298 THE BOOK OF THE ANIMAL KINGDOM 



bones, forming an elevation at the bottom of the neck and mane. In 

 colour the Malayan Tapir is black or dark-brown on the head and 

 front part of the body, as well as on the limbs, but on the rest it is 

 greyish-white. The young, however, differ from their parents until 

 some few months old, as they are brownish or black, spotted and 

 streaked with brownish-yellow on the sides of the body and white 

 on the under parts. 



As might be assumed, the Tapir now being dealt with resides in 

 the Malay Peninsula, its range extending "northwards to Tenasserim, 

 and it also occurs in the Island of Sumatra, and perhaps in 

 Borneo." 



WALRUS. The Walrus (Fig. 236) has already been referred to 

 in Chapters III and XIV, and it is not necessary to do more than 

 draw attention here to the photograph of this animal, which, rare 

 and unfamiliar as it is, is deserving of inclusion in this section. It 

 is an uncommon animal in captivity, and the pair which the Zoo 

 authorities had at Regent's Park (of which the photograph shows 

 one) came to an untimely end, one of the animals being drowned 

 through getting under some tarpaulin which was placed in the water, 

 and the remaining one dying of pneumonia, which it is suggested 

 may have been brought on by the bad fogs that are so characteristic 

 of London in the fall of the year. 



VISCACHA. This brings us to the Viscacha (Fig. 237), and takes 

 us back again to the Argentine Republic, in which country we have 

 already made the acquaintance of quite a number of interesting 

 mammals aptly entitled to inclusion in this book. One would hardly 

 imagine that this curious-looking beast is a near relative of the 

 Chinchilla (see Fig. 211), but such is the case, as the Viscacha 

 belongs to the same family. 



This animal resides on the wide areas of the open pampas, 

 whereas its near relatives, the Chinchillas, inhabit the higher Andes. 

 It is a burrowing species, has a long, bushy tail, a stoutly built body 

 nearly two feet in length excluding the tail, and in general appear- 

 ance is quite different from the pleasing form of the Chinchilla. In 

 colour the Viscacha is grey, mottled with dusky and black; the 

 under parts, however, are white or yellowish-white, whilst there is a 

 band of blackish across each cheek surmounted by a broad stripe 

 of white. 



On the open plains of the pampas this South American rodent 

 forms its burrows, and, being a special species, numbers of them 



