304 MAMMALIA — RHINOCEROS. 



tail ; six or seven feet in height ; and the circumference of his body is very 

 nearly equal to his length ; he is therefore like the elephant in bulk ; and if 

 he appears much smaller, it is because his legs are much shorter in propor- 

 tion to those of the elephant ; but he differs widely from that sagacious 

 animal, in his natural faculties, and his intelligence ; having received from 

 nature merely what she grants in common to all animals, deprived of all 

 feeling in the skin, having no organ answering the purpose of hands, nor 

 distinct for the sense of feeling, he has nothing instead of a trunk, but a 

 moveable upper lip, in which centres all his dexterity. He is superior to 

 other animals only in strength, size, and the offensive weapon which he 

 carries upon his nose, and which is peculiar to him. This weapon is a very 

 hard horn, solid throughout, and placed more advantageously than the horns 

 of ruminating animals ; these only protect the superior parts of the head 

 and neck, whilst the horn of the rhinoceros defends all the exterior parts of 

 the snout, and preserves the muzzle, the mouth, and the face from insult ; 

 so that the tiger attacks more readily the elephant, in seizing his trunk, than 

 the rhinoceros, which he cannot attack in front, without running the danger 

 of being killed ; for the body and limbs are covered with an impenetrable 

 skin ; and this animal fears neither the claws of the tiger nor the lion, nor 

 even the fire and weapons of the huntsman ; his skin is a dark leather, of 

 the same color, but thicker and harder than that of the elephant ; he does 

 not feel the sting of flies ; he cannot contract his skin ; it is only folded by 

 large wrinkles on the neck, the shoulders, and the buttocks, to facilitate the 

 motions of the legs, which are massive, and terminate in large feet, armed 

 with three great claws. The skin of the two horned rhinoceros is much 

 more easily penetrable than that of the single horned. It not only ap- 

 pears that the skin is thinner than that of the one horned rhinoceros, but it 

 seems that it has not the same folds. Mr Burchell says that there are two 

 distinct species of the two horned rhinoceros in South Africa. He has the 

 head larger in proportion than the elephant ; but the eye still smaller, which 

 he never opens entirely, and they are so situated that the animal can see 

 only what is in a direct line before him. The upper jaw projects above the 

 lower ; and the upper lip has a motion, and may be lengthened six or seven 

 inches ; it is terminated by a sharp edge, which enables this animal, with 

 more facility than other quadrupeds, to gather branches and grass, and 

 divide them into handfuls, as the elephant does with his trunk. This 

 muscular and flexible lip is a sort of trunk very incomplete, but which is 

 equally calculated for strength and dexterity. Instead of those long ivory 

 teeth which form the tusks of the elephant, the rhinoceros has his powerful 

 horn, and two strong incisive teeth in each jaw. These incisive teeth, 

 which the elephant has not, are placed at a great distance from each other 

 in the jaws of the rhinoceros. He has, besides these, twenty-four smaller 

 teeth, six on each side of each jaw. His ears are always erect ; they are, 

 for the form, like those of a hog, only they are larger in proportion to hi.? 



