GNU. FAMILY BOVID^E, OR OX TRIBE. 301 



were not for the difference in colour. Its usual size is about 

 that of a well-grown Ass; its height exceeding four *eet. It is 

 a native of the wild karroos and hilly districts of SouV^em Africa; 

 roaming mostly in large herds, which migrate according to the 

 season. These are not to be approached without difficulty ; for 

 they either take alarm, and retreat with great swiftness, follow- 

 ing a leader in single file ; or, if they are wounded, they turn 

 upon the assailant, charging with great fury, and using their 

 horns in a very dangerous manner. It is not tamed by confine- 

 ment ; but when taken young, it may be domesticated with 

 the cattle of a farm, with which it associates Harmlessly. 



269. The animals of the family BOVID.E, or Ox tribe, are 

 distinguished from those of the Antelope and Goat tribes, by the 

 bulkiness of their forms and their great strength ; and also by 

 the uniform presence of horns in both sexes, these being com- 

 monly possessed by the males only, in the other tribes. The 

 direction of the horns, which is in the first instance lateral, then 

 inclining upwards or forwards, is another character of distinction. 

 All of the Ox group are gregarious in their habits; and no 

 quarter of the globe is destitute of some free native species. Of 

 the domesticated Ox, as of other animals brought completely 

 under the subjection of Man in early times, the origin is obscure. 

 The only existing wild race with which it can be reasonably 

 considered identical, is one of which a herd is preserved in Chil- 

 lingham Park, and another at Craven. It may be doubted, 

 however, whether these herds are really the remains of an original 

 wild race ; or whether, like the wild horses of South America, 

 they are not the descendants of individuals, which have once 

 been in subjection, and which have since returned in part to toeir 

 original condition. The latter appears most probable ; since the 

 skeleton of these cattle bears a much closer resemblance to that 

 of the domesticated Ox, than it does to that of any wild species 

 either at present existing, or known by its remains' to have 

 existed in past times. It is well known that several breeds or 

 races of the Domestic Ox exist, differing very widely from each 

 other, not only in stature, but also in the proportions of the 

 several parts of the body. None of those known in Europe^ 



