BROOD-CARE AMONG MAMMALS 173 



stirong and active and follow the mother for a very long time, 

 for individuals nearly full grown and certainly six or seven years old 

 have been found running with the mother and still suckling. A 

 young African rhinoceros came to the London Zoological Gardens 

 in charge of a black boy, for whom it showed great affection, 

 screaming loudly when the boy went off, and giving a low " whinny " 

 of pleasure when he returned. It was a considerable time before 

 the young animal would take either milk or sugar-cane, the two 

 chief parts of its food, from any one except its special guardian. 



Elephants are much more active creatures than is easy to suppose 

 from watching their sedate and leisurely gait in captivity. They 

 travel enormous distances, moving very quickly and climbing almost 

 precipitous mountain slopes with skill, lightness and agility. A 

 single calf is produced at a birth and is able to move and follow 

 the mother almost at once. The mother is devoted, incessantly 

 stroking the young with her trunk, and defending it rather 

 savagely from any rash intruder. The baby suckles with its 

 mouth in . the ordinary fashion of a young mammal, and does 

 not use its trunk for drinking or even for picking up food for 

 some weeks. The calf remains with the mother for several years 

 until it is very weU grown. 



The dassies, rock-rabbits or hyraxes, although they differ ex- 

 tremely in size from elephants, are probably as nearly related to 

 them as to any other living mammals. They Uve in rocks or in 

 tall forest trees and the mothers usually have a family of three. 

 The young hyraxes are about as big as rats and are thickly 

 covered with very dark hair. They are active from the first and 

 are carried by the mother on her back (Fig. 32). Although they are 

 often compared with rabbits, they are quite different in habit and 

 disposition, being extremely intelhgent and affectionate and most 

 plucky and well capable of defending themselves. My young 

 tree-hyrax was once introduced by accident to a palm-civet, which, 

 although tame, was accustomed to try its teeth on everything and 

 was a good many times the size and weight of my little animal. The 

 hyrax, however, at once raised its hair almost like the spines on a 

 porcupine, opened its white dorsal patch and rushed in at the civet 

 with a loud shriek of challenge, gave it a sharp bite, and then 

 quickly sprang back a foot or two, and stood bristling and alert 

 ready for a second charge. This was unnecessary, as the civet was 

 routed and fled shrieking to its owner. 



The flesh-eating carnivores and the herbivorous ungulates form 



