THE ZUBR. 523 



herds of from ten to forty head. They are extremely shy, and 

 avoid the approach of man : but when accidentally and suddenly 

 surprised, they will assail the intruder with great ferocity. In 

 these passionate movements the animal lashes its sides with 

 its tail, protrudes its tongue repeatedly, and its eyes, then 

 reddened and sparkling, project from their sockets, and roll 

 furiously. Occasionally some individuals, particularly such old 

 bulls as walk alone, having left the herd either of their accord 

 or by expulsion, become uncommonly daring and fearless of 

 man. Jarocki relates that one of these retired veterans used 

 to station himself on the high road, and, undaunted by the 

 cracking of whips, would rush at the passing carriages and 

 sledges, and put the horses to flight. The danger of such a 

 practical joke may be imagined from Dr. Weissenborn's state- 

 ment, that so enormous is the strength of one of these old 

 fellows, that he can knock down trees of five or six inches 

 in diameter, as if they were merely ninepins. Zubrs are not 

 afraid of either wolves or bears, and they assail their enemies 

 with their horns and hoofs. An old zubr is a match for four 

 wolves j but larger packs of them sometimes hunt down even 

 old bulls, when alone. A herd of zubrs, however, has nothing 

 to fear from any rapacious animal. 



The zubr runs very swiftly 5 but not having much endurance 

 it seldom runs more than one or two English miles. When 

 galloping, the hoofs are raised higher than the head, which is 

 carried very low. It is very fond of bathing, and swims with 

 great agility. 



Its voice is a shorl^grunt, and when uttered by a whole herd, 

 it sounds, to a person near them, like the distant straggling fire 

 of musketry j but at a greater distance it resembles the sound 

 produced by the wings of a passing flight of birds. 



They feed on the bark of trees, preferring such as have a 

 bitter taste, as willows, poplars, horse-chesnut ; and the hard- 

 ness of this kind of fare often causes the incisor teeth, in old 

 zubrs, to be worn away down to the gums. They also feed on 

 the lichens which grow on trees. Of herbaceous plants, they 



