THE ANIMAL WORLD OF BRAZIL 



Mexico, then still tropical; indeed, many species made their way 

 into the United States. But there were also migrants which followed 

 the reverse direction. Above all, the hitherto absent Ungulates 

 made their appearance in South America. Only the Tapir, the Anta, 

 was already there ; but it was probably now that the two little wild 

 swine, the Peccaries, made their first appearance (Plate 27, Figs. 16 

 and 17). In the monastery I kept a young freshly-caught peccary in 

 captivity. It was a Collared Peccary, or Catete. We opened the box 

 in which it was imprisoned in an empty bath, thinking that the 

 smooth walls would prevent it from escaping, but in a moment the 

 little animal sprang lightly out of it. The Peccary has much longer 

 legs than other wild swine; moreover, they are curiously perpen- 

 dicular, and the animal has the appearance of a creature moving on 

 springs. We thought there would now be a wild hunt, but scarcely 

 was the httle creature at liberty than he proved to be quite con- 

 tented ; he remained in our company, laid himself on his side, and 

 let himself be scratched, grunting with satisfaction. He at once ate 

 some bananas and behaved, on the whole, like a young dog. He was 

 always glad of my company, and would gaze at me with his wonder- 

 fully beautiful eyes, soft as those of a doe, which distinguish the 

 Peccary, greatly to his advantage, from his European relations. 

 Only when anyone attempted to Uft him up did he scream, and 

 gnash his teeth in a threatening manner. Obviously he had no desire 

 to be put into a dark box again. 



Among the immigrants from the North whose remains are first 

 found in the most recent geological strata are the deer (Gervidae) 

 of all kinds and sizes which people the campos and forests of Brazil, 

 including the little roebuck or Veado. The horse, too, of which great 

 herds roamed the prairies of North America, made its way into the 

 southern continent at an early period. It died out, however, before 

 the coming of the Europeans ; a scientific problem as yet unsolved, 

 since the conditions of life remained unchanged and the horses 

 introduced by the Spaniards profited by them to run wild and 

 multiply exceedingly. 



The Ungulates were followed by their enemies, the Garnivora; 

 the two great cats, the Jaguar and the Puma, invaded South America. 

 The Jaguar or Painted Ounce (Onga pintada) has become cautious, 

 as a result of persecution by hunters and trappers. It is a magnificent 

 animal, not much smaller than a tiger, and in any case larger than 

 its cousin the Leopard, a bolder animal, which I often encountered 

 in Ceylon. Like the Leopard, the Jaguar appears to have a liking 



M 177 



