172 UNGULATES. 



In Northern India many of the breeds of domestic cattle appear 

 Indian Cattle. . l r 



to be a cross between the ordinary European cattle and the humped 



Indian cattle, showing the general shape of the former but the white rings on the 

 fetlocks characteristic of the latter. In Africa there are several kinds of humpless 

 cattle, among which the Namaqualand breed most nearly resembles ordinary 

 European cattle. On the other hand, the Damara breed is distinguished by the 

 large size of the bones, the small feet, slender legs, the long tuft of bushy hair at 

 the end of the tail, and the extraordinary length of the horns. The horns are, 

 however, even still larger in the cattle of Bechuanaland, Mr. Darwin mentioning 

 a skull in which the span of the horns is 8 feet 8 inches in a straight line, 

 while the measurement from tip to tip along the curve is upwards of 13 feet 

 5 inches. 

 America and In certain parts of America, the Falkland Islands, Australia, New 



Australia. Zealand, and other countries, the cattle introduced from Europe have 

 run wild, and form vast herds. Those found in Texas and on the Argentine 

 pampas have become of a nearly uniform dark brownish red colour ; while in the 

 Ladrone or Mariana Islands, in the Pacific Ocean, all the wild cattle are white 

 with black ears. When Lord Anson visited the Ladrones in the year 1742, the 

 number of these cattle was estimated at upwards of ten thousand. In the Falkland 

 Islands it is stated by Admiral Sullivan that those in the southern districts are 

 white, with the feet, ears, or the entire head black ; but in other parts they were 

 either brown or mouse-coloured. The wild cattle of New Zealand, according to 

 Herr von Lendenfeld, are white spotted with brown. In Australia the herds are of 

 great extent, and are difficult to approach within shooting distance, on account of 

 the wariness of the animals. In Argentina the cattle are very wild, but take little 

 notice of a mounted man. If, however, as is seldom the case in a country where 

 everybody rides, they are approached by a person on foot, they gallop around him 

 in circles, with threatening gestures, looking every moment as if about to make 

 a charge, although it does not appear that they ever do so. In company with 

 two ladies, the writer has often wandered among such herds, without any harm, 

 except some alarm on the part of one of his companions. In Colombia wild 

 cattle are found not only on the plains, but likewise high up in the Cordilleras, 

 and herds of considerable size have been met with in the highlands of Central 

 Asia. Here may be mentioned the curious monstrous cattle found in Argentina 

 and known as niatas or natas. This breed, which has existed for more than a 

 century, bears the same relation to other races as is presented by pug-dogs to 

 ordinary dogs. According to Mr. Darwin, " the forehead is very short and broad, 

 with the nasal end of the skull, together with the whole plane of the upper molar 

 teeth, curved upwards. The lower jaw projects beyond the upper, and has a cor- 

 responding upward curvature. The upper lip is much drawn back, the nostrils are 

 seated high up and are widely open, the eyes project outwards, and the horns are 

 large. The neck is short, and in walking the head is carried low. The hind-legs 

 appear to be longer, compared with the front-legs, than is usual. The exposed 

 incisor teeth, the short head and upturned nostrils, give these cattle the most 

 ludicrous, self-confident air of defiance." Niatas appear to be very rare ; but the 

 writer had the good fortune to see a pair of them kept in the grounds of the 



