“ Each train which crosses the prairie is, like a ship, full of provisions. Three meals a day take place regularly, and these are not stinted. The black cooks throw all the waste portions—beef-bones, other bones, stale bread, and trimmings—overboard. The wolves have learnt that the passing of a train means food, and when they hear one they gallop down to the line, and wait like expectant dogs in the hope of picking up a trifle. The coyotes come close to the metals, and sit like terriers, with their sharp noses pricked up. ”

“ The giraffe, unlike the antelopes of Africa, is not very tenacious of life, and a bullet planted near the root of the tail will, penetrating the short body, pierce a vital spot, and bring down the tall beast crashing to earth. Having tasted the delights of fox-hunting and many other forms of sport, I can testify that the run up to a good troop of giraffes is one of the most thrilling and exciting of all human experiences. ”

“ The eyes of the menagerie lion, too, look brown and usually sleepy, whilst those of the wild animal are yellow, and extraordinarily luminous even after death. When wounded and standing at bay, with head held low between his shoulders, growling hoarsely, and with twitching tail, even if he is not near enough to be observed very closely, a lion looks a very savage and dangerous animal; but should he be wounded in such a way as to admit of a near approach—perhaps by a shot that has paralysed his hindquarters—his flaming eyes will seem to throw out sparks of living fire. ”

“ Unlike the lively squirrels and monkeys, they do not leave their hiding-places till the tropical darkness has fallen on the forest, when they seek their food, not by descending to the ground, but by ascending to the upper surface of the ocean of trees, and again, at the first approach of dawn, seek refuge from the light in the recesses of some dark and hollow trunk. The Ring-tailed Lemur is as lively by day as night; but most of the race are so entirely creatures of darkness that the light seems to stupefy them. ”

“ When his bedfellow is restless, the keeper lazily stretches out an arm from his end of the cot and dangles a tassel over the animal's head, which seems to soothe him. In the early morning I have seen a cheeta sitting up on his couch, a red blanket half covering him, and his tasselled red hood awry, looking exactly like an elderly gentleman in a nightcap, as he yawns with the irresolute air of one who is in doubt whether to rise or to turn in for another nap. ”

“ It is notorious that where the puma is the only large beast of prey it is perfectly safe for a small child to go out and sleep on the plain.... The puma is always at heart a kitten, taking unmeasured delight in its frolics; and when, as often happens, one lives alone in the desert, it will amuse itself for hours fighting mock battles or playing hide-and-seek with imaginary companions, or lying in wait and putting all its wonderful strategy in practice to capture a passing butterfly. ”

“ The eyes of the giraffe are most beautiful—dark brown, shaded by long lashes, and peculiarly tender and melting in expression. Singularly enough, the animal is absolutely mute, and never, even in its death-agonies, utters a sound. The hoofs are large, elongate, nearly 12 inches in length in the case of old bulls, and look like those of gigantic cattle. There are no false hoofs, and the fetlock is round and smooth. The skin of a full-grown giraffe is extraordinarily tough and solid, attaining in the case of old males as much as an inch in thickness. ”

“ The Tortoiseshell has long been looked upon as the national cat of Spain, and in fact that country is overrun with the breed, ranging from a dense black and brown to lighter shades of orange-brown and white. The pure tortoiseshell might be called a black and tan, with no white, streaked like a tortoiseshell comb if possible, and with wonderful amber eyes. It is characteristic of their intelligence that they will invariably find their way home, and will even bring that mysterious instinct to bear which guides them back long distances to the place of their birth ”

“ Giraffes live mainly in forest country, or country partially open and partially clothed with thin, park-like stretches of low acacia-trees. When pursued, they betake themselves to the densest parts of the bush and timber, and, their thick hides being absolutely impervious to the frightful thorns with which all African jungle and forest seem to be provided, burst through every bushy obstacle with the greatest ease. ”

“ Scrope, a great authority on these animals, states that the hind induces her fawn to lie down by pressure of the nose: "It will never stir or lift up its head the whole of the day, unless you come right upon it, as I have often done; it lies like a dog, with its nose to its tail. The hind, however, although she often separates herself from the young fawn, does not lose sight of its welfare, but remains at a distance to windward, and goes to its succour in case of an attack of the wild cat or fox, or any other powerful vermin." ”

“ Lockwood Kipling in his "Beast and Man in India," "is, in his way, a king of the jungle, nor is he often met with in captivity. In some parts of India troops of langurs come bounding with a mighty air of interest and curiosity to look at passing trains, their long tails lifted like notes of interrogation; but frequently, when fairly perched on a wall or tree alongside, they seem to forget all about it, and avert their heads with an affectation of languid indifference."
In India no distinction is made between monkeys. It is an abominable act of sacrilege to kill one of any kind. ”

“ The slender loris, which has the ordinary furry coat of the lemurs, and no tail, moves on the branches exactly as does a chameleon. Each hand or foot is slowly raised, brought forward, and set down again. The fingers then as slowly close on the branch till its grasp is secure. It is like a slow-working mechanical toy. Probably this is a habit, now instinctive, gained by ages of cautiously approaching insects. ”

“ Nothing makes the heart of a hunter leap and thrill like the challenge of a wapiti bull, as it comes pealing down under the great archways of the mountain pines, through the still, frosty, fall weather ”

“ In Rhodesia, South-east Africa, and the countries to the north of the Zambesi, all the elands are bright chestnut-red when young, with a black line down the centre of the back from the withers to the tail, broad black patches on the backs of the fore legs above the knees, and eight or nine white stripes on each side. When they grow old, the ruddiness of the ground-colour gradually fades, the black markings on the fore legs die out, and the white stripes become indistinguishable at a short distance, the old bulls looking deep blue-grey in general colour. ”

“ Gamekeepers whom I have known agree that, for cunning, craftiness, and tenacity in attaining an object, the semi-wild cat of the woods shows far superior intelligence to the rest of the woodland denizens. It is quite a usual thing to hear of farm cats entering upon a snake-hunting expedition with the greatest glee, and showing remarkable readiness in pitching upon their quarry and pinning it down until secured. These farm cats are quite a race by themselves. ”

“ There, in the mighty forests, so lofty that no man can climb the trees, so dense that there is a kind of upper storey on the interlaced tree-tops, where nearly all the birds and many mammals live without descending to earth, forests in which there is neither summer nor winter, but only the changes from hour to hour of the equatorial day, the exquisite Marmosets, whose fur looks like the plumage and whose twittering voices imitate the notes of birds, live and have their being. ”

“ As the habits and structure of foxes are much alike, allowing for differences of climate, and the discrepancies in size, not more than can be accounted for by abundance or scarcity of food, it seems pretty certain that these animals are some of the few, almost alone among mammals, showing almost every variety of colouring, from black to white, from splendid chameleon-red to salmon-pink, and many exquisite shades of brown, grey, and silver. ”

“ The eye is of the richest and most beautiful brown, like a cairngorm stone, but not glassy or clear. Though quite translucent, the eye is marked with minute dividing-lines, like the grain in an agate—a truly exquisite object. ”

“ None of the domesticated sheep or goats of the New World are indigenous to the continent of America. It is a curious fact, well worth studying from the point of view of the history of man, that, with the exception of the llama, the dog, and perhaps the guinea-pig, every domesticated animal in use from Cape Horn to the Arctic Ocean has been imported. The last of these importations is the reindeer, which, though the native species abounds in the Canadian woods, was obtained from Lapland and Eastern Asia. ”

“ Thus we have the curious spectacle of the wild men of the Far North, the Lapps and Ostiaks, taming and keeping in domestication great herds of deer, milking them, using them as beasts of draught, and feeding on their flesh, while far more civilised races in the South have not taken the trouble to do so. The reason is not easy to surmise, unless it be that the idea of making use of the Deer Tribe solely as beasts of the chase was so rooted in the European ruling races, and their kings and nobles, that the agriculturist never had a chance of trying to tame and use them for other purposes. ”

“ When in a hurry it jumps along, standing on its hind feet, like a little kangaroo, but holding its tail upright behind its back. It will follow people upstairs in this way, jumping from step to step, with its front paws outstretched, as if it were addressing an audience. The French call these day lemurs Makis. The ring-tailed lemur lives largely among rocks and precipices. Most of these creatures live upon fruit, the shoots and leaves of trees, and other vegetable food. But, like the squirrel, they have no objection to eggs and nestlings, and also kill and eat any small birds and insects. ”

“ My old pet Peter was a black-and-white cat, and, like most of his kind, was one of the most remarkable cats for intelligence I have ever known. A recital of his accomplishments would, however, have very few believers—a fact I find existing in regard to all really intelligent cats. There are so many cats of an opposite character, and people will rarely take more than a momentary trouble to win the finer nature of an animal into existence. ”

“ We have now traced the long line of the Carnivora from the lordly Lion, the slayer of man and his flocks and herds, and the Tiger, equally formidable and no less specially developed for a life of rapine on a great scale, to creatures as small and insignificant as the Meerkat, which is at least as much an insect-feeder as a devourer of flesh, and the Ichneumons and Civets. ”

“ Any one who has frequented the Zoo for any time must have noticed the difference in size and colour between leopards from different parts of the world. On some the ground-colour is almost white, in others a clear nut-brown. Others are jet-black. Wherever they live, they are cattle thieves, sheep thieves, and dog thieves. Though not formidable in appearance, they are immensely strong. Sometimes one will turn man-eater. Both in India and lately in Africa cases have been known where they have "set up" in this line as deliberately as any tiger. ”

“ This is a most interesting creature, differing from the true dogs in having only four toes on both fore and hind feet, and in being spotted like a hyæna. These dogs are the scourge of African game, hunting in packs. Long of limb and swift of foot, incessantly restless, with an overpowering desire to snap and bite from mere animal spirits, the Cape wild dog, even when in captivity and attached to its master, is an intractable beast. In its native state it kills the farmers' cattle and sheep and the largest antelopes. ”

“ A pack has been seen to kill and devour to the last morsel a large buck in fifteen minutes. Drummond says: "It is a marvellous sight to see a pack of them hunting, drawing cover after cover, their sharp bell-like note ringing through the air, while a few of the fastest of their number take up their places along the expected line of the run, the wind, the nature of the ground, and the habits of the game being all taken into consideration with wonderful skill." ”

“ Both immigrants and natives hold the hunting of the lynx in high esteem. This proud cat's activity, caution and agility, and powers of defence arouse the enthusiasm of every sportsman, and both skin and flesh are valued, the latter not only by the Mongolian tribes, but also by the Russian hunters. The lynx is seldom captured in fall-traps; he often renders them useless by walking along the beam and stepping on the lever, and he usually leaps over the spring-traps in his path. So only the rifle and dogs are left. ”

“ The buffaloes of Ceylon are the same as those of India, but the horns are inferior in size. "The charge of a buffalo is a serious matter." says Sir Samuel Baker. "Many animals charge when infuriated, but they can generally be turned aside by the stunning blow of a rifle-shot, even if they be not mortally wounded. But a buffalo is a devil incarnate when it has once decided on the offensive; nothing will turn it. It must be actually stopped by death, sudden and instantaneous, as nothing else will stop it. If not killed, it will assuredly destroy its adversary. ”