RHINOCEROS SONDAICUS. 



already stated, were nine feet in length, and four feet three inches in height at the 

 rump. In 1821, it had acquired the height of five feet seven inches. This informa- 

 tion I received from my friend Mr. Stavers, who is now in England, on a visit from 

 the interior of Java ; and he favoured me further with the following details, which 

 complete the history of the individual, whose figure is annexed to this article. Hav- 

 ing considerably increased in size, the ditch of three feet in breadth was insufficient 

 for confining it ; but leaving the inclosure, it frequently passed to the dwellings of 

 the natives, destroying the plantations of fruit-trees and culinary vegetables, which 

 always surround them. It likewise terrified those natives that accidentally met with 

 it, and who were unacquainted with its appearance and habits. But it shewed no 

 ill-natured disposition, and readily allowed itself to be driven back to the inclo- 

 sure, like a Buffalo. The excessive excavations which it made by continually wal- 

 lowing in the mire, and the accumulation of putrefying vegetable matter, in process 

 of time became offensive at the entrance of the Palace, and its removal was ordered 

 by the Emperor, to a small village near the confines of the capital, where, in the year 

 1821, it was accidentally drowned in a rivulet. 



The Hhinoceros lives gregarious in many parts of Java. It is not limited to a 

 particular region or climate, but its range extends from the level of the ocean to the 

 summit of mountains of considerable elevation. I noticed it at Tangung, near 

 the confines of the Southern Ocean, in the districts of the native Princes, and on the 

 summit of the high peaks of the Priangan Regencies ; but it prefers high situations. 

 It is not generally distributed, but is tolerably numerous in circumscribed spots, 

 distant from the dwellings of man, and covered with a profuse vegetation. On the 

 whole, it is more abundant in the western than in the eastern districts of the Island. 

 Its retreats are discovered by deeply excavated passages, which it forms along the 

 declivities of mountains and hills. I found these occasionally of great depth and extent. 



In its manners, the Rhinoceros of Java is comparatively mild. It is not unfre- 

 quently met in the wilds by Europeans and by natives. No instance of its shewing 

 a disposition to make an attack has come to my knowledge ; being the largest animal 

 in Java, its passions are not roused, as in many parts of India, by contentions with 

 the Elephant. It is rarely seen in a domestic state, but it is occasionally decoyed 

 into pits, and destroyed. Our animal rambles chiefly at night, and often occcasions 

 serious injury to the plantations of coffee and pepper, which are laid out in the 

 fertile districts selected for its retreats. 



The horns and skin are employed for medicinal purposes by the natives. 



