SOME HOOFED ANIMALS 



103 



Fig. 85.— The African Rhinoceros. 



birds and others perched upon their backs, and these, 

 uttering the first alarm, often save the lives of the huge 

 beasts, as the eyesight of the rhinoceros is very poor, 

 though its scent is keen. The birds see the enemy and by 

 loud cries alarm their host, which goes plunging through 

 the brush, some- 

 times in the 

 wrong direction. 

 The tapirs 

 (Fig. S6) are 

 large and inter- 

 esting animals 

 from Sonth 

 America and the 

 Malay Peninsula. They have a short, fleshy, proboscis- 

 like nose. Their skin is nearly hairless, and a fleshy, hairy 

 crest gives them a ferocious appearance which is not 

 borne out by their methods, as they are very mild and 



Fig. 



The Tapir. 



