134 A HAND- BOOK OF THE MANAGEMENT OF ANIMALS 



The body of the young animal at birth was covered with soft 

 woolly hair ; the skin was soft and of a pinkish brown colour, which 

 is gradually becoming darker as the animal is growing, but still 

 retains a pinkish suffusion. The growth and development of a young 

 beast, bred and born in captivity, but suckled and reared by its mother, 

 compare favourably with that of another, born in a wild state, but early 

 weaned from its mother, and brought up under artificial conditions. 

 The present young rhino is only two years and seven months old, but 

 it has already attained such a development as to equal the mother in 

 size and bulk. Its upper incisor teeth have not yet appeared, and it is 

 still now and then observed to seek nourishment from its mother. 



Transport. — A cage is indispensable for the conveyance of a rhino, 

 young or adult ; it must be made narrow, so as to prevent the animal 

 turning round, but still broad enough to enable it to sit down ; a strong 

 plank cage, iron bound, should be preferred to one made of iron rods, 

 as smoothness of the surface inside is desirable ; the roof, and the upper 

 part of the sides, about a foot deep, should be left open, with means of 

 closing in bad weather ; the back end of the cage should also have a 

 space of about 6 inches left open below for cleaning ; there must be 

 sufficient opening at the front end of the cage to admit of the animal 

 seeing everythiug and breathing open air ; the feeding and drinking 

 vessels being introduced through another opening below. A rhinoceros, 

 intended for transport overland, should be habituated to hay and 

 dry fodder. An attendant should always accompany such a valuable 

 animal, especially if it is young. 



Treatment in sickness. 



Tetanus has been known to cause the death of an adult female 

 R. unicornis. An autopsy being held, the uterus was found to be 

 very much enlarged, and its thickened and hardened wall pressing 

 against the nerves of the surrounding parts. If the disease is early 

 detected, the animal should be freely purged and kept quiet in a 

 perfectly dark room ; various remedies have been suggested, but it is 

 useless to mention any, as recovery can seldom be effected. 



Inflammation of the lungs has been met with in a young R. 

 sondaicus, the animal dying within twenty-four hours from the time of 

 the development of the first symptoms. _ 



Tuberculosis of the lungs and liver was found in an old R. 

 sumatrensis ; the animal must have contracted the disease long before 

 its arrival, as in spite of careful feeding it gradually declined. 



Observations on the habits of Rhinoceroses. 



Some rhinoceroses have been found to be very tractable, especially 

 those caught young and reared in captivity ; but, like other wild animals, 

 their temper can never be absolutely trusted. Of the four species of 

 Asiatic rhinoceroses, the R. lasiotis appears to be the tamest. They are 

 all more or less fond of water and mud, but both the two- horned 

 species have been observed to evince much greater liking for them 

 than either of the two one-horned animals ; the latter have seldom been 



