Mrs. Loudon's Entertaining Naturalist: Being popular descriptions, tales, and anecdotes of more than Five Hundred Animals.Loudon, Mrs. (Jane)
General
Mrs. Loudon's Entertaining Naturalist: Being popular descriptions, tales, and anecdotes of more than Five Hundred Animals.
Loudon, Mrs. (Jane)
Animals -- Juvenile literature; Zoology -- Juvenile literature
IS a singular species of hog, which dwells in many of the islands of the
eastern Archipelago. His four tusks are of enormous size, especially
those of the upper jaw, which are turned completely upwards and bent
back, like horns, towards the forehead, which they sometimes even touch.
These singular tusks are only found in the male; they do not seem, from
their construction, to be of much use to him as weapons; and it was
formerly supposed that he employed them as hooks to hang himself up to
the branch of a tree for his night’s rest.
THE PECCARY. (_Dicotyles labiatus._)
THIS is a little species of pig, of a brown colour, with pale lips,
which is found in great troops in the forests of South America. These
bands of Peccaries are said to travel from place to place under the
guidance of a sort of chief, who places himself at the head of his troop
and marches forward in a direct line, swimming boldly over the rivers,
and often devastating the plantations. When one of these troops meets
with any unusual object, they all stop to examine it, making a dreadful
clattering with their teeth, which they are quite ready to use in their
own defence, and will soon tear an assailant to pieces, unless he can
succeed in climbing up into a tree.
[Illustration: THE TAPIR. (_Tapirus americanus._)]
THIS animal bears considerable resemblance to the wild boar, but is
without tusks, and has its snout prolonged into a small fleshy
proboscis, or trunk. This trunk, however, has not the flexibility of
that of the elephant, and is incapable of holding anything. The colour
of the Tapir is of a deep brown, and the male has a small mane on the
upper part of his neck. It stands about three feet and a half high, and
measures nearly six feet in length. It lies in thickets, the thorny
branches of which cannot affect it from the thickness of its skin, while
they lacerate the skins of its pursuers. Its favourite food is the
water-melon. It is generally found alone, and always roams in search of
food at night; and it is easily tamed if taken young. It possesses the
same power of remaining under water as the hippopotamus, and when it
enters a pond, can descend to the bottom, and remain there five or six
minutes.
The Malayan Tapir (_T. malayanus_), is very similar to the American
species in form; but is larger and has no mane. It is very remarkable
for the distribution of its colours, the anterior part and the legs
being deep black, and the rump, back, and sides, white. This animal is
found chiefly in Sumatra and Borneo.
[Illustration: THE HORSE. (_Equus caballus._)]
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