Chapter L: THE RAZORBILL OR AUK (Alca torda) 100 (3)

The prey is, indeed, always killed by drowning, after which the carcase is dragged ashore and concealed among reeds or other covert, where it is left until decomposition has set in before being devoured. A large proportion of the food of the Nile crocodile is stated, however, to consist of fish; and snails, water-fowl, and carrion are also devoured by these ravenous reptiles. When in repose, crocodiles lie like logs in the water, or on the neighbouring sand and mud banks, but the slightest sound awakens them to activity.

Hearing seems indeed to be the sense most strongly developed in crocodiles; and it is upon this that they depend in ascertaining the presence of prey. Smell, touch, and taste appear to be but poorly developed; and the tongue is affixed to the lower surface of the mouth throughout its entire length. Crocodiles are furnished with glands secreting a musky substance, much esteemed by the Sudanis for anointing their hair and bodies, and thus producing what is to them, no doubt, an agreeable odour.

All crocodiles lay hard-shelled, oval eggs, about the size of those of a goose. These are deposited by the female, to the number of from about twenty to ninety, a yard or so deep in the sand of the river-bank, where they are carefully covered up by means of her tail, and then left to mature by the action of the sun’s rays. The mother appears, however, to keep watch in the neighbourhood of the nest, and when the eggs are ready to hatch, their occupants utter a peculiar sound which attracts the parent to their assistance.

THE WHITE-HANDED GIBBON

(_Hylobates lar_)

The name gibbon, which is of unknown origin, and appears to have been first used by the French naturalist Buffon, is applied to the members of the smallest representatives of the man-like apes, all of which differ from their larger cousins, the chimpanzi, gorilla, and orang-utan, by retaining small bare patches on the buttocks. In this respect they show evidence of kinship to ordinary monkeys and baboons, in which, however, these naked callosities, as they are called by naturalists, attain much greater development.

Gibbons agree with the larger man-like apes in the complete absence of the tail, but are distinguished by the great length of the limbs, more especially the front pair, so that when these curious pigmies are standing upright on their feet, their hands touch the ground. It is very interesting to note in this connection that gibbons are the only man-like apes which habitually assume the erect posture in walking, when the arms are usually elevated and in some cases extended horizontally, thus giving a most remarkable appearance to their owners.

All the members of the group are confined to tropical south-eastern Asia, where they range from the eastern portion of the Himalaya through Burma and the Malay countries to the island of Hainan, off the southern coast of China. The largest species, the siaman (_Hylobates syndactylus_) of Borneo, does not much exceed one yard in height. In colour they are very generally black, often, as in the species represented in the Plate, with a narrow white band or fillet surrounding the greater part of the face, or making merely a line above the eyebrows. In the white-handed species, forming the subject of the illustration, the white fillet attains its fullest development, and the hands and feet are likewise white. This species inhabits the mountain-forests of Tenasserim at elevations between three thousand and five thousand feet, whence it extends through the Malay Peninsula. Its near relative the hulok (_H. hulok_), whose range extends from Assam to Arakan and the neighbouring districts, lacks the white hands and feet, while the fillet on the face merely forms a band over the eyebrow. In the Hainan gibbon (_H. hainanus_) even the eyebrow-band is wanting.

A specimen of this last-named species, which is very near akin to the hulok, afforded a surprise to naturalists in that it changed the colour of its coat during its sojourn in the London Zoological Gardens. When obtained in 1897, at an age of about six months, its colour was dark smoky grey, but this soon changed to black, which persisted till after the animal’s arrival in London in January 1904. In February of that year the fur began to assume a greyish tinge; and by autumn the entire coat had become silvery, or stone, grey, except for a black stripe down the middle line of the head. It does not, however, appear that this colour-change is universal in the species; for another captive specimen believed to be about a dozen years old was wholly black.

This is confirmed by the observations of a French traveller in the case of the white-cheeked gibbon (_H. leucogenys_) of Annam and Siam, in which two distinct colour-phases are noticeable.

These gibbons commonly go about in parties of six or seven; and while some individuals are black with white whiskers and a band on the sides and lower part of the face, in others the general colour is golden yellow with no white on the face. That the two phases are specifically identical is certain, and it does not appear that the light-coloured individuals eventually become dark, or _vice versa_. The natives, it is true, have an idea that the light-coloured individuals are the females, but this seems to be disproved by the fact that they are much less numerous than the black ones; and it thus appears probable that the species exhibits two distinct colour-phases.

Gibbons are almost wholly arboreal apes; and in the trees they move about mainly with the aid of their long arms, by means of which they swing themselves from bough to bough, and thus from one tree to another, so that a whole troop will traverse the forest without descending to the ground. So active and agile indeed are these apes, that when confined in open cages they will catch birds on the wing, which apparently form part of their food. In addition to these, gibbons subsist on fruits of various kinds, leaves, young shoots, insects, and spiders.

All gibbons have a remarkably powerful double-note cry, like _hu-lok_, which has a wailing sound, and awakes the echoes in the early morning and again at evening in the forests inhabited by these apes. At a distance the cry has some faint resemblance to the human voice; but at close quarters it is enough to drive the traveller, when resting in his tent, well-nigh distracted.

THE ABYSSINIAN GREEN MONKEY

(_Cercopithecus æthiops_)

As a familiar example of a very large assemblage of exclusively African long-tailed monkeys collectively known as guenons (from a French word signifying to make grimaces), no better species could have been selected for illustration than the Abyssinian green monkey. This monkey, which like its cousin the common green monkey (_Cercopithecus callitrichus_, or _sabæus_) may be seen in almost all menageries and on many street-organs, is an East African species; whereas the true green monkey is West African, ranging from Senegambia through Sierra Leone to northern Liberia, but has been introduced into some of the Cape Verd and West Indian Islands, where it still occurs plentifully, at least in Barbados.

From the guereza monkeys (_Colobus_) of Africa, a guenon may be distinguished at a glance by its well-developed thumbs; while these monkeys also differ from guerezas, as well as from their Asiatic relatives the langurs, by having well-developed pouches in their cheeks for storing food. There is, however, another African group of monkeys, the mangabeys (_Cercocebus_), some of which are more difficult to distinguish from guenons, although the majority are recognisable at a glance by their flesh-coloured eyelids, whence the name of white eyelid monkeys. When this character fails, resource must be had to the cheek-teeth, of which the last pair in the lower jaw is less complex in a guenon than in a mangabey; but to examine the back-teeth of a live monkey is not an experiment every one would desire to try!

To any one but a specialist, the very large number of representatives of the guenons are exceedingly difficult to class and identify. The matter has, however, been somewhat simplified by arranging the species in thirteen groups, each characterised by the possession of some particular distinctive feature or features. The well-known diana monkey (_C. diana_) represents, for instance, a group in which there are long, upwardly directed, snow-white whiskers associated with blackish or dark red under-parts, a white brow-band, distinctly white areas on the chest and the inside of the arms, a chin-tuft, and a white stripe on the outer side of the thigh. The members of the spot-nosed group, again, as typified by _C. petaurista_, are recognisable at a glance by having a large, heart-shaped white spot on the tip of the nose. The green monkeys, on the other hand, belong to a group (typified by the Abyssinian species) somewhat less easy to recognise, but characterised by the absence of black on the outer surface of the arms, which may be coloured like the body, but are usually, as in the plate, somewhat paler and grey. The face is nearly always black, but may be mottled or freckled with pigment; and, except in one species, the whiskers grow upwards and backwards over the ears. The western species, the aforesaid _C. callitrichus_, lacks the white brow-band present in the Abyssinian species and nearly all the other members of the group; the species forming the subject of the plate being further distinguished by the black-speckled yellowish olive colour of the fur of the back, the long, white whiskers, sharply defined from the hair of the rest of the head, and the presence of a tuft of hair at the root of the tail.

Guenons may be regarded as some of the most typical of all monkeys, and those in which monkey-tricks attain their fullest development. They live more on fruits and seeds than either the guerezas or the langurs, which feed largely on leaves and the young shoots of trees. Guenons are indeed probably to some extent omnivorous, whereas the members of the other two groups are wholly herbivorous. This difference in the matter of diet is correlated with the presence of cheek-pouches and the simple character of the stomach in the guenons, whereas the other two groups lack pouches in the cheek, but, in compensation, have the stomach folded and divided in a complex manner.

In their native forests green monkeys and their relatives associate in large troops, which keep up a constant chattering, and each of which is under the leadership and control of an old male. Each troop appears to have its own particular territory in the forest; and if one party intrude on the domain of its neighbour, a fierce contest takes place, which does not end until the invaders have been driven out or have proved themselves the stronger. A survival of this custom may be noticed even among monkeys in a menagerie, where each species or individual will take up one portion of the cage for its own particular use, and resolutely defend it against the other occupants of the enclosure.

From the other members of the genus the patas monkey (_C. patas_) and its relatives are specially distinguished by their red colouring and large size, and they should perhaps form a genus by themselves.

THE FOX

(_Canis vulpes_ or _Vulpes alopex_)

The fox enjoys a well-earned reputation for cunning and shrewdness, and especially for its capacity to adapt itself to changed conditions and its presence of mind and resourcefulness in emergencies. Nevertheless, it is possible to deceive even a fox. A well-known American naturalist relates, for instance, how he attracted a fox to within a few yards of his own position by imitating the squeaking of a field-mouse. For some distance he came cautiously skulking between the big tussocks of coarse grass, but for the last fifty yards he had to traverse open sward. When he had got half this distance he became suspicious, and began to think that the motionless, squatting naturalist was not a stump or a rock, whereupon, it is curious to note, that he at once ran to leeward of the suspicious object, thus showing that foxes, like many other animals, trust more to their sense of smell than to their sight.

In spite of the fact that everybody knows a fox by sight, there is a difference of opinion among naturalists as to whether the fox of North America is specifically identical with the European animal. The differences between them are, however, so small and insignificant that the most sensible course is to regard the fox as a circumpolar species, with several local races, both in the Old World and in North America. To attempt anything in the way of description of such a well-known animal would be altogether superfluous, although it may be well to mention that the tip of the tail is always white or whitish; and that, as in most members of the dog family, there is a dark-coloured patch on the upper surface of the root of the tail, indicating the position of a gland.

Although nearly related to wolves and jackals, foxes are distinguished by their slighter make, the relatively shorter limbs and longer body and tail, as well as by the sharper muzzle, and also by a peculiarity in the shape of the projecting process of bone which forms part of the upper border of the socket of the eye. In wolves, jackals, and dogs this process is convex, whereas in all foxes it is concave; thus conclusively proving that the fox has nothing to do with the parentage of the dog.

The typical fox of northern and central Europe is one of the largest representatives of the species, and is further characterised by the deep “foxy” red colour of its coat, and the light colour of the under-parts. In southern Europe this race is replaced by one of rather smaller dimensions (_Canis vulpes melanogaster_) and less brilliant red in colour, with the under-parts dark, and sometimes a cross-shaped dark mark on the shoulders. Nearly allied is the Himalayan fox (_C. v. montanus_); but in central Asia and some of the neighbouring countries we find a larger and paler race known as _C. v. flavescens_. No representative of the species is found to the south of the Himalaya or in Burma and the Malay countries; but the central Asian, or a nearly allied, race probably extends right across Siberia and Manchuria.

In North America the fox reappears, and ranges as far south as Georgia; the common and most widely distributed race being known as _C. v. fulvus_, while separate names have been given to the races respectively inhabiting Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. The so-called “cross fox” of America is merely one with a blackish stripe down the back and another across the shoulders, as in many Himalayan and Afghan foxes; while the “silver fox” is a grey, and the “black fox” a black phase of the ordinary American race.

Skins of black foxes are of enormous value, really fine specimens selling for as much as £200 each; they are imitated by dyeing the skins of the white Arctic fox (_C. lagopus_) and leaving the end of the tail and the tips of the longer hairs white. Although most of these black skins come from America, black foxes apparently also occur in Siberia.

No matter how far north its range, the fox never turns white in winter. Another curious fact about this animal is that the skin, when viewed under the microscope, exhibits a structure indicating that the ancestors of the species were apparently clothed with scales instead of hair; thus affording important testimony to the view that mammals are the direct descendants of reptiles.

Unlike jackals and wolves, the fox is a more or less solitary animal, living for the greater part of the year alone, or in company with the vixen, as the female is called; the latter name being merely the west country pronunciation of _fixen_, which may be the Saxon plural of _fix_. Chiefly nocturnal in their habits, foxes may take up their residence either in holes, or “earths,” dug by themselves, in ravines or clefts among rocks, or amid coarse grass and bushes. The young, usually from five to seven in number, have slaty grey coats quite different from their parents. Although foxes are sad enemies to the poultry-yard and the game-covert, it should be remembered that they are death on field-mice and rats.

THE BROWN BEAR

(_Ursus arctus_)

With the exception of the hyænas and the civets, all the more important families of land Carnivora are represented in northern Europe; the wild cat and the lynx doing duty for the _Felidæ_, the wolf and the fox for the _Canidæ_, the pine-marten, glutton, and otter, together with several smaller species, for the _Mustelidæ_, and the bear, or brown bear, as it is commonly called, in order to distinguish it from its relatives--white, grey, or black--for the _Ursidæ_. It is further noteworthy that, with the exception of the wild cat, all these animals are either common to the northern portions of the two hemispheres or are represented in North America by species very closely allied to their European prototypes.

The bear is one of the undoubtedly circumpolar species, for although distinct names have been given to its American representatives, with the exception of the grisly bear (_Ursus horribilis_), which is specifically different, all these are obviously nothing more than local forms or races of a single variable and widely distributed species.

Even in the Old World there are many distinct races of the brown bear. In Syria, for instance, we have a greyish race (_U. arctus syriacus_); while in Kashmir the coat is very generally deep cream-colour, although it tends to darken in old individuals of this race, which is known as _U. a. isabellinus_. From the British Isles the bear has long since been exterminated, but it survives in the wilder parts of Spain, France, Germany, and Hungary, while it is still comparatively common in many parts of Scandinavia and Russia, whence it extends right across Asia north of the southern flank of the Himalaya to Kamchatka and Japan; its southern limit to the east of the Himalaya being marked by the Siamese race (_U. a. shanorum_). Central Asian brown bears, of which the local races are not yet properly determined, generally have light-coloured coats, with a white gorget, which is wanting in Scandinavian and Russian bears. The largest Old World race is the Kamchadale brown bear (_U. a. piscator_ or _lasiotis_), of which skins may measure as much as 9 feet in length.

On the opposite side of Bering Strait Alaska vies with Kamchatka in claiming the record in point of size among brown bears, while in the matter of local variation the representatives of the species put the rest of the world into the shade, for American naturalists recognise no fewer than half a dozen different races in Alaska alone. These include the huge Kodiak bear (_U. a. middendorffi_) of Kodiak Island, the Alaskan Peninsula bear (_U. a. gyas_), the gigantic Yakutat bear (_U. a. dalli_) from the neighbourhood of Yakutat Bay and the coast for an undetermined distance north and south, the Sitka bear (_U. a. sitkensis_) of Sitka and Baranoff Islands, the Admiralty bear (_U. a. eulophus_) of Admiralty Island, and Kidder’s bear (_U. a. kidderi_) of the Alaskan Peninsula. All these are, however, so similar to one another, that it requires an expert to distinguish them.

The grisly bear (_U. horribilis_) is, however, a distinct species, characterised, among other features, by its white claws. Typically a native of the high forests of the Rocky Mountains, the grisly is represented by two Alaskan races, namely, _U. h. phæonyx_ of the interior, and _U. h. kenaiensis_ of the Kenai Peninsula and adjacent coasts. It perhaps reappears in the Tian Shan range, in the heart of central Asia, in the shape of the so-called _U. leuconyx_.

Bears are the least carnivorous of the Carnivora, subsisting in many districts almost entirely on fruits, nuts, shoots of trees, roots, honey, and ants, with an occasional meal of carrion. In Alaska, however, when the bears wake up from their winter sleep and come abroad they find the rivers almost choked with Pacific salmon which are ascending to spawn, and in these they find an abundant and nourishing food-supply upon which they rapidly grow fat. The duration of the winter-sleep, which may take place in a hollow tree, a cavern, or a cleft in the rocks, depends upon the length of the winter; and it is when they first issue forth from these lairs that bears are in their best coats, the summer fur being short and comparatively valueless, while the skins are also difficult to preserve owing to the fatness of the animals at this season. The females bring forth their cubs, one or two in number, during the period of hibernation.

Bears are to a great extent diurnal mammals, whose haunts are chiefly the forests, although in late summer they resort in many localities, such as Kashmir, to the open mountain pastures, where they may be seen grazing at no great distance from flocks of sheep or goats. The adults go about singly or in pairs, the females generally accompanied by their cubs, which may include those of two successive seasons.

THE PINE-MARTEN

(_Mustela martes_)

The marten, or pine-marten, as it is commonly termed in order to distinguish it from its continental relative the beech-marten (_Mustela foina_), is one of those species which are on the verge of disappearing from England and Wales. In the midland and south-eastern counties of England the species appears to have become scarce during the first half of the last century, and in most of these it was killed before 1860, although isolated instances of its occurrence in Hertfordshire, Surrey, and Sussex have been recorded since that date. In Lincolnshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk it survived, however, until the ’eighties; and there have been recent occurrences in Leicestershire. The Lake District and the western side of north and central Wales are at present the strongholds of the species; and the isolated occurrences in other parts of the country appear to be largely due to its wandering habits.

In the wilder districts of Scotland, wherever there is sufficient forest, martens are still far from uncommon; and they are comparatively abundant in parts of Scandinavia, France, Spain, Germany, Hungary, and Russia. Among the characteristics of the species, the most easily recognisable is the yellow or orange area on the throat; this part being white in the beech-marten. That these two animals are distinct species, and not merely local races of a single one, seems to be demonstrated by their occurrence in the same districts. How far eastwards the range of the marten extends does not appear to be ascertained. In Siberia the species is, however, represented by the closely allied sable (_M. zibellina_), which in turn gives place in North America to the American marten (_M. americana_). All three might perhaps, however, be regarded as geographical races of one and the same species. Martens are essentially forest-animals, which prefer evergreen trees, and are especially partial to woods where dead tree-trunks lie rotting on the ground or form natural bridges from one stem to another. Here they are as active as squirrels, and chase one another in the same sportive manner. Much of their prey is, however, taken on the ground, and they are deadly foes to hares, rabbits, pheasants, and partridges, as well as to small birds of all kinds. They are also reported to eat beech-mast, and if this be the case, berries may also very probably form a portion of their diet.

The persistency with which a marten will follow the trail of a hare or a rabbit, even in deep snow, is a character the species possesses in common with the weasel tribe generally; and if it fail to pounce upon the unsuspecting victim in the first few springs, it will settle down to the chase as steadily as a beagle or a harrier.

Martens are devoid of the unpleasant odour of the polecat, or foumart, and are therefore suitable for taming. In their native forests they associate in pairs, and make their nests high up in tall trees, selecting in some instances a hole in the stem, but in other cases taking possession of the deserted nests of wood-pigeons or other large birds, or occasionally the drey of a squirrel. In this nest are born early in the spring the six or seven young, which come into the world blind, and are tended by their parents with assiduous care; and they remain in its neighbourhood till they are nearly full grown.

In North America it has been observed that once in about every eight or ten years martens more or less completely disappear from districts in which they are at other times abundant. Strange to say, there is no evidence of the prevalence of disease on such occasions; and it is certain that the martens do not migrate after the manner of lemmings. It has, however, been noticed by the trappers that just before their disappearance none of the martens in the district will take a bait, although at other times they are caught with comparative ease.

In the forest martens and sables are much less difficult to approach than many other wild animals; but they nevertheless display a keen aversion to the neighbourhood of human dwellings, which they never voluntarily approach. Martens and sables, unlike their smaller relative the stoat or ermine, do not turn white in winter; for the very sufficient reason that, on account of being arboreal animals, they would be extremely conspicuous in such a livery. They are so relentlessly hunted for the sake of their valuable fur, that it is a marvel they have not long since been exterminated from many portions of their habitat. The value of the skins of the ordinary European marten varies from eight to twelve shillings, but Russian and Siberian sable commands a much higher price in the market.

THE LEOPARD

(_Felis pardus_)

It is not a little remarkable that three such closely related animals as the lion, the tiger, and the leopard or panther (for these two names really indicate the same species) should exhibit such striking dissimilarity in their type of colouring. The explanation of the difference in this respect is, however, probably to be found in the diversity of habit. Neither the lion nor the tiger can climb; and as the former is mainly an inhabitant of open and more or less desert country, it has assumed a uniformly sandy coat to accord with the tawny hue of its surroundings. The tiger, on the other hand, resorts more to covert, and has therefore adopted a livery suitable to such situations, or, at all events, one which tends to break up the general outline of the body.

From both its larger cousins the leopard differs by its arboreal habits, and this may to a great extent account for its spotted type of colouring, which harmonises well with the chequered shade thrown by the foliage on the horizontal and gnarled branches of forest-trees. It is, however, important to notice that the dark markings on the fur of an ordinary leopard are not solid black circular spots, but take the form of rosettes of irregular black patches enclosing a centre of darker tint than the general ground-colour of the fur. Such a type of colouring seems to be one specially adapted to a partially arboreal life, for in the purely terrestrial hunting-leopard (_Cynælurus jubatus_), as well as in the smaller African cat known as the serval (_Felis serval_), the markings all take the form of solid circular black spots. It is further noteworthy that the Amurland race of the leopard (_F. pardus villosa_), which inhabits a country where the forests are coniferous and therefore ill-adapted for climbing by a large animal, the spots are in the main solid and more or less nearly circular.

Leopards have a range larger than that of either the lion or the tiger. In former times they probably inhabited a considerable portion of Europe; and at the present day they extend from the Caucasus over the greater part of Asia, inclusive of Persia, India, China, and the Malay countries, although unknown in northern Siberia, the highlands of Tibet, and Japan. In Africa they inhabit the whole continent from Morocco to Cape Colony, although from certain districts they have now been killed off. As a rule, the central chestnut area forming the centre of the rosettes does not carry any small spots, but two or three such spots occur in the rosettes of some Asiatic leopards; and skins thus marked serve to connect the leopard with its near relative the jaguar (_F. onca_) of Central and South America, in which these central spots are constant. Now the jaguar is an even more arboreal animal than the leopard; and the more complex development of its rosettes is a further proof that this type of marking is one specially adapted to a life among thick-foliaged trees. It may be added that the near relationship existing between the leopard and the jaguar affords conclusive evidence that large spotted felines at one time inhabited North America.

With such an enormous geographical range, it would be only natural to expect that the leopard should present considerable local variation; and, as a matter of fact, such is actually the case. The Amurland, or Manchurian, race has already been mentioned. Asiatic leopards have large rosettes; and among these the Persian leopard (_F. pardus panthera_, or _tulliana_) constitutes a race characterised by its pale colour, long fur, and thick tail. This race makes an approach to the snow-leopard (_F. uncia_) of the highlands of central Asia, which is, however, a distinct species, distinguished by its long fur and tail, with the prevailing colour grey, and the rosettes in the form of ill-defined rings; this type of colouring being probably an adaptation to a life among rocks and snow.

Leopards from North and East Africa show large rosettes of the Asiatic type; but in most other parts of the African continent the rosettes show a great tendency to break up into small spots. Among these small-spotted leopards the Somali race (_F. pardus nanopardus_) is noticeable for its pale colour and small size; its total length being less than 5 feet, whereas some of the other races may measure 7½ feet, or even more, in length.

Both in Asia and north-eastern and East Africa black leopards are not uncommon; but these are merely a dark (melanistic) phase of the ordinary leopard. Nevertheless, it appears, so far as can be judged from a single authenticated instance, that black leopards when mated together will breed true, although, if paired with spotted individuals, the progeny may be of either type.

With regard to the general habits of leopards, space permits only of reference to their remarkable partiality for the flesh of dogs, which is so strong as to render it difficult to keep these animals in leopard-infested districts.

THE LYNX

(_Felis (Lynx) lynx_)

Whether the lynx is more keen of vision than other animals is more than problematical; but, nevertheless, it takes its name from the Greek word (_luké_) for light, and lynx-eyed has become a proverbial expression. Moreover, as if to set a seal of endorsement upon the proverb, the oldest and most renowned scientific society in Italy bears the title of _Regia Lynceorum Academia_ (the “Royal Academy of Lynxes”).

Be all this as it may, the lynx is an aberrant and well-marked member of the _Felidæ_, distinguished, together with its immediate relatives, from other members of the cat tribe by its short, stumpy tail, the long tufts of hair at the tips of the ears, and the bushy whitish whiskers fringing the face, as well as by the large size of the feet, and a generally stout appearance, due to the thickness of the coat.

The beautiful fur of the lynx, which commands a high price in the market, has also a character all its own, being long, soft, and silky, with a greyish or reddish tawny colour, and in most cases a number of more or less dark markings, which take the form of longitudinal streaks along the back, of flecks on the sides, and roundish spots on the limbs; the greater portion of the absurd apology for a tail, together with the backs and tufts of the ears, and a conspicuous streak on each side of the face, being black. Many lynx-skins are, however, more or less completely devoid of the dark markings; and it does not yet appear to be ascertained whether the difference in this respect is individual or seasonal.

When the markings are fully developed, they so completely break up the outline of the body as to render the animal almost invisible at a short distance; this being noticeable even within the cramped confines of a cage.

The lynx is the second and largest species of the cat tribe inhabiting northern Europe, where it is common in Scandinavia and Russia, while to the south it is found in mountainous districts as far as Spain. Eastwards it extends across Asia, from the Caucasus and northern Persia, to the northward of the Himalaya to the island of Saghalin. Its fossil remains prove that it was formerly a native of the British Isles.

The Tibetan lynx, on account of its generally paler colour, has been separated as _F. lynx isabellina_, while the one from the Urals, Caucasus, and northern Persia is distinguished as _F. l. cervaria_. The Altai lynx, characterised by its unusually long coat, the, at least frequent, absence of spots, except on the limbs, and its extremely pale colouring, approximating in many parts to white, has likewise received a separate racial name, _F. l. wardi_.

In North America the so-called Canada lynx, although often regarded as a distinct species, differs, in the opinion of a well-known American naturalist, from the lynx of northern Asia and Europe merely by features which may with safety be ascribed to local environment, and should therefore be reckoned as yet another geographical race, under the name of _F. l. canadensis_. Its range extended in former days from Arctic America to the mountains of Pennsylvania; the lynxes of Alaska and Newfoundland respectively forming two minor races.

Lynxes are extremely savage animals with immensely powerful limbs, which appear out of proportion to the lean body. They are inhabitants of forest, where they pass much of their time reposing on the horizontal boughs of trees, whence they can launch themselves with unerring spring on any unsuspecting animal that may be passing below, or from which they may ascend higher in search of squirrels or birds and their nests. They by no means, however, confine their attention to such arboreal game, but are relentless pursuers of hares and still smaller terrestrial mammals of all kinds, while their agility is such that a half-tamed individual has been repeatedly seen to catch pigeons out of a flock feeding on the ground as they rose on the wing. In pursuit of ground-game they advance in long silent leaps, and in winter are prevented from sinking in the snow when progressing in this manner by the great size of their paws.

Tangled thickets or other kinds of dense undergrowth are selected by the lynx for its summer lair; and in such localities in Norway the fluffy cubs are born. In Tibet, however, these animals are compelled to exchange clefts in rocks for the forests of Scandinavia and Russia. Unlike bears, lynxes, in common with all members of the cat tribe, remain active throughout the winter, being sufficiently protected against cold by the thickness of their soft fur. At this time of year they are, however, frequently reduced to great straits by hunger; and their endurance must be simply marvellous to enable them when in this famishing condition to hunt and capture from time to time such prey as may be on the move.

THE INDIAN RHINOCEROS

(_Rhinoceros unicornis_)

Although formerly ranging a considerable way down the peninsula, the great Indian rhinoceros, as this species should properly be called, is more or less completely restricted to Nepal and the country east of the Tista valley, especially the plain of Assam and Kuch-Behar. Here the mighty beast, which stands over 5½ feet in height at the shoulder, dwells in the tall grass-jungles, where it is as completely concealed as is a rabbit in a meadow ready for mowing. The rhinoceroses, in fact, make for themselves in this giant grass, tunnels, or “runs,” in which they move from place to place perfectly secure from observation, and likewise protected from the direct rays of the sun; and it appears that, except to drink, they seldom leave this wonderful covert. To attempt to shoot such enormous beasts on foot in jungle of this description, where escape from the beaten track is well-nigh impossible, would be little short of madness; and the Indian rhinoceros is therefore always hunted on elephants.

In old books on Indian sports the rhinoceros is depicted as charging the elephants, and attempting to spear them with its horn, if not in the act of goring their bodies. This is, however, erroneous, as none of the three named species of Asiatic rhinoceros use their horns in this manner, but employ for offence their sharp, triangular lower tusks, with which they make lateral thrusts and lunges after the manner of a wild boar. African rhinoceroses, on the other hand, have no tusks, and consequently have to rely on their horns--always two in number--for both attack and defence.

It must not, however, be assumed from this that the absence of tusks is compensated by the development of two horns, for there is one Asiatic species, commonly known as the Sumatran rhinoceros (_Rhinoceros sumatrensis_), which has two horns combined with lower tusks; this species thus being the most formidably armed member of the whole group. This so-called Sumatran rhinoceros also occurs in some of the eastern districts of India, as does likewise the third Asiatic species, commonly known as the Javan rhinoceros (_R. sondaicus_), which resembles the great Indian species in carrying but one horn.

A satisfactory and easily recognised distinction between the rhinoceroses of south-eastern Asia and the two African species is afforded by the circumstance that while in the former the hide is thrown into a number of deep folds dividing it into separate areas, in the latter these folds are more or less lacking, so that the skin is comparatively smooth like that of a pig. The shape of the skin-folds serves to distinguish the species forming the subject of the plate from the other one-horned Asiatic species. Among the distinctive features of the present animal may be noted the coif-like expansions of skin at the sides of the head, the large tubercles, recalling the heads of the rivets in an iron boiler, on the shoulders and hind-quarters, and the somewhat triangular shape of the great shield on each shoulder, the fold forming the upper border of which does not extend across the back.

By the older naturalists, rhinoceroses, elephants, and hippopotamuses were grouped together under the title of pachyderms,--a name which has completely dropped out of use in natural history. And very rightly, since the three groups of animals brigaded together under that designation have but little in common with one another. Elephants, for instance, form a group by themselves; hippopotamuses are cousins of the pigs, and thus related to deer and cattle; while rhinoceroses, together with tapirs and horses, form a third group by themselves.

There may seem to the man in the street little in common between a great lumbering brute like a rhinoceros and a Derby winner; but the difference is due solely to the one being a modern specialised type cut out solely for speed, and the other an old-fashioned creature suited for wallowing in marshes or wandering on open plains where it is sufficiently protected by its size and ferocity. Take away the two side-toes from each foot of a rhinoceros, lengthen its limbs, lighten its head and body, modify to a comparatively slight degree its cheek-teeth, and replace its bare “pachydermatous” covering by a thinner, hairy skin, and we should have a horse. Fortunate it is for the naturalist that such primitive creatures as rhinoceroses and tapirs have survived to the present day to afford us an adequate idea of what their numerous extinct relatives looked like in life.

Rhinoceroses are purely herbivorous animals, but whereas the great Indian species subsists chiefly on bamboo-leaves and other grasses, its two Asiatic relatives depend more upon boughs and roots; this difference being correlated with the structure of their teeth. Producing but one offspring at a time, and that at long intervals, these animals apparently live to a very great age, although by no means so long as elephants. The idea that the hide of the Indian species is bullet proof is altogether erroneous.

THE BISON

(_Bos [Bison] bonasus_)

Although the name bison indisputably belongs to the single species of wild cattle now surviving in Europe, it came to be applied almost exclusively to its American cousin, while the bison itself, till comparatively few years ago, was generally known in this country as the aurochs. The aurochs was, however, the ancient wild ox of Europe, the ancestor of many of our domesticated cattle; and on its extermination, which took place in Poland during the seventeenth century, its name became transferred to the bison, or zubr as it is called in Russia and Poland. Of late years, however, matters have been put right in this respect, and the bison has once more come into its own.

The European bison, although lacking the enormous mass of long hair on the head and fore-quarters which gives to the bulls of its American cousin such a magnificent appearance, is a far better built animal than the latter, as the hind-quarters do not fall away in the same manner. The bulls are considerably larger than the cows, and it is in that sex alone that the beard and throat-fringe, as well as the long hair on the fore-quarters, attain their full development. In summer a short and sleek coat is donned; the old winter coat falling off in spring in large, blanket-like masses.

The bison, apart from a certain number which have been introduced into private parks, now survives only in the forest of Bielowitza, in Lithuanian Poland, now the Russian province of Grodno, and in the Caucasus. In Bielowitza the bison exist in a partially protected condition, and are regularly fed during winter; their number diminished from nearly two thousand in 1857 to three hundred and seventy-five in 1892, and a few years previously had been just over a hundred less. At the present time the herd, which forms an imperial preserve, appears to be suffering from the effects of inbreeding, so that an abnormally large number of the calves are males.

On the other hand, the bison of the Caucasus, which has been separated as a distinct race under the name _Bos bonasus caucasicus_, exists in a purely wild state, although very little information with regard to its numbers, distribution, and habits is available. In former times bison, as we know from historical evidence, as well as from rude although often spirited sketches, believed to be the work of prehistoric man, on the walls of caverns, as well as from their actual fossil remains, were distributed over the greater part of Europe, including Spain.

Here it should be mentioned that the European and the American species are the only living kinds of wild cattle properly entitled to be included under the name of bison; the so-called Indian and Burmese bison belonging to a totally different group of the ox tribe.

European bison, which associate in large herds, are essentially forest animals, although the forest they inhabit must be comparatively thin and intersected with glades and meadows where the herd can graze. The neighbourhood of water is also essential; and when muddy pools are available, they are utilised for wallowing. In addition to taking these mud-baths, bull bison in summer are fond of rolling in sandy or dusty spots.

Leaves and grass form the greater portion of the food of the Bielowitza herd in summer, one particular kind of grass, known as zubr-grass, being a special favourite and communicating to the animals themselves an aromatic odour. Young shoots, twigs, and bark, especially those of the ash, are also largely eaten; and in obtaining bark the stems of trees are frequently stripped as high as the animals can reach, while numbers of saplings are trampled down. Except where they are artificially fed, bison have to depend almost entirely upon buds, twigs, bark, and patches of dry grass and bracken for sustenance; and at this season the herds leave the damper parts of the forest to take up their quarters in the driest situations they can find.

Although an adult bull bison is more than a match for any wolf that ever existed, the Bielowitza herd is constantly harassed by the attacks of wolves, bears, and lynxes, which kill many of the calves, and probably also overpower weakly and half-starved cows in winter, especially if the wolves hunt in packs.

Bison feed chiefly in the early mornings and evening, although they may be seen abroad at all hours. During the breeding-season, in August and September, fierce combats take place between rival bulls for the mastery of the herds. When disturbed or alarmed, the herd breaks into a quick trot, which soon develops into a heavy lumbering gallop; and there is scarcely a finer sight in the world than a charging troop of these magnificent beasts.

THE GAZELLE

(_Gazella dorcas_)

Although many kinds of gazelles are now known, the gazelle _par excellence_, that is to say, the ghazal of the Arabs, is the beautiful little species represented in the Plate, which, in order to distinguish it from its relatives, naturalists have designated the dorcas. And no more beautiful and delicately made creature exists in the world than this same gazelle, which has formed the theme of poets--especially in the East--for centuries, as the emblem of beauty, elegance, and fleetness. Many people persist in confusing gazelles with deer, although the two groups have but little in common, being broadly distinguished by the characters of their horns, which in gazelles are hollow, unbranched sheaths of true horn supported on cores of bone, while in deer they are branching structures of bare bone. Indeed, the so-called horns of deer are not really horns at all, at all events from the point of view of the naturalist, but rather antlers; and gazelles constitute a section of that group of ruminants collectively known as antelopes.

Of the approximate size of a roebuck, the true, or dorcas, gazelle, like most of its kindred is coloured to harmonise with the more or less desert conditions of its home. The delicate rufous fawn of the upper-parts accords with the yellow tint of the rocks or sand amid which these beautiful creatures spend most of their time; while, when the animal is standing in the full glare of an Eastern sun, the white of the under surface counteracts the effect of the dark shade thrown by the body, and thus, even at comparatively short distances, makes for more or less complete invisibility. Neither is the white “blaze” on the rump without its special use, as it serves as a guide to the members of a troop to follow the line taken by their leader when safety depends solely upon fleetness of foot; the effect of the danger-signal on such occasions being increased by the elevation of the tail, of which the white under surface is then shown. In the bucks alone do the gracefully curved and heavily ringed black horns attain their full development; those of the does being thin and nearly smooth spikes.

The range of the gazelle is large, including the whole of northern Africa, from Morocco in the west to Egypt in the east, and extending southwards to Nigeria and the Egyptian Sudan; while in Asia it embraces Palestine and Syria. In western and southern Arabia it is, however, replaced by the Arabian gazelle (_Gazella arabica_), which is itself a relative of the edmi gazelle (_G. cuvieri_), of Morocco, Algeria, and western Tunisia; the last-named being a mountain-dweller, whereas the dorcas is largely a native of the plains.

In the deserts and plains between the Nile and the Red Sea, where the dorcas gazelle is especially numerous, its food chiefly consists of mimosa-bushes; these bushes growing most abundantly on low, boulder-strewn hills which form the favourite feeding-places of the gazelles. Unlike many ruminants, gazelles are almost constantly on the move, resting only during the very hottest hours of the day, when they seek the shade of the mimosas: and when thus reposing, even experienced hunters find it extremely difficult to distinguish them from the boulders amid which they lie.

Gazelles mostly associate in herds of variable size; but they are generally seen on their feeding-grounds either in small parties of from two to eight head, or singly. They are extremely shy and watchful, and nearly always feed with the wind behind them; while their favourite stations are on elevated ground, where they can command an extensive view of the plains below. When a herd is alarmed and takes to flight, its members always seek shelter on the nearest hill.

The senses of sight, smell, and hearing are all highly developed in gazelles; and the speed of these beautiful antelopes is little short of marvellous. Indeed, when a gazelle is fleeing from the slughi hounds, or so-called Persian greyhounds, with which the Arabs hunt the fawns, they seem scarcely to touch the ground, and to be flying rather than running.

Previous to the pairing-season the bucks fight among themselves, and so fiercely that they not infrequently lose a horn. After a gestation of between five and six months, the doe gives birth to a single fawn, which is at first extremely helpless, when it is most assiduously nursed by the mother. Young gazelles are beautiful little creatures, which in their own country can be kept and tamed without difficulty; in cold climates they require, however, shelter and protection in cold and bad weather.

Pictures of the gazelle are common among the ancient Egyptian frescoes, especially in the temples at Giza, Thebes, Sakhara, and Beni-hassan; and from a painting in a tomb at Sakhara it may be inferred that herds of these graceful ruminants were kept in a half-tamed condition in Pharaonic times.

THE MOUFLON

(_Ovis musimon_)

The mouflon, or muflon, is the only wild sheep inhabiting Europe, where it is restricted at the present day to the mountains of Corsica and Sardinia. In former times it doubtless had a more extensive range, and there are reports of its occurrence within the historical period in Greece and the Balearic Islands. It is likewise reported to have once inhabited the mountain ranges of central Spain.

Like all wild sheep, the mouflon has a hairy coat, while its tail is short and deer-like, as in the small domesticated sheep of Soa and other Hebridean islands, of which it is probably the ancestor. The woolly fleece and long tail of many domesticated breeds must accordingly be regarded as features due to careful selection; and in this connection it is important to notice that some of the domesticated sheep of Africa, as well of the East, possess hairy coats like their wild ancestors.

The general colour of the mouflon, like that of so many ruminants, is of a protective nature, being dark above and white beneath, with a white rump-patch as a signal-mark for the members of the flock when in flight. In accordance with the nature of its surroundings, the mouflon has a darker and more rufous coat than the gazelle; but old rams have a whitish saddle-patch on the back in the winter coat. In their native haunts these sheep are stated to be very difficult to detect. The white streaks on the face so characteristic of the gazelles are wanting, but the dark flank-band dividing the fawn of the back from the white of the belly is a feature common to mouflon and many species of gazelles.

In height the mouflon ram stands only about 27 inches, so that the species is one of the smallest of the wild sheep. The horns of the rams usually curve forwards on the sides of the face; the right horn thus forming a right-handed spiral, and _vice versa_. In some Sardinian rams, however, there is an alteration in the direction of the upper part of the spiral, so that the horns curve backwards over the neck, instead of forwards by the sides of the face. The ewes of the Sardinian mouflon appear to be generally, if not invariably, hornless; but some Corsican females, at any rate, carry small horns; and it may be that the presence or absence of horns in this sex forms a distinction between the races respectively inhabiting the two islands.

Mouflon are found only in certain parts of the mountains of Sardinia and Corsica; and when in repose usually resort to high peaks or ridges whence a wide view can be obtained. Moreover, they frequently select situations where currents of air from two different situations combine, and they are then absolutely unapproachable by the sportsman. In much of the ground they frequent, the valleys are filled with a thick growth of ilex; while they feed on the hills amid abundant heather, which affords admirable covert for the approach of the stalker.