20 
ANIMAL CURIOSITIES 
family are called that possess a layer of 
soft under fur beneath their external and 
coarser pelage, forming, when dressed, the 
once fashionable commodity known as “ seal 
skin.” 
He states that during the pairing season 
the males “ give vent to four distinct cries, 
namely, a hoarse, resonant, long and loud 
roar ; a low, gurgling growl; a kind of hissing, 
chuckling, piping whistle, which must be heard 
to be recognized ; and a kind of spitting sound 
and action, which is the most characteristic 
of all. The females, on the other hand, have 
only a kind of bleating cry, used merely 
to attract the attention of the cubs; while 
the call of the latter is still more sheep¬ 
like.” 
The American tapir is another animal that 
produces a whistling sound, the note being 
very shrill but not very loud when one considers 
the size of the animal responsible for its pro¬ 
duction. 
Passing to the elephant, we find that the 
creature is able to give voice to several distinct 
sounds, some of which are emitted through the 
agency of its trunk, while others are produced 
in its throat. 
The most familiar of all is that known as 
“trumpeting.” But the beast also utters a 
