428 



THE ODD-TOED ANIMALS. 



selves in a thick crust of mud. Before even going 

 in search of food, the animals hurry to the soft 

 banks of lakes, pools and rivers, dig a hole in the 

 marshy soil and wallow and turn about in it, until 

 their backs, shoulders, sides and abdomen are covered 

 with mud. This wallowing in the mire is so grate- 

 ful to them that they utter loud grunts of satisfac- 

 tion and may even be entranced and occupied by 

 the comfortable bath to such an extent as to forget 

 their usual wariness. 



The Rhinoceroses are more active by night than 

 by day. Great heat is distressful to them; for this 

 reason they sleep through the warmer part of the 

 day in some shady place, lying recumbent, half on 

 the side, half on the abdomen, the head stretched 

 out upon the ground between their forelegs, or rest- 

 ing on those members, or sometimes they lazily 

 stand in some quiet place in the wood, where the 

 thick foliage of the larger trees protects them from 

 the burning rays of the sun. All observers agree 

 that the sleep of these animals is very deep. Fre- 

 quently one may approach sleeping Rhinoceroses 

 without special caution, for they lie apparently as 

 lifeless as blocks of stone. Generally one hears the 

 resounding snore of a sleeping Rhinoceros at quite a 

 distance and has his attention attracted even if he fail 

 to see the creature. It sometimes happens, however, 

 that a Rhinoceros breathes quietly when asleep, and 

 that one suddenly confronts one of these monsters 

 without having had a suspicion of its proximity. 

 Feeding Grounds At the approach of night, and in 



and Food of the many localities as early as the after- 

 Rhinoceros. noon, the unwieldy creature rises, 

 takes a mud-bath, luxuriously stretching its limbs in 

 it and then goes forth to forage. It feeds in dense 

 forests, hardly accessible to other animals, as well 

 as in the open country; in the water and pens and 

 thickets of the swamps, no less than in high dry 

 lands of the mountains and valleys. In the jungles 

 of India the traveler frequently observes long and 

 perfectly straight roads made by Rhinoceroses, all 

 vegetation along the way being crushed aside, and 

 the soil being trampled compactly and much worn. 

 In the center of Africa similar paths may be seen. 



In regard to its food, the Rhinoceros occupies 

 about the same relation to the Elephant as the Ass 

 to the Horse. It browses on branches and dry, hard 

 shrubbery of all kinds, eats thistles, broom-grass, 

 underbrush, reeds, prairie-grass and so on, without, 

 however, being averse to more succulent food. In 

 Africa the main sustenance of some individuals con- 

 sists of branches, especially those of the widely 

 plentiful thorny mimosas; others confine themselves 

 principally to a diet of tuft-grass. Occasionally the 

 animals commit considerable depredations in the 

 cultivated fields of the districts in which agriculture 

 flourishes. They trample down and destroy a great 

 deal more in plantations than they eat. The food is 

 gathered with the wide mouth or seized and broken 

 with the prehensile extension of the upper lip, which 

 fulfills the functions of a hand-like appendage, when 

 the animal eats. The Indian Rhinoceros can extend 

 the trunk-like projection of the upper lip to the 

 extent of about six inches, and seize a thick tuft of 

 grass with it, pull it up and convey it to the mouth. 

 Whether the grass is clean or whether some earth 

 adheres to the roots, seems to be a matter of indif- 

 ference. It is true that the animal beats a pulled-up 

 bush against the ground once, in order to shake off 

 the bulk of the earthy matter adhering to the roots, 

 but after that one effort it conveys the plant into its 



huge mouth with the utmost complacence, and swal- 

 lows it without evincing any discomfort or making 

 any obvious effort. It is also partial to roots; these 

 it is able to obtain with great skill and ease. When 

 in a playful humor, it amuses itself by digging a 

 small tree or shrub out of the ground, for pure pas- 

 time, sweeping its powerful horn about under the 

 roots, until it can finally seize the bush and lift it up; 

 then the roots are broken off by successive blows 

 and consumed. 



Mental Character- The character of the Rhinoceros is 

 istics of Rhi- not very attractive. Its entire time 

 noceroses. j s passed in eating and sleeping, and 

 it seems to be unaware of the existence of the rest 

 of the world. Unlike the Elephant, the Rhinoc- 

 eroses do not live in herds, but usually singly or at 

 the utmost in small bands numbering from four to 

 ten. There is little connection between the members 

 of such a herd; as a rule each lives for itself and acts 

 as it likes. Yet it cannot be truthfully affirmed that 

 one regards the other with dull indifference; for, 

 leaving a mother and her young out of considera- 

 tion, friendly, and even affectionate relations often 

 exist between the two sexes, which may be of a very 

 tender and lasting character, sometimes ending only 

 with death. Their mental faculties appear as slug- 

 gish as their bodies, but in reality neither are so. A 

 Rhinoceros generally strides along with a ponderous 

 and somewhat clumsy gait, and when it lies down 

 and wallows, it seemingly does so as awkwardly as 

 possible; but these movements appear more clumsy 

 than they really are. The Rhinoceros does not pace 

 or amble like the Elephant, but strikes out with the 

 opposite fore and hind legs simultaneously, after the 

 manner of a trotting Horse. Every Rhinoceros in- 

 dulges in swimming, but generally remains on the 

 surface of the water, and does not dive unless it is 

 absolutely necessary. 



Senses and Mental Among the perceptive senses of the 

 Attributes of Rhi- Rhinoceros, that of hearing ranks 

 noceroses. f] rs t; sm ell comes next and then 

 touch. Sight is very weak. The sense of hearing 

 must be extremely acute, for the animal is cogni- 

 zant of very slight sounds proceeding from a great 

 distance. The presence of the sensation of taste 

 can not be denied; at least I observed that sugar 

 was an article considered highly desirable by tame 

 specimens, and consumed by them with special de- 

 light. The vocal utterance of the Rhinoceros con- 

 sists of a dull growl, changing into a ferocious snort- 

 ing and panting in anger. In a state of natural 

 freedom these snorts may be frequently heard; for 

 the rage of a Rhinoceros is easily excited and its 

 habitual indifference toward everything that does 

 not come under the classification of food, may very 

 soon turn to the direst anger. It is then absolutely 

 reckless of the number or strength of its enemies, 

 and blindly rushes straight at the object of its wrath. 

 The frenzied animal seems to care very little whether 

 a troop of armed Men oppose it, or whether the ob- 

 ject of its ire is perfectly inoffensive and insignifi- 

 cant. Red objects are said to irritate it, as they do 

 a Bull; at least it has been known to attack people 

 attired in bright colors, who had done nothing to 

 provoke it. Fortunately escape from a Rhinoceros 

 rushing on in blind rage is not difficult. An experi- 

 enced hunter allows it to approach to within ten or 

 fifteen paces distance and then suddenly jumps aside- 

 out of its pathway; the frenzied beast rushes past 

 him, unable to turn until it has gone too far to scent 

 its foe any longer, and continues its mad chase at 



