern and Eastern Europe. In the bulls the horns are shorter, and often turn downwards.
Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.SPANISH CATTLE.These belong to the long-horned race of Southern and Eastern Europe. In the bulls the horns are shorter, and often turn downwards.
Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.
SPANISH CATTLE.
These belong to the long-horned race of Southern and Eastern Europe. In the bulls the horns are shorter, and often turn downwards.
TheShorthornwas the first breed to be brought to perfection. Two main stocks—one for producing beef, the other for the dairy—are recognised; they are the "all-round breed" most in favour, and it is said that the improvement in this race alone hasraised the value of average Irish store cattle £2 per head during the last twenty years. The shorthorns are level-backed, large animals, maturing very quickly. The commonest colours are roan, white, red, and red-and-white.Hereford Cattleare red, with white faces and long, upturned horns; they fatten quickly on good grass, and are in most demand for summer beef.Highland Cattlehave long horns, rough, shaggy coats, and bodies of moderate size and great symmetry; they are grazed on the mountains of the West Highlands mainly, and fattened in the south. The beef is of the finest quality.Sussex Cattleare an "all red" variety, large, and formerly much used for draught and farm work. TheDevonsare another red variety very like the Sussex, yielding excellent and rich milk, and, when fattened, being little inferior to any breed as beef. The long-horned blackWelsh Cattlegrow to a great size, as do the polledAngusbreed of Scotland. The polled or hornless cattle include the redSuffolks, a most valuable breed, hardy, and wonderful producers of milk. The cows often give milk every day of the year. TheLonghornbreed is almost disappearing, as the horns are a disadvantage both in the fields and when the animals are carried on board ship or in the train. TheHumped Cattleof India and East Africa belong to a race different from European cattle, of which the parent stock is not known. They have a hump upon the withers, drooping ears (a sign of ancient domestication), and a very large dewlap. The coat is always exquisitely fine. They are of all sizes, from the tall Brahminee bull to dwarf breeds not larger than a Newfoundland dog. The commonest colours are cream, grey, mouse-colour, and white. They do not low, but grunt, and are by no means so fond of shade and water as European cattle.
YOUNG GAUR.Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.YOUNG GAUR.The largest and handsomest of the wild oxen.
Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.YOUNG GAUR.The largest and handsomest of the wild oxen.
Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.
YOUNG GAUR.
The largest and handsomest of the wild oxen.
WILD OXEN.
This group consists of theGaurof India; theGayalof Assam, which is possibly a domesticated form of the gaur, but rather smaller in size, with skull and horns different in character; and theBanting, a lighter and more slender wild ox, of which different varieties are found in Burma, in Java (where it is kept in a half-domesticated condition), and in Manipur.
The Gaur.
TheGaur, the so-calledIndian Bison, is probably the largest of all the wild bovine animals. It is found at the foot of the North-eastern Himalaya, in the Central Provinces of India, the forests of Madras and Mysore, and in parts of Burma and the Malay Peninsula, but not in Ceylon. Its range eastward is not accurately known. In habits the gaur is mainly a forest animal, retiring always at daybreak into the depths of the jungle. It sometimes attains a height of over 6 feet at the shoulder, and a length of 9 feet 6 inchesfrom the nose to the tail. The colour of the full-grown gaur is dark brown, turning to black; the legs from above the knees and hocks to the hoofs are white, the hair being short and fine. Its horns are upturned, and tipped with black, with white hair covering the junction on the top of the skull. The cows are much smaller than the bulls, standing about 5 feet high at the shoulder. This species feeds both on grass and on the young shoots of trees and of bamboos. The calves are dropped in August and September. The pure-bred animal does not appear capable of domestication.
COW GAYAL.Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.COW GAYAL.This animal is not at all dissimilar to the gaur. Its chief points of difference are in the horns and in the colour of its skin.
Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.COW GAYAL.This animal is not at all dissimilar to the gaur. Its chief points of difference are in the horns and in the colour of its skin.
Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.
COW GAYAL.
This animal is not at all dissimilar to the gaur. Its chief points of difference are in the horns and in the colour of its skin.
Hunting gaur by tracking in the jungle has long been a favourite sport of Anglo-Indians. General Douglas Hamilton says: "I have killed bulls measuring 6 feet at the shoulder, and the average height of the male is from 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches. An old bull gaur is a magnificent animal. The normal colour is a brownish black, sometimes in very old specimens almost quite black. The white stockings reach from the hoof to above the knee, and are very conspicuous. When on the Anamalies, I had a grand fight with a big bull. I was out early, and came on the spoor of bison, and soon saw two, one a very large bull. To my disgust he lay down, and was completely covered by creepers and bushes. After a bit I attempted to move to get a better view; but there to my left was a cow bison staring at me. She at once gave the alarm, and I waited for the large bull to rise. This he did so quickly, and disappeared so suddenly, that I only got a snapshot. As I stopped to load, I saw a young calf squatting at the foot of a tree like a hare, intently watching me. I put the rifle down, crept up behind the tree, and suddenly threw myself on the little calf, and managed to get hold of its hind legs, but it got from under me. I managed, however, to tie its fore legs securely by means of some slender stems from the creepers. All this time it continued to bellow and to make a great row, and I fully expected to see the mother come charging down. I went back to the bungalow, and got some men to bring my little captive home. After breakfast I started again, and got on the track of the bison.... I saw some branches move, and on looking carefully perceived a large bull bison; but he was among the thick bushes, and I could not see his outline. I guessed as nearly as possible the position of the shoulder, and fired the big rifle at him. He gave a bound forward, and then stopped long enough for me to give him a shot with the other barrel.... The next moment I saw the bull standing on the high ground above us. I fired again, and hit him well behind the shoulder. He dashed off, but only went fifty yards, and then stopped. I walked up, thinking to finish him, when he made a fearful rush at me. My man put the double rifle into my hands and then bolted, and I thought it prudent to retire and await my opportunity. But he only moved a few paces forward, and then stopped. Then began a regular siege of his position." The result of the siege was that the bison received four more bullets, charged and routed the hunter twice, and then walked off. It was shot twice more, charged again, and was finally killed by General Hamilton with his hunting-knife tied to a bamboo spear-pole.
Considering the size and tenacity of life of the gaur, it is rather wonderful that more accidents do not occur in the pursuit of this animal; but as it lives mainly in thick jungle, where large trees grow, the sportsman has more chance of getting out of sight of a wounded animal than when attacked by the Indian buffalo, which generally haunts jungles of high grass.
INDIAN HUMPED BULL.By permission of Herr Curt Hagenbeck][Hamburg.INDIAN HUMPED BULL.The hump and dewlap mark the Oriental cattle. The ears are often more drooping than in this specimen.
By permission of Herr Curt Hagenbeck][Hamburg.INDIAN HUMPED BULL.The hump and dewlap mark the Oriental cattle. The ears are often more drooping than in this specimen.
By permission of Herr Curt Hagenbeck][Hamburg.
INDIAN HUMPED BULL.
The hump and dewlap mark the Oriental cattle. The ears are often more drooping than in this specimen.
The Gayal.
The doubt whether this animal is found in a wild state has recently been considerably increased. It is well known in a semi-domesticated condition, in which it is kept by the tribes in and around the Assam Valley, where the wild gaur is also found. These herds roam during the day freely in the jungle, and return to be fed at the villages. It has been stated that wild gayal are enticed to join the tame herds by feeding them with balls of meal and salt; but these "wild" specimens may be only those which have belonged to or have descended from the domesticated herd. Gayal have been kept in England not only in the Zoological Gardens but in some parks, and crossed with English cattle. The offspring furnished excellent beef, but were rather wild and intractable. The horns of the gayal are thicker and flatter than those of the gaur, and placed lower on the skull and farther apart. The domesticated gayal stands lower than the gaur, but is a very massive animal.
The Banting.
The common wild ox of the Malay countries of Borneo, Java, Eastern Burma, and northwards, in Manipur resembles the European oxen rather more than does the gaur. In size the bulls sometimes reach 5 feet 9½ inches. The old bulls are black, the younger bulls chocolate-red, and the cows a bright reddish brown. The rump is marked with a large white patch, and all have white stockings from above the knees and hocks down to the hoofs. The tail is considerably longer than in the gaur, coming well below the hocks. As might be expected from its distribution, the size of this animal and the shape of the horns vary considerably in the different districts which it inhabits. In Borneo the horns often curve forwards; in Java they spread outwards. In the latter island large herds of this species are kept in a state of domestication. When wild, banting live in small herds, and in Burma feed from early morning until ten o'clock, when they retire into the jungle for shelter. The Manipur race is smaller than that of Burma (of which the males are not black), and the bulls have not the white rump.
THE YAK.
TheYakis naturally an inhabitant of the very high plateaux and mountains of Tibet, where the climate is cold and the air excessively dry. Lower down on the Indian side of the Himalaya a smaller race is found domesticated, which is the only one able to stand the climate of India, or of Europe, where it is now kept in some parks as a curiosity. The tamed yaks are usually much smaller than the wild; these sometimes reach a weight of between 1,100 and 1,200 lbs. In form they are long and low, very massive, and with hair almost entirely black; this falls off along the sides into a long sweeping fringe. The tail is thickly tasselled with fine hair, and is employed by Indian princes for fly-flaps. The wild yak has large, massive black horns, curved upwards and forwards in the male. In Ladak and Chinese Tibet the yaks inhabit a desolate and barren country, in which their main food is a dry,coarse grass, on which they nevertheless contrive to keep themselves in condition, feeding in the mornings and evenings, and lying down by day to rest among the rocks.
INDIAN HUMPED CATTLE.Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's ParkINDIAN HUMPED CATTLE.These are often called Zebu in Europe, but the origin of the name in unknown.
Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's ParkINDIAN HUMPED CATTLE.These are often called Zebu in Europe, but the origin of the name in unknown.
Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park
INDIAN HUMPED CATTLE.
These are often called Zebu in Europe, but the origin of the name in unknown.
THE BISON.
TheBisonform a marked group, differing from others of the Ox Tribe. They possess fourteen pairs of ribs, while the oxen have only thirteen (the yak has fourteen); and have very heavy, massive heads, broader and more convex foreheads than the oxen, longer spinal processes on the vertebrae of the front part of the back, and larger muscles to hold the ponderous head, causing a hump, which in the American bison is very marked. There are two living species of bison, one of which is found in Europe, the other in North America.
The European Bison.
This is the most interesting survival of the primitive fauna of the Old World. It is still found wild, though protected, in a large forest in Lithuania, the property of the Czar of Russia, called the Forest of Bielowitza. A few are also left of the purely wild stock in the Caucasus. Those in Lithuania have been protected for several centuries, and the herd is numbered from time to time. In 1857 there were 1,898 of these bison left; in 1882 there were only 600; in 1889 the herd had sunk to 380, but in 1892 it had risen to 491. The presence of the bison in the Caucasus had been almost forgotten till Mr. Littledale and Prince Demidoff gave accounts of hunting it there quite recently. TheZubr, as it is called, only survives in some very inaccessible parts of the mountains, preserved by the Grand Duke Sergius Michaelovitch, in the Kouban district. There it exists as a really wild animal. The dimensions of one recently shot were 10 feet from the muzzle to the end of the last vertebra of the tail. The Grand Duke has to obtain special permission from the Czar to shoot one whenever he goes to the Caucasus.
This bison seems to have been an inhabitant of most of the forests of Europe and Northern Asia; its remains show that it existed in Britain, and it was plentiful in the Black Forest in the time of Cæsar. It is the largest of all European quadrupeds, measuring as much as 10 feet 1 inch from the nose to the root of the tail, and standing nearly 6 feet high at the shoulder. Prince Demidoff states his belief that it is found on the southern slopes of the Caucasus Range between the hills and the Black Sea. The weight of this bison reaches 1,700 lbs. It is now rare to see more than five or six together. Though the animal is so massive, its horns are rather small and slender, and curve upwards. The mane—which, like the rest of the coat, is of a uniform rich brown—is thick and curly, but not developed like that of the American bison.
The American Bison.
The American bison is the western representative of the bison of Europe. The almost complete disappearance of this species is one of the warnings against reckless destruction of animal life. It was formerly found in millionson the prairies, and its meat formed the staple food of the Red Indians, who lived on the flesh and used the "robes" of those killed in winter for great coats and bedding. When Audubon went up the Upper Missouri, bison were in sight almost throughout the voyage; they were even carried down on ice-flows on the river. The bulls were very large, and were occasionally savage, especially when attacked and wounded; but usually they were harmless animals. Every winter and spring they made migrations along regular routes to fresh pastures. These lines of travel were then black with bison. The females had their calves by their sides, and all travelled in herds, feeding as they went. At the present time the only remains of the bison are the paths they left on the prairies, and their bones and skulls. The paths are still distinctly seen, worn by the "treks" of the great beasts which have now perished. The bones were collected in stacks and sold to make manure.
DOMESTICATED YAK.Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.DOMESTICATED YAK.The wild bovine animal of the Central Asian plateau, tamed and domesticated.
Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.DOMESTICATED YAK.The wild bovine animal of the Central Asian plateau, tamed and domesticated.
Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.
DOMESTICATED YAK.
The wild bovine animal of the Central Asian plateau, tamed and domesticated.
Colonel Roosevelt, in an article contributed to "The Encyclopædia of Sport," thus describes the destruction of the bison: "Pursuit by sportsmen had nothing to do with the extermination of the bison. It was killed by the hide-hunters, redskin, white, and half-breed. The railways, as they were built, hastened its destruction, for they gave means of transporting the heavy robes to market. But it would have been killed out anyhow, even were there no railroads in existence. Once the demand for the robes became known to the Indians, they were certain to exterminate it. Originally the bison ranged from the Rocky Mountains to the Alleghanies, and from Mexico to the Peace River. But its centre of abundance was the vast extent of grass-land stretching from the Saskatchewan to the Rio Grande. All the earlier explorers who crossed these great plains, from Lewis and Clarke onwards, spoke of the astonishing multitudes of the bison, which formed the sole food of the Horse Indians. The herds were pressed steadily back, but the slaughter did not begin till after the Civil War; then the commercial value of the robes became fully recognised, and the transcontinental railways rendered the herds more accessible. The slaughter was almost incredible, for the bison were slain literally by millions every year. They were first exterminated in Canada and the southern plains. It was not till 1883 that the last herd was killed off from the great north-western prairies."
The height of a fine bull American bison at the shoulder is 6 feet. The horns are short, blunt, and curved, and set farther back on the forehead than in the European species. The hindquarters are low and weak, and the mane develops in winter into a thick robe, covering the neck, shoulders, and chest. An adult bull bison was found to weigh 1,727 lbs. The woodland-bison of Athabasca, now nearly exterminated, are larger than the prairie-bison, and have finer coats. In 1897 there were said to be between 280 and 300 head remaining in two herds.
THE BUFFALOES.
TheBuffaloesare so far distinct from other wild cattle that they will not interbreed with them; yet one species, theIndian Buffalo, has been domesticated for a long, though unknown period, and is among the most valuable of tame beasts of draught, as well as for dairy purposes. The various buffaloes usually have little hair, especially when old, and have flatter shoulders than the gaur, gayal, or bison. The pairs of ribs number thirteen.
AMERICAN BULL BISON.By permission of the New York Zoological Society.AMERICAN BULL BISON.The American bison (locally called "buffalo") is lower behind than its European brother; but the withers, as will be seen from the photograph, are stronger and more massive, and its mane considerably longer.
By permission of the New York Zoological Society.AMERICAN BULL BISON.The American bison (locally called "buffalo") is lower behind than its European brother; but the withers, as will be seen from the photograph, are stronger and more massive, and its mane considerably longer.
By permission of the New York Zoological Society.
AMERICAN BULL BISON.
The American bison (locally called "buffalo") is lower behind than its European brother; but the withers, as will be seen from the photograph, are stronger and more massive, and its mane considerably longer.
The African Buffalo.
Great differences in size and colour exist in theAfrican Buffaloes. Whether they are separate species or not may be doubtful; but the small yellowCongo Buffalo, with upturned short horns, is a vastly different creature from the large blackCape Buffalo. There is also an Abyssinian or brown race of African buffalo, and another in Senegambia smaller than the former, and a reputed grey race near Lake Tchad. The Cape buffalo is a heavy, thickset animal, all black in colour, with large massive horns covering the skull, and nearly meeting in the middle line of the forehead. In height it varies from 4 feet 10 inches to 5 feet at the shoulder. This species ranges from South Africa to the Congo on the west, and to the region of the Equator on the east of the continent. Firearms, and lately rinderpest, have greatly reduced the number of these creatures. They live and feed in herds, and, like the Indian species, are fond of the neighbourhood of water, in which they bathe, but are not so dependent on bathing and wallowing as the former.
Fully as formidable as the Indian buffalo, and much like it in habits, the African species is quite distinct. It has different horns, broad at the base and curled and tapering at the ends. Among the extreme measurements of the Indian buffalo's horns recorded is one of 12 feet 2 inches from tip to tip along the curve. Those of the African buffalo are seldom more than 6 feet, measured in the same way. By far the greatest number of hunting accidents in Africa are caused by the buffalo. Sir Samuel Baker shot a buffalo bull one evening near the White Nile. His men actually danced upon the body, when the animal rose to its feet, and sent them flying into the river like so many frogs. It then disappeared in the thick vegetation. On the following day, supposing that it must have died during the night, thirty or forty men, armed with double-barrelled guns, went to look for it. The result was thus recorded by Sir Samuel Baker: "They had not been ashore for many minutes when I first heard a shot and then a regular volley. My people returned with the head of the buffalo and a large quantity of meat, but they also carried the body of my best man, who, when leading the way through the high reeds, following the traces of blood, actually stumbled upon the buffalo lying in the swamp, and the light guns failed to stop its charge. The crooked horn had caught him behind the ear, and, penetrating completely through the neck, had torn out the throat as though it had been cut. The savage beast had then knelt upon the body, and stamped it into the muddy ground, until it fell beneath the fire of thirty men."
The head and body of a male Cape buffalo are 9 feet long. It is stated that the parasite conveyed by the tsetse fly remains in the blood of the buffalo (which is not affected by it), and that this forms a reserve whence the fly, after sucking the blood of the buffalo, poisons other animals.
EUROPEAN BISON.Photo by the Duchess of Bedford][Woburn Abbey.EUROPEAN BISON.These wild animals of the Caucasus are very much scarcer than formerly, and are in danger of becoming extinct.
Photo by the Duchess of Bedford][Woburn Abbey.EUROPEAN BISON.These wild animals of the Caucasus are very much scarcer than formerly, and are in danger of becoming extinct.
Photo by the Duchess of Bedford][Woburn Abbey.
EUROPEAN BISON.
These wild animals of the Caucasus are very much scarcer than formerly, and are in danger of becoming extinct.
The Congo Buffalo.
This is a very small race, the height at the shoulder being about 3 feet 6 inches. The shape of the horns varies, but they are wrinkled at the bases and flattened, and turn upwards, ending in thin, sharp tips. The hair is bright reddish yellow. It is entirely a West African species. Sir Samuel Baker records an instance in which his brother was nearly killed by a small West African buffalo, probably one of the species in question. It is said to be less gregarious than the Cape buffalo, and usually found in pairs.
The Indian or Water-buffalo.
Very great interest attaches to this animal, if only from the fact that it is evidently a species domesticated directly from the wild stock. It therefore deserves consideration both as a wild and as a domesticated animal. It is found wild in the swampy jungles at the foot of the Himalaya, in the Ganges Delta, and in the jungles of the Central Provinces; also, it is believed, in the jungles of West Assam. Like the African species, it is an animal of great size and strength, with short brown hair, white fetlocks, and immense long, narrow, flattened horns. It is almost aquatic by preference, passing many hours of each day wallowing in the water, or standing in any deep pool with only the tips of its nostrils and its horns out of the water. By general consent it is the most dangerous of Indian animals after the tiger. A buffalo bull when wounded will hunt for its enemy by scent as persistently as a dog hunting for a rabbit. A writer inCountry Lifelately gave an account of a duel between himself, armed with a small and light rifle, and a buffalo bull, in which the latter hunted him for more than an hour, each time being driven off by a shot from the light rifle, and each time returning to the search, until it was killed. Sir Samuel Baker, when he first went to Ceylon, found the buffaloes practically in possession of the meadows round a lake in the neighbourhood of his quarters, and waged a war of extermination against the bulls, which were very dangerous.
AMERICAN BISON.Photo by the Duchess of Bedford][Woburn Abbey.AMERICAN BISON.Notice the difference in the fore and hind quarters of this animal and the European representative of the same group. (Seepage 216.)
Photo by the Duchess of Bedford][Woburn Abbey.AMERICAN BISON.Notice the difference in the fore and hind quarters of this animal and the European representative of the same group. (Seepage 216.)
Photo by the Duchess of Bedford][Woburn Abbey.
AMERICAN BISON.
Notice the difference in the fore and hind quarters of this animal and the European representative of the same group. (Seepage 216.)
The buffaloes of Ceylon are the same as those of India, but the horns are inferior in size. "The charge of a buffalo is a serious matter." says Sir Samuel Baker. "Many animals charge when infuriated, but they can generally be turned aside by the stunning blow of a rifle-shot, even if they be not mortally wounded. But a buffalo is a devil incarnate when it has once decided on the offensive; nothing will turn it. It must be actually stopped by death, sudden and instantaneous, as nothing else will stop it. If not killed, it will assuredly destroy its adversary. There is no creature in existence so determined to stamp the life out of its opponents, and the intensity of its fury is unsurpassed when a wounded bull rushes forward upon its last desperate charge. Should it succeed in overthrowing its antagonist, it will not only gore the body with its horns, but will kneel upon the lifeless form, and stamp it with its hoofs till the mutilated remains are beyond recognition."
CAPE BUFFALO.Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.CAPE BUFFALO.Notice the striking difference depicted on this page between the two species of buffalo—the Indian and the Cape.
Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.CAPE BUFFALO.Notice the striking difference depicted on this page between the two species of buffalo—the Indian and the Cape.
Photo by York & Son][Notting Hill.
CAPE BUFFALO.
Notice the striking difference depicted on this page between the two species of buffalo—the Indian and the Cape.
DOMESTICATED INDIAN BUFFALO.Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.DOMESTICATED INDIAN BUFFALO.This animal is found as a wild and domesticated species in India. It is valuable as a beast of draught and for the dairy.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.DOMESTICATED INDIAN BUFFALO.This animal is found as a wild and domesticated species in India. It is valuable as a beast of draught and for the dairy.
Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S.][North Finchley.
DOMESTICATED INDIAN BUFFALO.
This animal is found as a wild and domesticated species in India. It is valuable as a beast of draught and for the dairy.
The true Indian buffalo is usually shot from the back of an elephant. Hunting it on foot is dangerous in the extreme, for the buffalo can crash through obstacles which would prevent any man from making his way through them when escaping. When domesticated, the Indian buffalo loses most traces of its savageness; it is habitually managed by the children, who take the herds out to graze in the jungle, and drive them back, often riding on one of the bulls, at night. They dislike Europeans, and often show this by attacking them; but otherwise they are quite tame, and are docile when in harness or carrying burdens. The buffalo's milk is very rich, and makes a much largerpercentage of butter than ordinary cow's milk. So useful is this mud- and water-loving animal in all swampy districts, that wherever rice is cultivated it is almost indispensable. The result is that the Indian buffalo has been transported, probably in comparatively modern times, to many distant quarters of the globe. When this was done is not known; but it is probable, for instance, that it was not known in Egypt in the days of the Pharaohs, for its form never appears in the paintings and sculptures. Now it is seen very far up the Nile, and plays an important part in Egyptian agriculture; it is also the general beast of burden and for the dairy in the Pontine Marshes of Italy. In Spain it was probably introduced by the Arabs, and is used to cultivate the marshy plains near the mouths of the rivers of Andalusia; it is also in use in the marshes of Hungary, in the Crimea, and across Western Asia to Afghanistan. We have thus the curious fact that a wild animal once confined to the jungles of the Indian Peninsula is now domesticated on two other continents. It has not been introduced into America yet, though it would be useful in the Mississippi swamps; but the Chinese have taken it to the Far East, and established it as their favourite beast of burden.
The Tamarau and Anoa.
A PAIR OF ANOAS.Photo by the Duchess of Bedford][Woburn Abbey.A PAIR OF ANOAS.The anoa is the smallest and most antelope-like member of the Ox Tribe.
Photo by the Duchess of Bedford][Woburn Abbey.A PAIR OF ANOAS.The anoa is the smallest and most antelope-like member of the Ox Tribe.
Photo by the Duchess of Bedford][Woburn Abbey.
A PAIR OF ANOAS.
The anoa is the smallest and most antelope-like member of the Ox Tribe.
In the island of Mindoro, in the Philippines, a small black buffalo, with upright, slightly incurved horns, is found in the dense forests. The height at the shoulder is about 3 feet 6 inches; a few irregular marks of white are found on the fore legs, face, and occasionally the throat. It is called theTamarauby the natives, most of whom fear to attack it. Its habits are said to be much the same as those of the other buffaloes; but it is reputed to fight with the Indian buffaloes which have escaped and become semi-wild in the forests.
In Celebes a still smaller wild forest-buffalo is found, called theAnoa. It is only 3 feet 3 inches high at the shoulder, and has upright, almost straight horns. The general colour is brownish, tinged with yellow, that of the adults being very dark brown or black. Scarcely anything is known of its habits.
THE MUSK-OX.
TheMusk-oxwas formerly found in immense numbers on the barren lands and other regions bordering on the Arctic ice. The hair of this animal reaches almost to the ground, and the horns are large and massive. At present it is only common in the corner of North America north and east of a line drawn from Fort Churchill, on Hudson Bay, to the mouth of the Mackenzie, and on the adjacent islands of the Arctic Sea. In former Arctic expeditions the flesh of the musk-oxen was a great and reliable source of food. Now some parts of the herds seem to have retired inland, and in the winter to become mainly forest-dwellers; but large numbers seem to endure the coldest parts of the Arctic winter in the open country of the Far North, in the snows of Grinnell Land and of Northern Greenland. The remains of musk-oxen have been found in the river gravels of the Thames Valley, with those of the reindeer and other northern species. The musk-ox gallops at a great rate of speed when disturbed in the open, and makes as little of a steep mountain-side as does the wild sheep. When fat, the flesh is very tolerable food; but if the animals grow thin, the taste of musk is very unpleasant. The colour of the coat is dark brown; it is now in great demand for sledge-rugs in Canada. This remarkable animal appears to be a form standing apart both from the oxen and the sheep.
YOUNG BULL MUSK-OX.Photo by the Duchess of Bedford][Woburn Abbey.YOUNG BULL MUSK-OX.The musk-ox is nearly allied to the sheep. It is about the size of Highland cattle, and inhabits Arctic America and Northern Greenland.
Photo by the Duchess of Bedford][Woburn Abbey.YOUNG BULL MUSK-OX.The musk-ox is nearly allied to the sheep. It is about the size of Highland cattle, and inhabits Arctic America and Northern Greenland.
Photo by the Duchess of Bedford][Woburn Abbey.
YOUNG BULL MUSK-OX.
The musk-ox is nearly allied to the sheep. It is about the size of Highland cattle, and inhabits Arctic America and Northern Greenland.
It will be seen from the above accounts of the whole wild bovine race that they all exhibit in a high degree many of the traits which are seen in domesticated animals of the same tribe. The chief differences made by man's selection and breeding affect the form of the body and the development of the udder, otherwise there is no great modification, except the production of the drooping ear in some of the Indian species of domesticated oxen. No wild cattle have the level, flat back and rectangular body which mark all the best shorthorns and other breeds intended for beef. In the Asiatic and Galla humped breeds, the races which first domesticated the original wild species seem to have used the long processes of the vertebræ which cause the back of many wild cattle to form a hump as the basis of a valuable feature, the hump becoming as it were another joint of meat. The development of the udder has for untold centuries been the object of the breeders of cows; consequently we find that in the domesticated races this has become abnormally large. There is at present a very general tendency to get rid of the horns among all breeds of high quality, as these appendages cause much loss by wounds inflicted by cattle upon each other; but even in this respect sentiment rather tends to preserve the horns as an ornament in some of the best milking breeds, such as the Jerseys.
THE SHEEP AND GOATS.
THE SHEEP.
The sheep are represented at the present time by several wild species, one of which is found in Northern India east of the Indus, in the Punjab, and in Sind; one in North America; and another in North Africa. The rest inhabit the high ground of Europe and Asia as far south as the Himalaya. These mountains, with the adjacent plateaux of the Pamirs and the great ranges of Central Asia, form the main home of the group. Wild sheep are of various types, some so much like the goats that it is difficult to draw a hard-and-fast line between them; while others, especially the Curly-horned Argalis, Bighorns, Oorial, and Kamchatka Wild Sheep, are unmistakably ovine in type. The wild original of the domesticated breeds of sheep is unknown; but the extreme differences between various breeds of tame sheep—as, for instance, between the smooth-coated, drooping-eared breed of Nubia and the curly-horned, woolly sheep of Dorsetshire—must not be allowed to divert the attention from the considerable likeness of habit which still remains between other breeds and the wild species. Domesticated sheep which live on hills and mountains are still inclined to seek the highest ground at night. The rams fight as the wild rams do, and many of them display activity and powers of climbing and of finding a living on barren ground scarcely less remarkable than in the wild races. The apparent absence of wool in the latter does not indicate so great a difference as might be thought. The domesticated sheep have been bred by artificial selection for unnumbered ages in order to produce wool. It is said that in some of the wild breeds there is an under-fur which will "felt" like wool. Most of the species are short-tailed animals, but this is not the case with the Barbary wild sheep.
Wild sheep are mainly mountain-living animals or frequenters of high ground. They generally, although not always, frequent less rugged country than that affected by the wild goats, and some are found at quite low levels. The altitude at which other wild sheep are found is, however, very great; on the Pamirs it reaches 20,000 feet. Here the country is quite open.
YOUNG BARBARY SHEEP.Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.YOUNG BARBARY SHEEP.Note the length of the tail as compared with other wild sheep.
Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.YOUNG BARBARY SHEEP.Note the length of the tail as compared with other wild sheep.
Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd.][Aberdeen.
YOUNG BARBARY SHEEP.
Note the length of the tail as compared with other wild sheep.
The European Moufflon.
The only wild sheep of Europe is theMoufflon, found in the mountains of Corsica and Sardinia. Its height at the shoulder is about 27 inches. In the rams the horns are strong, and curved into a spiral, forming almost a complete circle. The hair is close, and in winter has a woolly under-fur. In summer and autumn the coat is a bright red-brown on the neck, shoulders, and legs; the rump and under-parts are whitish, and the back and flanks marked with a white saddle. In winter the brown becomes darker and the white saddle broader. A rather larger moufflon is found on Mount Elburz in Persia, in Armenia, and in the Taurus Mountains. A smaller variety exists in Cyprus, where it has been preserved since the British occupation. The moufflon is a typical wild sheep. In Sardinia and Corsica are dense scrubby forests of tall heather, some 5 feet high. Thismaquiais practically impenetrable to hunters. When alarmed, the moufflon dash into it, and are safe. Themaquiahas preserved two very interesting survivals of antiquity—the moufflon, and the Corsican or Sardinian bandit. The Corsican bandit, like the moufflon of the same island, is nearly extinct. In Sardinia both flourish. Many English sportsmen have had their first taste of big-game shooting in the difficult pursuit of the moufflon on the Sardinian mountains. Some declare that the sport is so fascinating that they have seldom found much to equal it since. Mr. S. H. Whitbread, whose notes in "The Encyclopædia of Sport" are very full on this subject, deems that the best season to stalk moufflon is in October or November. The animals are then less disturbed by shepherds and dogs, and the moufflon are on the move and more easily seen during the day than in summer, when they feed at night and rest or sleep by day.
Sir E. G. Loder has a small herd of moufflon running wild in his park at Leonardslee, near Horsham. They have a specially built "mountain-top" of stone to make a home of, but are free to feed where they like in the park. They produce lambs yearly. It is an interesting sight to see the quick rush of the little flock, when frightened, to their sheltering-place, led by an old white-saddled ram.
SIBERIAN ARGALI.Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.SIBERIAN ARGALI.One of the large wild sheep of Central Asia.
Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.SIBERIAN ARGALI.One of the large wild sheep of Central Asia.
Photo by W. P. Dando][Regent's Park.
SIBERIAN ARGALI.
One of the large wild sheep of Central Asia.
The Argalis.
TheArgalisare the largest of all living wild sheep. Some measure from 3 feet 9 inches to 4 feet at the shoulder. The horns are broad, corrugated, and curling in the male, and in the female short, erect, and curving backwards. The maleTibetan Argalihas a ruff on the throat. The usual colour is a stony grey, mingled with white in the summer in the case of the old males. The name is applied collectively to several wild sheep found in Northern and Central Asia. Whether these are only varieties or separate species it is difficult to say; but the following are some of the most marked forms.
TheSiberian Argaliis the characteristic wild sheep of the rocky hills and mountains of Southern Siberia, the Altai Mountains, and Northern Mongolia. The horns curve so as to form more than a complete circle; the upper parts are tinged with grey, and the lower are white.