The Book of Indian Animals [3 ed.]

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The book of INDIAN ANIMALS

S. H. PRATER, C.M.Z.S. Former Curator, Bombay Natural History Society With 28 coloured plates by PAUL BARRUEL

and many other illustrations

BOMBAY NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS CALCUTTA CI-JENNAI DELHI MUMBAI

Illustrations COLOURED PLATES BY PAUL BARRUEL

10. Hoolock (Hylobates hoolock)

facing

Liontailed Macaque {MacacasUenus) Rhesus Macaque(Macacamulatta) Assamese Macaque (Macaca assamensis) Bonnet Macaque (Macaca radiata) 11. Nilgiri Langur (Presbytis johm) Slow Loris (Nycticebus coucang") Common Langur (Presbytis entelltts) Golden Langur (Presbytis geei) Capped hsaigai (Presbytispileatus)

.. 48

..49

12. Tiger (Panthera tigris) Lion (Panthera leo)

Leopard (Pantherapardus) Snow Leopard (Panthera uncia) 13. Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) Golden Cat (Felis temmincki)

..

.. 64

..

..

..

Cheetah (Acinonyxjtibatus) ..

,.

.. 96

Fishing Cat (Felis viverrind) Leopard Cat (Felis bengalaisis) Marbled Cat (Felis marmoratd) Jungle Cat (Felis chaus) 18. Lynx (Felis lynx)

65

E^rt Cat(Felis libyca)

Pallas's Cat (Felis numtd) Caracal (Felis caracal)

19. Large Indian Civet (Viverrazibetha)

Sm^ Indian Civet (Viverricula indiat)

Toddy Cat (Paradoxurus hermaphroditus)

Himalayan Palm Civet (Paguma larvata)

Binturong (Arctictis binturor^) .. ..97 24. Spotted Linsang (Prionodon pardicolor) Common Mongoose (Herpestes edwardsi) Small Indian Mongoose (Herpestes auropunctatus) Stripednecked Mongoose (Herpestes vitticollis) CrabeatingMongoose(/ferpas/er«rvfl) .. ..112 25. Wolf (Canis li^us) Jackal (Canis auretis) Red Fox (Vtdpes vulpes) Indian Fox (Vtdpes bengalensis) "Dhole (Citon alpinus) .. ..113

viii

ILLUSTRATIONS

30. iStriped Hyena {Hyaena hyaena)

facing

Himalayan Black B^ (Sle/ienorc/oir r/ufre/ORur) 31. Red Panda {AiiurusfuJgens) Common Otter {Lutra lutra)

.. 130

Slodi Bear{Meharsus ursinus) Brown Bear {Ursusarctos)

SmoothIndian Otter {Lutraperspicillata) Clawless Otter {Aonyx cinerea) Beech Marten {Mariesfoina) Himalayan YeUowthroated Marten {Mariesflavigula) 32. Himalayan Weasel {Musiela sibirica) Pale Weasel{Musielaaliaica) Stripedbacked Weasel {Musiela sirigidorsa) Yellowbellied Weasel {Musiela kaihiah) Ermine {Musiela erminea) .. ..

131

.. 142

33. Marbled Polecat {Vormela peregusna) Chinese Ferret-Badger{Melogale moschaia) Burmese Ferret-Badger {Melogale personaia) Hog-Badger {Arcionyx collaris)

'RA\e\{Mellivora capensis) .. 38. Malay Tree Shrew {Ttipaia glis)

..

.. 143

Indian Tree Shrew {Anaihma ellioii) Longeared Hedgehog {Hemiechinus auriius) Pale Hedgehog {Paraechinus micropus) Eastern Mole (Tb^pa micrura) Grey Musk Shrew {Suncus murinus) 39. Fulvous Fruit Bat {Rouseiius leschenaulii) Indian Flying Fox {Pieropusgiganieus) Shortnosed Fruit Bat {Cynopierussphinx) Great Eastern Horseshoe Bat {Rhinolophuslucius)

Great Himalayan Leafnosed Bat {Hipposideros armiger) Indian False Vampire{Megaderma lyra) 40. Painted Bat {Kerivoula picia)

.. 160

.. 161

Bearded Sheathtailed Bat {Taphozous melanopogon) Serotine{Epiesicus seroiinus)

Indian Pipistrelle {Pipisirellus coromandra) Tickell'sBat {Hesperopienus iickelli) Common Yellow Bat (Slco/opMos Aea/W) 41. Common Giant Flying Squirrel {Peiaurisia •peiaurisia) Malayan Giant Squirrel{Raiufa bicolor) Grizzled Giant Squirrel {Raiufa macroura) Indian Giant Squirrel{Raiufa indica)

Longtailed Mannot {Marmoia caudaia) ..

.. 176

..177

ILLUSTRATIONS

ix

44. Kashmir Flying Squirrel {Hylopetesfimbriatus) facing Particoloured Flying Squirrel{Hylopetes alboniger) Hoarybellied Himalayan Squirrel {Cailosciurus pygerythrus) Orangebellied Himalayan Squirrel {Dremomys iokriah)

Threcstriped Palm Squirrel{Funambulus palmarum) Fivestriped Palm Squirrel (F«nam6«/MS pennanti) .. 196 45.

Indian Desert Gerbille (Meriones hurrianae) Indian Gerbille {Tatera indica)

Spiny Field Mouse (Masplatythrlx) Indian Field Mouse (Afus booduga) Metad {Millardia nieltada) Indian Bush Rat {Golimda elliotl) Longtailed Tree Mouse {Vandeleuriaoleraced)

Royle's Vole {Alticola roylei) 46.

..

.. 197

..

.. 204

Indian Mole-Rat {Bandicota bengalensis) Bandicoot Rat (Bandicota indicd) Whitetailed Wood Rat (Rattus blanfordi)

Bay Bamboo Rat (Cannomys badius) 47. Indian Porcupine (Hystrix indica)

58.

Rufoustailed Hare (Lepus nigricoliis rificaudatus) Himalayan Mouse-Hare (Ochotona roylei) Blacknaped Hare (Lepus nigricoliis nigricoliis)

.. 205

Goat (Bos-gaurus) Banteng (Bos banteng) Yak (Bos grunniens) Wild Buffalo (Bubalus bubalis)

.. 242

..

59. Shapu (Ovis orientalis) Marco Polo's Sheep (Ovis ammonpolii) Nayan (Ovis ammon hodgsoni) Bharal (Pseudois nayaur) .. .. 60. Ibex (Capra ibex) Wild Goat (Capra hircus) Markhor (Caprafalconeri) Nilgiri Tahr (Hemitragus hylocrius) iimalsLya.n Tahr (HemitragusJemlahicus) 61. Goral (Nemorhaedus goral) Serow (Capricomis sumatraensis) Takin (Budorcas taxicolor) Tibetan Antelope (Pantholopshodgsoni) .. 62. Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus) Fourhorned Antelope (Tetracerus quadricornis) Chinkara (Gazella gazella) Blackhuck (Antilope cervicapra) ..

.. 243

.. 254

.. 255

.. 272

ILLUSTRATIONS

63. Sambar (Cerva? tadcolor)

facing

Kashmir Stag {Cervus elaphus hanglu)

Thamin(Cervtis eldl) Swamp Deer (Cenna duvauceli) Qutal (Axis axis)

..

.. 273

68. Indian Chevrotain (Dragidus meminna) Hog-Deer (Axisporcima) Musk Deer(Moschus moschiferus) Mun^ac (Mmtiacusmuntjak)

Indian Wild Boar 50^) 69. Blue Whale (Balaawptera musculus)

..

288

SpermWhale(Physeter catodon) Common Dolphin (Delphinus delphis) Gangetic Dolphin (PlaUodsta gangeticd) .. .. Dugong (Dugongdugon)

.. 289

MAP

7. Map of India, showing Climatic Forest Types and distribution of Geographical Races of the Indian Giant Squirrel ..

..

between

24-25

MONOCHROME PLATES

ff:i!

'1

:| :

•il

:i

»• 23.

Diversity of structure in mammals

..

6

Teeth of mammals

..

7

Molar teeth for various diets

..

10

..

11

Himalayan scenery at the edge of the tree-line 5. Evergreen forest, Kerala 6. Tropical thorn forest 8. Bonnet Monkey (Macaca radiata) 9. Slender Loris (Loris tardlgradus) 14. Skull of Tiger (Panthera tigris) 15. Lion (Panthera leo) in Gir Forest 16. Leopard (Panthera pardus) on the prowl.. 17. Warning Colours; Facial Masks 20. Skull of Hyena(Hyaena hyaena) 21. Striped Hyena (Hyaena hyaena) 22. Foot and spoor of Wolf (Canis lupus)

..

16

* 17 . .

32

..

33

..

66

..

67

..

78

..

79

.. 102 ..

103

..

106

ILLUSTRATIONS

xi

facing 23. Skulls of Wolf (Canis lupus) and Leopard (Panthera pardus) .. .. .. ..107 26. Relative sizes of Wild Dog {Cuonalpinus) and Sambar (Cervus unicolor) .. ..114 27. Tracks of man and bear .. ..115 28. Feet of bears .. .. .. .. 126

29. Head and teeth of Common Otter (iMtra lutra) .. 127 34. 35. 36.

Tail, hindfoot, and forefoot of Common Otter {Lutra lutra) ..146 Weasel {Mustela) characters .. .. .. 147 Wings of Bats .. .. .. .. isg

37. Shortnosed Fruit Bat {Cynopterus sphinx) carrying away banana 42.

..

..

..

..159

Teeth and jaws of Rodents and Hares

.. 192

43. Gaur {Bos gaurus) in Mudumalai Sanctuary .. 193 48. Evolutionary changes of Proboscidea .. 208 49. Elephant {Elephas maximus) in Bandipur Sanctuary, Mysore .. .. .. .. 209 50.

Forefoot bones of the three * odd-toed' ungulates

51.

Asiatic Wild Ass {Equus hemionus) in the Rann of Clutch

52.

..

..

Great Indian Onehomed Rhinoceros

.•

.. 212 ..213

(Rhinoceros

unicomis) .. .. .. •• 220 53. Smaller Onehomed Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) 221 54. Smaller Onehomed Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) 224 55. Asiatic Twohomed Rhinoceros (Didermocerus suma-

trensis)

.•

••

56. Wild Buffalo in Kaziranga Sanctuary

••

*• ^25

..

. • 240

57. Goral (Nemorhaedusgoral) .. .. ..241 64. Swamp Deer (Cervus duvauceli) stags in Kanha Sanetuary

..

••

65. Sambar (Cervus unicolor) stag

>•

••

..

•• 279

66. Muntjac, or Barking Deer (Afiwltocuj OTiin/iofc)

•• ^82

67. Indian Pangolin (Manis crassicaudata) ...

•• 283

Acknowledgements of copyright below plates

Preface to the First Edition The title of this book may appear confusing to those who quite correctly use the term *animal * to designate all living oigamsms which cannot be described as plants. But in popidar usage the word' animal' has acquired a more restrictedmeaning.It is applied

to Mammals, to that single class within the Animal I^gdom com prising anim^ which nourish theiryoung bymilk. Ourthle as such

follows usage hallowed by custom. The book of htdian AninuiJs describes the commoner or more conspicuous terrestrial mammah of India.

For many years, the Bombay Natural History Society, throu^ the medium of its journal and other attractive publications, has endeavoured to create and stimulate in India an interest in the wild

life of the coimtry. The necessity for this interest, particularly among our educated

classes, is becoming more and more evident with &e passing of time. During the past, extensive undisturbed areas of primeval forest, jungle, and desert gave safe harbourage to wild creatures, and provided guarantee of their survival. But changing conditions in the country, the gradual conquest of forests and waste lands, and, above aU, the building of new roads and great improvements in

methods and rapidity of transport have left few areas in ^e penin

sula of India wMch are free from intrusion by Man. These factors have had and are continuing to have a disastrous effect on the life of the country. The danger to it has been accentuated in recent years by the enormous increase of firearms in use, and by the in ability of many of the Provincial Governments to enforce surii laws as exist for the protection of wild animals. In the past similar conditions existed in most Western countrira. Forests were cut down, streams polluted, and their livestock exter minated to meet the needs of the moment, with no thought of the morrow. Even in tropical lands, gradually permeated with the spirit of material progress, primitive Nature has had to give way little by little to invading towns and settlements. Ruthless destruction of wild life and a prodigal wastage of natural resources have invariably preceded the establishment of a material and prosperous civiliza tion. Thus the magnificent animal life of many tropical and sub tropical lands—and our country is no exception—^is being driven to

its ultimate retreat in fast diminishing forests, and is today threatened with extermination.

Even the great marine animals of the sea, the whal^ and furbearing seals, have not escaped this menace of extinction. The solitudes and vast spaces of the ocean have not been able to riielter them from the rapacity of man. Like terrestrial animola they have

av

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDmON

*

been subjected to ceasdess persecution, made more easy by the p^fection of means and methods employed in the destruction of life, both human and animal

But in recent years a gradual ehan^ has developed in man's oudook upon thedomain of Nature. T1& change has been brought aboiR pmdy by the spread of education and enlightenment It is engenderinga growing opposition to this wanton destruction of Ufe, however much it may profit the destroyer. It is creating the more

humane concq)tion that it is the d^ of man to see that the wdld

creatures of the world ate not annihilated. Butapartfrom humanity,

which initself should impel man to grantto lessercreatures theri^t of existence, there are other considerations which must influence him.

The spirit of this age, with its urge for discovery and research, with its marked tendency towards the popularization of science

among the massesand the dissemination ofits truths and discoveries, is fostering a widespread and intelligent recognition of the immense value to man of me myriads of species, vegetable and animal, which share this planet with him. Today there is no educate man who does not realisethat the realm of Nature provides science with a vast and productive field for research. There is none who is not impressed with the belief that such research has given, and con-

tinhe to give us, results of g^t practical and educaflonhl value.

There are numerous investigations, anatomical, physiolo^cal, ecological, geographical,and evolutionary, which can ordy be made

hy ^e study of animal life. While considerable data have been accunmlated by the study of dead specimens in museums, or of the

living creatures in tiie laborato:^, the *whence, how and where *of

his existencewhkh man is seeking to discover cannot be discovered Iqr these means alone. The study of the living creature under the natural conditions of its environment is equally important.

It is also true that there are material considerations apart from the scientific. Wehave beenaccustomed to look upon beasts ofprey as features to be ext^minated. But with a clearer understanding of the role th^ play in maintaining the balance of life we know now

that even predatory flnifnalu have a distinct value. They are a con

trolling iimuence a^dnst overpopulation by species whose uncheckM increase would adversely afiect the interest of man. On the other hand, there is the utilization for man's benefit of animal pro ducts such as furs, hides, and homs, which in themselves represent a valuable economic asset. Furs collected from all parts of the world and assembled in London for sale during a single year were assess

ed at theValue of £3,0(K),000. There is necessity for conserving the

spiuces of sufiply, which are not inexhaustible. Again, science has

reveakd, and is continuing to reveal, hitherto undreamed of possi-

Ifilities in the uses of animal products and their employment in the treatment of human debility and disease. Who can say what pro duce still remain to be discovered which win one day be of price-

PREFACE TO THE FIRSnr EDITION

xv

less value to man ? Fhtally tiie wild life ofa country is a Mnioe of sport and enjoyment to its people. It gives healthy reCTcation to w dasses, and is a constant attraction to visitors. It isalso a de^te

source of income to the State because of the revenues realised from

the sale of shooting licences and on imports of sporting arms and

ammunition. But obviously it is also an asset which may vanish

without reasonable efforts for its conservation. For these ando^r

reasons, it is now admitted generally, both inEurope and ^enca, thatthe natural beauties ofa country, its varied fauna and flora, are an asset to its people, anasset tobe protected and preserved tothm own advantage and to the advantage of future ^erations. In its

fauna and flora. Nature has endowed India with a ^nMcent asset, an asset which cannot fail to be generally appreciated by its people if they are led to know something of its wormand interest

All those reasons which have made the.people ofWc^m coun«

tries strive for the protection of Nature within their bordm apply with just as much if not more force to our country. Its wild life, in its interest its beauty, anditsmarvellous variety, compares fevourably with that of any coimtry ii^the world.

There are more than 500 different species of mammals found within the Indian Region. They include the Elephant assoda^ in India from time immemorial with the splendour of her ;mncely

pageantry, the Gaur or Indian Bison, thelargest ofexis^g bovines, the Great Indian Rhinoceros, the greatest of all the riiinos now in habiting the world, the gigantic wild sheep of the Himalayas,^ prob ably the largest of their race, the Swamp Deer, the Thamin, the Spotted Deer, one of the most beautiful of all deer, and the Nilgai, the Fourhomed Antelope, and the Indian Antelope or Blackbuck, the only representatives of these genera. The beasts ofprey include the Lion and the Tiger, the most magnificent of all the great cats, and such splendid creatures as the Oouded Leopmd, the Ounce, and the Marbled Cat. Other species, like our Himalayan foxes, martens, gorgeous flying squirrels, and silky-haired langurs, are remarkable for the beauty andthevalue oftheirfur. The Musk Drer and the civets provide toe musk of local commerce. C^er species are remarkable for toe beauty of theircolouring. Our little Painty Bat {Kerivoula pictd)with its brilliant vermilion and black wings is, witoout exception, toe most vividly coloured mammal in toe world. Peculiarity in form and structure is displayed by that strange creature, the flying lemur, which is neither lemur nor bat, but which beiars toe same relationship to the shrews as toe flying squirrel does to the squirrels, or by toe scaly anteater which, with its long scaly body, looks more like a reptile than any form of mammal. Apart from the interest in theirsymmetry ofform, largeness of sire, beauty of colouring, or strangeness of structure or habits, toere is ^ways that attraction and charm which toe presence of wild life gives to our forests and plains, so dear to toe many that live for toe out door life.

xvi

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION

A Aufher interest attadies to oar wild fife from its association

tte folklore and the legendary beliefs of the country. It is an interest not confined to India alone, but has spread among men of cnltare everywhere because of die (»teem and admiration in which her sacred books and writings are held. Some 30 different nmtnmala are mentioned by name in the samMtas 0.e. the four prindpal Vedas).

Among them is the Elqihant, the favourite of Indra, whose sancti^ u enhanced by the belief that eight elqihants guard the eight

celes^ points of the compass. The I^gur or Hanuman monkey is held in veneration, as is commonly known, because of its asso-

dation with other warriormonkeys who help^ Rama in his cam

paign agahist Ravana. The Lion is one of the many incarnations of

Visrau. The Tiger finds mention in ^e later Vedic texts. The

Mongoose figures in the Mahabharata as a teacher of wisdom to ICmg Yudhisnia. The Deer is always associated with Brahma the Creator, and is the constant companion of the god Mahadeva. The Wild Boar is referred to as the * Boar of Heaven'. It is told how in

the primordial fioods Vishnu, taking the form of a boar, raised the submerged earth from the waters and supported it on his tusks. One could dte many more references from the sacred books con cerning the animal Iffe of the coimtry. But apart from this, it is of mudi interest for us to know that the earliest known record of

measures taken for the protection of animal life comes from India. The oldest record which we possess today is the Fifth raiar Edict of Asolm by whichgameand fidiery laws were introduced into northern India in fhe third century B.C. In this inscription the Emperor had carved on enduring stone a list of birds, beasts, fishes, and possibly even inlets, which were to be strictly preserved. The mammals named are 'bats, monk^s, rhinoceros, porcupines, tree squirrels,

barasingha stags, brahminy bulls, and alt four-footed animals which were not utilised or eaten'. The edict further ordains ' that forests

must notbeburned, ei^r formischiefor to destroy living creatures'.

Centuries later, the Moghul ]^perom, sportsmen, men of action, and bom obsemmis tiiat th^ were, displayed a deep interest in the animal fife of the country. Their writings are full of descriptions, some in great detail, of the animals, the plants, and the flowers of the country over which they ruled. While Babar, Humayun, the

great Akbar, and Aurangzebe display in their writings their love of Nature, Jehangir was a bom naturafist. It is said of him that, had he bem the head of a great Natural History Museum instead of beingthe Emperor ofhufia, he would have been a better and happier man. His profuse and engrossing memoirs are a real Natural History of the animal fife of India.

We have endeavoured to show how great an asset to our country is its wild fife and have given many reasons why we should do every

thing for its protection. But for the p^rotection given to the Lion in Junagadh State and to the Great Indian Rhinoceros in Nepal and

PREFACE TO THE RRST EDITIOH

Assam these

xv9

interesting animals would have been extenninated

j. is .® now almost or extinct huntingin leopard, in ^ntral India, the wild once state. common The Ti>«y»r

Unehorned Rhmoceros and the Asiatic Twohomed Rhinoceros.

^ in the grass jungles of Assam the aundarbans, havecommon t^n practically exterminated in theseand areas, n many districts wild animals have been totally wiped out In wlrere they were once common, they are now hopelessly epieted. One does not wish to overdraw the picture. There are Pws of India where the position of wild life is still satisfactory nough insecure. But equally, there are extensive areas where condi tions are so appalling that, if left unchecked, they must lead to the

comply destruction of all the larger wild creatures wMch live in

inem. There is yet another pointwhich must bestressed. Any scheme lor the protecPon of wild life would be incomplete without due provisions for the protection of our birds. Quite apart from a senpmental value, birds render incalculable service to ninn while certain species may damage crops, such harm as is done by birds is werwhelmingly offset by the benefits we derive from them. Without

tfieir protection, our crops, our orchards, our food supplies would

w devoured or destroyed by hordes of ravaging insects. Birds are tne principal agency that controls the bewildering multiplication of ii^ct life which, if unchecked, would overwhelm all life on this

planet. Birds by reason of their predominating insect food are an mdispensable balancing force in Nature. The abundant bird life of this country is one of its valuable possessions. Those who apore-

r® IS concerned, cannot but forexpect its conservation. As farin as our wild 1*life onestrive cannot its preservation urban land. Nevertheless, we believe that it is time that measures were

taken for the protection of birds in urban areas. Areas actually

under the control of Municipalities or Local Boards could with

ad\^ntage be made bird sanctuaries, where the killing of birds is familiar birds which takes place in the immediate vicinity oftowns.

forbidden. There is need to put an end to the wanton destruction of

The second category, land under cultivation, provides at once

the opportunity for a clash between the interests of man and animal

There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, the areas under culti vation in India are extending and willcontinueto extend to meet the

needs of a rapidly increasing population. The need ofincreasing the available sources of food supply can be met only by the

contiiiued absorption of waste lands or forest, the natural domain

of wild life. Secondly, there is the equally imperative need of protecting these cultivated areas from wild animnk. The depre dations of wild animals present one of the most serious handicaps the ryot has to face. In addition to loss of cattle, there isthe damage

done to crops and, not uncommonly, loss of human life. Therefore, whatever the views of the protectionist, this much is clear. Human progress must continue and in the clash of interests between man and

xv2i

fB^AGS 1® MB HKST

Iteffiffl eiSinrt muai noS

BisS Mi pbbB@m te tern

&CKi ^ other couatiies. Gsumot a leasoimhSb sffofft he nwarfia to Siseitinoor own? That anintensive ^dopmeat ofthe ^rioiltiuufail Ksomc^ ofa country may accompany a sane and adoqnate polllcy

§og conservation of its wild llfh is shown by the measures tetrfini to thisend all inrogressive nations. If our wild life is to find protection at all, it must find it 8omeecies of felines, hyenas, jackals, foxes, ratels, mongooses, and several forms of rodents exist in both countries. It is believed that a very large proportion of the animals which formerly existed in the Siwaliks and the allied species now inhabiting Africa and India were derived wholly or partly from the same ancestors, which may have originally migrated southward from Europe and central Asia. The remains of extinct animals dis coveredin Europe and central Asia show that elephants, rhinoceros

es, hippoi>otami, tapirs, antelof^s, lions, and tigers once inhabited

these regions. During that time, it is believed, the northern

countries enjoyed an almosttropical climate, but owing to a change in climate and other causes all those forms of life which were unable

to adapt themselves to changing conditions perished or migrated soulhwmds.

It is known that during the latter part of the Tertiary period the climate of Europe was becoming gradually cooler, and that this

refrigeration ended in a glacial epoch or Ice Age in which the

northern countries were subjected to an Arctic climate. The Ice

Age also produced ^dal conditions in the Himalayan region, but wl^er the^ conditions extended intothe peninsula of India is not

known. It isassumed that all forms oflife inhabiting ^e countries

soaffected were compelled to adapt themselves to

changing con

ditions, to migrate, or to perish. Some were able to react to the new conditions, many were exterminated, while others migrated south wards to colonize warmer tropical countries. Thus is explained the disappearance of numerous forms of life from the northern Hemis phere and the Himalayas, and the survival oftheir descendants both in India and Africa in our time.

Many forms of life, represented in the older fauna, disappeared from thu country. Their place appears to have been taken by others,

ahidi subsequently migratedinto India from the countries lying to die east of the Bay of Bengal. Many Indo-Chinese mammals, not represrated in the older Siwalik fauna, are believed to have mig rated mto India from the hill ranges of Assam and the countries further east. The majority ofthem settled in the eastern Himalayas, Miile odiers spread through or colonized parts of the jieninsula. About 70 per cent of the mammals living in the Himalayan forests between Kashmir and Bhutan are found equally in the hill forests of Assam, Burma, and south China, while some Malayan types, like the mouse-deer and the lorises, inhabit parts of the peninsula. A stream of migration has also come from the west. Such species as the fridian Lion, the Indian Gazelle, and the Urial of the Punjab

and KLashmir,Trom their westerly range or their affinity with species inhabiting regions lying to the west, are believed to have extended into India through her western frontiers.

Thus we see l^t the wQd life of India is derived not only from

species which were indigenous to it, which are found in no other countryin the world, but ako from forms which are descendants of

the distribution of mammals

15

ancestors that migrated into India from the regions which adjoin

its borders. It is composed of an admixture of Indian, Malayan, Ethiopian, and European elements. These foreign forms naturally predominate in parts of the country most suited to their habits. The Malayan forms abound in the damp, sheltered, forest-clad

valleys of the eastern Himalayas and occur again with frequency in

the rain-swept forests of the Malabar coast. The fauna of Kashmir

and the higherHimalayas ismarked bya predominance ofEuropean

tyi^s. The main peninsula is described as the home of the true Indian fauna. The desert tracts of Sind and the Punjab shelter an animal life somewhat uniform with that of the great Falaearctic desert which extends westwards from Sind to the shores of northern Africa.

With this brief review of some of the factors which influenced the character and composition of the Indian faima we may now con sider its present general distribution.

India, with south-eastern Asia, forms part of the Oriental Region,

one of the sixgreatZoological Realms intowhich the earth hasbeen

divided to study the distribution of its animal life. Each of these realms supports its characteristic animal life. That the animals and

plants of onecountry or group ofcountries may differ from those of

another must be apparent to most people. But India, while it forms

part of the Oriental Region, presents in itself such contrasts in physic^ chmacters, such variation in climate ^d vegetation, that

its animal life naturally varies with conditions in difierent parts of the cxiuntry.

This vast sub-continent has been divided int various zones or

sub-Re^ons each of which supportsits characteristic assemblage of wild animals. There is no sharp line of demarcation between these zones. It would be diflScult to plot them out exactly on a map. The

animal life of one zone merges imperceptibly into that of another and there are widespread species which livein one or more zones.

But on the whole it may be claimed that the animal life of a parti cular zone is sufficiently distinctive to be distinguishable from that of another. (Plates facing pp. H, 16,17) The Himalayan Sub-Region

The Himalaya Mountains, between the Indus in the west and the Brahmaputra in the east, support an animal life more or lessdistinct from the rest of India. But the great range of altitude of these mounmins has naturally resulted in marked peculiarities of distribution ki its plants and animals.

Three distinct sub-zones, each with its characteristic assemblage

of animals, are now recognised. The first, the Forest Zone, covers the whole of the forested slopes of the Himalayas from the eastern frontiers of Kashmir to Bhutan. The second includes the western

16

MAMMALS IN GENERAL

Himalayas from Kashmir and eastern Ladak to Chitral, the third the arid plateaux of eastern Ladak and Tibet. The bare towering peaks above the tree-line and a strip of tq)land gr^s country which lies between the main Himalayan range and the plateau of Tibet are regarded as a transition zone. Here the animal life of the

Himalayan forests mergesinto one which is characteristic of Europe and central Asia.

TheFmest Zone.The foothills and lower valleys or ' dhuns ' of the Forest Zone are covered with dense tropical vegetation. These lower forestsare inhabited mainly by animals which are found in the forests of the peninsula. Tiger, elephants, gaur, sambar, and muntjac are common. In the swamps and forests of the Terai, the strip

oflow-lying county which adjoins the foothills, gaur are replaced

by buffalo,and chital, hog-deer, and swamp deer are found.

When an altitude between 5000 to 6000 f(Mt (1525 to 1830 m.) is reached the character of the vegetation changes. The forests become dark and gloomy. Oaks, magnolias, laurels, and birches covered with moss and ferns replace the sal, silk-cotton trees, and ^nt bamboos of the foothills. At an elevation of about 9000 to

12,000 ft. (2745 to 3660 m.) one enters forests of pine and fir trees, of yew andjuniper, withan imdergrowth of scrubby rhododendrons

anddwarf bamboo. We enter a temperate zone with a temperate

vegetotion. But there is no sharp line of demarcation between the tropical and the temperate forests. The transition from one to the other is gradual, much depending on the height of the intermediate ranges and the depth of the inner valleys. In the eastern Himalayas,

ejqposedto thefuU blast of the monsoon, tropical trees reach hi^er

levels than in the colder and drier climate of the western Himalayas.

Theanimallife of the temperate zone is distinguished by the absence

of many species which inhabit the Indian peninsula, and by the

presence of many Indo-Chinese forms, which do not occur in the peninsula but are common in the hill forests of Assam, Burma, and southern China. Pandas, hog-badgers, ferret-badgers, crestless porcupines, and those curious goat-antelopes the goral and the seroware some of the typical inhabitants of these temperate forests. They are not found elsewhere in India but range widely in similar

foreks through Aissam and the countries further east. The Indo-

Chinese elementinthefiiuna isve^ marked intheeastern Himalayas

but, as one travels westward, it gradually disappears until, in

Kashmir and the countries further west, it ceases to be the principal constituent. The probable colonimtion ofthese forests by emigrants fromthe hill rangesof Assamhas already been commented upon.

TheWestern Zone. The secondgreat zone of the mountain system extends from Kashmir and western Ladak to Chitral. The Indo-

Chinese mammals of the central and eastern Himalayas are here

replaced largdy by Indian species, and by an infusion of forms allied

THE DISTRIBUTION OF MAMMALS

n

to European and northern Asiatic types. Many animals living in the plains of India are or were found in this zone, among them the muntjac, the blackbuck, and the chinkara. The sambar is absent,

ifhe most distinctive deer is the Kashmir stag, a relative of the red deer of Europe. Again, typically northern aniinals such as the ibex and markhor range through these western mountains but, like the Kashmir stag, do not extend into the eastern Himalayas. The urial or shapu is also not found far beyond Kashmir but extends its ter

ritory westward through the Punjab, Baluchistan, and Afghanistan to the Persian hill ranges. Kashmir appears then to have received its fauna from the Indian peninsula and the countries lying to the north and west.

Hie Tramsition Zone. The bare peaks above the tree-line and the strip of luscious grass country lying between the mountains and arid

plateaux of Tibet are describedas a tratisition zone, a meetingground

between the animal life of the Oriental and the northern or Palaearc-

tic regions. It is obvious that the huge mass of the Himalayas must be a ^eat barrier to the free migration of animals. This obstacle combined with the great difference in climate north and south ofthe range has resulted in a fairly sharp line of demarcation at about 28° lat. between two distinct faunas, the Oriental in the south and

the Palaearctic in the north. Evidence of this is particularlymarked in the eastern Himalayas. Here north of this line livesuch typically northern animals as moles, water shrews, mouse-hares, marmots, musk deer, and the bharal, while south of it the forests are inhabited

by typically Oriental animalslike flying foxes, fruit bats, tree shrews,

civets, mongooses, and Oriental squirrels.

Hie Tibetam Zone. The Tibetan plateau togetherwith easternLadak is regarded as a distinct faunal area. The zone docs not include the low-lying wooded portions of eastern Tibet, But covers the barren plateaux and uplands which lie beyond the Himalayas but within the northern frontiers of India from Kashmir to Bhutan. It is a

win^wept region of scantyrainfall, intense cold, and highelevation^

and is described as the only region of the globe where both desert and arctic conditions prevail. Hie wild ass, which is foimd in various

desert parts of Asia, lives in this zone,which alsoshelters theWoolly Hare. The great Tibetan sheep, the bharal, and the yak, are also

typical inhabitants of these col^ desolate, and barren mountains.

So much for the wild life of the Himalayan region. Its great range of altitude and variety of climate and temperature, its vegetation ranging from tropical to alpine, and its geological Wstory make it one of the most interesting zoological regions in the world. Assam and Burma. Assam and Burma are included in the same

zoological province as the forest region of the Hunalayas. Here is the same gradation from tropical to temperate vegetation though

18

MAMMALS IN GENERAL

the pu^ly alpine flora of the higher Himalayas is largely absent. The distribution and character of the animal life is similar, except in Tenasseiim where the fauna is distinctly Malayan in type. These Malayan types are traceable all through the province into the hill

ranges of Assam, with an intermingling of pec^ar forms. Of the

wild animals of Burma some, like .the gaur, are identical with those

of India; others, like the saihbar .or the thamin, are regarded as Burmese representatives ofIndian forms. The Indian Peninsular Sub-Region

India proper from the base of the Himalayas to Cape Comorin, with the exception ofthe Malabar coast, is regarded as a single sub-

region, the ds-Gangetic or Indian Peninsular sub-re^on. The northern part of this sub-region comprises the alluvial plains of the Ganges, tihe Indus, and the Brahmaputra rivers, and their tribu taries. It TOvers the greater part of the States of Assam, E. and W. Bengal, Bihar, U.P., E. and W. Punjab, and Sind. This immense

tract of levelland, from 90 to 300 miles (145 to 485 km.) wide and

str^hing for 1400 imiles (2255 km.) from sea to sea, separates the mam Indian i^ninsula from the Himalaya. South of the Gangetic

Plain, the peninsula takes the form of a triangular tableland, vary ing in altitude from 1000 to 3000 ft. (305 to' 915 m.), broken up at intervals by the valleys of its intersecting rivers. The northern side of the tableland rests on confused hill ranges known collectively as the Vindhya Mountains. Its two other sides are formed by the Eastern Ghats,- stretching in fragmentary spurs down the Madras coast, and the Western Ghats, which form the almost continuous

sea-wall of Mysore and Maharashtra. The face of the triangular plateau is scarred with scattered peaks and hill ranges, outliers of the Ghats. The most notable are the Nilgiris, the Anaimalais, and the Palni Hills of southern India.

The anim^ life of the Indian Peninsular region is characterised bythe absence of manyof those Indo-Chinese species which are so abundant in the hill forests of the Hiihalayas. It is the home of the true Indian fauna of which the spotted deer, the nilgai, the blackbuck, the fourhomed antelope, and the sloth bear are typical rep resentatives. They are found nowhere else. Other species like the gaur, the sambar, and the muntjac occur both in India and the Malay countries.

Hte Indian Des«rt Re^on. The trans-Indus districts of the Punjab, western Sind, and Baluchistan really form the eastern limits of a great desert region which extends through Persia, Mesopotamia and Arabia to the shores of north Africa. Naturally the character of the wild life of the Indian Desert region differs markedly from the rest of India. It consists mainly of species which have migrated into it from the desert lands lying beyond its borders, and of species

THE DISTRIBUTION OF MAMMALS

19

from the peninsula which are able to live under the conditions pre vailing in these arid and sandy wastes. The Gangetic Plain. The general distribution of animals in this

sub-region corresponds to a large extent to the character of the vegetation, which is again dependent on variations in climate and soil. In the great plain of the Ganges the rainfall is moderate and the winter temperature is correspondingly low. In the north-western

portions of the plain, in E. and W. Punjab and western Rajputana,

the vegetation gradually merges into that of the adjoining desert zone. In this area live many desert forms of animals such as the

desert cat, the desert fox, the desert hare, and various species of desert gerbilles, colonists from the Desert zone. The desert forms

disappear as one travels eastwards into the more humid part of the

Gangetic Plain. A feature of the dry zone of the Gangetic Plain formerly used to be large herds of antelope and gazelle. In the humid plain of E. and W. Bengal, the semi-desert vegetation of the

northern plain gives place to liKuriant groves of mangoes, figs, and palms, such as one finds in the moist coastal tracts of the peninsula. The wild life of this humid area differs little from

that of the moister and more cultivated parts of the peninsula. Further east, at the mouths of the Ganges, the great plain is trans formed into a wilderness of swamp and forest, the Sunderbans. It is a region of grassy savannahs and muddy islets covered with man

groves and dense evergreen forests. These forests shelter most of the larger animals found in the forests of the peninsula, with the

addition of swamp deer and such other animus as have a pre ference for this ainphibious terrain.

The Main Pemnsula. While the drainage areas of its intersecting rivers are covered with greenwoods and cultivation,the greater part of the tableland which forms the main peninsula of India presents a scene of wide undulating plains separated by ranges of flat-topped hills. A portion of the plateau, comprising the eastern parts of central India, Gujarat, and the Deccan, is sheltered from the monsoon

by the great wall of the WesternGhats. It is a dry regionof moderate rainfall. This dry zone extends to the lowlands of the Camatic and

stretches south to the plains of southern India. These are again cut off from the monsoon by the southern hill ranges. The dry zone of the tableland has its characteristic vegetation due to climate and to soil. From the Bombay coast to the nei^bourhood of

Nagpur, from below Belgaum to Goona in central India, over some 200,000 sq. miles (518,000 sq. km.) of coimtry, black cotton soil predominates. It is derived here from the underlying volcanic

rocks known as Deccan Trap which form the unbroken substratum throughout this area. Black soil produces its characteristic wild and cultivated vegetation. The wide grass-covered plains and the bases of the flat-topped hills in the Trap country are scattered with clumps

20

MAMMALS IN GENERAL

ofthoray aoaoas, species otZizyphus, small trees, and shrubs, which

we either leafless or bumt-up in the hot weather. Forests, where they exist, are mainly deciduous and composed of stunted teak, bamboos, andsundry small trees. In the open grasslands and scrub jungle, herds of gazelle and antelope were once common. Other

animals ofthe open country in the peninsula are the junke cat, theccmomon fox, thecommon mongoose, the Indianwolf, palm

squOTcIs, hares, and a variety offield rats and mice. Gaur, sambar, bear, and wild dogs are found in its open d^duom hillforest. As oneleaves the Trap country and penetrates humd region l^g north andeast ofNagpur, oneenters a zone Where the climate is somewhat similar to the plains of E. and W. J^ngal, and the character ofthesoil andofth& vegetation changes.

Te^ c^ses to be the dominant tree of the forests. It gives place gradually to Sal, while the familar crops of the Trap country millet, yield to watery rice and sugarcane fields. The vma meofmeforests ofthishmnid zone is enriched by the presence oi wild elephants, buffalo, and swamp deer,\v(hich occur in this area. Western Ghats, in sharp contrast to the

an'li heavy rainfall. The forests Deccan,covering present athe region ofgreat humidity and western slopes are at

times very dense^ and composed of lofty trees, festooned with numerom perennial creepers. Bamboos form a luxuriant under

growth. In parts of the range the forests are more open and the ^streams running.through them are covered with spice

and betel groves.

'Hie Nilgins, an offshoot ofthe Western Ghats, rise precipitously tablelands seamed with densely

^ They are compost oftallevergreen trees ncciir Sholas, to those the Nilgiris, rp. the Anaimalai, Palni Hills, similar and other south of Indian ranges. ^ niain shelter to wild elephants, gaur, and other iwf1 most interestingfeature ofthehigher Tit mu u'u ranges.^^0ns affinity to thehigher of the AS^ Many istheir of the trees found in theseforests high sholas, ^ some of the forms of animal life are common to both areas, ine lorests oftoe Western Ghats and toe south Indian hill ranges Mve a nchbr fauna than the remaining areas of the Peninsular egion. Among the species limited to these forests are the Nilgiri

thehontailed macaque, the Nilgiri brown mongoose andthe

mongMse, the Malabar civet, and the .spiny mouse,

levels oftheNilgiris and theAnaimalai are found such anirads aa the tahr, the pine-inarte...

CONCLUSIONS

21

CONCLUSIONS

From this general description of the composition and distribution of the manunals of India, and of the varied conditions under which

they live, it will be seen that they share with all other living tilings the strong natural tendency to increase their sphere of action, to extend their territory. We find animals which have originated in countries beyond our frontiers or in our northern moimtain ranges extending their range and colonizing the peninsida. When a species thus spreads into a new territory wherethe climate, the vegetation, and the enemies it has to face are different,from its original home, it must adapt itself to these changed conditions or it wiU fail to establish itself. These different conditions may produce differences in its appearance and-habits, in other words they may produce a variation from the typical parent form. If these colonists are sub sequently isolated from the pairent stock by impassable barriers,

produced as a result of geological and other changes, they will

tend in the course of centuries to differ more and more from the

parent stock. Glacial conditions which obtained in the Himalayas

during the Ice Age are believed to have driven the tahr with other animals to colonize the Indian peninsula, which is assumed to have enjoyed a more temperate climate during this epoch. The return of tropical conditions in India is believed to havef resulted in

the extermination of the tahr in the peninsular region. But those which were able to obtain a refuge in the temperate climate of the higher altitudes of the Nilgms and Anaimalai hill ranges survived. Isolation from the parent Himalayan stock and different conditions of life produced in the course of centuries those differences in coloming and texture of coat, shape of horns, and other characters

which now distinguish the Nilgiri from the Himalayan tahr. In other words, a new and distinct species was evolved. But if no im passable barriers are created, the new varieties evolved in different connected areas remain more or less alike. There is interbreeding and consequently an intergradation of characters between these varied geographical races linking them with the parent form. Thus, among many widespread species of animals we find more or less distinguishable geographical races, evolved as a result of the different conditions under which they live in different areas of their

range. In the case of our Giant Squirrel, which extends through the forested tracts of the peninsula, there are well-marked differences

iri colouring which enable us to distinguish various racesinhabiting different areas. (Map between pp. 24and 25) In the past naturalists were content to classify animals in accordance with the salient characters or marked differences between

species. In recent years it has been recognised that it is not only necessary to classify species, but it is equally important to systematically record such geographical variations where they exist in a species. These data, when sufficiently multiplied, will in future

22

MAMMALS IN GENERAL

furnishinformation for the investigation ofproblems connected with the variation and distribution of sproies. Therefore, in more recent publications dealing with Indian animal life, we find due attention paid to the description of geographical races wherever these occur. It will also be seen that a knowledge of animal life gives us a better knowledge of ancient geo^phy. It reveals changes which have taken place in the distribution of land and water, and shows how the present distribution ofland animals has been brought about.

We ^ve seen also some of the factors which have influenced this distribution or produced changes in or the extermination of numerous fomis. In our day, the agency which accelerates these changes is man. In India, irrigation by human agency in the desert tracts ofE. and W. Punjab and Sind has resulted in the conversion of

vasttracts of desertland into fertile county. This is bringing about

a change in the character of the animal life of these areas. Desert species are retreating from them. They are being replaced'by forms more adapted to the changed conditions. Again, man sweeps away forests, dams, rivers, and wipes out of existence races of animals which are the culmination of centuries of evolution. While man is

a destructive agent,he can also becomea preserver and protect wild creatures from the destructive effects of his own handiwork. The

need for savingthe wild creatures from annihilation is recognised in most countries of the world. Various factors, as a result of human

a^vity, are threatening the wild creatures ol India with extermina

tion. There is, as we have shown, great need in this country for adequate measures to preserve wild life from the destruction which threatens it.

2. Apes, Monkeys, Lemurs In his CLASsmcATiON of animals man gives pride ot place to him self and to the apes, monkeys, and lemurs. These animals have many of the same structural characters as man. Some of them

resemble him more in one feature, some in another.^ They are

grouped with man in a common Natural Order the Primate, the

first, the highest of animals. Now there is nothing in the ^dily

structure of a primate which makes it superior to other animals. Creatures much lower in the scale of life are as well, some perhaps

even better, fitted for their special ways of life. The asrendancy of the primate is purely mental. It is derived from a superior develop ment of the brain' and the higher intelligence which goes with it.

But such predominance is not equally shared by all the members of

the Order. In mental development some monkeys and lemurs are

not much better than the lower mammals. At the other end of the

scale is man, who in mental endowment stands alone and un approachable among all creatures. The immeasurable superiority of the human intellect marks the line of cleavage between man and animal.

If we look for obviously distinctive characters in the animals which we class as primates, we find them in the structure of their hands and feet which are designed to serve the express purpose"of grasping organs. As such they are admirably adapted to the parti

cular habits and mode of life of the animals.

STRUCTURE IN RELATION TO HABITS

Hands and feet. The hands of apes, monkeys, and lemurs are con

structed on the same plan as our own. The thumb is opi^sable to

the other fingers. Such a hand can pick up and hold objects. But primarily their hands remain organs of locomotion. Many apes and monkeys have poorly developed thumbs ; some monkeys have no thumbs at all, or thumbs so small that they are almost useless. A gibbon's thumb is set far down the side of its slender hand, and parallel with the other fingers. It appears weak and ineffective. The thumb of a langur is rudimentary. Yet the long narrow palm

of the gibbon and its long flexible fin^rs, when hooked over a branch, provide light and ideal suspension for its body. In rapid movement the hook can be fixed and released instantly, whereas a

protruding thumb might catch against a branch or be otherwise injured in swift progress. The thumbless hand of some monkeys

expresses a still moreperfect adaptation to rapid movement ^ough

the trees ; an embarrassment in such movement, the thumb is either

L

24

APES, MONKEYS, LEMURS

redu^ msize or lost. Unlike apes and monkeys, all lemurs have welhdevelop^ thumbs, but curiously enough in some of them it is

theindex or first finger which is poorly developed. To gve the hand perfect freedom of movement the double bones

ofthe forearm are quite free. Both bones are equally well developed and so articulated to the wrist thatthepalms can be turned upwards or downwards with ease, A similar provision gives the same facility of movement to the foot.

The feet ofprimates me built onmuch thesame plan as the hands. Tte toes are long flexible fingers. The big toe is converted into a

^rfect thumb and like the thumb is easily opposable to the other

di^ts. With such a foot objects can be seized and held. To fit these

Mimals for climbing, the feet have become powerful grasping organs.

The hmnan foot has lost this prehensile power, though some of the

primitive human types still retain it. But to live man has no need to climb, while apes, monkeys, and their lesser kin must. Their hands

and feet and bt^es me built for this special purpose. Such differ

ences as we see in their hands and feet and in their limbs and bodies

me but the result of d^erences in methods of climbing. Contrast the biuld of a langur with the bujld of a gibbon. A gibbon's exces sively long arms, its powerful chest and shoulders, its weak hindquartem me all designed to aid its special method of progress through the trees. When moving rapidly a gibbon swings on his arms from branch to branch. It is a way of getting about quickly used by all the apes. The langur on the other hand displays no

excessive lengthemng of the arms. His legs me in fact longer than

his mms, and his loins and thi^s are powerfully developed. His particulm build is associated with his particular method of swift progress. Like all monkeys, when moving fast a langur moves with leaps and bounds, springing from branch to branch, from tree to

tree. In these flying leaps his tail helps to balance his body. (Plate

iaciiigp.32)

Tails. The tail in primates is a vmiable feature. Apes have none. The tailless gibbon uses its outstretched arms to maintain its balance

when walking erect on branches or on the ground. As for monkeys, there me monkeys with long tails, others with mere stumps, and

yet others without a tail. When long, the tail helps to balance the body. Many American monkeys have prehensile tails and use them as a fifth hand. The end of the tail, hitched over a branch, gives additional support to the body in movement or in rest. None of the Old World apes or monkeys can use their tails in this way. For

comfort when sitting the lan^r is provided with patches or callo

sitiesof hmd tough skin on his buttocks. The provision is common

to our ^bbons and monkeys. It is absent in American species. As vwth climbing, so with walking or running on the ground, the langur and the gibbon eachhas its characteristic way of movement. When it comes to emth, or walks along a branch, the gibbon walks

17. Wild Oxen, Oxen, sheep, and goate, antelopes, deer, and pigs, all belong to the second order or division of hoofed animals, the ArtifMhidyia or even-toed ungulates. Giraffes, camels, hippopotami are induded

in this order, which contains the ^eat majority of living hoofed

animals. This varied assemblage is divided into a number of families, the largest of which is the Bovidae. The family indudes all oxen, sheep, and goats, domestic or wild, and also the antelopes and gazelles.

The points of resemblance and distinction between these animals

are best revealed in considering their structure. STRUCTURE IN RELATION TO HABITS

Fed. Our wild oxen include the Gaur or Indian Bison, the Banteng or Tsaine, strictly speaking a Malayan animal which may just occur within Indian limits on the frontiers of north-eastern India, the Yak, and the Wild Buffalo. Wild oxen are easily recognizable by their massive build and

their general similarity in form to domestic cattle. Wild sheep and

goats again are built much like their tame kindred. But despite their heavy build, wild oxen are active and nimble creatures. Gaur

and yak are admirable climbers ascending the steepest slopes with speed and facility. Of the climbing powers of wild goats and sheep

there is little ne^ to speak. Few animals are so quick and sure

footed on precipitous ground. Now, unlike the clawed limbs of beasts of prey, which serve as

weapons of attack, or the grasping hands and feet of apes and monkeys, the limbs of all hoofed animals are suited to one purpose only, which is carrying and moving the body. Their feet, shod with homy hooves, are built to withstand the roughest wear, while

sp^ and surety of movement are attained both by their mode of

progress and by the special structure of their limbs. All hoofed animals walk on the tips of their toes. Thus the full extent of the

limbs is brought into action and the length ofthe stride and spe^ are increased. A moving body moves faster when resistance to its movement is reduced. In hoofed animals such resistance is reduced not only by progress on the tips of the toes, but also by a reduction in their number; so that the part of the body brought into contact with the earth is reduced to the narrowest limits and resistance is

proportionately diminished. No typical hoofed animal has mrne

four funraonal toes. Some as we have seen have three, the

STRUCTURE IN RELATION TO HABITS

235

majority two, horses only one. With these animals Nature's plan has been to lengthen and strengthen the bones of one or more toes

and to dispense completely with the others.

This reduction has been effect^ in different ways m different groups of hoofed animals. In rhinoceroses, horses, and tapirs, as

was shown, it is the third or middle toe of the foot whirii has increased in size at the expense of the others. But in the great

majority of hoofed animals, in oxen, sheep, goats, art^pes,

deer, camels, pigs, and the hippopotamus, it is not the third alone but the third and fou^ which are greatly develop The other toes are dispensed with or reduced in size. In all mese

animals the first, the innermost toe, is wanting. The sewnd toe

and the fifth or outermost toe are either absent or reduc^ m

size ; they form the *petty toes * seen in cattle, antelopes, deer, pigs, etc. The third and fourth toes, i.e. the two miMe toes of the foot, are fully developed ; they are large, eqi^ in size, Md perfectly symmetrical, and the ^ntre line of the limb passes wtween them. The two hooves which encase these toes present a flat

surface to each other, and look like a single hoof cleft^ tw(K

Hence the name *cloven-hoofed' appliedto these animals. Coupled

with this reduction in the number of toes is ano&er disun^ve

character. The two bones of the foot attaching to the two miaclie

toes are fused together to form a single bone, the *cannon wne . There is also a corresponding development in the lengthMd

method of articulation of the bones of the wnsts and ankles. These

modifications in the bony structure ensure greater firmness to the

foot during rapid movement. Thus reinforced and strengthened, it is less likely to give under pressure. The cloven hooves provide a better hold on rough groundand, as they expand when sunk into

soft soil and close on extrication, they help movement in mai^h and swamp. The size and set of the hooves are a^pted to the habits of the animal. Our wild buffalo, a creature of swamps and

marshland, has large, wide-splayed hooves well smt^ to move ment in marshy soil; while the hooves ofthe Gaur, a hill dweller,

are small and close-knit and better adapted for use on hard stony ground. . i. v .1 From what has been written it will be seen that the limbs and

feet of bovines and their kin are perfect running orgMS meant

to ensure sx>eed and surety of movement. To most of th^e large, yet timid creatures, a capacity for rapid flight is their riuef means

of escape from beasts of prey,their numerous and habitual enenues.

Apart from this, their sturdy, hoofed limbs, designed for conti nuous and rough usage, are well adapted to carry them for long

distances over diflScult ground. Most wild cattle, sheep, and goats seasonally travel many weary miles in search of food.

Teeth. The food of cattle, sheep, and goats, and their kin, con sisting mainly of grassesand other coarse vegetable matter, requires

236

WILD OXEN, SHEEP, GOATS

long ma^cation before it becomes digestible. Their grinding teeth

are specially suited to such a diet. They have broad crowns com plicated by folds and ridges of hard enamel. These ridges are braced on either side with layers of softer ^ntine. An eflFective grinding surface is constantly maintained by the persistence of the harder enamel and the quicker wear of the softer dentine ; a similar

device, as we have seen, keeps the teethof rodents in goodgrinding

order.

'Dieir front teeth are equally adapted to their food and way of

eating it. the m^bers of the family have no incisor teeth in the upper jaw. Their place is taken by a soft pad. Again, the

canine teeth in the upper jaw are rudimentary or absent. In the

lower jaw, on the other han^ incisors and canines are present.

But the canines are brought into close contact with the incisors.

They can scarcely be distinguished from them. They have become part of the grass-cropping apparatus. The grass is drawn into the mouth by tine tongue, its surface covered with rough points all directed towards the ttu*oat.

Thesebulky animals require a great amount of food. Their food,

as we have said, consists mainly of tough fibrous grass which has to longand continuously chewed before its nourishment becomes

available. Now to animals, which have so many enemies to prey

upon the^ long exposure on oppn grazing grounds implies grave

risk. Their food, however large its quantity and however difficult to digest, has to be eaten quickly during limited grazing hours. Natme has provided them with the means to do this without harm

to themselves. TTiey can take and swallow large quantities of food

dunng comiiaratively short feeding hours, and chew and assimilate It later when resting in safety and seclusion. Their stomachs are expressly designed for this purpose.

Stomacliu The stomach consists of four separate chambers. The ^be paunch, serves to contain quantities of hastily

chewed food. In the paunch it undergoes a softening process and returned to the mouth in small boluses. Each bolus is

thoroughly chewedin a slow and deliberate manner. It is a familiar

process known as ruminating or 'chewing the cud'. As each

mouthfm isreduced to pulp it isswallowed and replaced by another

sent up from the paunch. The food when pulped enters the second chamber of the stomach, called the reticulum or ' honeycomb' bag because its walls are celled like a honeycomb. Here the food IS pressed and shaped and sent up to the gullet, whence it imses downwards again into a third, and then into a fourth

chamber. Actual digestion takes place in the last chamber. Ante-

lo^s and deer have similar complex stomachs. Like oxen, sheep,

and goats, they are true niniinants. Camels and chevrotains also

ruminate, butthey aredistinctive in otherways. Thespecial featmes

of true ruminants, as wehave seen,are the absenceof incisors in the

STRUCTURE IN RELATION TO HABITS

237

upper jaw, a four-chambered stomach, and the presence of homs. No other hoofed animal has true homs.

Homs. The homs of all the Bovidae consistof two parts, a core of bone arising from the skull and an outer sheathor cap oftrue hom. The outer sheath is hollow and can be removed whole from its bony core. This is why these animals are called hollow-homed

ruminants. It is a character which distinguishes them from the deer (Cervidae) which are mminants with solid homs. Unlike

in deer, the horns of the Bovidae persist through life, thnngh the upper layers of hom may wear and flake ofl" as new hom grows below. Deer shed their antlers periodically. The homs of oxen are present in both sexes and of nearly equal dimensions in both males and females. Usually they arise near or from the summit

of the skull, whence they generally sweep in a more or less outward direction and then curve upwards, sometimes inwards, near the tips. They are never spirally twistedor ornamented with prominent knots or ridges, a feature so common in the homs of sheep and goats. In sheep and goats also both sexes are homed, but the homs of the females are iisually smaller and less massive. LIFE IN RELATION TO SURROUNDINGS

The home of tlie family. Oxen are believed to be descendants of ancestors whose original home was northem Asia. From this

centre the family spread into Europe, and by way of the Rftiiring

Straits into North America. Later they extchlded their range into

tropical coimtries, where the majority of species now live. Of our Indian species, the gaur, the tsaine, and the buffalo are tropical. The yak alone is found in the temperate zone. As to sheep and goats, like oxen their original home was central Asia where tte majority of species are still foimd. Within Indian limite ttiey are

confined mainly to the temperate forests or thealpine levels ofthe Himalayas. One species of wild sheep, the urial, ^ adapted itself to a life in the barren sun-scorched Ulls of Sind, Baluchutan, and the Punjab. And a single species of wild goat is foundin the Penin

sula ; this is the Nilgiri tahr which lives onthe heights ofthe Nilgiris

and some of the adjoining hill ranges. This is the lowest latitude at which any wild goat lives. Habits and snrronndings. Seasonal changes in climatic conditions and consequent changes in vegetation naturally influence the habits of these animals. Writing of gaur in the Central Provinces, Mr. Dunbar Brander says : ' During the cold weather they frequent the grass maidans on the hill-tops and the banboo and creeper-clad slopes of the hills. As the hot weather advances, shortage of food

and water forcesthem downand theycanbefotmd at low elevations

frequenting grassy glades by the banks of streams. la the rains

238

WILD OXEN, SHEEP, GOATS

they wander much, but during other seasons they frequent the same

plai^ at the same time of the year.* In the bamboo jungles of Mysore the movements of these animals are somewhat different.

Between January and May they seek the evergreen valleys watered by perennial streams. With the coming of the rains in May, they roam forth to feed on the succulent grass which springs up on the

summits of the hills. About Septem&r when the grass grows too rank for their liking many gaur move down to the forest tracts at the foot of the hills. Wild buffalo in the riverain plains of Assam, >^ere grazing is always to be had, are less given to wandering. But in parts of Orissa and Madhya Pradesh the jungles are dry, the green cover withers during the hot weather, and many water-holes and wallows cease to exist. Buffaloes then wander much in search

of grazing and frequently resort to village tanks to drink and wallow. Where swamps and water persist they spend much of the day lying almost completely submerged in pools. The yak, an inhabitant of the bleak Tibetan plateau, lives in continuous struggle with the fiercest elements of Nature. In the bitter cold of these silent, snow

bound altitudes many die of starvation during winter and many

come ^wn to comparatively lower levels, to 14,000 ft. (4270 m.) or so, in quest of food. Similarly rigid are winter conditions for wild sheep and goats in the Himalayan highlands. In the Peninsula, not winter, but the hot weather, is the time

of adversity. In the Punjab and Sind hills, where the heat during summer is intense, urial seek shelter under shady rocte or even enter forest and come out to feed only in the comparative cool of the evening or before stinrise. But in the cold or cloudy weather they are on the move at all times.

Borines and ttrir nri^Uboms. The role of ruminants in the economy

of Nature is the general role of grazing animals. They are a check on the superabundant growth of various types of grasses, the most

quick-sprea^g of all vegetation. At the same time, ruminants are the basic food of a wide range of carnivores. Wild oxen be

cause of their large size are natuifally at the very end of the food

chain and fall a prey only to the largest carnivores. In our forests,

tigers alone can d^l with gaur or bufifiilo. Leopards, wolves,

wild dogs prey on wildsheepand goats in their mountain fastnesses and help to keep down their numbers. As for the larger bovines, gaur and b^alo, the main control on their over-increase are diseases carried by various parasites which periodically decimate the herds.

Many writers have commented upon the association between gaur and elephants. Both, having much the same habits as regards food and type of shelter, are frequently found feeding together.

Gaur app^ently derive some benefit from this association. They

feed on high bamboo shoots and such foliage as would be out of their reach unless pulled down by the elephants. Apart from