328 



THE ORIGIN OF BRITISH 'WILD' CATTLE. 



H. E. FORREST. 

 (plates XXXII-XXXV.). 



Few, if any, of our British Mammals have been so much dis- 

 cussed as tire so-called Wild White Cattle of Chillingham and 

 other Parks. The practical extinction of the celebrated 

 Chartley herd has recently awakened renewed interest in these 

 animals, so that the present seems a fitting occasion for re- 

 opening the discussion as to their origin. 



The most exhaustive paper on the subject is that by Mr. 

 R. Hedger Wallace, published in the ' Transactions of the 

 Natural History Society of Glasgow,' 1898. It is well illus- 

 trated, and contains a wealth of historic detail, and a copious 

 bibliography. 



The older writers were of opinion that our Park Cattle were 

 the descendants of an indigenous wild race, but Mr. Wallace 

 shows that they are the feral descendants of a domesticated 

 race, their peculiar habits being the result of the conditions 

 under which they are kept. This view is accepted generally 

 by modern zoologists, and its truth taken for granted in the 

 present paper. 



Most of the parks in which the old-established herds are 

 kept were enclosed about the end of the thirteenth century. 

 Up to that time the animals had been free to roam wherever 

 they willed. So far as is known the majority, at any rate, 

 were white at this period, and it has been assumed that this 

 colour is characteristic of Wild Cattle. The Chillingham herd 

 is white with reddish-brown ears and muzzles ; the Chartley 

 herd has black ears and muzzles. All other herds resemble 

 one or other of these in colour. How long had these cattle 

 been white ? 



We may dismiss as altogether improbable the idea that the 

 white colour became fixed in a state of nature. The reverse 

 would inevitably happen. White animals, except in snowy 

 weather, would be more conspicious than dark ones, so, in the 

 struggle for existence, would be more likely to fall victims to 

 their enemies. The general tendency of natural selection 

 would be in the direction of dark colouration. The more white 

 an animal was, the less likely it w^ould be to escape destruction, 

 or to survive long enough to transmit this colour to any progeny. 



It is well known that, when domesticated, animals are more 



Naturalise, 



