It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this order,
because all the domestic animals which are used for food belong to
it.
The name Ungulata is derived from the Latin word _ungula_, which
signifies a nail, claw, or hoof. The Ungulates, which are all
vegetable feeders except the pig and the peccary, include the
largest of all the mammals, save only the whale and the sea
elephant.
=Antelope= (_Antilopidæ_).--The family of antelopes is a very large one,
and includes many important species. It belongs to the order of
Ruminants in which the horns consist of a horny sheath, surrounding a
bony process of the skull, and are permanent, not annually renewed. The
body is slender and deer-like, the feet small and elegant, the tail
short and tufted, the hair generally short, and the color often lively.
Some species, however, have comparatively long hair; and a few which
inhabit cold mountainous regions are clothed with wool mixed with longer
and coarser hair, as in the chamois of the Alps, Caucasus, etc.; the
Rocky Mountain goat of North America; and the chiru of the Himalayas.
The females of many species, as of deer, are destitute of horns; and if
they alone came under observation, it would be difficult to say to which
genus they belonged. The size is very various; the guevi, or pigmy
antelope of Africa (_Antilope pygmæa_), is only eight to nine inches
high at the shoulders, while the largest forms measure five or six feet.
Almost all the species of antelopes are peaceable, timid animals, and
are distinguished by agility and fleetness. most of them are gregarious.
Some inhabit plains; others are found only in the most inaccessible
mountainous regions; others still, dwell in jungles and deep forests.
Many, on the other hand, are water-loving forms, and frequent the banks
of rivers.
North America possesses two species, found only in the western parts of
the continent, the prong-horn (_Antilocapra_) and the Rocky Mountain
goat (_Aplocerus_), which depart considerably from the typical character
of the genus. The prong-horn sheds the horns annually like most species
of deer. Europe produces only the Alpine chamois and the saiga (_A.
saiga_), which inhabits the southern plains of Poland and Russia. Most
species are African, and take the place of the true deer in that
continent. The Springbok is goat-like in form and movement; the Gnu,
with a body resembling that of a horse, but with forward-directed,
hook-shaped horns; the Eland, or Cape Elk, with nearly straight
backward-directed spiral horns; and the Gazelle, of north Africa, with
nearly upright horns and noted for the luster of its eyes. In India is
the curious Chickara, the females of which are hornless, while the males
have four horns.
=Bison.=--The name applied to two species of ox. One of these, the
European bison, or aurochs, (_Bos bison_ or _Bison europæus_), is now
nearly extinct, being found only in the forests of Lithuania and the
Caucasus. The other, or American bison, improperly termed buffalo
(_Bison americanus_), is found only in the region lying north and south
between the Great Slave Lake and the Yellowstone River, and is rapidly
becoming extinct in the wild state, though formerly to be met with in
immense herds. The two species closely resemble each other, the American
bison, however, being for the most part smaller, and with shorter and
weaker hind-quarters. The bison is remarkable for the great hump or
projection over its fore-shoulders, at which point the adult male is
almost six feet in height; and for the long, shaggy rust-colored hair
over the head, neck, and forepart of the body. In summer, from the
shoulders backward, the surface is covered with a very short, fine hair,
smooth and soft as velvet. The tail is short and tufted at the end. The
American bison used to be much hunted for sport as well as for its flesh
and skin. Its flesh is rather coarser grained than that of the domestic
ox, but was considered by hunters and travelers as superior in
tenderness and flavor. The hump is highly celebrated for its richness
and delicacy. Their skins, especially that of the cow, dressed in the
Indian fashion, with the hair on, make admirable defenses against the
cold, and are known as _buffalo robes_; the wool has been manufactured
into hats, and a coarse cloth. The American bison has been found to
breed readily with the common ox, the issue being fertile among
themselves.
=Buffalo.= See Bison.
=Chamois= (_Capella rupicapra_).--This European representative of the
Antelope family attains the size of a goat. It is red in summer, and
dark brown in the winter, the lower portion of the body being lighter,
while a dark, brownish-black band reaches from the corner of the mouth
to the eyes. It has small, erect horns, which are curved backwards at
the tips. The chamois is found in herds, numbering from five to twenty,
in the Carpathian Mountains, the Pyrenees, and the Apennines; but most
frequently in the Alps of Bavaria and Styria. It feeds on the buds of
Alpine herbs and trees. When pursued it will leap down the most
precipitous cliffs. The peculiar flavor of the flesh of these animals,
especially of the young ones, is greatly appreciated by many persons.
Out of their skin, a leather is manufactured noted for its softness. The
horns are utilized for handles of various kinds.
=Deer= (_Cervidæ_) are animals of graceful form, combining much
compactness and strength with slenderness of limb and fleetness. They
use their horns for weapons of defense and offense; but in general they
trust to flight for their safety. They have a long neck, a small head,
which they carry high, large ears, and large, full eyes. Many have scent
glands, usually beneath the eyes, which serve as sexual attractions.
Deer are distinguished from all other ruminants by their branching horns
(antlers), which in most species exist in the male only; they are solid,
fall off annually, and are renewed with increase of size, and number of
branches, according to the kind, until the animal has reached old age.
Deer are found in almost all parts of the globe except Australia and the
south of Africa, their place in the latter region being supplied by
antelopes; the greater number inhabit the warmer temperate countries,
and they are chiefly found in wide plains and hills of moderate height.
The flesh (venison) of most kinds of deer is highly esteemed for the
table, and they have long been regarded as among the noblest objects of
the chase. Only one species, the reindeer, can be said to have been
fully domesticated.
ELK (_Cervus alces_).--This animal is the largest representative of the
genus of stags. It is the size of a horse, and its head is adorned with
large antlers. The elk inhabits the northern regions of Europe and
America. It is hunted for the sake of its excellent flesh, but the
hunting of this strong and swift animal is attended with many dangers.
It swims across the largest rivers. The Elk of Europe is called Moose in
America.
FALLOW DEER (_Cervus capreolus_).--Nearly everybody has seen this
graceful animal. It attains the size of a goat. The head of the male,
the roebuck, is adorned with small but strong antlers, which are shed
every year at the end of autumn. The fallow deer go about in troops, and
feed on grass, clover, corn, and fruit. Their young are called kids, and
the female, does. They are hunted for the sake of their flesh.
RED DEER (_Cervus elaphus_) is much larger than the fallow deer, and is
the grandest animal of the higher species of game. The male carries
large, branching antlers, which it loses in February of each year. The
antlers of the one-year-old stag are like a spear, in the second year
they are fork-shaped, and in those appearing later two more prongs are
added each year. The stag has a greyish-brown fur. During the day it
remains in the recesses of the forests; in the evening and night it
roams in herds in search of food, which consists of various grasses and
herbs, and the twigs and bark of trees. It runs with great swiftness
when scenting danger, and will wade, or swim rivers and lakes.
[Illustration: =OKAPI= (Page 202)]
[Illustration: =ZEBRA= (Page 203)]
=Gayal= (_Bibos frontalis_), a species of ox, which is found in the
mountains of Aracan, Chittagong, Tipura, and Sylhet. It is about the
size of the Indian buffalo, is dark brown, and has short curved horns.
=Gazelle= (_Gazella Dorcas_), is a species of antelope about the size of
a roebuck, but of lighter and more graceful form, with longer and more
slender limbs. It is of a light tawny color, the under parts white; a
broad brown band along each flank; the hair short and smooth. The face
is reddish fawn-color, with white and dark stripes. The horns of the old
males are nine or ten inches long, bending outward and then inward, like
the sides of a lyre, also backward at the base and forward at the tips,
tapering to a point, surrounded by thirteen or fourteen permanent rings,
the rings near the base being closest together and most perfect. The
ears are long, narrow, and pointed; the eyes very large, soft, and
black; there is a tuft of hair on each knee; the tail is short, with
black hairs on its upper surface only, and at its tip. The gazelle is a
native of the North of Africa, and of Syria, Arabia and Persia.
=Giraffe= (_Camelopardalis giraffa_).--This strange looking animal has
the head of the horse, the neck and hoof of the stag, the callous breast
of the camel, and the spotted skin of the panther. On its forehead it
has two horny excrescences. It attains a height of sixteen feet.
[Illustration: =GIRAFFE= (Page 201)]
The giraffe lives in the wooded plains of central Africa, feeds on the
leaves of trees, and is generally seen in small troops. Its rapidity is
extraordinary; not even the Arabian horse can overtake it. It is often
attacked by the lion, which lies in wait for it near the rivers and
springs, where it comes to drink.
=Gnu= (_Catoblepas_), genus of antelopes of which the best known species
has been often described as apparently made up of parts of different
animals, not only of the antelope and the ox or buffalo, but even of the
horse. This species (_C. Gnu_) is a native of South Africa; it has
disappeared from the more settled parts of Cape Colony, but is to be
seen in herds on the arid plains beyond these boundaries in company with
small troops of zebras, and with flocks of ostriches. The size of the
gnu is that of a large ass; the general color is yellowish-tawny. Both
sexes have horns. The limbs are slender, like those of deer and
antelopes. The gnu gallops with great speed. It has been usually
represented as a very fierce animal, and certainly shows much ability
to defend itself with its horns, when unable to escape from danger by
flight; but when taken young it is easily tamed, and readily associates
with oxen, accompanying them to and from the field.
[Illustration]
=Ibex or Wild Goat= (_Capra ibex_).--Different species of the ibex
inhabit the mountain regions of Europe and Asia. It has a
greyish-yellow, long fur, and powerful horns bent obliquely backwards.
It frequently attains a weight of two hundred pounds. It is a true
mountain animal, and was formerly spread all over the Swiss and Tyrolese
Alps, but is at present found only in limited numbers.
=Markhor= (_Copra falconeri_), from Tibet, Cashmere, and Afghanistan, is
a strong, powerful goat, with corkscrew horns, much larger in the males,
which are also distinguished by a thick mane on the neck and breast.
=Musk-Ox= (_Ovibos moschatus_).--The Musk-ox, or Musk-Sheep, has its
home in central Asia and Arctic America. The male has in its upper jaw
two incisors in the shape of tusks, and in a gland of its abdomen the
well-known, strong-scented musk. In the forests of the Himalayas it is
found at elevations of upwards of eight thousand five hundred feet. A
full-grown animal weighs about four hundred and fifty pounds. They live
in herds, and feed on mosses, leaves and underbrush.
=Okapi= (_Ocapia_), a giraffe-like animal discovered by Sir H. H.
Johnston in the Semliki forest in central Africa. Its neck and legs are
shorter than in the giraffe, ears larger and broader. The general color
of the upper parts is a slightly purplish chocolate-brown; buttocks and
upper parts of fore and hind legs have wavy black stripes on a buff
ground. The living okapi is classed with the giraffe group.
=Sambur= (_Cervus aristotelis_), a species of stag abundant in the
forest-land of some parts of India, Burma, and China. It stands about
five feet high, is a powerful animal, and is much hunted. The color is
dark brown; the antlers are rounded, and belong to a type known as
Rusine.
=Tahr= (_Hemitragus jemlaicus_), a goat-like animal, differs from the
true goats, especially in the absence of a beard. The male is generally
from three to three and a half feet in height at the shoulder; the horns
seldom exceed fifteen inches in length. The doe is a smaller animal. The
coat is fawn brown in color, and is long on the neck, chest, and
shoulders. The home of the Tahr is chiefly in the elevated forest
regions of the Himalayas; and it frequents almost inaccessible spots.
=Vicuna= (_Auchenia vicugna_) is a species of the South American animals
allied to the camels. The vicuna lives wild, and frequents the most
desolate parts of the Cordillera, at great elevations, delighting in a
kind of grass, the yehu, which abounds there in moist places. The small
herds commonly include from six to fifteen females with one male. When
the females are quietly grazing, the male stands apart, and carefully
keeps guard, giving notice of danger by a kind of whistling sound, and a
quick movement of foot. The soft wool is much valued for weaving.
=Wild Goats.=--See Ibex, Markhor, Tahr.
[Illustration]
=Zebra= (_Equus zebra_).--The true zebra is a native of South Africa;
lives in troops, and is very swift and savage, and therefore difficult
to tame. Its general color is creamy white, marked with black
cross-stripes everywhere except the belly. The Quagga, its nearest
relative, has legs and entire hind-quarters unstriped. It is hunted by
the natives for the sake of its beautiful fur and its savory flesh and
is also a favorite food of the lion.
=PACHIDERMS= (_Pachydermata_) =OR THICK-SKINNED ANIMALS=
The animals belonging to this division are mostly of immense size,
and are very thick-skinned and scantily covered with hair; they are
therefore called “Pachydermata.”
=Elephant= (_Elephas_).--There are two species of the Elephant: the
African elephant and the Indian Elephant (_Elephas Indicus_). The
elephant is the largest of the land animals. It has been known to live
from one hundred to four hundred years, and weighs from six thousand to
eight thousand pounds. Its height reaches ten feet, its length from
thirteen to sixteen feet. Its thick, wrinkled skin is covered with a few
bristles. The eyes are small, the ears large, and its nose is prolonged
into a long, flexible trunk. In the upper jaw of the male animal are two
tusks (or thrusting teeth), which are from three to six feet long, and
from thirty to seventy pounds in weight; these furnish valuable ivory.
The tail is long, and has at its end a tuft of coarse bristles. The
elephant is a native of central Africa.
The Indian elephant lives in herds of from thirty to two hundred, and is
fond of marshy districts. It feeds, in its wild state, on the leaves and
twigs of trees, and is a harmless, peaceable animal, so long as it is
not provoked. It does great harm to the plantations of rice, sugar, and
coffee whenever it forces its way through them. Its docility and
prudence are astonishing; its senses of smell and hearing are also
greatly developed.
The first elephants are mentioned in the history of Alexander the Great.
He brought three hundred of them from India to Babylon. At present they
are little used as domestic animals, although many are still kept for
that purpose in Ceylon and Burma. They are eagerly hunted for their
tusks. About ten thousand are said to be killed annually.
=Hippopotamus= (_Hippos amphibius_).--There is only one species of the
hippopotamus now living--that of Africa. It is nearly as tall as the
rhinoceros--viz., about five feet; but it exceeds twelve feet in length.
The eyes and ears are small, its neck short and thick, and its feet
clumsy. Its incisor teeth grow from twelve to eighteen inches long, and
weigh from two to six pounds. It is found in all lakes and rivers, and
its principal food is grass; sometimes it commits great ravages in the
plantations. It is by nature peaceful, but when provoked gets into a
violent rage. Some consider its flesh savory. Its skin, when cut into
strips, is manufactured into whips; its teeth are worked like ivory, and
are especially used for the manufacture of artificial teeth.
=Rhinoceros= (_Rhinoceros_).--The Indian rhinoceros and that of Java
have only one horn on the nose, while the African species has two. The
white rhinoceros of Africa is the largest, attaining to a length of over
twelve feet, and a height of nearly six feet; but the black rhinoceros
is best known. These awkward animals are enveloped in a wrinkled and
bare hide, which may be compared to a coat-of-mail. They live either
solitary or in small herds, in marsh and well-watered districts, and
feed on grass, leaves, and roots. They only attack an enemy when
provoked. Their horn is a terrible weapon. It is a bony excrescence,
extremely sharp-pointed, and is used for ploughing up hard ground, or
uprooting strong trees. When fighting with the elephant the rhinoceros
attempts to rip up its enemy’s abdomen.
=Tapir= (_Tapirus Americanus_).--This denizen of South America lies
concealed in the recesses of the forests during the day, but in the
evening and early morning it frequents the marshes and rivers, where it
wallows in the mud with its young. It feeds on the branches of trees,
but also ravages the fields. All are bulky beasts, recalling somewhat
the swine in appearance. They have the snout prolonged into a flexible
proboscis with the nostrils at the tip. Their flesh is said to be good.
=Wild Pig= (_Sus scrofa_) lives in herds in the well-watered forests of
central and southern Europe, in central and western Asia, and in north
Africa. The adult males are called boars, the females wild sows, and the
young shoats. They feed on the fruits of forest trees, roots, etc., and
do great damage in the fields by raking up the earth for long distances.
For this reason and also for the sake of their flesh they are hunted.
=TOOTHLESS ANIMALS= (_Edentata_)
Some of the animals belonging to this division have no teeth at all,
and all are without the front incisors. They are slow, stupid
animals, and work only in the night-time. They are all inhabitants
of Brazil with the exception of two species. Nearly all are provided
with very long claws. They live in trees or in subterraneous
passages.
=Ant-eater or Ant-bear= (_Myrmecophaga jubata_) attains a length of six
feet six inches, of which its long-haired, plumy tail takes twenty-eight
inches. The color of its hair is blackish brown; it can project its
worm-like tongue to a distance of sixteen inches. The Great Ant-eater is
a native of Brazil and Guiana, and much the largest of all the species.
The ant-eater inhabits the same regions as the sloth. It feeds on ants
and termites. Raking up the habitations of these insects with its sharp
claws, it inserts its proboscis, and begins to work with its viscous
(sticky) tongue, to which hundreds of ants remain sticking.
=Armadillo= (_Dasypus peba_).--A mammal peculiar to South America,
consisting of various species, belonging to a family intermediate
between the sloths and ant-eaters. They are covered with a hard bony
shell, divided into belts, composed of small separate plates like a coat
of mail, flexible everywhere except on the forehead, shoulders, and
haunches, where it is not movable. The belts are connected by a
membrane, which enables the animal to roll itself up like a hedgehog.
These animals burrow in the earth, where they lie during the daytime,
seldom going abroad except at night. They are of different sizes; the
largest, _Dasypus gigas_, being three feet in length without the tail,
and the smallest only ten inches. They subsist chiefly on fruits and
roots, sometimes on insects and flesh. They are inoffensive, and their
flesh is esteemed good food.
=Pangolin= (_Manis longicaudata_).--There are several species of these
scaly ant-eaters. They are found in Africa and Asia, and are covered
with dark brown scales, which are arranged one above the other like
tiles. When danger approaches the pangolin does not run away, but rolls
itself together into a ball like the hedge-hog.
=Sloth= (_Bradypus pallidus_).--The general color of the sloth is
reddish grey, its abdomen lighter. It is about sixteen inches in length,
and has three long claws on each foot.
It inhabits the thickets of the virgin forests of Brazil, passing its
life in laziness upon the tops of trees, the leaves of which form its
food. During the day it hangs down asleep from a bough, and is then only
discovered with difficulty. In the same position it creeps along the
boughs, and does not leave the tree until the latter is stripped of all
its leaves and fruits. When it descends to the ground it is very
helpless, and can neither walk nor stand. It gives the best proof of its
skill when climbing, hanging down from a bough by means of one of its
feet, while it seizes the fruits with the other. It sometimes pierces
the large snakes of Brazil with its long claws, so that they die from
loss of blood. Its attachment to its young is very touching and the
mother carries them on her back from bough to bough.
=POUCHED ANIMALS= (_Marsupialia_)
The marsupials have in the abdomen a pouch, a sort of bag or purse,
in which they carry about their young. In some species the hind legs
are developed to an extraordinary degree, whereby they are enabled
to jump great distances. Their original home is Australia; but
several species are also found in America. They feed partly on
plants, partly on animal matter.
=Kangaroo= (_Macropus giganteus_).--The fur of the kangaroo is greyish
brown, somewhat lighter on the sides, while the lower parts are whitish.
Its body is six feet long, and its tail nearly three feet. It inhabits
Australia, and is found chiefly in New South Wales and Tasmania. It is
the largest quadruped of that part of the globe. The front of its body
is extremely slim in proportion to its hind quarters, and its hind legs
are five times longer than the front ones. The kangaroo is a peaceful,
shy, grazing animal. When startled it tries to get away from its
pursuers by immense bounds. Its swiftness is so great that, at least
across flat country, the fastest dog cannot equal it. But when it is
brought to bay it will defend itself most pertinaciously with its sharp
claws, and with powerful strokes of its tail. It will seize even large
dogs with its fore feet, and tear open their breasts and abdomens, often
carrying them to neighboring water to drown them. The flesh of the
kangaroo is eaten; its hair makes a good fur.
=Koala= (_Phascolarctus cinereus_), a marsupial, restricted to eastern
Australia. The toes of the fore-feet are in two opposable groups, of
two or three, a characteristic not found in any other quadruped, but
well adapted to grasping the branches of trees, on which the koala often
hangs with its back undermost, like the sloth. There is scarcely any
rudiment of a tail.
=Opossum= (_Didelphys virginiana_).--The American opossum is perhaps the
best known and certainly not the least interesting of the pouched
animals. It abounds in the warmer parts of North America, extending
considerably north of Virginia. In form it is robust and in size about
that of an ordinary cat. The color of its fine wholly fur ranges from
white to black, and includes numerous varieties of intermixture. They
have a long tail, which is almost destitute of hair, and is very useful
from its prehensile nature, enabling the animal not only to hang by it,
but also to climb and descend trees. They are sly and live chiefly in
trees, lying up in the daytime, and at night roaming in search of their
food, which consists of insects, small reptiles, birds’ eggs, etc.
Caught red-handed in one of its marauding excursions, or captured under
any other circumstances, the slightest blow causes it immediately to
feign death, even to the extent of a protruding tongue and film-covered
eyes. It may be battered almost beyond recognition and will lie where it
has been flung without so much as the flicker of an eyelid. The moment,
however, that its captor takes attention from it, the presumably dead
animal regains its feet and effects its escape. “Possuming” is a slang
term that has come into use to denote the acme of human artfulness and
deceit.
A wonderfully pretty species of opossum which lives in Surinam is
scarcely larger than a good-sized mouse, the body measuring only six
inches from the nose to the root of the tail. It has scarcely a vestige
of pouch, and so, robbed of this advantage, it carries its young on its
back, curling its tail over, so as to allow the little ones to twist
their tails around it. With her progeny thus secured from falling the
mother can pursue her way in comfort. Even some of the larger opossums
adopt this method of carrying their young.