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第9章 大快朵颐

continent surviving its effects. Still there is good reason to hope, from the peculiarly healthy appearance of the present litter, that, by means of skilful management, the danger may be averted, and that a pair at least of these noble animals, “born and bred in England,” may in a few years rival their parents in size, in beauty, and in majesty.

expansion of the other. He then seizes it by the tail and mounts with it to a considerable height in the air, from which he drops it to the[212] earth, and repeats this process until the reptile is either killed or wearied out; when he breaks open its skull by means of his beak, and tears it in pieces with the assistance of his claws, or, if not too large, swallows it entire.

ich exists in their corporeal structure.

In the elegant symmetry of their form and the light and graceful agility of their motions, the Antelopes are superior even to the Deer, whom, however, they closely resemble, not merely in outward shape, but also in internal structure. Like them, in addition to the coincidence of a slightly made and beautifully proportioned figure, they are frequently furnished with a naked muzzle, and with the same remarkable sinus beneath the inner angle of the eye; and their ears are generally of considerable size, erect, and pointed. But they are strikingly distinguished from them and from all the other animals of the order by the peculiar character of[192] their horns, which are formed of an elastic sheath enclosing a solid nucleus, and are for the most part common to the females as well as to the males. They have no canine teeth, and exhibit no appearance of a beard such as is seen in the Goats. The horns vary greatly in the different races; they are sometimes straight and upright, at other times slightly curved, and fre

To distinguish between the numerous races of Wolves which are scattered more or less abundantly over nearly the entire surface of the earth; to determine that such and such variations are the result of original formation, and that such and such others are merely the product of accidental circumstances; in other words, to establish clear and tangible grounds of specific distinction between animals so varied in external appearance, but corresponding so perfectly in every essential particular, while the shades of character by which they differ, although in many cases strikingly marked, are for the most part so unimportant, or so little permanent, as scarcely to be[94] deserving of notice,—is unquestionably one of the most difficult problems, to the solution of which the zoologist has to apply himself.

These peculiarities of habit, by which the Vultures are strikingly contrasted not merely with the Eagles,[207] but even with the smallest of the Falcon tribe, are the necessary result of their organisation. Their beak, it is true, is like that of the Eagles strongly curved at the point alone, and they also possess all the technical characters of the Rapacious Order; but their talons are far inferior, both in size and in the degree of their curvature, and they are consequently unable to grasp their prey with sufficient force to transport it through the air. Their diminished power of flight renders them incapable of soaring upwards to search abroad with piercing eye for the objects of their rapacity; and they are therefore left dependent upon the acute sensibility of their nostrils, which amply supplies the deficiency. Of the external characters which they exhibit the most remarkable is derived from the want of plumage on the head and neck, which are covered in the greater number of the species by nothing more

with surprising agility. Man he generally endeavours, if possible, to[38] avoid; but, when hard pressed, he fears not to make head against the hunter; and it frequently requires the exertion of no common share of skill and intrepidity in the latter to save himself from the deadly fangs of the infuriated object of his pursuit. Occasionally, indeed, the cravings of hunger stimulate the treacherous animal to attack the unwary woodcutter, or the lone traveller whose path has led to his secret haunts; but in this case he rarely, if ever, shows himself openly in the face of day, but watches with insidious glare for the fatal opportunity of springing upon his wretched victim from behind, and of annihilating his power of resistance before it could possibly be exerted in his defence.

The Alligators constitute a natural subdivision of the genus, in which the snout is broad, blunt, and less produced than in the true Crocodiles; the fourth tooth on each side of the lower jaw enters a hole in the upper when the mouth is closed; and the toes are only half-webbed. They appear to be exclusively natives of America. The present species is distinguished by its broad and flat snout, with nearly parallel sides, united in front by a curved line; by the peculiar arrangement of its nuchal scales; and by the elevated internal margins of its orbits. Its colour is dark brown above, and somewhat lighter beneath. It is one of the most dreadful scourges of the countries which it inhabits, preying upon all kinds of animals that come within its reach, and sometimes even upon man himself. Our specimen was apparently very young, not measuring more than three feet in length; but during two years that it was kept in the Menagerie it was not observed to have at all increased in size. It was fed once a week upon raw

beef.