424 



THE ODD-TOED ANIMALS. 



ger and heed no wound. Any one who has dealt with 

 captive Tapirs for any sufficient length of time knows 

 that they are mentally much above Rhinoceroses and 

 Hippopotami, and about on the same level of intel- 

 ligence as Pigs. "A Tapir taken young," says Reng- 

 ger, "accustoms itself in a few days to human beings 

 and habitation, not leaving the latter after once be- 

 coming thoroughly acquainted with the surround- 

 ings. It becomes restless if its keeper leaves it for 

 any considerable time, and seeks him, if it is at lib- 

 erty. It allows anybody to touch and stroke it." 

 Kappler, who frequently reared young Tapirs, says 

 that he always used to make somebody a present of 

 them while still young, because they became so an- 

 noyingly familiar; an adult specimen once pulled 

 the cloth off a set table with everything that was on 

 it. Those that I have taken care of justified these 

 statements. Both species proved to be very good- 

 natured creatures. They were quite tame, possessed 

 of peaceable intentions toward all animals, perfectly 

 agreeing among themselves, and affectionate toward 

 their friends. Keller-Leuzinger is persuaded that 

 the Anta could be reduced to a domestic state. He 

 says that those which are taken young become as 

 tame as Dogs in a few days, and never think of es- 

 caping. "In Curitiba, the capital of the province of 

 Parana," he says, "a tame, ownerless Tapir used to 

 run about in the streets for several years; from morn- 

 ing to night Negro boys would ride on it. A tem- 

 perature of two or three degrees below zero, centi- 

 grade, as happens there quite frequently in June and 

 July, seemed to affect it very little." 



Tapirs in the free state feed exclusively on vege- 

 table substances, such as leaves of trees. In Brazil 

 they are partial to young palm leaves; not infre- 

 quently, however, they invade plantations and prove 

 that they are also fond of sugar cane, mangoes, mel- 

 ons and other vegetables. 



Tapirs Vigorously AH species of Tapirs are vigorously 

 Hunted by hunted by the natives of the coun- 

 Natiues. tries they inhabit, as both their flesh 

 and skin are utilized. The flesh is said to be tender, 

 juicy and savory; the thick hide is- tanned and cut 

 into long strips, which are rounded, made flexible 

 by repeated rubbing in of hot lard, and then made 

 into whips or bridles. 



In America the Tapir is usually hunted with 

 Hounds. The Dogs eagerly pursue the fleeing ani- 

 mal, until, as is always the case, it reaches the near- 

 est body of water. There . a hunter is hidden in a 

 light boat near the bank, and he helps the Dogs to 

 run down the swimming and diving quarry. Unless 

 the water surface be so small that the Tapir can 

 cross it quickly and obscure the trail, it is soon over- 

 taken and killed by a bullet or a long hunting knife. 

 Von den Steinen graphically describes a Tapir hunt, 

 which happened during his trip on the Xingu : 

 "Valentin discovered a Tapir swimming near the 

 bank; everybody came hurrying up to assist in the 

 chase. Irineo hit it with two bulldts, one lodging in 

 the flanks, the other in the trunk; Valentin sent a 

 charge of small shot whistling by its ears — still it 

 scampered into the forest. The Dogs rush on in 

 pursuit and we row with all our might; then follow 

 fresh reports from the guns and the Tapir disap- 

 pears into the thicket. The Dogs look stupidly into 

 the water, completely at fault. Soon a little Pom- 

 eranian Dog regains the trail, traces the animal 

 and the others help it. Then, at a distance of a 

 third of a mile, the Tapir reappears in the water; an 

 exciting race and indescribable confusion follow. It 



dives and comes up again; Pedro shoots at a dis- 

 tance of five paces and misses; he sends off an 

 arrow, which rebounds from the tough hide; Mer- 

 elles also misses it at a close distance, while some- 

 body else hits it. The boats nearly upset each other,. 

 as we try to seize it; our boat careens over and is- 

 filled with water. We stick knives into the Tapir; 

 the Yuruma pricks it with an arrow, the Woman 

 waves her arms in excitement and screams that we 

 ought to lasso the creature. Antonio's knife thrust is 

 followed by a jet of blood, the animal again plunges 

 under water, but, coming up between two boats, it is 

 seized by a leg, killed and dragged to the nearest 

 rock. It is a huge beast, a ' regular Mule,' and is- 

 covered with large, brown ticks. The short, stiff 

 mane is rather good-looking, appearing like that 

 of the Greek Horses of the gods." 



^be IRbinoceroses. 



THIRD FAfllLY: RniNOCEROXiDiE. 



Even purely superficial consideiation and compar- 

 ison reveal some of the common anatomical fea- 

 tures \vhich cause Horses, Tapirs and Rhinoceroses- 

 to be classified within the same order; but a still 

 closer analysis is necessary in order to recognize the 

 comparatively near kinship of the families repre- 

 sented by them. • 



CeTiera/ CAaz-acter- The Rhinoceroses i^Rhinocerotiddy 

 istics ofRhi- are stout, unwieldy animals of rather 

 noceroses. bulky proportions, distinguished by 

 a strikingly elongated head, the lower or nasal por- 

 tion of which supports a horn, or two horns standing 

 one behind the other; a short neck, a thick, rotund 

 body, covered with a tough, armor-like skin, almost 

 entirely, or for the greater part, devoid of hairy over- 

 growth; a short tail, and short, sturdy, but by no- 

 means clumsy legs, the feet of both the front and. 

 hinder pair having each three hoofed toes. Every 

 individual member of the body appears queer and pe- 

 culiar, even if compared with the corresponding por- 

 tion of other members of the family of the Perisso- 

 dactyla. The head is much elongated, the facial part 

 in particular being disproportionately lengthened,, 

 while the skull part is greatly compressed from front 

 to rear, so that the forehead recedes abruptly, giving 

 rise to a deeply indented saddle or ridge between 

 it and the perceptibly higher nasal portion. The 

 mouth is disproportionately small, and the upper lip- 

 is drawn out at its center, into a gradually tapering, 

 trunk-like appendage. The lower lip is slightly 

 rounded, or else its extremity presents a flattened, 

 chopped-off appearance. The eyes are strikingly 

 small; the ears are rather large and rounded on their 

 outer margins. The short, wrinkled neck, which is. 

 thicker than the head, merges into the bulky body 

 without any perceptible line of demarcation. The 

 body is characterized by a peculiar formation of the 

 backbone, the spines of which are sharp and growr 

 longer and more prominent toward the middle of the 

 back; the buttocks are slightly higher than the shoul- 

 ders; the abdomen is "paunchy" and pendulous; the 

 short tail is either much compressed laterally toward! 

 its extremity, in which case its width from root to 

 tip is nearly uniform, or else it is long and tapering. 

 The legs, down to the ankle joints, crook inward like 

 those of a German Badger Dog, but below that point 

 are straight. The feet broaden out equally on all 

 sides, down to the soles, which are of ovoid shape. 



