THE EVEN-TOED UNGULATES 355 



the form of bristles, being long enough to form a kind of mane 

 which the boar erects when enraged. Although by choice herbi- 

 vorous, feeding on plants, roots, and fruits, the Wild Boar will also 

 devour snakes and lizards, nothing appearing to come amiss to its 

 voracious appetite. Four toes are present on each of the fore- 

 legs, the two larger ones being in the middle, and the smaller out- 

 side and not reaching the ground. If we were to take away these 

 outer and nearly functionless toes, then the Hog's foot would 

 resemble that of the oxen, deer, and antelopes ; for the Hogs are 

 of an ancient race, and these toes are one of the anatomical facts 

 that prove their lineage. 



Most grotesquely hideous of the Pig tribe is the Wart Hog 

 (Pracochcerus africanus and athiopicus), which has gained its 

 popular name from the various excrescences upon its face, and 

 the wart -like structures on its forelegs. A pair of great protuberances 

 just below but close to the eyes look almost like blunt, stumpy, 

 flesh-covered horns. The tusks are long, curved, and powerful. 

 It is stated that the Wart Hogs, which are confined to Africa, 

 herd together more or less, and live in the deserted burrows made 

 by the African ant-eater or aard-vark ; though whether the 

 Wart Hog first evicts the rightful tenant of the mound does not 

 appear to have been ascertained. A very large number of so- 

 called species of the Hog have been described, yet the differences 

 in most cases appear to be so few and unimportant as hardly to 

 warrant the distinction of "species," and "varieties" would be a 

 truer term. Dr. Forsyth Major considers that the number should 

 be reduced to four if not to fewer species. 



The Peccaries are confined to the New World, and are the 

 representatives of the Hog family in those regions. Though small 

 being about three feet long and about fifty or sixty pounds in 

 weight they are formidable animals, for they know no fear and 

 will attack anything which comes in their way, inflicting serious 

 wounds with their short and very sharp tusks, which are con- 

 cealed within their lips. They live in herds, and are nocturnal in 

 their habits. They differ from the Pigs of the Old World in several 

 important characters ; the hind-feet have only three toes, the 

 stomach is more complex in form, and the number of teeth in 

 the jaws is reduced, as is also their shape, the grinders presenting 

 transverse ridges. Two species are known, the Common Tajuca, 



