The Elephant, Tapir, Hyrax, and Rhinoceros I79 



at Carthage as was afterwards - . 



to Mitliridates, who, I suppose, 



drew his supply from India ? 



I know in the representations 



of elephants on the medals 



of Faustina and of Septimus 



Severus the ears are Afi'ican, 



though the bodies and heads 



are Indian ; but these were 



struck nearly 400 years after 



Carthaginian times, when the 



whole known world had been 



ransacked by the Romans for 



beasts for their public shows ; 



and I still think it possible 



that the Carthaginians — the 



great traders and colonisers 



of old — may have obtained 



elejohants through some of 



their colonies from India." 



An interesting example 

 of the intelligence of these 

 animals can be seen any 

 day at the London Zoological 

 Gardens. A large African ele- 

 phant restores to his would-be 

 entertainers all the biscuits, 

 whole or broken, which strike 

 the bars and fall alike out 

 of his reach and theirs in 

 the space between the barrier 

 and his cage. He points his 

 trunk at the biscuits, and 



blows them hard along the floor to the feet of the persons who have thrown them. He clearly knows 

 what he is doing, because, if the biscuits do not travel far enough, he gives them a harder blow. 



TAPIRS AND HYRAX. 



BY W. r. PYCBAFT, A.L.S., F.Z.S. 



Tapirs are odd-looking creatures, and, strange as it may seem, are nevertheless related 

 on the one hand to the rhinoceroses, and on the other to the horses. They are furthermore 

 extreinely interesting animals, because they have undergone less modification of form than any 

 other members of the grouj^ to which they belong. This we know because fossil tapirs, 

 belonging to a very remote period of the world's history, are practically indistinguishable from 

 those now living. 



The general form of the body may perhaps be described as pig-like ; the head, too, 

 suggests that animal. But the pjig's snout is here produced into a short proboscis, or trunk. 

 The feet are quite unlike those of the pig, and resemble those of the rhinoceros. The fore 

 feet have each four and the hind feet three toes ; these are all encased in large horse-like 

 hoofs. The tail is reduced to a mere stump. 



Tapirs are shy and inoffensive animals, living in the seclusion of dense forests in the 

 neighbourhood of water, in which element they are quite at home ; indeed, it is said that 

 they will frequently dive and walk along the bed of the river. They are also fond of 



Fhoio Inj I. Medland, F.Z.S.] 



MALE AFEICAN ELEPHAST DRINKING. 

 Xf.ite the m-eat size of tbe txisks and Ijape of the trnuk. 



[Norlh Fliichlcy. 



