all differ from the wild ones, unless in temper, for the wild ones are
fierce and untractable. The colour of both is the same, namely, that of
the Antelope, but some are white and others black, none are spotted or
piebald. They graze and range like other cattle, and eat rice, mustard,
chiches, and any cultivated produce, as also chaff and chopped straw.
According to this gentleman the Gayal lives to the age of twenty or
twenty-five years, and reaches its full growth at five years. The
female is generally higher than the male. She receives the bull in her
fifth year, and bears after ten months.
In reference to the case of Mr. Bird's Gayal breeding with the common
Zebu, I may observe that this proves nothing beyond the bare fact
stated; no inference whatever of an identity of species can be drawn
from a thousand such cases. It is pretty well known that animals of
perfectly distinct species will, when artificially brought together,
produce hybrids, as in the familiar examples of the Horse and the Ass,
the Canary and the Goldfinch; but a hybrid is neither a species nor
(zoologically speaking) a variety.
In a paper on the Gour, by General Hardwicke, ('Zoological Journal,'
Vol. III,) he introduces the following observations on the Gayal: "Of
the Gayal (_Bos Gavaeas_ of Colebrooke) there appears to be more than one
species. The provinces of Chatgong and Sylhet produce the wild, or, as
the Natives term it, the Asseel Gayal, and the domesticated one. The
former is considered an untameable animal, extremely fierce, and not to
be taken alive. It rarely quits the mountain tract of the south-east
frontier, and never mixes with the Gobbay, or village Gayal of the
plains. I succeeded in obtaining the skin, with the head, of the Asseel
Gayal, which is deposited in the Museum of the Hon. East-India Company,
in Leadenhall Street." [A drawing was taken of this head, of which the
engraving on the opposite page is a copy.]
"I may notice another species of Gayal, of which a male and female were
in the Governor General's park, at Barrackpore. This species differs in
some particulars from the domesticated Gayal, and also from the Asseel,
or true Gayal; first, in size, being a larger animal than the domestic
one; secondly, in the largeness of the dewlap, which is deeper and more
undulated than in either the wild or tame species; and, thirdly, in the
size and form of the horns."
Thus, according to the opinion of General Hardwicke, there are three
distinct species of the Gayal; but in this matter nothing can be decided
without further evidence, which we hope will soon appear in the shape of
complete skeletons, and accurate drawings and descriptions.
[Illustration]
THE TAME OR DOMESTIC GAYAL.
[Illustration]
The representation of the Gayal here given was taken from a living
specimen in the Zoological Gardens, 1846.
The scanty information I was able to glean concerning it, consists in
its having been procured at Chitagong, and shipped, as a commercial
speculation, from Calcutta for London, in January 1844, when about two
years and a half old. It remained in the Zoological Gardens till the
summer of 1846, when it died from inflammation of the bowels, brought on
chiefly by eating too much green food.
I had the above particulars from Mr. Bartlett, naturalist, &c., who had
been commissioned to dispose of it. He preserved the skeleton, which he
kindly allowed me to examine, and from which I made the sketches of the
skull and horns, which appear on the following page.
The skeleton has fourteen pairs of ribs.
[Illustration: Skull of Domestic Gayal, viewed in front, with Section of
Horn.]
Inches.
Distance from tip to tip (_a_ to _a_) 39
Length of horn (_a_ to _b_) 16
Circumference of horn at base 17
Distance of bases (_b_ to _b_) 11
Length of skull (_c_ to _c_) 19
Fig. _d_, section of the horn, at the base.
[Illustration: Occipital view of the same Skull.]
[Illustration: Head of Domestic Gayal.]
In concluding these details of the Gayal and Gyall, let it be remarked
that, when we hear one animal called Gayal and another Gyall, we are
not, _on that account merely_, to set them down as of the same species.
It is hardly necessary to say, that similarity or even identity of name,
is not the slightest criterion of identity of species. The name Elephant
is popularly applied to that animal, whether brought from Africa or
Asia; they are, nevertheless, anatomically distinct. The same
observation may be made respecting the Lions of those countries, and
various other animals.
It may further be observed, that the value of external characters in
determining a species is very different when applied to ascertain the
distinctions of domestic races, to what it is when applied to ascertain
the distinctions of animals living in a natural state. In domestication,
varieties ramify to an indefinite extent, and under such circumstances
external characters are comparatively valueless. But wild animals retain
their external characters with undeviating exactness; exceptional cases
may indeed occur, but so very rarely, that they are not worth taking
into the account; consequently, external forms, and in some cases even
colours, become of importance in ascertaining specific distinction.
THE JUNGLY GAU.
_Bos Sylhetanus._ (Cuv.)
[Illustration]
Further information is requisite to decide the specific character of
this animal. According to the opinion of Col. Smith, (see 'Synopsis of
the Species of Mammalia' in Griffith's Translation of Cuvier's Animal
Kingdom,) it is a mere variety of the Gayal (_Bos Gavaeus_); and Mr. J.
E. Gray, in his 'List of the Specimens of Mammalia in the Collection of
the British Museum,' classes it as a domestic variety of the same
animal, but Mr. Fred. Cuvier regards it as an entirely new species.
The following account of the Jungly Gau (which is the only one that has
been published), is a translation from the splendid folio work of
Messrs. St. Hilaire and F. Cuvier.
This species of Ox, which is entirely new, appears to be the most
nearly allied to our domestic cattle. Those ruminants which are classed
under the generic name of Ox, may be very naturally divided into two
distinct groups. The first includes the Buffaloes, animals in some
measure aquatic, living in low, swampy localities, or near rivers, in
which they remain half immersed a great part of the day; having
broad-based horns, partly spreading over their foreheads, flat on their
internal side, and round on their external; tongue soft, &c. The second
is that of the Ox, properly so called. These are distinguished from the
first by their dwelling on more elevated lands, or in the vicinity of
forests; having smooth round horns, without enlargement at their base;
tongue covered with horny papillae, &c.
It is to this second family, consisting of the American Bison, the
Aurox, the Yak, and the domestic Ox, with its varieties, that the Jungly
Gau undoubtedly belongs. It however differs from the first two in being
entirely destitute of the thick shaggy mane; and, instead of the long
silky hair of the third, it is clothed with close, short hair, equal in
uniformity of texture to the sleekest of our domestic cattle. To judge
from its general appearance, we might be even tempted to take it for a
mere variety of the domestic species, so close is the resemblance. But
the information furnished by M. Alfred Duvaucel, in the only description
which has been given, leaves no doubt as to its being a new species.
The following is M. Duvaucel's account:--"The horns of the Jungly Gau
rise from the sides of the occiput, first outward, then forward, with a
slight inclination backward of the upper extremity, forming a double
lunation, and separated by a space which gradually diminishes as the
animal grows older; standing equally apart in every individual of the
same age and sex; are round, except at their base, which is slightly
compressed; and they become smoother as the animal advances in age.
"The hump, which is characteristic of the generality of Indian oxen, is
reduced in this to a slight prominence, extending to the middle of the
back, and is covered with a grayish, woolly hair, rather longer than
that on the other parts of the body, which spreads likewise over the
occiput and the front. The rest of the hair is black except the legs,
which are white from the knees downwards. The tail terminates in a large
tuft of hair; and, in bulls of two or three years old, the under part of
the neck is slightly furnished with long, black, silky hair.
"The female is smaller than the male, with horns of a still less
proportionate size. The front of the head, instead of being convex, as
in the male, appears to be slightly depressed, in consequence of the
superior elevation of the muzzle. The colour of the female is not so
deep a black; the gray on the top of the neck and the shoulders extends
to the sides, and the inferior part of the muzzle is white.
"I have long entertained the opinion," continues M. Duvaucel, "that
these oxen were essentially the same as the domestic--that they were
both varieties of the same species; but this opinion was formed on the
inspection only of such specimens as I had seen in the menagerie at
Barracpour. Since that time, I have pursued them myself near the
mountains of Sylhet; and I have likewise learned from various sources
that they are as numerous and as generally diffused as the common
Buffalo; but they appear to be wilder than the Buffalo, and not so
bold, never approaching where man has established his dominion.
Nevertheless, when caught, they are easily subdued, and become quite
domesticated in a few months. The milk of this species is said to be
more abundant and nourishing than that of any other."
From all that is at present known respecting this animal, it is regarded
by M. F. Cuvier as a new species added to the genus _Bos_; and, from the
circumstance of its having been first seen in a wild state near the
mountains of Sylhet, he has given it the specific name of _Sylhetanus_.
The animal represented in the following vignette is the Syrian Ox, which
is considered as a variety of _Bos Taurus_.
[Illustration]
THE BUFFALO.
The animal generally known under the name of the _Common_ Buffalo is
evidently a different species from the _Cape_ Buffalo. Much confusion,
however, prevails in the accounts, both of travellers and naturalists,
on the subject of these two animals. Descriptions of the one are mingled
with descriptions of the other, and anecdotes are related of the one
which, there is good reason for believing, ought to be referred to the
other. It is highly probable that future and more accurate observations
will show that more than one species has been confounded under the
general epithets of "the common Buffalo," "the domestic Buffalo," "the
tame Buffalo," or, more indeterminate still, "_the_ Buffalo."
The accounts furnished by travellers of the various animals in Asia and
Africa, described by them as Buffaloes, are altogether vague and
unsatisfactory, and frequently erroneous; not from any desire on the
part of the authors to deceive, but merely because their observations
have been made in the most careless and indifferent manner; and, in many
instances, their information is obtained from the verbal communications
of ignorant natives.
In those descriptions which are confined to the Buffalo, as it at
present exists in Italy and the south of Europe, tolerable reliance may
be placed, as their character and habits are there well known, being of
every day observation; yet, even in this case, little or nothing is
known of the anatomy of the animal, and its period of gestation has
never been precisely stated. The following information on this latter
point is given in Griffith's 'Cuvier,' (vol. iv, p. 383,) "Gestation _is
said_ to last twelve months, but _it appears_ not to exceed ten."
THE ITALIAN BUFFALO.
_Bos Bubalus._
[Illustration]
This animal is more bulky than the domestic Ox, and its limbs are
stouter. The head is larger, in proportion to the size of the body, than
that of the domestic Ox, and is generally carried with the muzzle
projecting; the forehead is rather convex, and higher than broad; the
horns are large, slightly compressed, and recline towards the neck, with
the points turned up; dewlap of a moderate size.
Throughout the whole range of the Italian peninsula Buffaloes are used
as beasts of burden, and their immense strength renders their services
invaluable in the marshy and swampy districts, where the services of
horses, or ordinary oxen, would be totally unavailing. The roads through
which they are obliged to pass are frequently covered to a depth of two
or three feet, through which they work their way with wonderful
perseverance.
On the great plain of Apulia the Buffalo is the ordinary beast of
draught; and at the annual fair held at Foggia, at the end of May,
immense droves of almost wild Buffaloes are brought to the town for
sale. Fearful accidents occasionally happen; enraged animals breaking
from the dense mass, in spite of all the exertions of their drovers, and
rushing upon some object of their vengeance, whom they strike down, and
trample to death. It is dangerous to overwork or irritate the Buffalo,
and instances have been known in which, when released by the brutal
driver from the cart, they have instantly turned upon the man and killed
him on the spot.
The following part of their history is remarkable: They appear to be
most numerous, and to thrive best in those districts which are most
infected with malaria. In the Pontine marshes they find a favorite
retreat, and in the pestilential Maremma scarcely any other animals are
to be seen. In the northern portions of Italy, where malaria is much
less frequent than in the south. Buffaloes are to be found in the
greatest numbers precisely in those localities where malaria is the most
prevalent.
They are particularly fond of the long rank herbage, which springs up in
moist and undrained lands. In their habits they are almost amphibious,
lying for hours half submerged in water and mud.
When travellers make use of the name "common Buffalo," they are usually
understood to mean an animal identical with the Italian species; if this
really be the case, its geographical range must be very extensive. It is
said to inhabit the extensive regions of Hindostan, China, Cochin-China,
Malabar, Coromandel, Persia, and the Crimea; also Abyssinia, Egypt, and
the south of Europe; to which may be added, most of the large islands in
the Indian Sea.
As an article of food, the flesh of this animal is inferior to the beef
of the domestic Ox, but the milk of the female is particularly rich and
abundant; the semi-fluid butter, called _ghee_ in India, is made from
it. According to the testimony of Colonel Sykes, the long-horned variety
is reared in vast numbers in the Mawals, or hilly tracts lying along the
Ghauts:--"In those tracts much rice is planted, and the male Buffalo,
from his superior hardihood, is much better suited to resist the effects
of the heavy rains, and the splashy cultivation of the rice than the
bullock. The female is also infinitely more valuable than the cow, from
the very much greater quantity of milk she yields." The hide is also
much valued for its strength and durability.
In India they are used as beasts of burden; but the nature of the goods
they carry must be such as will not suffer from being wet, as they have
an invincible propensity to lie down in water. The native princes use
them to fight with tigers in their public shows; and from their fierce
and active nature, when excited, they frequently prove more than a match
for their formidable assailants. With the native herdsman, however, they
are generally docile: these men ride on their favorites, and spend the
night with them in the midst of jungles and forests, without fear of
wild beasts. When driven along, the herds keep close together, so that
the driver, if necessary, walks from the back of one to the other,
perfectly at his ease. In the south of Europe they are managed by means
of a ring passed through the cartilage of the nose, but in India it is a
mere rope.
Their fierceness and courage are well exemplified in the following
anecdote, related by Mr. D. Johnson in his interesting 'Sketches of
Indian Field Sports:' "Two Biparies, or carriers of grain and
merchandise on the backs of bullocks, were driving a loaded string of
these animals from Palamow to Chittrah: when they were come within a few
miles of the latter place, a tiger seized on the man in the rear, which
was seen by a Guallah (herdsman), as he was watching his Buffaloes
grazing. He boldly ran up to the man's assistance, and cut the tiger
severely with his sword; upon which he dropped the Biparie, and seized
the herdsman. The Buffaloes observing it, attacked the tiger, and
rescued the herdsman; they tossed him about from one to the other, and,
to the best of my recollection, killed him. Both the wounded men were
brought to me; the Biparie recovered, and the herdsman died."
Speaking of the Buffalo at Malabar, Dillon says, "It is an ugly animal,
almost destitute of hair, goes slowly, but carries very heavy burdens.
Herds may be seen, as of common cows; and they afford milk, which serves
to make butter and cheese. Their flesh is good, though less delicate,
than that of the ox: the animal swims perfectly well, and traverses the
broadest rivers. Besides the tame ones, there are wild Buffaloes, which
are extremely dangerous, tearing men to pieces, or crushing them with a
single blow of the head; they are less to be dreaded in woods than
elsewhere, because their horns often catch in the branches, and give
time for the persons pursued to escape by flight. The skins of these
animals serve for an infinity of purposes, and even cruses are made of
them for holding water or liquors. The animals on the coast of Malabar
are all wild, and strangers are not prevented from hunting them for
their flesh."
Whether the animals alluded to, in all these cases, constitute only one
species, or consist of several, the accounts which have been given of
them (from their vagueness and want of precision) afford no means of
deciding.
The following tail-piece is a representation of the Herefordshire Cow,
_Bos Taurus_.
[Illustration]
The Manilla Buffalo.
_Bos Bubalis?_
[Illustration]
The animal which is represented in the above engraving, was living in
the Zoological Gardens, Regent's Park, in 1846, at which time the sketch
was taken.
In size the Manilla Buffalo is about equal to the Kyloe Ox. The horns
are of a similar shape, and take nearly the same direction, as those of
the Italian Buffalo. They differ, however, from the horns of the Italian
Buffalo in three particulars: first, in not being above half so thick or
bulky; second, in having a much larger curve; and third, in being
considerably more compressed, which compression exists throughout their
entire length: the colour of the upper surface of the horn is lightish,
on the lower side nearly black. The head is narrow, and the muzzle fine;
the ears are long and nearly naked; the eyes large and bright, with a
peculiarly timid and suspicious expression. The limbs are slender, and
indeed the whole frame is slight, and seems to betoken greater speed
than strength.
We have a notable example of the uncertainty of framing generic
characters, before the peculiar attributes of each species are known,
in Griffiths' work, already referred to (vol. iv, p. 382). "Buffaloes
_in general_" are there said to possess _strong and solid_ limbs,
_large_ head, _broad_ muzzle, _long_ and slender tail, back _rather_
straight. Here we have an animal (a Buffalo by universal consent) whose
limbs are _slender_, head _small_, muzzle _fine_; whose tail is _not_
long, and whose back is any thing but straight. The Cape Buffalo, also,
(see p. 86,) has _rather_ a small head, its tail is absolutely _short_,
and its back has very considerable curvature.
[Illustration]
The preceding outline of the backs of four Buffaloes will show how
inappropriate the character of a _straight back_ is, when applied to
"Buffaloes _in general_." The lowest outline (5), inserted by way of
contrast, represents the back of the Domestic Ox, to which the character
of straight might very properly be applied. (1) Italian Buffalo. (2)
Manilla Buffalo. (3) Pulo Condore Buffalo. (4) Cape Buffalo.
Generic characters should be such (and such _only_) as will apply to
every species included in the genus.
The period of gestation of the Manilla Buffalo is between forty-eight
and forty-nine weeks. In two actual cases of a female now living in the
Zoological Gardens, the periods were, in the one case, 340 days, in the
other, 341 days; being 70 days longer than the ordinary term of the
domestic Cow.
[Illustration: Head of Manilla Buffalo--female.]
PULO CONDORE BUFFALO.
_Bos Bubalus?_
[Illustration]
Not much is known of the Buffalo which is found in the island of Pulo
Condore. It is related by those navigators who completed the voyage to
the Pacific Ocean, begun by Captain Cook, that when at Pulo Condore,
they procured eight Buffaloes, which were to be conducted to the ships
by means of ropes put through their nostrils and round their horns; but
when they were brought within sight of the sailors, they became so
furious that some of them tore out the cartilage of their nostrils, and
set themselves at liberty. All attempts to get them on board would have
proved fruitless, had it not been for some children, whom the animals
would suffer to approach them, and by whose puerile management their
rage was quickly appeased; and when the animals were brought to the
beach, it was by their assistance, in twisting ropes around their legs,
that the men were enabled to throw them down, and by that means get them
into the boats. And what appears to have been no less singular than this
circumstance was, that they had not been a day on board before they
became perfectly gentle.
Whether this be a distinct species, or merely a variety, we have not, at
present, the least means of ascertaining.
Osteology unknown.
Period of gestation unknown.
The tail-piece below represents a short-horned Bull of the Domestic
species, _Bos Taurus_.
[Illustration]
THE CAPE BUFFALO.
_Bos Caffer._
[Illustration]
This species of ox is only to be found in Africa, and is chiefly
confined to the wooded districts lying north of the Cape of Good Hope.
What Lavater endeavours to prove of the human being, namely, that the
face is the index of the mind or disposition, may be applied, with at
least equal truth, to the Cape Buffalo. His broad, projecting muzzle,
lowering eyebrows, shaggy pendulous ears, surmounted by a pair of huge
horns, give a look of bold determination to this animal, which forms a
tolerably correct index of his character; his firm-set limbs and bulky
body convey a no less adequate idea of his enormous strength.
These animals are gregarious, living in small herds in the brushwoods or
open forests, of Caffraria, occasionally uniting in large droves. Old
bulls are often met with alone; but though they are fiercer than the
young ones, they are less dangerous, because less active, and less
inclined to exertion.
It is worthy of observation, that the males of every species of the
Genus Bos are remarkably bold and courageous, as are likewise the
females when they have calves. It is not, therefore, surprising that the
hunting of this animal should be attended with danger, and frequently
with fatal consequences. The European colonists generally pursue the
sport on horseback; but the Caffers and other natives, who are more
active, and accustomed to the intricacies of the forest, prefer
following the game on foot.
Professor Thunberg, whilst investigating the interior of Caffraria, in
1772, in company with a sergeant and a European gardener, who had
resided in the colony some time, and who acted as guide on the occasion,
met with the following perilous adventure:--