MAMMALIA 407 



sembles our American bison or buffalo, but is considerably taller. 

 It is a forest lover. Belated efforts have saved a few wisents in the 

 Caucasus Mts. The American bison, or " buffalo,'' is not a true 

 buffalo since it has a hump. It was first seen by white men in 

 Anahuac, the Aztec capital of Mexico, in 1521. The "buffalo" 

 once roamed over the plains of the West and migrated from North 

 to South, thirty-six hundred miles, extending up the Western slope 

 to the Canadian home of the musk-ox. From East to West it 

 ranged about two thousand miles. The American Bison Society 

 has prevented the complete extinction of the buffalo and there are 

 now a number of flourishing herds. 



Yaks are used in Thibet as beasts of burden, while their milk and 

 flesh are excellent food. Their skins furnish clothing, harness and 

 tent covers and their hair is twisted into ropes. Their dung is the 

 only fuel available to the Thibetans, when snow hems them in. 



The Indian zebu has a fleshy hump above the shoulders, a devel- 

 opment of loose skin on the underside of the neck, a short, steep rump 

 and quite long legs. Different breeds are found in Asia and Africa. 

 " Brahman " cattle were introduced into the United States in 

 considerable numbers in 1906, when A. P. Borden imported fifty-one 

 head from India to Texas. In Texas, as well as in Brazil, pure bred 

 zebus and hybrids are valued highly since both are free from ticks 

 and cattle-fever, and remarkably resistant to drouth and heat. 



Certain cattle called Podolian are found in Southwestern Russia 

 (Podolsk) and in Hungary and are said to be descended from the 

 Giant Ox, Bos taurus primigenius. Mature cows reach a height of 

 nearly five feet and a weight of twelve hundred pounds, while bulls 

 are even taller and weigh eighteen hundred pounds. Podolian 

 cattle are not valued for milk production, but as draft animals. 

 They are quite resistant to disease. 



The True Buffaloes. — The Cape buffalo ( Bos caffer) has thirteen 

 pairs of ribs like the ox family. The hair of the back is directed 

 backwards. The African buffalo lives in reedy swamps. Explorers 

 fear the water-buffalo more than all other African game. The 

 Asiatic buffalo has the hair directed forwards on the anterior portion 

 of the back. The Indian buffalo is of large size with widely separated 

 horns. It is stronger than the tiger and able to combat the ele- 

 phant. All buffaloes are fond of water and cover themselves with 

 mud to keep off the gad-flies. 



