MAMMALS 



217 



alight upon their horns when jumping down precipices. 

 They post sentinels and are very wary. There is also a 

 native goat, a white species, living high on the Rocky 

 Mountains near the snow. They are rather stupid ani- 

 mals. The bison once roamed in herds of countless thou- 

 sands, but, with the exception of a few protected in parks, 

 it is now extinct. Its shaggy hide was useful to man in 

 winter, so it has been well-nigh destroyed. For gain man 

 is led to exterminate elephants, seals, rodents, armadillos, 

 whales, birds, deer, mussels, lobsters, forests, etc. 



FIG. 393. PECCARY (Dicotyles torquatus) of Texas and Mexico. X A- 



Our only native hog is the peccary, found in Texas (Fig. 

 393). In contrast with the heavy domestic hog, it is 

 slender and active. It is fearless, and its great tusks are 

 dangerous weapons. The swine are the only ungulates 

 that are not strictly vegetable feeders. The habit of fat- 

 tening in summer was useful to wild hogs, since snow hid 

 most of their food in winter. The habit has been pre- 

 served under domestication. Are the small toes of the 

 hog useless? Are the "dew claws" of cattle useless? 

 Will they probably become larger or smaller ? Order ? 



