38 
their capacious stomachs, but by the broad trail of crushed 
and broken herbage they leave behind them. They feed also 
on river grasses which grow along the water’s edge, as well as 
on the bottom, on which their weight enables them to walk. 
The name of “river-horse” was suggested by a somewhat 
fanciful resemblance between the profile of the face and that 
of the horse—this is sometimes apparent when the animal is 
lying submerged in the water with no part visible but the 
frontal outline. 
The South American Tapir ( Tapirus terrestris), as before 
stated, belongs to the same division of ungulates as the horse 
and rhinoceros, though in appearance it somewhat resembles 
the swine. The natives of the regions which it inhabits con¬ 
sider it to be very good eating. It is fond of the water, div¬ 
ing and swimming with great ease, and is rarely found far 
from the banks of some lake or stream. Their common re¬ 
sort is the dense thickets of undergrowth, where they lie con¬ 
cealed from danger. D’Azara says of them:— 
“ It is also remarked that when the jaguar pounces upon them, they 
rush headlong through the thickest parts of the woods, until they force 
him to quit his hold, passing through narrow and intricate places. The 
Mborebi, indeed, never frequents a beaten road or pathway, but breaks 
and pushes through whatever it encounters with its head, which it always 
carries very low. It flies all danger, and anticipates it by means of its 
strong nocturnal vision and its acute sense of hearing.” 
There are several not very well defined species in South 
and Central America and one in south-eastern Asia. Of this 
species (Tapirus indicus) the Society exhibited a speci¬ 
men some years ago. It is much larger than the South 
American form, and has a grayish-white patch marked out 
like a saddle-cloth over the back and sides from the shoulders 
to the rump—from this it derives its popular name of Sad¬ 
dle-backed Tapir. 
No. 8.—THE SEAL PONDS. 
The seals are an order of carnivorous mammals, living 
mainly in the water, but at stated periods during the year 
leaving their natural element and remaining for several 
months above the water line. The Society has exhibited 
several species of these interesting animals. 
