Mr. R. Temple on the " JVarree" Peccary. 141 



Mr. F. H. Wilson exhibited four examples of a curiously-coloured 

 variety of the Common Mole (Talpa europcea), and read the follow- 

 ing note on them : — 



" Nine of these Albinos were caught in the same meadow within 

 a few days, on Mr. Gibbon's farm, Beckenham, Kent. The Mole 

 in general has four or five young ones at a birth. It is possible that 

 all these were the offspring of the same parent, but I should think 

 they must have bred amongst themselves. They were caught 

 February 20th, I860." 



Mr. Sclater announced the arrival of some interesting animals from 

 British Honduras, presented by R. Temple, Esq., Chief Justice of 

 the Colony, to the Society's Menagerie. These consisted of a pair 

 of Guans (Penelope purpurascens), a pair of Curassows (Crax glo- 

 bicera), a Collared Peccary (Bicotyles torquatus), and specimens of 

 a singular breed of the Domestic Fowl, remarkable for its bones 

 being black. 



Mr. Sclater observed that the following letter received from Mr. 

 Temple seemed to indicate the presence in British Honduras of a 

 second species of Peccary, called the ' Warree,' about which more in- 

 formation would be very desirable : — 



" 16 St. James' Square, 



Notting Hill, April 20th, 1860. 



M Sir, — The Warree, about which you wish me to give you some 

 information, differs in some respects from the Peccary. The latter, 

 as I said before, is never seen, except in couples ; the former inva- 

 riably appears in large flocks. The head of the Peccary is very 

 large and clumsy in proportion to the body. That of the Warree is 

 less disproportionate. The coat or skin of the Peccary is covered 

 with long hairs, which are darkish at the roots, and lighter-coloured 

 at the tips. The colour of the Warree is a dirty black, and the hair 

 is long and tangled. The legs of the Peccary are shorter than those 

 of the Warree. Both have the same orifice on the back, from which 

 exudes a liquid having a very offensive odour. When either of these 

 animals is shot for the purpose of being eaten (and they are excellent 

 food), the orifice on the back must be instantly cut out, or the whole 

 of the flesh will become so much tainted, that, so far from being able 

 to eat it, you cannot tolerate its vicinity. But if the excisional knife 

 has been applied in time, the flesh is sweet, white, short, and tender. 

 The Warree is a far more ferocious animal than the Peccary ; but 

 his courage perhaps may arise from a principle not quite a stranger 

 to the human breast — a consciousness of being well supported ; for, 

 as I have said, they are always seen in multitudes. If you meet a 

 flock of Warrees in the bush, and you take no notice of them, it is 

 probable that they will take no notice of you. But if your intentions 

 are hostile, and your design is to transfer one of them from his native 

 wilderness to your kitchen, you must take care to place yourself in a 

 safe position before you carry your design into execution. A gen- 

 tleman, not long since, shot a Warree without having taken the ne- 

 cessary precautions ; the remainder of the flock instantly pursued 



