The most notorious case of an animal not breeding in captivity is that of the
elephant. Elephants are kept in large numbers in their native Indian home,
live to old age, and are vigorous enough for the severest labour; yet, with a
very few exceptions, they have never been known even to couple, though both
males and females have their proper periodical seasons. If, however, we
proceed a little eastward to Ava, we hear from Mr. Crawfurd (18/14. 'Embassy
to the Court of Ava' volume 1 page 534.) that their "breeding in the domestic
state, or at least in the half-domestic state in which the female elephants
are generally kept, is of everyday occurrence;" and Mr. Crawfurd informs me
that he believes that the difference must be attributed solely to the females
being allowed to roam the forest with some degree of freedom. The captive
rhinoceros, on the other hand, seems from Bishop Heber's account (18/15.
'Journal' volume 1 page 213.) to breed in India far more readily than the
elephant. Four wild species of the horse genus have bred in Europe, though
here exposed to a great change in their natural habits of life; but the
species have generally been crossed one with another. Most of the members of
the pig family breed readily in our menageries; even the Red River hog
(Potamochoerus penicillatus), from the sweltering plains of West Africa, has
bred twice in the Zoological Gardens. Here also the Peccary (Dicotyles
torquatus) has bred several times; but another species, the D. labiatus,
though rendered so tame as to be half-domesticated, is said to breed so rarely
in its native country of Paraguay, that according to Rengger (18/16.
'Saugethiere' s. 327.) the fact requires confirmation. Mr. Bates remarks that
the tapir, though often kept tame in Amazonia by the Indians, never breeds.
Ruminants generally breed quite freely in England, though brought from widely
different climates, as may be seen in the Annual Reports of the Zoological
Gardens, and in the Gleanings from Lord Derby's menagerie.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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