52 



THE ODD-TOED UNGULATES. 



great sociability, and a courage amounting 

 even to rashness. 



Except for the battles between the fiery 

 stallions, and especially the younger ones, in 

 their efforts to secure rights for themselves 

 as regards the mares, the herds live together in 

 harmony. The old males chase the young 



ones out of the herd when the latter begin 

 to show an inclination for the mares, and 

 these young ones, which are compelled to live 

 as celibates, bring on serious battles with a 

 view to acquire by conquest a few females 

 with which to found a new family. The 

 herds make great migrations in the steppes 



Fig. 148. — The Zebra (Hippotigris Zebra). 



and deserts in order to seek out good pastures 

 or water. 



Wild horses are keenly pursued for the 

 sake of their skin and flesh, which is highly 

 esteemed, and also in order to procure men- 

 agerie specimens. They are caught in winter 

 in snares; but usually advantage is taken of 

 their excessive curiosity, and of the passion 

 which the males betray even for domesticated 

 mares. The arts resorted to differ according 

 to the locality and the character of the people; 

 but they all come to this, that the hunter en- 

 deavours to introduce himself either on horse- 

 back or on foot into a herd in order to kill the 

 adults and capture the foals. 



The species are but slightly different from 



one another in internal structure. The skele- 

 ton, the dentition, are so much alike, that 

 apart from the size it is difficult to distinguish 

 the species except when seen alive or stuffed, 

 when the colour and markings of the coat, the 

 length of the ears, &c, afford more or less 

 well-defined characters. 



The horse family may be divided into two 

 groups, distinguished by the markings of the 

 coat, and almost completely separated from 

 one another in geographical range. 



Most of the African Horses have a coat 

 adorned with dark stripes on a light ground. 

 They have been united into a subdivision 

 under the name of Hippotigres, that is, Tiger- 

 horses. They are in general well-proportioned, 



