_THE HOLLOW-HORNED RUMINANTS: OXEN, BISON, BUFFALOES, AND MUSK-OX._
Cattle, Deer, Camels, Pigs, Horses, Tapirs, Rhinoceroses, and Elephants
differ greatly in structure from the orders already described. They are
classed as the Ungulates, or Hoofed Mammals. In most of these, such as the
Horse, Deer, and Oxen, the toes are contained within a solid hoof; in
others, such as the Rhinoceros, they are protected by broad nails. Great
differences exist in the feet of the various groups of Ungulates, caused by
the degree in which the digits, or "toes," remain in use or not. Except in
the Elephant, where there are five, the greatest number of "working" digits
found in existing forms is four. In the Horse and its surviving allies the
digits are reduced to one; in the Giraffes, to two.
The general process, as it can be learnt from the remains of the horse-like
animals of the past, seems to have been as follows. One or more of the toes
were developed in length and strength at the expense of the others, until,
in the case of the Horse, only one toe remained, which was enclosed in a
large and solid hoof, little splints on either side of the cannon-bone
being left to hint where the second and fourth toes had once been. In the
Oxen and Deer the third and fourth toes developed equally, at the expense
of the others, and each gained a case or covering, which makes the two
parts of the "cloven hoof" of these groups.
[Illustration: _Photo by E. Landor_] [_Ealing._
ENGLISH PARK-CATTLE.
This photograph represents two animals of different types. The bull (on the
right) is from Earl Ferrers' herd at Chartley Castle; the cow is a
cross-bred.]
The first group of the order of Ungulates is represented by the
Hollow-horned Ruminants. These have horns set on a core of bone, the horns
themselves being hollow throughout. They "chew the cud," after receiving
the food eaten into the first of four divisions in the stomach, whence it
is brought up into the mouth, and then swallowed again for digestion. The
Oxen, Sheep, and Goats have no popular name by which they are collectively
distinguished, but their characteristics are sufficiently well known. The
horns are never shed annually, as is the case with the Deer; and the hoofs
are cloven. They have no incisor teeth in the upper jaw, a characteristic
also shared by the Giraffes, the Prongbuck (or American antelope), and the
Deer. The lower jaw has its full complement of incisor teeth.
The Oxen and the allied Bison, Yak, and Buffaloes are the bulkiest and most
important to man of all ruminants. Some are found in nearly all inhabited
parts of the Old World, and there is one North American species, now
practically exterminated as a wild animal.
[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
ENGLISH PARK BULL.
The similarity in shape to the best-bred modern shorthorns is obvious.]
[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
CALF OF ENGLISH PARK-CATTLE.
Though the stock is very old and inbred, the white park-cattle are still
fairly prolific.]
BRITISH PARK-CATTLE, AND THE AUROCHS.
The so-called "WILD CATTLE" found in the parks of Chillingham and Chartley,
as well as in Lord Leigh's park at Lyme, and in that of the Duke of
Hamilton at Cadzow Castle, Scotland, are probably not the descendants of an
indigenous wild race. It is not without reluctance that the belief in their
wild descent has been abandoned. But the evidence seems fairly conclusive
as to the antiquity of these white cattle, regarded as a primitive breed,
and of the unlikelihood of their being survivors of a truly wild stock.
They are almost identical in many points with the best breeds of modern
cattle, and probably represent the finest type possessed by the ancient
inhabitants of these islands. But they are far smaller than the original
WILD OX, or AUROCHS, the ancestor of our domestic breeds. The skulls of
these large wild oxen, which still survived in the Black Forest in Cæsar's
time, have been dug up in many parts of England, especially in the Thames
Valley, and may be seen at the Natural History Museum. The remains of the
extinct wild ox, the _Bos urus_ of the Romans, show that, if not so large
as an elephant, as Cæsar heard, its size was gigantic, reckoned by any
modern cattle standard whatever. It probably stood 6 feet high at the
shoulder, and there is every reason to believe that it was the progenitor
of the modern race of domestic cattle in Europe. It seems certain that the
Chartley Park herd did once run wild in Needwood Forest; but so do the
Italian buffaloes in the Maremma, and the Spanish bulls on the plains of
Andalusia. Those at Chartley have been kept in the park, which is very wild
and remote, so long that they have gradually lost many of the attributes of
domestication. This is even more marked in the case of Lord Tankerville's
white cattle at Chillingham. An observant visitor to Chillingham lately
noted that the bulls fight for the possession of the cows, and that one is
occasionally killed in these combats. The cows still "stampede" with their
calves when alarmed, and hide them for a week or ten days after they are
born. The horns of the Chillingham cattle turn up; those of the bulls of
the Chartley herd are straight or slightly inclined downwards. Crossbreds
between the Chartley cattle and some other herds of reputed ancient descent
may generally be seen at the Zoological Gardens. They remain remarkably
true to type.
[Illustration: _Photo by J. T. Newman_] [_Berkhamsted._
JERSEY COW.
The property of Lord Braybrooke. Though small in size, the Jersey cows
produce more butter than any English breed.]
Formerly there were several other herds of ancient white cattle. One was at
Gisburne, in Yorkshire; another at Chatelherault Park, in Lanarkshire; and
records of herds at Bishop Auckland in Durham, Barnard Castle, Blair Athol,
Burton Constable, Naworth Castle, and other ancient parks are preserved.
Probably all were of a breed highly prized in ancient days, which was
allowed the run of the forests adjacent to the homes of their owners; then,
as the forests were cleared, they were gradually taken up and enclosed in
parks. Another theory is, that they were the white cattle of North-western
Italy, imported by the first settlements of Italian monks after the
conversion of the Saxons.
SOME DOMESTICATED CATTLE.
The various species of European domestic cattle have in most cases been
brought to a degree of excellence even higher than that which might be
expected from the long period of time in which their improvement has been
an object of solicitude to man. Of the foreign races, the dark red cattle
of the Spanish Peninsula--animals which have been exported to the Canary
Islands and Madeira with great success--are justly famous. The white oxen
of North-east Italy have been famous since the days of the Romans. The tall
long-horned cattle of Hungary are excellent alike as beasts of draught and
for beef. The black-and-white Dutch cows are, and have been, the mainstay
of the dairy industry of Holland, and later of Denmark; while the small
Brittany cows are perhaps the best butter-producers on the continent of
Europe. But England and the Channel Islands may justly claim to rear the
finest cattle of the temperate parts of the world. The diminutive Jersey
cows, now reared in all parts of the kingdom, surpass all the animals of
Europe or America in the richness of their milk, while stock from the
pedigree herds of various English breeds is eagerly sought by foreign and
continental buyers on both sides of the Atlantic, and in New Zealand and
Australia. These foreign strains need constant replenishing from the
English herds, and the result is a golden harvest to the breeders in these
islands.
[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
SPANISH CATTLE.
These belong to the long-horned race of Southern and Eastern Europe. In the
bulls the horns are shorter, and often turn downwards.]
The SHORTHORN was the first breed to be brought to perfection. Two main
stocks--one for producing beef, the other for the dairy--are recognised;
they are the "all-round breed" most in favour, and it is said that the
improvement in this race alone has raised the value of average Irish store
cattle £2 per head during the last twenty years. The shorthorns are
level-backed, large animals, maturing very quickly. The commonest colours
are roan, white, red, and red-and-white. HEREFORD CATTLE are red, with
white faces and long, upturned horns; they fatten quickly on good grass,
and are in most demand for summer beef. HIGHLAND CATTLE have long horns,
rough, shaggy coats, and bodies of moderate size and great symmetry; they
are grazed on the mountains of the West Highlands mainly, and fattened in
the south. The beef is of the finest quality. SUSSEX CATTLE are an "all
red" variety, large, and formerly much used for draught and farm work. The
DEVONS are another red variety very like the Sussex, yielding excellent and
rich milk, and, when fattened, being little inferior to any breed as beef.
The long-horned black WELSH CATTLE grow to a great size, as do the polled
ANGUS breed of Scotland. The polled or hornless cattle include the red
SUFFOLKS, a most valuable breed, hardy, and wonderful producers of milk.
The cows often give milk every day of the year. The LONGHORN breed is
almost disappearing, as the horns are a disadvantage both in the fields and
when the animals are carried on board ship or in the train. The HUMPED
CATTLE of India and East Africa belong to a race different from European
cattle, of which the parent stock is not known. They have a hump upon the
withers, drooping ears (a sign of ancient domestication), and a very large
dewlap. The coat is always exquisitely fine. They are of all sizes, from
the tall Brahminee bull to dwarf breeds not larger than a Newfoundland dog.
The commonest colours are cream, grey, mouse-colour, and white. They do not
low, but grunt, and are by no means so fond of shade and water as European
cattle.
[Illustration: _Photo by G. W. Wilson & Co., Ltd._] [_Aberdeen._
YOUNG GAUR.
The largest and handsomest of the wild oxen.]
WILD OXEN.
This group consists of the GAUR of India; the GAYAL of Assam, which is
possibly a domesticated form of the gaur, but rather smaller in size, with
skull and horns different in character; and the BANTING, a lighter and more
slender wild ox, of which different varieties are found in Burma, in Java
(where it is kept in a half-domesticated condition), and in Manipur.
THE GAUR.
The GAUR, the so-called INDIAN BISON, is probably the largest of all the
wild bovine animals. It is found at the foot of the North-eastern Himalaya,
in the Central Provinces of India, the forests of Madras and Mysore, and in
parts of Burma and the Malay Peninsula, but not in Ceylon. Its range
eastward is not accurately known. In habits the gaur is mainly a forest
animal, retiring always at daybreak into the depths of the jungle. It
sometimes attains a height of over 6 feet at the shoulder, and a length of
9 feet 6 inches from the nose to the tail. The colour of the full-grown
gaur is dark brown, turning to black; the legs from above the knees and
hocks to the hoofs are white, the hair being short and fine. Its horns are
upturned, and tipped with black, with white hair covering the junction on
the top of the skull. The cows are much smaller than the bulls, standing
about 5 feet high at the shoulder. This species feeds both on grass and on
the young shoots of trees and of bamboos. The calves are dropped in August
and September. The pure-bred animal does not appear capable of
domestication.
[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
COW GAYAL.
This animal is not at all dissimilar to the gaur. Its chief points of
difference are in the horns and in the colour of its skin.]
Hunting gaur by tracking in the jungle has long been a favourite sport of
Anglo-Indians. General Douglas Hamilton says: "I have killed bulls
measuring 6 feet at the shoulder, and the average height of the male is
from 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches. An old bull gaur is a magnificent
animal. The normal colour is a brownish black, sometimes in very old
specimens almost quite black. The white stockings reach from the hoof to
above the knee, and are very conspicuous. When on the Anamalies, I had a
grand fight with a big bull. I was out early, and came on the spoor of
bison, and soon saw two, one a very large bull. To my disgust he lay down,
and was completely covered by creepers and bushes. After a bit I attempted
to move to get a better view; but there to my left was a cow bison staring
at me. She at once gave the alarm, and I waited for the large bull to rise.
This he did so quickly, and disappeared so suddenly, that I only got a
snapshot. As I stopped to load, I saw a young calf squatting at the foot of
a tree like a hare, intently watching me. I put the rifle down, crept up
behind the tree, and suddenly threw myself on the little calf, and managed
to get hold of its hind legs, but it got from under me. I managed, however,
to tie its fore legs securely by means of some slender stems from the
creepers. All this time it continued to bellow and to make a great row, and
I fully expected to see the mother come charging down. I went back to the
bungalow, and got some men to bring my little captive home. After breakfast
I started again, and got on the track of the bison.... I saw some branches
move, and on looking carefully perceived a large bull bison; but he was
among the thick bushes, and I could not see his outline. I guessed as
nearly as possible the position of the shoulder, and fired the big rifle at
him. He gave a bound forward, and then stopped long enough for me to give
him a shot with the other barrel.... The next moment I saw the bull
standing on the high ground above us. I fired again, and hit him well
behind the shoulder. He dashed off, but only went fifty yards, and then
stopped. I walked up, thinking to finish him, when he made a fearful rush
at me. My man put the double rifle into my hands and then bolted, and I
thought it prudent to retire and await my opportunity. But he only moved a
few paces forward, and then stopped. Then began a regular siege of his
position." The result of the siege was that the bison received four more
bullets, charged and routed the hunter twice, and then walked off. It was
shot twice more, charged again, and was finally killed by General Hamilton
with his hunting-knife tied to a bamboo spear-pole.
Considering the size and tenacity of life of the gaur, it is rather
wonderful that more accidents do not occur in the pursuit of this animal;
but as it lives mainly in thick jungle, where large trees grow, the
sportsman has more chance of getting out of sight of a wounded animal than
when attacked by the Indian buffalo, which generally haunts jungles of high
grass.
[Illustration: _By permission of Herr Curt Hagenbeck_] [_Hamburg._
INDIAN HUMPED BULL.
The hump and dewlap mark the Oriental cattle. The ears are often more
drooping than in this specimen.]
THE GAYAL.
The doubt whether this animal is found in a wild state has recently been
considerably increased. It is well known in a semi-domesticated condition,
in which it is kept by the tribes in and around the Assam Valley, where the
wild gaur is also found. These herds roam during the day freely in the
jungle, and return to be fed at the villages. It has been stated that wild
gayal are enticed to join the tame herds by feeding them with balls of meal
and salt; but these "wild" specimens may be only those which have belonged
to or have descended from the domesticated herd. Gayal have been kept in
England not only in the Zoological Gardens but in some parks, and crossed
with English cattle. The offspring furnished excellent beef, but were
rather wild and intractable. The horns of the gayal are thicker and flatter
than those of the gaur, and placed lower on the skull and farther apart.
The domesticated gayal stands lower than the gaur, but is a very massive
animal.
THE BANTING.
The common wild ox of the Malay countries of Borneo, Java, Eastern Burma,
and northwards, in Manipur resembles the European oxen rather more than
does the gaur. In size the bulls sometimes reach 5 feet 9½ inches. The old
bulls are black, the younger bulls chocolate-red, and the cows a bright
reddish brown. The rump is marked with a large white patch, and all have
white stockings from above the knees and hocks down to the hoofs. The tail
is considerably longer than in the gaur, coming well below the hocks. As
might be expected from its distribution, the size of this animal and the
shape of the horns vary considerably in the different districts which it
inhabits. In Borneo the horns often curve forwards; in Java they spread
outwards. In the latter island large herds of this species are kept in a
state of domestication. When wild, banting live in small herds, and in
Burma feed from early morning until ten o'clock, when they retire into the
jungle for shelter. The Manipur race is smaller than that of Burma (of
which the males are not black), and the bulls have not the white rump.
THE YAK.
The YAK is naturally an inhabitant of the very high plateaux and mountains
of Tibet, where the climate is cold and the air excessively dry. Lower down
on the Indian side of the Himalaya a smaller race is found domesticated,
which is the only one able to stand the climate of India, or of Europe,
where it is now kept in some parks as a curiosity. The tamed yaks are
usually much smaller than the wild; these sometimes reach a weight of
between 1,100 and 1,200 lbs. In form they are long and low, very massive,
and with hair almost entirely black; this falls off along the sides into a
long sweeping fringe. The tail is thickly tasselled with fine hair, and is
employed by Indian princes for fly-flaps. The wild yak has large, massive
black horns, curved upwards and forwards in the male. In Ladak and Chinese
Tibet the yaks inhabit a desolate and barren country, in which their main
food is a dry, coarse grass, on which they nevertheless contrive to keep
themselves in condition, feeding in the mornings and evenings, and lying
down by day to rest among the rocks.
[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park_
INDIAN HUMPED CATTLE.
These are often called Zebu in Europe, but the origin of the name in
unknown.]
THE BISON.
The BISON form a marked group, differing from others of the Ox Tribe. They
possess fourteen pairs of ribs, while the oxen have only thirteen (the yak
has fourteen); and have very heavy, massive heads, broader and more convex
foreheads than the oxen, longer spinal processes on the vertebrae of the
front part of the back, and larger muscles to hold the ponderous head,
causing a hump, which in the American bison is very marked. There are two
living species of bison, one of which is found in Europe, the other in
North America.
THE EUROPEAN BISON.
This is the most interesting survival of the primitive fauna of the Old
World. It is still found wild, though protected, in a large forest in
Lithuania, the property of the Czar of Russia, called the Forest of
Bielowitza. A few are also left of the purely wild stock in the Caucasus.
Those in Lithuania have been protected for several centuries, and the herd
is numbered from time to time. In 1857 there were 1,898 of these bison
left; in 1882 there were only 600; in 1889 the herd had sunk to 380, but in
1892 it had risen to 491. The presence of the bison in the Caucasus had
been almost forgotten till Mr. Littledale and Prince Demidoff gave accounts
of hunting it there quite recently. The ZUBR, as it is called, only
survives in some very inaccessible parts of the mountains, preserved by the
Grand Duke Sergius Michaelovitch, in the Kouban district. There it exists
as a really wild animal. The dimensions of one recently shot were 10 feet
from the muzzle to the end of the last vertebra of the tail. The Grand Duke
has to obtain special permission from the Czar to shoot one whenever he
goes to the Caucasus.
This bison seems to have been an inhabitant of most of the forests of
Europe and Northern Asia; its remains show that it existed in Britain, and
it was plentiful in the Black Forest in the time of Cæsar. It is the
largest of all European quadrupeds, measuring as much as 10 feet 1 inch
from the nose to the root of the tail, and standing nearly 6 feet high at
the shoulder. Prince Demidoff states his belief that it is found on the
southern slopes of the Caucasus Range between the hills and the Black Sea.
The weight of this bison reaches 1,700 lbs. It is now rare to see more than
five or six together. Though the animal is so massive, its horns are rather
small and slender, and curve upwards. The mane--which, like the rest of the
coat, is of a uniform rich brown--is thick and curly, but not developed
like that of the American bison.
THE AMERICAN BISON.
The American bison is the western representative of the bison of Europe.
The almost complete disappearance of this species is one of the warnings
against reckless destruction of animal life. It was formerly found in
millions on the prairies, and its meat formed the staple food of the Red
Indians, who lived on the flesh and used the "robes" of those killed in
winter for great coats and bedding. When Audubon went up the Upper
Missouri, bison were in sight almost throughout the voyage; they were even
carried down on ice-flows on the river. The bulls were very large, and were
occasionally savage, especially when attacked and wounded; but usually they
were harmless animals. Every winter and spring they made migrations along
regular routes to fresh pastures. These lines of travel were then black
with bison. The females had their calves by their sides, and all travelled
in herds, feeding as they went. At the present time the only remains of the
bison are the paths they left on the prairies, and their bones and skulls.
The paths are still distinctly seen, worn by the "treks" of the great
beasts which have now perished. The bones were collected in stacks and sold
to make manure.
[Illustration: _Photo by W. P. Dando_] [_Regent's Park._
DOMESTICATED YAK.
The wild bovine animal of the Central Asian plateau, tamed and
domesticated.]
Colonel Roosevelt, in an article contributed to "The Encyclopædia of
Sport," thus describes the destruction of the bison: "Pursuit by sportsmen
had nothing to do with the extermination of the bison. It was killed by the
hide-hunters, redskin, white, and half-breed. The railways, as they were
built, hastened its destruction, for they gave means of transporting the
heavy robes to market. But it would have been killed out anyhow, even were
there no railroads in existence. Once the demand for the robes became known
to the Indians, they were certain to exterminate it. Originally the bison
ranged from the Rocky Mountains to the Alleghanies, and from Mexico to the
Peace River. But its centre of abundance was the vast extent of grass-land
stretching from the Saskatchewan to the Rio Grande. All the earlier
explorers who crossed these great plains, from Lewis and Clarke onwards,
spoke of the astonishing multitudes of the bison, which formed the sole
food of the Horse Indians. The herds were pressed steadily back, but the
slaughter did not begin till after the Civil War; then the commercial value
of the robes became fully recognised, and the transcontinental railways
rendered the herds more accessible. The slaughter was almost incredible,
for the bison were slain literally by millions every year. They were first
exterminated in Canada and the southern plains. It was not till 1883 that
the last herd was killed off from the great north-western prairies."
The height of a fine bull American bison at the shoulder is 6 feet. The
horns are short, blunt, and curved, and set farther back on the forehead
than in the European species. The hindquarters are low and weak, and the
mane develops in winter into a thick robe, covering the neck, shoulders,
and chest. An adult bull bison was found to weigh 1,727 lbs. The
woodland-bison of Athabasca, now nearly exterminated, are larger than the
prairie-bison, and have finer coats. In 1897 there were said to be between
280 and 300 head remaining in two herds.
THE BUFFALOES.
The BUFFALOES are so far distinct from other wild cattle that they will not
interbreed with them; yet one species, the INDIAN BUFFALO, has been
domesticated for a long, though unknown period, and is among the most
valuable of tame beasts of draught, as well as for dairy purposes. The
various buffaloes usually have little hair, especially when old, and have
flatter shoulders than the gaur, gayal, or bison. The pairs of ribs number
thirteen.
[Illustration: _By permission of the New York Zoological Society._
AMERICAN BULL BISON.
The American bison (locally called "buffalo") is lower behind than its
European brother; but the withers, as will be seen from the photograph, are
stronger and more massive, and its mane considerably longer.]
THE AFRICAN BUFFALO.
Great differences in size and colour exist in the AFRICAN BUFFALOES.
Whether they are separate species or not may be doubtful; but the small
yellow CONGO BUFFALO, with upturned short horns, is a vastly different
creature from the large black CAPE BUFFALO. There is also an Abyssinian or
brown race of African buffalo, and another in Senegambia smaller than the
former, and a reputed grey race near Lake Tchad. The Cape buffalo is a
heavy, thickset animal, all black in colour, with large massive horns
covering the skull, and nearly meeting in the middle line of the forehead.
In height it varies from 4 feet 10 inches to 5 feet at the shoulder. This
species ranges from South Africa to the Congo on the west, and to the
region of the Equator on the east of the continent. Firearms, and lately
rinderpest, have greatly reduced the number of these creatures. They live
and feed in herds, and, like the Indian species, are fond of the
neighbourhood of water, in which they bathe, but are not so dependent on
bathing and wallowing as the former.
Fully as formidable as the Indian buffalo, and much like it in habits, the
African species is quite distinct. It has different horns, broad at the
base and curled and tapering at the ends. Among the extreme measurements of
the Indian buffalo's horns recorded is one of 12 feet 2 inches from tip to
tip along the curve. Those of the African buffalo are seldom more than 6
feet, measured in the same way. By far the greatest number of hunting
accidents in Africa are caused by the buffalo. Sir Samuel Baker shot a
buffalo bull one evening near the White Nile. His men actually danced upon
the body, when the animal rose to its feet, and sent them flying into the
river like so many frogs. It then disappeared in the thick vegetation. On
the following day, supposing that it must have died during the night,
thirty or forty men, armed with double-barrelled guns, went to look for it.
The result was thus recorded by Sir Samuel Baker: "They had not been ashore
for many minutes when I first heard a shot and then a regular volley. My
people returned with the head of the buffalo and a large quantity of meat,
but they also carried the body of my best man, who, when leading the way
through the high reeds, following the traces of blood, actually stumbled
upon the buffalo lying in the swamp, and the light guns failed to stop its
charge. The crooked horn had caught him behind the ear, and, penetrating
completely through the neck, had torn out the throat as though it had been
cut. The savage beast had then knelt upon the body, and stamped it into the
muddy ground, until it fell beneath the fire of thirty men."
The head and body of a male Cape buffalo are 9 feet long. It is stated that
the parasite conveyed by the tsetse fly remains in the blood of the buffalo
(which is not affected by it), and that this forms a reserve whence the
fly, after sucking the blood of the buffalo, poisons other animals.
[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
EUROPEAN BISON.
These wild animals of the Caucasus are very much scarcer than formerly, and
are in danger of becoming extinct.]
THE CONGO BUFFALO.
This is a very small race, the height at the shoulder being about 3 feet 6
inches. The shape of the horns varies, but they are wrinkled at the bases
and flattened, and turn upwards, ending in thin, sharp tips. The hair is
bright reddish yellow. It is entirely a West African species. Sir Samuel
Baker records an instance in which his brother was nearly killed by a small
West African buffalo, probably one of the species in question. It is said
to be less gregarious than the Cape buffalo, and usually found in pairs.
THE INDIAN OR WATER-BUFFALO.
Very great interest attaches to this animal, if only from the fact that it
is evidently a species domesticated directly from the wild stock. It
therefore deserves consideration both as a wild and as a domesticated
animal. It is found wild in the swampy jungles at the foot of the Himalaya,
in the Ganges Delta, and in the jungles of the Central Provinces; also, it
is believed, in the jungles of West Assam. Like the African species, it is
an animal of great size and strength, with short brown hair, white
fetlocks, and immense long, narrow, flattened horns. It is almost aquatic
by preference, passing many hours of each day wallowing in the water, or
standing in any deep pool with only the tips of its nostrils and its horns
out of the water. By general consent it is the most dangerous of Indian
animals after the tiger. A buffalo bull when wounded will hunt for its
enemy by scent as persistently as a dog hunting for a rabbit. A writer in
_Country Life_ lately gave an account of a duel between himself, armed with
a small and light rifle, and a buffalo bull, in which the latter hunted him
for more than an hour, each time being driven off by a shot from the light
rifle, and each time returning to the search, until it was killed. Sir
Samuel Baker, when he first went to Ceylon, found the buffaloes practically
in possession of the meadows round a lake in the neighbourhood of his
quarters, and waged a war of extermination against the bulls, which were
very dangerous.
[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
AMERICAN BISON.
Notice the difference in the fore and hind quarters of this animal and the
European representative of the same group. (See page 216.)]
The buffaloes of Ceylon are the same as those of India, but the horns are
inferior in size. "The charge of a buffalo is a serious matter." says Sir
Samuel Baker. "Many animals charge when infuriated, but they can generally
be turned aside by the stunning blow of a rifle-shot, even if they be not
mortally wounded. But a buffalo is a devil incarnate when it has once
decided on the offensive; nothing will turn it. It must be actually stopped
by death, sudden and instantaneous, as nothing else will stop it. If not
killed, it will assuredly destroy its adversary. There is no creature in
existence so determined to stamp the life out of its opponents, and the
intensity of its fury is unsurpassed when a wounded bull rushes forward
upon its last desperate charge. Should it succeed in overthrowing its
antagonist, it will not only gore the body with its horns, but will kneel
upon the lifeless form, and stamp it with its hoofs till the mutilated
remains are beyond recognition."
[Illustration: _Photo by York & Son_] [_Notting Hill._
CAPE BUFFALO.
Notice the striking difference depicted on this page between the two
species of buffalo--the Indian and the Cape.]
[Illustration: _Photo by L. Medland, F.Z.S._] [_North Finchley._
DOMESTICATED INDIAN BUFFALO.
This animal is found as a wild and domesticated species in India. It is
valuable as a beast of draught and for the dairy.]
The true Indian buffalo is usually shot from the back of an elephant.
Hunting it on foot is dangerous in the extreme, for the buffalo can crash
through obstacles which would prevent any man from making his way through
them when escaping. When domesticated, the Indian buffalo loses most traces
of its savageness; it is habitually managed by the children, who take the
herds out to graze in the jungle, and drive them back, often riding on one
of the bulls, at night. They dislike Europeans, and often show this by
attacking them; but otherwise they are quite tame, and are docile when in
harness or carrying burdens. The buffalo's milk is very rich, and makes a
much larger percentage of butter than ordinary cow's milk. So useful is
this mud- and water-loving animal in all swampy districts, that wherever
rice is cultivated it is almost indispensable. The result is that the
Indian buffalo has been transported, probably in comparatively modern
times, to many distant quarters of the globe. When this was done is not
known; but it is probable, for instance, that it was not known in Egypt in
the days of the Pharaohs, for its form never appears in the paintings and
sculptures. Now it is seen very far up the Nile, and plays an important
part in Egyptian agriculture; it is also the general beast of burden and
for the dairy in the Pontine Marshes of Italy. In Spain it was probably
introduced by the Arabs, and is used to cultivate the marshy plains near
the mouths of the rivers of Andalusia; it is also in use in the marshes of
Hungary, in the Crimea, and across Western Asia to Afghanistan. We have
thus the curious fact that a wild animal once confined to the jungles of
the Indian Peninsula is now domesticated on two other continents. It has
not been introduced into America yet, though it would be useful in the
Mississippi swamps; but the Chinese have taken it to the Far East, and
established it as their favourite beast of burden.
THE TAMARAU AND ANOA.
[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
A PAIR OF ANOAS.
The anoa is the smallest and most antelope-like member of the Ox Tribe.]
In the island of Mindoro, in the Philippines, a small black buffalo, with
upright, slightly incurved horns, is found in the dense forests. The height
at the shoulder is about 3 feet 6 inches; a few irregular marks of white
are found on the fore legs, face, and occasionally the throat. It is called
the TAMARAU by the natives, most of whom fear to attack it. Its habits are
said to be much the same as those of the other buffaloes; but it is reputed
to fight with the Indian buffaloes which have escaped and become semi-wild
in the forests.
In Celebes a still smaller wild forest-buffalo is found, called the ANOA.
It is only 3 feet 3 inches high at the shoulder, and has upright, almost
straight horns. The general colour is brownish, tinged with yellow, that of
the adults being very dark brown or black. Scarcely anything is known of
its habits.
THE MUSK-OX.
The MUSK-OX was formerly found in immense numbers on the barren lands and
other regions bordering on the Arctic ice. The hair of this animal reaches
almost to the ground, and the horns are large and massive. At present it is
only common in the corner of North America north and east of a line drawn
from Fort Churchill, on Hudson Bay, to the mouth of the Mackenzie, and on
the adjacent islands of the Arctic Sea. In former Arctic expeditions the
flesh of the musk-oxen was a great and reliable source of food. Now some
parts of the herds seem to have retired inland, and in the winter to become
mainly forest-dwellers; but large numbers seem to endure the coldest parts
of the Arctic winter in the open country of the Far North, in the snows of
Grinnell Land and of Northern Greenland. The remains of musk-oxen have been
found in the river gravels of the Thames Valley, with those of the reindeer
and other northern species. The musk-ox gallops at a great rate of speed
when disturbed in the open, and makes as little of a steep mountain-side as
does the wild sheep. When fat, the flesh is very tolerable food; but if the
animals grow thin, the taste of musk is very unpleasant. The colour of the
coat is dark brown; it is now in great demand for sledge-rugs in Canada.
This remarkable animal appears to be a form standing apart both from the
oxen and the sheep.
[Illustration: _Photo by the Duchess of Bedford_] [_Woburn Abbey._
YOUNG BULL MUSK-OX.
The musk-ox is nearly allied to the sheep. It is about the size of Highland
cattle, and inhabits Arctic America and Northern Greenland.]
It will be seen from the above accounts of the whole wild bovine race that
they all exhibit in a high degree many of the traits which are seen in
domesticated animals of the same tribe. The chief differences made by man's
selection and breeding affect the form of the body and the development of
the udder, otherwise there is no great modification, except the production
of the drooping ear in some of the Indian species of domesticated oxen. No
wild cattle have the level, flat back and rectangular body which mark all
the best shorthorns and other breeds intended for beef. In the Asiatic and
Galla humped breeds, the races which first domesticated the original wild
species seem to have used the long processes of the vertebræ which cause
the back of many wild cattle to form a hump as the basis of a valuable
feature, the hump becoming as it were another joint of meat. The
development of the udder has for untold centuries been the object of the
breeders of cows; consequently we find that in the domesticated races this
has become abnormally large. There is at present a very general tendency to
get rid of the horns among all breeds of high quality, as these appendages
cause much loss by wounds inflicted by cattle upon each other; but even in
this respect sentiment rather tends to preserve the horns as an ornament in
some of the best milking breeds, such as the Jerseys.
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