Delineations of the Ox Tribe Part 6

Distance from tip to tip (_a_ to _a_) 39 Length of horn (_a_ to _b_) 16 Circ.u.mference of horn at base 17 Distance of bases (_b_ to _b_) 11 Length of skull (_c_ to _c_) 19

Fig. _d_, section of the horn, at the base.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Occipital view of the same Skull.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Head of Domestic Gayal.]

In concluding these details of the Gayal and Gyall, let it be remarked that, when we hear one animal called Gayal and another Gyall, we are not, _on that account merely_, to set them down as of the same species.

It is hardly necessary to say, that similarity or even ident.i.ty of name, is not the slightest criterion of ident.i.ty of species. The name Elephant is popularly applied to that animal, whether brought from Africa or Asia; they are, nevertheless, anatomically distinct. The same observation may be made respecting the Lions of those countries, and various other animals.

It may further be observed, that the value of external characters in determining a species is very different when applied to ascertain the distinctions of domestic races, to what it is when applied to ascertain the distinctions of animals living in a natural state. In domestication, varieties ramify to an indefinite extent, and under such circ.u.mstances external characters are comparatively valueless. But wild animals retain their external characters with undeviating exactness; exceptional cases may indeed occur, but so very rarely, that they are not worth taking into the account; consequently, external forms, and in some cases even colours, become of importance in ascertaining specific distinction.

THE JUNGLY GAU.

_Bos Sylheta.n.u.s._ (Cuv.)

[Ill.u.s.tration]

Further information is requisite to decide the specific character of this animal. According to the opinion of Col. Smith, (see 'Synopsis of the Species of Mammalia' in Griffith's Translation of Cuvier's Animal Kingdom,) it is a mere variety of the Gayal (_Bos Gavaeus_); and Mr. J.

E. Gray, in his 'List of the Specimens of Mammalia in the Collection of the British Museum,' cla.s.ses it as a domestic variety of the same animal, but Mr. Fred. Cuvier regards it as an entirely new species.

The following account of the Jungly Gau (which is the only one that has been published), is a translation from the splendid folio work of Messrs. St. Hilaire and F. Cuvier.

This species of Ox, which is entirely new, appears to be the most nearly allied to our domestic cattle. Those ruminants which are cla.s.sed under the generic name of Ox, may be very naturally divided into two distinct groups. The first includes the Buffaloes, animals in some measure aquatic, living in low, swampy localities, or near rivers, in which they remain half immersed a great part of the day; having broad-based horns, partly spreading over their foreheads, flat on their internal side, and round on their external; tongue soft, &c. The second is that of the Ox, properly so called. These are distinguished from the first by their dwelling on more elevated lands, or in the vicinity of forests; having smooth round horns, without enlargement at their base; tongue covered with h.o.r.n.y papillae, &c.

It is to this second family, consisting of the American Bison, the Aurox, the Yak, and the domestic Ox, with its varieties, that the Jungly Gau undoubtedly belongs. It however differs from the first two in being entirely dest.i.tute of the thick s.h.a.ggy mane; and, instead of the long silky hair of the third, it is clothed with close, short hair, equal in uniformity of texture to the sleekest of our domestic cattle. To judge from its general appearance, we might be even tempted to take it for a mere variety of the domestic species, so close is the resemblance. But the information furnished by M. Alfred Duvaucel, in the only description which has been given, leaves no doubt as to its being a new species.

The following is M. Duvaucel's account:--"The horns of the Jungly Gau rise from the sides of the occiput, first outward, then forward, with a slight inclination backward of the upper extremity, forming a double lunation, and separated by a s.p.a.ce which gradually diminishes as the animal grows older; standing equally apart in every individual of the same age and s.e.x; are round, except at their base, which is slightly compressed; and they become smoother as the animal advances in age.

"The hump, which is characteristic of the generality of Indian oxen, is reduced in this to a slight prominence, extending to the middle of the back, and is covered with a grayish, woolly hair, rather longer than that on the other parts of the body, which spreads likewise over the occiput and the front. The rest of the hair is black except the legs, which are white from the knees downwards. The tail terminates in a large tuft of hair; and, in bulls of two or three years old, the under part of the neck is slightly furnished with long, black, silky hair.

"The female is smaller than the male, with horns of a still less proportionate size. The front of the head, instead of being convex, as in the male, appears to be slightly depressed, in consequence of the superior elevation of the muzzle. The colour of the female is not so deep a black; the gray on the top of the neck and the shoulders extends to the sides, and the inferior part of the muzzle is white.

"I have long entertained the opinion," continues M. Duvaucel, "that these oxen were essentially the same as the domestic--that they were both varieties of the same species; but this opinion was formed on the inspection only of such specimens as I had seen in the menagerie at Barracpour. Since that time, I have pursued them myself near the mountains of Sylhet; and I have likewise learned from various sources that they are as numerous and as generally diffused as the common Buffalo; but they appear to be wilder than the Buffalo, and not so bold, never approaching where man has established his dominion.

Nevertheless, when caught, they are easily subdued, and become quite domesticated in a few months. The milk of this species is said to be more abundant and nourishing than that of any other."

From all that is at present known respecting this animal, it is regarded by M. F. Cuvier as a new species added to the genus _Bos_; and, from the circ.u.mstance of its having been first seen in a wild state near the mountains of Sylhet, he has given it the specific name of _Sylheta.n.u.s_.

The animal represented in the following vignette is the Syrian Ox, which is considered as a variety of _Bos Taurus_.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

THE BUFFALO.

The animal generally known under the name of the _Common_ Buffalo is evidently a different species from the _Cape_ Buffalo. Much confusion, however, prevails in the accounts, both of travellers and naturalists, on the subject of these two animals. Descriptions of the one are mingled with descriptions of the other, and anecdotes are related of the one which, there is good reason for believing, ought to be referred to the other. It is highly probable that future and more accurate observations will show that more than one species has been confounded under the general epithets of "the common Buffalo," "the domestic Buffalo," "the tame Buffalo," or, more indeterminate still, "_the_ Buffalo."

The accounts furnished by travellers of the various animals in Asia and Africa, described by them as Buffaloes, are altogether vague and unsatisfactory, and frequently erroneous; not from any desire on the part of the authors to deceive, but merely because their observations have been made in the most careless and indifferent manner; and, in many instances, their information is obtained from the verbal communications of ignorant natives.

In those descriptions which are confined to the Buffalo, as it at present exists in Italy and the south of Europe, tolerable reliance may be placed, as their character and habits are there well known, being of every day observation; yet, even in this case, little or nothing is known of the anatomy of the animal, and its period of gestation has never been precisely stated. The following information on this latter point is given in Griffith's 'Cuvier,' (vol. iv, p. 383,) "Gestation _is said_ to last twelve months, but _it appears_ not to exceed ten."

THE ITALIAN BUFFALO.

_Bos Bubalus._

[Ill.u.s.tration]

This animal is more bulky than the domestic Ox, and its limbs are stouter. The head is larger, in proportion to the size of the body, than that of the domestic Ox, and is generally carried with the muzzle projecting; the forehead is rather convex, and higher than broad; the horns are large, slightly compressed, and recline towards the neck, with the points turned up; dewlap of a moderate size.

Throughout the whole range of the Italian peninsula Buffaloes are used as beasts of burden, and their immense strength renders their services invaluable in the marshy and swampy districts, where the services of horses, or ordinary oxen, would be totally unavailing. The roads through which they are obliged to pa.s.s are frequently covered to a depth of two or three feet, through which they work their way with wonderful perseverance.

On the great plain of Apulia the Buffalo is the ordinary beast of draught; and at the annual fair held at Foggia, at the end of May, immense droves of almost wild Buffaloes are brought to the town for sale. Fearful accidents occasionally happen; enraged animals breaking from the dense ma.s.s, in spite of all the exertions of their drovers, and rushing upon some object of their vengeance, whom they strike down, and trample to death. It is dangerous to overwork or irritate the Buffalo, and instances have been known in which, when released by the brutal driver from the cart, they have instantly turned upon the man and killed him on the spot.

The following part of their history is remarkable: They appear to be most numerous, and to thrive best in those districts which are most infected with malaria. In the Pontine marshes they find a favorite retreat, and in the pestilential Maremma scarcely any other animals are to be seen. In the northern portions of Italy, where malaria is much less frequent than in the south. Buffaloes are to be found in the greatest numbers precisely in those localities where malaria is the most prevalent.

They are particularly fond of the long rank herbage, which springs up in moist and undrained lands. In their habits they are almost amphibious, lying for hours half submerged in water and mud.

When travellers make use of the name "common Buffalo," they are usually understood to mean an animal identical with the Italian species; if this really be the case, its geographical range must be very extensive. It is said to inhabit the extensive regions of Hindostan, China, Cochin-China, Malabar, Coromandel, Persia, and the Crimea; also Abyssinia, Egypt, and the south of Europe; to which may be added, most of the large islands in the Indian Sea.

As an article of food, the flesh of this animal is inferior to the beef of the domestic Ox, but the milk of the female is particularly rich and abundant; the semi-fluid b.u.t.ter, called _ghee_ in India, is made from it. According to the testimony of Colonel Sykes, the long-horned variety is reared in vast numbers in the Mawals, or hilly tracts lying along the Ghauts:--"In those tracts much rice is planted, and the male Buffalo, from his superior hardihood, is much better suited to resist the effects of the heavy rains, and the splashy cultivation of the rice than the bullock. The female is also infinitely more valuable than the cow, from the very much greater quant.i.ty of milk she yields." The hide is also much valued for its strength and durability.

In India they are used as beasts of burden; but the nature of the goods they carry must be such as will not suffer from being wet, as they have an invincible propensity to lie down in water. The native princes use them to fight with tigers in their public shows; and from their fierce and active nature, when excited, they frequently prove more than a match for their formidable a.s.sailants. With the native herdsman, however, they are generally docile: these men ride on their favorites, and spend the night with them in the midst of jungles and forests, without fear of wild beasts. When driven along, the herds keep close together, so that the driver, if necessary, walks from the back of one to the other, perfectly at his ease. In the south of Europe they are managed by means of a ring pa.s.sed through the cartilage of the nose, but in India it is a mere rope.

Their fierceness and courage are well exemplified in the following anecdote, related by Mr. D. Johnson in his interesting 'Sketches of Indian Field Sports:' "Two Biparies, or carriers of grain and merchandise on the backs of bullocks, were driving a loaded string of these animals from Palamow to Chittrah: when they were come within a few miles of the latter place, a tiger seized on the man in the rear, which was seen by a Guallah (herdsman), as he was watching his Buffaloes grazing. He boldly ran up to the man's a.s.sistance, and cut the tiger severely with his sword; upon which he dropped the Biparie, and seized the herdsman. The Buffaloes observing it, attacked the tiger, and rescued the herdsman; they tossed him about from one to the other, and, to the best of my recollection, killed him. Both the wounded men were brought to me; the Biparie recovered, and the herdsman died."

Speaking of the Buffalo at Malabar, Dillon says, "It is an ugly animal, almost dest.i.tute of hair, goes slowly, but carries very heavy burdens.

Herds may be seen, as of common cows; and they afford milk, which serves to make b.u.t.ter and cheese. Their flesh is good, though less delicate, than that of the ox: the animal swims perfectly well, and traverses the broadest rivers. Besides the tame ones, there are wild Buffaloes, which are extremely dangerous, tearing men to pieces, or crushing them with a single blow of the head; they are less to be dreaded in woods than elsewhere, because their horns often catch in the branches, and give time for the persons pursued to escape by flight. The skins of these animals serve for an infinity of purposes, and even cruses are made of them for holding water or liquors. The animals on the coast of Malabar are all wild, and strangers are not prevented from hunting them for their flesh."

Whether the animals alluded to, in all these cases, const.i.tute only one species, or consist of several, the accounts which have been given of them (from their vagueness and want of precision) afford no means of deciding.

The following tail-piece is a representation of the Herefordshire Cow, _Bos Taurus_.

[Ill.u.s.tration]

The Manilla Buffalo.