Llamas.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



123 



likewise, saw a herd drinking the briny fluid from a 

 salina near Cape Blanca. I imagine, in several 

 parts of the country, if they do not drink salt water, 

 they drink none at all. In the middle of the day 

 they frequently roll in the dust in saucer-shaped 

 hollows. The males fight together; two one day 

 passed quite close to me, squealing, and trying to 

 bite each other ; and several were shot with their 

 bides deeply scored. Herds sometimes appear to 

 set out on exploring parties. At Bahia Blanca, 

 where, within 30 miles of the coast, these animals 

 are extremely unfrequent, I saw one day the 

 tracks of 30 or 40 which had come in a direct line 

 to a muddy salt-water creek. They must then 

 have perceived that they were approaching the sea, 

 for they had wheeled with the regularity of cavalry, 

 and had returned back in as straight a line as they 

 had advanced. The guanacoes have one singular 

 habit, which is to me inexplicable, namely, "that 

 on successive days the3 r drop their dung in the same 

 defined heap. I saw one of these heaps which was 

 eight feet in diameter, and necessarily was com- 

 posed of a large quantity. D'Aubigny says that all 

 the species of this genus have this habit ; and Fre- 

 zier remarks that it is very useful to the Indians, 

 who use the dung for fuel, and are thus saved the 

 trouble of collecting it. The guanacoes appear to 

 have favourite spots for dying in. On the banks of 

 the St.. Cruz the ground was actually white with 

 bones in certain circumscribed places, which were 

 generally bushy, and all near the river. On one 

 such spot I counted between ten and twenty heads. 

 I particularly examined the bones; they did not 

 appear, as some scattered ones which I have seen, 

 gnawed and broken, as if dragged together by some 

 beasts of prey. The animals must have crawled, 

 before dying, beneath and amongst the bushes. 

 Mr. Bynoe informs me that during the voyage he 

 observed the same circumstance on the banks of 

 the Rio Gallegos. I do not understand the reason 

 for this, but I may observe that all the wounded 

 guanacoes at St. Cruz invariably walked towards 

 the river. At St. Jago, in the Cape de Verd islands, 

 I remember having seen in a retired ravine a corner 

 under a cliff where numerous goats' bones were 

 collected : we at the time exclaimed that it was 

 the burial ground of all the goats in the island. I 

 mention these circumstances, because in certain 

 cases they might explain the occurrence of a num- 

 ber of uninjured bones in a cave, or buried under 

 alluvial accumulations, and likewise the cause why 

 certain mammalia are more commonly imbedded 

 than others in sedimentary deposits. Any great 

 flood of the St. Cruz would wash down many bones 

 of the guanaco, but probably not a single one of the 

 puma, rhea, or fox." (' Voyage of the Beagle.') 



Like the elephant, the horse, the camel, and many 

 others, the guanaco has its fossil prototypes. Mr. 

 Darwin found at Port St. Julian (Patagonia) the 

 fossil bones of a llama, which must have fully 

 equalled the camel in magnitude ; and he observes 

 that, " as the guanaco is the characteristic quad- 

 ruped of Patagonia, and the vicugna of the snow- 

 clad summits of the Cordilleras, so in bygone days 

 this gigantic species of the same family must have 

 been conspicuous on the southern plains." 



The domestic llama is more stoutly built than 

 the guanaco, its limbs are thicker, its neck shorter, 

 and its aspect more subdued. The wool is longer 

 and fuller, but of a coarser quality. We have seen 

 brown and white individuals, but the white seem to 

 be the most common. 



When the Spaniards became acquainted with 

 Peru and Chili, these animals were kept by the 

 natives in vast numbers : but now the horse, the 

 ass, and especially the mule, have superseded the 

 llama as a beast of burthen ; while the. introduction 

 of the sheep, the goat, and the ox has rendered it 

 less necessary, either as contributing by its flesh or 

 its fleece to the benefit of man. In some places, 

 however, it still is, or was recently, employed as a 

 beast of burthen. 



The Paco {Auchenia Alpaca,. Desm. ; Camelus 

 Pacos, Linn.), Figs. 548, 549, 552, is as large as the 

 guanaco, but proportionately shorter in the limbs ; 

 its forehead, instead of being regularly arched to 

 the nose, rises abruptly prominent above the eyes : 

 the wool is long, delicately fine, and silky, ex- 

 cepting on the head and limbs, and of a deep fawn 

 colour; it is moreover disposed in long flakes or 

 tassels. Black varieties also occur, of which a most 

 beautiful specimen some years ago existed in the 

 Gardens of the Zool. Soc. Lond. 



The paco dwells in herds among the mountains 

 of Peru and Chili; it is less fleet than the light- 

 limbed guanaco, but its general habits are the 

 same : it would appear, however, to frequent a 

 higher and colder range of elevation, as it is said to 

 be frequently seen with herds of vicugnas. 



The Vicugna, or Vicuna (Auchenia Vicugna), 

 Figs. 547, 556, is a smaller animal than either the 

 guanaco or the paco, and more slender in its pro- 

 portions. Its limbs are thin, its neck swan-like, 



the forehead is broad and also prominent, but not 

 abruptly so, as in the paco ; the muzzle is very 

 narrow, and the head short. The eyes are large, 

 and the ears long. The height of the animal at the 

 shoulder is about two and a half feet. 



The wool of the body is extremely delicate and 

 soft, varying from an inch to three inches in length : 

 on the breast it is of the latter measurement; on 

 the head and limbs it is close. The colour is 

 pale yellowish brown, passing into white on the 

 under parts. 



The vicugna lives in herds on the bleak and 

 elevated parts of the mountain-range bordering the 

 region of perpetual snow, amidst rocks and preci- 

 pices, where the chase is both toilsome and arduous. 

 The Cordilleras of Copiapo, Coquimbo, and Peru are 

 the principal seats of its abode, but it is also found in 

 Chili. Its manners very much resemble those of 

 the chamois of the European Alps, and it is as 

 active, vigilant, wild, and timid. Its wool is highly 

 valued, and for this alone thousands are annually 

 killed, various means being employed in their whole- 

 sale destruction. 



Holding, as the llamas do, especially the paco 

 and vicugna, so conspicuous a place among wool- 

 bearing animals, it is singular that after Europeans 

 became acquainted with them, and with the beauti- 

 ful fabrics manufactured by the native Peruvians, 

 three centuries should have elapsed before any at- 

 tention was paid in Europe to the importation of 

 their produce as an article of commerce, or any 

 attempts were instituted with regard to the na- 

 turalization of the animals in localities best fitted 

 for their multiplication; and this more' especially 

 as the fineness of the wool had, from the first, at- 

 tracted the notice both of the Spaniards and other 

 Europeans. That no difficulty exists in the trans- 

 portation of the llama to Europe, and that it bears 

 our climate well, is abundantly proved by the nu- 

 merous individuals which have lived both in the 

 Gardens of the Zoological Society and in other 

 places, and which, under the inevitable disadvan- 

 tages of confinement, and perhaps too luxurious a 

 diet, have "continued long in health and vigour — 

 as long, indeed, as animals indigenous to Europe 

 under the same circumstances. There can be there- 

 fore no doubt but that if suffered to wander at large, 

 in situations resembling as nearly as possible those 

 of their native regions — regions, be it remembered, 

 of cold, and snow, and storms — these animals would 

 thrive and multiply. 



The coarse herbage of the mountains, and the rushy 

 grass, called ycho, which covers the slopes of the hills, 

 constitute the natural diet of the wild races ; and in 

 the mountains of Scotland, Wales, and Ireland herb- 

 age of a corresponding nature would meet their ap- 

 petite,while, as far as temperature is concerned, there 

 would be no impediment to their naturalization. 



At the. Ninth Meeting (held at Birmingham) for 

 the Advancement of Science, the value of the silk 

 wool of these animals, and the benefits which would 

 result from their naturalization in our country, 

 formed an interesting topic of discussion. The sub- 

 ject was introduced by Mr. W. Danson, who, in il- 

 lustration of his views, exhibited samples of Alpaca 

 wools, and manufactured specimens in imitation of 

 silk (and without dye) as black as jet. Mr. Danson 

 urged that "the animals producing it ought to be 

 propagated in England, Ireland, Scotland, and 

 Wales, and stated that to the two latter places the 

 alpaca is well suited, being an inhabitant of the 

 Cordilleras, or mountain district in Peru. Importa- 

 tions (of the wool) have already taken place to the 

 extent of one million of pounds, and are likely to 

 increase. There are five species of llamas: of these 

 the alpaca has fine wool, six to twelve inches long, as 

 shown by the specimens exhibited; the llama, coarse 

 long hair; and the vicugna, a very short fine wool, 

 more of the beaver cast. The Earl of Derby has 

 propagated the alpaca in his private menagerie at 

 Knowsley, and Mr. Danson understood that Mr. 

 Stephenson, at Oban in Scotland, has a few of these 

 animals. The wool of these animals w r ould not 

 enter into competition with the wool of the sheep, 

 but rather with silk. It is capable of the finest 

 manufacture, and is especially suited to the fine 

 shawl trade of Paisley and Glasgow, &c. The 

 yarns spun from it are already sent to France in 

 large quantities, at from 6s. to 12*. Gd. per pound, 

 the price of the raw Alpaca wool being now 2s. and 

 2s. Gel. per pound." 



560, 564, 565, 566.— The Giraffe 

 (Camelopardalis Girajfa ; Zarapha, Zerafet, and 

 Ziirafel of the Arabs ; 'Siirnapa, Zurnapa, and Ziir- 

 nepa of the Turks). The genus Camelopardalis stands 

 in a certain sense isolated among the Ruminants, 

 and is the representative of a family group, interme- 

 diate, as professor Owen's researches demonstrate, 

 between the Deer and the Antelopes. Col. H. 

 Smith, indeed, has observed that the characters of 

 the giraffe offer a mixture of several genera, among 

 which the followers of the quinary system may 



select whether to class it, with Uliger, among the 

 Camels, or, with other naturalists, among the Cer- 

 vine or Ante! opine animals ; and he points out its 

 assimilation with the camels, in the length of its 

 neck, the callosities on the sternum and knees, and 

 the want of spurious hoofs, adding that this ap- 

 proximation did not escape the notice of the an- 

 cients. 



This extraordinary animal, of which at one period 

 the very existence was almost doubted, has become 

 now familiar to us, and though we gaze with won- 

 der upon its strange proportions, we no longer re- 

 gard it as one of the monsters of a land which 

 credulity pictured as tenanted by creatures which 

 exist only in imagination. On beholding the giraffe 

 we are at once struck with the shortness of its body, 

 the length of its limbs, the elevation of its withers, 

 and the elongation and slenderness of its neck 

 supporting a small and delicately modelled head. 

 Its movements are no less strange than its figure; 

 for owing to the shortness of the body, and the 

 length of the limbs, the hind-hoofs are brought at 

 each step as far forward as the spot the previous 

 moment occupied by the fore-hoofs, but somewhat 

 to the outside of it, for the hind-limbs diverge 

 somewhat outward from the hock-joint. The legs 

 of each side are in action nearly in unison together, 

 those of the right side appearing to alternate with 

 those of the left, and vice versa. 



The giraffe, however, is not really awkward, and 

 is very far from being slow; indeed the swiftest 

 coursers of the desert are scarcely equal to the 

 chase, and among rugged and broken ground utterly 

 unable to overtake it. 



When walking along, the giraffe does not ordi- 

 narily carry its beautiful swan-like neck upright, 

 but obliquely forwards in a line continued from the 

 spine, over the withers, to the top of the head — an 

 attitude scarcely consistent with grace ; the animal, 

 however, often wreaths it very gracefully, nor can 

 anything produce a more imposing effect than the 

 giraffe when its neck is stretched up to the full, 

 while the animal gazes around with his large beam- 

 ing eyes, or plucks the foliage from the branches of 

 the trees, browsing beneath their shade. 



It is scarcely necessary to state that the giraffe 

 is exclusively confined to the continent of Africa, 

 Its characters may be detailed as follows : — The head 

 (Fig. 562) is small and narrows to a slender elongated 

 muzzle entirely covered with hair. The nostrils are 

 longitudinal slits capable of being closed or opened 

 at pleasure ; the upper lip is endowed with great 

 flexibility and muscular power, and projects beyond 

 the lower ; it is used as an organ of prehension in 

 the acquisition of food. The tongue is an extraordi- 

 nary instrument, and requires special notice. It is 

 long, slender, pointed, and endowed with a surpris- 

 ing'share of mobility. Nor is this all ; it is capable 

 of being greatly elongated, and in this state of being 

 coiled round twigs or branches, and of drawing 

 them to the mouth (Figs. 559, 561). In this respect 

 it is analogous to the proboscis of the elephant, 

 and is at once a feeler, a grasper, and an organ of 

 taste. It is interesting to see with what address the 

 giraffe uses this instrument, and how dexterously he 

 applies it as a hook or holder. It is smooth, ex- 

 cept when the papillae are raised — its surface then 

 becomes rough : its colour is black. The eyes are 

 full, dark, lustrous and prominent, and the upper 

 eyelid is furnished with a fringe of long lashes. So 

 prominent indeed are the eyes, that they command, 

 without the animal moving its head, a survey of the 

 whole horizon, thus enabling it to see, without 

 turning, what passes on each side and even behind 

 it, and, from the elevation of the head, to discern its 

 enemies at a great distance. Fig. 558 represents a 

 back view of the giraffe's head, showing this ad- 

 vantageous position of the eyes. The ears are long, 

 pointed, and moveable ; and the sense of hearing 

 is very acute. There are no suborbital sinuses, 

 Both sexes have horns, if they can be so termed, 

 for they are truly analogous to the peduncles of 

 the horns in the Muntjak-deer, being in fact 

 processes of bone covered with skin, having a tuft 

 of black hairs at the top ; but besides these sub- 

 stitutes for horns, a similar but shorter process 

 pro] ects from the forehead between the eyes, more 

 developed in males than females, and in adults than 

 in the young. According to Riippell and Cuvier 

 this, like the other horns, is articulated by suture to 

 the skull ; but Professor Owen has demonstrated that 

 this frontal protuberance is not a true horn articu- 

 lated by a suture, but results from a singular thick- 

 ening of the bone of the forehead (see Fig. 563). 

 The osseous peduncles, or horns as they are com- 

 monly called, continue for a long time united to the 

 frontal bone only by means of a suture, and are not 

 fairly anchylosed till at an advanced period. This 

 indeed is the case with all the bones of the skull of 

 the giraffe: it would appear that the process of ossi- 

 fication is carried on but slowly in this part of the 

 frame-work, and as it respects the horns, that nature- 

 having completed the first stage of her intentions, 



R2 



