Wild Beasts and Their Ways, Reminiscences of Europe, Asia, Africa and America — Volume 1Baker, Samuel White, Sir
History
Wild Beasts and Their Ways, Reminiscences of Europe, Asia, Africa and America — Volume 1
Baker, Samuel White, Sir
Animal behavior; Hunting
It was impossible to carry this animal, we therefore skinned it, and
upon opening the stomach we found the sections of a fawn antelope; these
when placed in position showed the entire animal, which she must have
eaten a few hours previously. This was so fresh that my natives
immediately made a fire and roasted the meat, which they ate with great
enjoyment as a feast of victory. (We measured this lioness carefully
with a piece of string; she was 9 feet 6 inches from nose to tip of
tail.)
I shall say no more concerning lions, but I shall always admire the calm
dignity of appearance, the massive strength, the quiet determination of
expression, and the NOLI ME TANGERE decision, that represent the
character of the nation which has selected this noble animal for its
emblem.
I do not venture upon the extensive variety of smaller species of the
genus Felis; but there is one in India which I have only observed upon
two occasions; this is the colour of a puma, rather long in the leg,
with pointed tufts of black hair at the tips of the ears, giving it the
appearance of a lynx. I have a skin in my possession which I shot in the
Central Provinces of India in 1888. The whole of the genus Felis, from
the lion to the ordinary cat, have the same number of teeth-six cutting
teeth, six front teeth, and two incisors in either jaw. The tongues are
invariably rough, and in the lion and the tiger they are prickly to such
a degree that flesh could be licked clean off the bone without the
preliminary and impatient process of tearing by the teeth.
The often-questioned thorn in the extreme end of a lion's tail is by no
means a fallacy; this is a distinct termination in a sharp horny point,
which, although only a quarter of an inch or less in length, is most
decided. I do not consider that there is any special use for this
termination, any more than there would be for the tuft of black hair
which forms the extremity, and which conceals the thorny substance.
CHAPTER X
THE BEAR (URSUS)
This is one of the oldest animals in history, and it has survived the
attacks of man far more successfully than the more noble beast the lion.
This survival may probably result from the secluded habits of the bear,
which cannot be classed among the destroyers, such as the carnivora,
although it is dangerous when hunted, and not unfrequently it attacks
man without any provocation.
The nature of most animals may be judged by the formation of their
teeth; those of the bear declare its omnivorous propensities--
In the upper jaw 12 molars, 2 canine, 6 incisors.
In the lower jaw 14 molars, 2 canine, 6 incisors.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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