178 



VERTEBRATES. 



m^il 





mother to a place where it could be jrojjerly secured and taken 

 care of. Eeally its moans and endeavors to remain with its mother 

 were quite affecting. It is too young to be weaned with safety, 

 and will probably die ; at least I am very much afraid so. I shall 

 always feel an interest in the poor little animal in future, should 

 it live ; it was so devotedly and heroically brave, never attempting 

 to leave its mother in order to procure its own escape, which it 

 might easily have done unseen during the confusion. 



The Tapir forms one of the links sonnecting the elephant 

 with the hog. The snout is lengthened into a kind of proboscis 

 like that of the elephant, but it is comparatively short, and has 

 no finger-like appendage at the extremity. Many of the remaining 



links are supplied by the vari- 

 ous species of the fossil genus 

 Palaeotherium. 



The common Tapir is 

 spread throughout the warmer 

 regions of South America. It 

 sleeps during the day, and wan- 

 ders about at night in search 

 of its food, which consists of 

 watermelons, gourds, and other vegetables. It is very fond of the 

 water, and can remain below the surface for a considerable period. 

 It is a very powerful animal, and as it is furnished with a very 

 thick hide, it plunges through the brushwood, breaking its way 

 through any obstacles that may oppose its progress. 



Its disposition is gentle, but when annoyed it sometimes 

 rushes at its antagonist and defends itself vigorously with its pow-' 

 crful teeth. The jaguar frequently springs on it, but is often dis- 

 lodged by the activity of the Tapir, who rushes through the bushes 

 immediately that it feels the claws of its enemy, and endeavors to 

 brush him off against the thick branches. The height of the 

 American Tapir is from five to six feet. The Malay Tapir is 

 somewhat larger, and is known by the greyish white color of the 

 loins and hind quarters, which give the animal an appearance oa 

 if a white horsecloth had been spread over it. 



The Tapir. 



