ORDER OE PACHYDERMATA. 
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and tlie Ounce, which spring on its back. The Tapir then 
rushes headlong into the thickest of the forest, and tries to get 
rid of its enemy by dashing against the trunks of the trees. 
The female Tapir is not prolific, as she only bears one young 
one in a season. Her maternal affection, however, is very 
great. 
In South America the Tapir is hunted, and affords good sport. 
Its flesh is dry, and rather disagreeable ; but its hide is thick and 
strong, and can be used for many purposes. 
Such is the American Tapir in its wild state. Ho one seems to 
think of rearing these creatures as domestic animals ; and yet it 
might be worth the trouble of trying the experiment, for they 
are easily tamed. Frederick Cuvier has given us a few details 
of the habits of a young Tapir with which he was acquainted. 
This animal was gentle and confiding ; and appeared to have no 
will of its own. It did not defend its food, but allowed the Dogs 
and Goats to partake of it together with itself. When it was let 
loose into an enclosure, after having been shut up for some time, 
it showed its joy by running round it several times. It also 
playfully seized by the back the puppies with which it was 
brought up. When it was forced to leave a place it liked, it 
complained by uttering a few plaintive cries. Frederick Cuvier 
assures us that, if the Tapir would be of any use to us, it could 
be very easily domesticated. Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire also 
wished the experiment of domesticating this animal in Europe to 
be tried ; but his idea was never carried out. 
“ Not less easy to feed than the Pig,” says Isidore Geoffroy 
Saint-Hilaire, “ the Tapir seems to me eminently suited to become 
one of our domestic animals. When it has no creatures of its 
I own kind to associate with, I have seen it seeking the society of 
all the animals that were near, with an eagerness without an 
I example in other Mammalia. The Tapir would be useful in two 
ways to man : its flesh, especially when improved by proper diet, 
1 would furnish a wholesome, and at the same time an agreeable, 
i food; and as it is much larger than the pig, the Tapir might 
be of great service as a beast of burden to the inhabitants of 
the south of Europe, and, after a time, to those of colder 
countries.” 
During a sojourn of some months in the Andes of America, 
m 2 
