342 



Creating of Batumi $?tst0rj) ; 



and colour it greatly resembles the rabbits : 

 it is of a thick form, with short limbs, the 

 hinder being the longest, and it is destitute 

 of a tail. The head is rather small ; the 

 ears short and rounded ; the eyes large and 

 black ; the fore feet have each four soft 

 pulpy toes, with flattish, rounded nails ; the 

 hiiid feet have only three, the inner one of 



which is furnished with a sharp crooked claw. 

 Both this and the Syrian Hyrax live in 

 families, and take up their abode in caves 

 or crevices in the sides of rocks. They sub- 

 sist on grain, fruit, roots, the young shoots 

 of shrubs, herbs, and grass: they are easily 

 tamed, and are lively, active, docile, and 

 cleanly when domesticated. Although the 

 external appearance and the habits of the 

 Hyrax appear to point it out as being a 

 rodent quadruped, Cuvier says that its os- 

 teological structure shows it to belong to the 

 Pachydermata, and that, notwithstanding 

 the smallness of its proportions, it must be 

 regarded as intermediate between the Rhi- 

 noceros and the Tapir. The Syrian species 

 is doubtless " the Coney " of the Scriptures. 

 HYSTRIX. [See PORCUPINE.] 



IBEX. A quadruped of the Goat kind, 

 several distinct species of which are said to 

 exist among the mountain ranges of Europe, 

 Asia, and Africa, most of them resembling 



each other in structure and habits. Those 

 best known are the IBEX CAPKA, and the 



IBEX ^EGAGRUS, or Caucasian Ibex : they 

 are each much larger and stronger than the 

 common domestic Goat ; and to the one or 

 the other of these, that animal is believed to 

 owe its origin. The Ibex Capra inhabits the 

 Carpathian and Pyrenean mountains, va- 

 rious parts of the Alps, &c. Its colour is 

 a deep hoary brown ; the under parts of the 

 body andinsidesof the limbs being of a much 

 paler or whitish hue : its body is thick, short, 

 and strong ; it has a small head ; large eyes ; 

 strong legs ; very short hoofs ; and a short 

 tail. The horns, which are extremely large 

 and long, and of a deep brown colour, are 

 marked on the upper surface with protu- 

 berant transverse knots or half circles : the 

 hair is harsh ; and the male is furnished 

 with a beard. The female is smaller than 

 the male, with smaller horns in proportion, 

 much less boldly knotted. These animals 

 usually resort to the most precipitous heights 

 of lofty mountains, where they assemble in 

 small flocks, sometimes consisting of ten or 

 fifteen individuals. They are remarkably 

 swift, and display amazing agility and dex- 

 terity in leaping. They are objects of the 

 chase, but the danger attendant on the pur- 

 suit of them is great indeed ; for not only 

 are strencth, address, and activity necessary 

 to the hunter when following the Ibex from 

 one precipice to another, or in tracking him 

 among difficult passes; but, when close 

 pressed, he will sometimes turn on his pur- 

 suer with impetuous rapidity, and hurl him 

 down the most frightful declivity. The fore 

 legs being considerably shorter than the 

 hinder, enables these animals to ascend with 

 more facility than to descend, and hence, 

 when pursued, they always attempt to gain 

 the summits of the mountains. The season 

 for hunting them is during August and Sep- 

 tember, when they are usually in good con- 

 dition. The voice of the Ibex is a sharp, 

 short whistle, not unlike that of the chamois, 

 but of shorter duration ; sometimes, and 

 especially when irritated, they make a snort- 

 ing noise. The female has seldom more 

 than one young one at a time ; to this she 

 pays great attention, defending it with 

 courage and obstinacy. 



The CAUCASIAN IBEX (Ibex jEgagrus) is 

 considerably larger than the Common Goat, 

 and in form bears considerable resemblance 

 to the animals of the cervine genus. It in- 

 habits the loftiest rocky points about Mount 

 Caucasus. Its general colour is a brownish- 

 gray above, and white beneath: the forehead 

 is nearly black: and a black stripe is con- 

 tinued down the back ; the horns, which are 

 very large, and bend far backwards, are 

 smooth, black, sharply ridged near the top, 

 and hollowed on their exterior side, but have 

 no appearance of either knots or rings ; they 

 are about three feet long, close at the base, 

 about a foot apart in the middle, and eight 

 or nine inches at the tips. The male has a 

 large brownish beard: the female has neither 

 horns nor beard. 



One of the handsomest of these animals is 

 the JEMLAII IBEX, an inhabitant of the 

 Himalaya Mountains. Its head is finely 

 formed, full of beauty and expression: it has 



