270 PROCEEDINGS OP THE 



shy and timid creatures, but when attacked or menaced by an 

 enemy exhibit a courage not to be despised, and often their two 

 great enemies, man and the jaguar, have good reason to remember 

 their dental arrangements. They are remarkable as being the only 

 representatives of the porcine group indigenous to America, the 

 number of hogs which here and there wander in a wild state 

 having been, like the horse, introduced in early times by man. In 

 general appearance the Collared Peccary resembles the common pig, 

 but differs in its dentition and some other points of structure. 



The species of which this is an example was included by 

 Linnaeus in his genus Sus, from which it was separated by Cuvier, 

 who included it in his genus Dicoti/les, which the late Dr. Gray 

 restricted to the allied species D. labiatus, the White-lipped 

 Peccary. The Collared Peccary is the smaller of the two, being 

 about three feet in length, and has a strip of yellowish white 

 passing down each shoulder and meeting on the throat, its general 

 colour being a grizzly black, the hairs being alternately ringed 

 with grey, yellowish, and black. The tail is very short — in fact, 

 a mere tubercle. Above the loins there is a glandular apparatus, 

 which contains a secretion of a disgusting odour. Its flesh is said 

 to be good, and is eaten by the natives, who hunt it with dogs. 

 In its habits it resembles the hog, and is sometimes domesticated, 

 but, unlike its congener, does not breed so readily in confinement. 

 It has been bred in the Zoological Gardens in London, and a 

 hybrid between the species and a male D. labiatus was born in 

 the Gardens in 1864. 



The individual now exhibited — a female — was brought alive to 

 this country, and after its death was presented to the Kelvingrove 

 Museum. In a letter, which I received a few days ago, its former 

 owner says, " When it left Surinam it had its mate shipped with 

 it, but, unfortunately, the male died on the voyage. When it 

 came here in the month of May last it was rather low in condi- 

 tion, but soon picked up. It was very tame, and fond of being- 

 caressed or scratched, followed those that looked after it ; but it 

 was not often allowed to walk about in the yard, as it sometimes 

 attacked the fowls, and sometimes succeeded, which made the 

 dairy- woman declare ' it had a blood-thirsty nature.' After it had 

 been a month with me, I had a Berkshire young boar placed 

 beside it, but it never got in season, although in general they 

 seemed very friendly. At first it ate the food before allowing the 



