6 THE TAPIR 



To this diet the horse reverts quite readily in 

 times of famine, and in spring before the new 

 grass sprouts, while the stable vice called 

 cribbing develops when there is not enough 

 bulk in his forage. The ancestors were fond 

 of bathing, and when hunted would take refuge 

 in the water. It will be noted that although 

 wild horses do not bathe, the tame stock are 

 excellent at swimming. The dappled skin 

 of the tapir had grown a coat of hair, dark 

 brown in the Americas, their original home. 

 The long tail had shrunk, and in the tapir 

 is reduced to a mere bud. 



But the main interest is in the tapir's snout, 

 which, like the elephant's trunk, has wonderful 

 powers of holding and tearing down branches, 

 of feeling, sensing, and handling. The horse- 

 ancestor had a tapir snout of which the horse's 

 upper lip is the survival. Play with any horse 

 and you will notice how the lips try to curl 

 round and grip one's fingers, to bring them 

 within reach of the teeth. They will curl 

 round, grip, and tear the bunch grass or 

 pampas grass of the wild ranges. They are 

 softer than velvet, delicate as a baby's hand, 

 sensitive as the fingers of an artist, will caress 

 like a woman's lips. The short hairs have an 

 exquisite sense of touch, the beard bristles 



