78 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE, 



[Hares. 



plunges, swimming with great ease and quickness, 

 little more than its nose appearing above the sur- 

 face. If hard pressed or wounded, it dives in order 

 to baffle its pursuers, and then endeavours to gain a 

 more secure place of concealment. It is eagerly 

 hunted for the sake of its flesh, which is accounted 

 good, though of a musky flavour : the hind quarters 

 are made into hams. Of its natural enemies the 

 terrible jaguar is the most formidable : this powerful 

 beast steals upon the capybara by surprise, and 

 destroys numbers. The food of the capybara con- 

 sists exclusively of grass and vegetables, as water- 

 melons, gourds, &c. Azara does not believe that 

 these animals ever frequent salt-water: Mr. Darwin 

 shot one in the bay of. Monte "Video, an old female, 

 measuring, from the tip of the snout to the end of 

 the stump-like tail, three feet eight and a half inches, 

 in girth three feet two inches, and weighing 98 lbs. 

 Several also were seen by the officers of the Beagle 

 on the island of Guritti, off Maldonado, where the 

 water is nearly as salt as in the sea. 



On the banks of the Apure, Humboldt saw the 

 capybara, which he calls Chiguira, in troops of fifty 

 or sixty. He notices the ease of the capybara in 

 the water ; and states that he saw with surprise the 

 animals, affrighted by the approach of a boat, dive 

 and remain from eight to ten minutes under water. 

 On the Apure, Arauco, &c, and in the vast savan- 

 nahs of the Llanos, the animal is said to be often 

 seen in droves of a hundred. They there browse 

 upon a sort of grass called chiguirirero. 



The common posture of the capybara when at 

 rest is sitting upon the haunches, the soles of the 

 hind-feet being applied flat to the ground, like the 

 agouti, the viscacha, and many others of the Rodents. 

 The female breeds once in a year, and brings forth 

 from four to six or seven at a birth, having prepared 

 a snug bed of dried herbs and grasses. 



The Family Leporidse contains the hares and 

 rabbits (Lepus), and the pikas (Lagomys). This 

 family is well marked in its characters, comprehend- 

 ing only two genera, of which one, the genus Lepus, 

 is widely distributed, though it has the most repre- 

 sentatives in North America, where the number of 

 species already discovered is equal to that of all the 

 rest found in the other portions of the globe taken 

 together. 



317. — The Common Hake 



{Lepus Timidus). Axyu; (Lagos) of the Greeks ; 

 Lepus of the Latins ; Lepre and Lievora of the mo- 

 dern Italians; Liebre and Lebratello of the Spa- 

 niards; Lebre and Lebrimho of the Portuguese; 

 Lievre, French ; Has, Haas, and Hase of the Ger- 

 mans ; Haas and Haze of the Danes ; Hara of the 

 Swedes ; Hara of the Anglo-Saxons ; Ysgyfarnog, 

 Ceinach, of the Ancient British. 



-In the genus Lepus, behind the ordinary incisors 

 of the upper jaw are two more of a much smaller 

 size: the molars, the small posterior one excepted, 

 are composed of two vertical plates soldered to- 



4 6— G 



gether. Dental formula : — Incisors, 75 ; molars, p— = 



(see Fig. 316). The ears a?re long ; the eyes large ; 

 the tail short and turned upwards ; five toes before, 

 four behind ; feet and toes hairy beneath. 



Few animals are better known than our common 

 hare, which is spread over the great portion of 

 Europe, and appears to be indigenous in cur country ; 

 but the ancient Britons abstained from eating its 

 flesh on religions grounds. This species probably 

 extends into Asia. Mr. M'Clelland states that it 

 occurs in Assam, but is of degenerate size, measur- 

 ing only from seventeen to nineteen inches, instead 

 of twenty-one. " It. is not esteemed there an article 

 of food. The ea^s are more uniformly grey than in 

 the European variety" (' Proc. Zool. Soc.,' 1839). 

 We suspect the Assam hare to be a distinct species. 

 Timid and defenceless, and surrounded by numerous 

 enemies, the hare is yet well endowed with the 

 means of self-preservation. It is watchful and swift ; 

 and its brown fur assimilates in colour with the russet 

 herbage among which it most makes its form. All 

 are acquainted with the external characters of the 

 hare, and with its habits, of which it is useless to 

 give minute details. 



The hare swims well, and takes fearlessly to the 

 water. We have known them cross a broad and 

 rapid stream ; and Mr. Yarrold (see ' Loudon's 

 Magazine,' vol. v.) gives an account of one which 

 in the morning at high water came down to the sea- 

 shore, and crossed over to an island a mile distant 

 from the mainland. 



Wild and timid as the hare is, it is not unsuscep- 

 tible of domestication. The poet Cowper, as is well 

 known, kept tame hares; and many other instances 

 might be enumerated. 



The hare breeds when about a year old, and pro- 

 duces two or three broods in the course of the spring 

 and summer ; but the males and females do not 

 form permanent associations. The female, after 

 about thirty days' gestation, brings forth from three 

 to five young. These are bora covered with fur, 



and with the eyes open ; and in about a month they 

 leave their parent and shift for themselves. The 

 leverets, as the young are termed, are the prey of 

 stoats, weasles, polecats, owls, and hawks. 



Besides the common hare, the Alpine or varying 

 hare inhabits certain districts of our island, namely, 

 the northern parts of Scotland. This species (Lepus 

 variabilis) is common in the mountain districts of 

 Sweden, Norway, Lapland, and in the Alps. It is 

 occasionally seen on the mountains of Cumberland. 



The Alpine hare is intermediate in size between 

 the rabbit and the English hare. In Sutherlandshire 

 and other parts of the Scottish highlands it tenants 

 the summits of the mountains, hiding in the clefts 

 of rocks or among rocky fragments. During the 

 winter lichen is its staple food. At this season it 

 descends to a lower and less exposed station ; and 

 its fur, gradually losing the light fulvous grey of 

 summer, becomes of a "snowy white, the tips of its 

 ears (which are shorter than the head) remaining 

 black. 



The common hare of Ireland (Lepus Hibernicus) 

 is again distinct from the common hare of England. 

 The distinguishing characters between the two were 

 first pointed out by Mr. Yarrell. (See 'Proc. Zool. 

 Soc' 1833, p. 88.) 



Though somewhat larger than the English species, 

 its head is shorter and more rounded ; its ears still 

 shorter than its head, and its limbs less lengthened. 

 The fur also differs greatly in its quality from that 

 of our common hare, and is useless as an article of 

 trade. 



318.— The Rabbit 



(Lepus Cunlculus). Coney, Anglice; Coneglio of 

 the Italians; Conejo, Spanish; Coelho, Portuguese ; 

 Koniglein and Kaninchen, German; Konin, Dutch; 

 Kanin, Swedish; Kanine, Danish ; and Cwningen of 

 the Welsh. 



Size excepted, the rabbit closely resembles the 

 hare in all its principal characters. It, may, how- 

 ever, be at once distinguished by the comparative 

 shortness of the head and ears, as well as of the 

 hinder limbs ; the absence of a black tip to the ears ; 

 and by the brown colour of the upper surface of the 

 tail. Its habits and general economy are totally 

 opposite to those of the hare ; and its flesh, instead 

 of being dark and highly flavoured, is white, and, 

 though delicate, somewhat insipid, especially that 

 of the tame breed. The flesh of the latter is indeed 

 preferred by some, but we agree with M. Ude in 

 thinking it very inferior. 



It. would appear that the rabbit is not an aborigi- 

 nal of our island, but the date of its introduction is 

 unknown. In the year 1309, at the installation 

 feast of the Abbot of St. Austin's, six hundred of 

 these animals were provided, at the then great cost 

 of 15J. ; the price of each, sixpence, being that of a 

 pig. It is generally believed that the rabbit was 

 first introduced into Spain from Africa by the 

 Romans, whence it gradually spread, naturalising 

 itself in temperate climates. 



This animal is eminently gregarious ; and, as is 

 well known, makes extensive burrows, in which it 

 habitually dwells and rears its young. Sandy soils, 

 with a superficial layer of fine vegetable mould 

 clothed with thyme, fine grass, and other herbage, 

 which at the same time afford food and are easily 

 mined, are favourable spots for the increase of the 

 rabbit. They delight in steep sandbanks overhung 

 with brushwood and furze ; and we have, remarked 

 that when the old red sandstone crops out and is 

 rendered friable, or somewhat decomposed by the 

 action of the atmospheric elements, rabbits are very 

 numerous, burrowing with great facility. They 

 abound also in woods, especially such as clothe the 

 declivities of hills, whence, like the hare, they make 

 incursions into the adjacent corn-lands. A rabbit- 

 waren, that is, a wide sandy heath, or extensive 

 common, devoted to their increase and feeding, 

 when visited at the close of day or by moonlight, 

 affords an amusing spectacle. Hundreds may be 

 seen of all sizes, gambolling and sporting, and chasing 

 each other with astonishing rapidity. When alarmed, 

 they take to their burrows, disappearing as if by 

 magic. 



The female is capable of breeding at six months 

 old ; and four or five litters, consisting each of about 

 five voung, are annually produced. We have stated 

 that 'the hare produces her young clothed, capable 

 of seeing, and soon in a condition to shift for them- 

 selves. With the rabbit, circumstances are widely 

 different. The young are born blind, and naked, 

 and totally helpless. The female forms a separate 

 burrow, at the bottom of which she makes a nest of 

 dried grass, lining it with fur taken from her own 

 body. In this nest she deposits her young, carefully 

 covering them over every time she leaves them. It 

 is not until the tenth or twelfth day that the young 

 are able to see ; nor do they leave the burrow till 

 four or five weeks old. 



The wild rabbit is undoubtedly the origin of our 

 various domestic breeds. Tame rabbits indeed easily 



resume their natural state of freedom, and return to 

 their instinctive habits. Albinoes are common in a 

 state of domestication, and it often happens that one 

 or two appear in a litter when neither of the parents 

 are so. 



319.— The Stkian Haee. 



According to Desmarest, the common hare of Europe 

 exists in Greece, Asia Minor, and Syria. It is, how- 

 ever, very probable that the Egyptian hare (Lepus 

 iEgyptius) extends into the latter region. It differs 

 from the European species principally in the greater 

 proportionate . ength of its hind limbs and ears. 



320.— The Dwaef Pika 



(Lagomys pusillus). The Calling-hare of Pennant; 

 Semlanoi Saetshik, or Ground-Hare, of the Russians 

 about the Volga : Tschatschat or Ittsitskan, Barking 

 Mouse, of the Tartars; Rusla of the Calmues. 



In the genus Lagomys the muzzle is acute ; the 

 ears short and somewhat rounded, and the soles of 

 the feet hairy ; the tail is wanting. The dental 

 formula approaches that of the genus Lepus; — In- 



4 g g 



cisors, - ; molars, KZJ- The genus Lagomys is 



widely distributed, though the species described are 

 not numerous. About five are known, and of these 

 three are natives of the rocky deserts of Tartary and 

 Siberia ; the fourth is a native of the Himalaya 

 Mountains ; a fifth of the Rocky Mountains in the 

 high northern regions of America, from latitude 52° 

 to 60°. 



The pikas are pretty little animals, with something 

 of the manners of our rabbits, and dwell in burrows, 

 which are artfully concealed. 



The dwarf pika, or calling-hare, measures little 

 more than six inches in total length. It has the 

 head longer than usual with hares, and thickly 

 covered with fur, even to the tip of the nose; 

 numerous hairs in the whiskers; ears large and 

 rounded; legs very short; soles furred beneath; 

 its whole coat very soft, long, and smooth, with a 

 thick, long, fine down beneath, of a brownish lead 

 colour: the hairs of the same colour, towards the 

 ends of a light grey, and tipped with black ; the lower 

 part of the body hoary ; the sides and ends of the 

 fur yellowish. Weight from three and a quarter to 

 four and a half ounces; in winter scarcely two and 

 a half ounces. 



The dwarf pika, or calling-hare, is found in the 

 south-east parts of Russia, and about the mountain 

 ridge spreading from the Ural chain to the south ; it 

 also frequents the borders of the Irtish and the west 

 part of the Altaic chain, but occurs nowhere in the 

 east beyond the Oby. 



These animals delight in sunny valleys and the 

 declivities of hills, where food is plentiful, and es- 

 pecially where woods or forests afford them a refuge 

 in time of danger. They dig deep and intricate 

 burrows, the openings of which are not above two 

 inches in diameter, and are usually formed beneath 

 the concealment of a bush, in situations abounding 

 with thickets and underwood, and with the various 

 shrubs and grasses upon which they feed. They 

 lead for the most part a solitary life, sleep during 

 the day with unclosed eyelids, like the hare, and 

 emerge from their retreats at night, in search of 

 food, which principally consists of the bark of the 

 young bushes, flowers, buds, and grass. They form 

 no winter store, but during the inclement portion of 

 the year, still continue to seek out, by excavating 

 tracks beneath the snow, their accustomed fare, 

 and they are frequently subjected to severe priva- 

 tions and even death, in consequence of a deficiency 

 of their favourite plants. They drink often when 

 they happen to be near water, but can exist with 

 very little. The females produce at ea.ch litter five 

 or six young, which are born blind, helpless, and 

 without fur ; but in eight days they acquire sight, 

 are covered with hair, and begin to enjoy the use of 

 their limbs. 



The most obvious peculiarity of these pikas is ther 

 voice, from which they have acquired their trivial 

 name. Its tone is so like that of a quail, that 

 it is often mistaken for it even by the inhabitants 

 of their native districts. It is heard only in the 

 morning and evening, except in dark and cloudy 

 weather, and is repeated five or six times by each 

 animal at regular intervals, and is loud and sonorous. 

 Both the male and female utter this note, but the 

 latter is silent for some time after she has brought 

 forth her young, which takes place in the month of 

 May. 



The pikas are exceedingly gentle. Pallas states 

 that they will acquire confidence and become tame 

 in the course of a day after captivity. They sit in 

 a crouching posture, like the chinchilla, and are ex- 

 tremely cleanly, frequently rubbing their faces with 

 their fore-paws after the manner of rabbits, and 

 scratching their fur with their hinder claws. They 

 run by short leaps ; and sleep stretched out at full 

 length. , 



