William Henry Flower

“ There are, however, slight distinctions in the proportionate size of the lower teeth, the general form of the cranium, and the relative length of the nasal bones and ascending processes of the maxillaries by which the skull of the lion and tiger can be easily discriminated by the practised observer. Although examples of both species present considerable variations in size, and reliance cannot always be placed upon alleged dimensions, especially when taken from skins stripped from the body, it seems well ascertained that the length of the largest-sized Bengal tiger may exceed that of any lion. ”

“ The principal food of the walrus consists of bivalved molluscs, especially Mya truncata and Saxicava rugosa, two species very abundant in the Arctic regions, which it digs up from the mud and sand in which they lie buried at the bottom of the sea by means of its tusks. It crushes and removes the shells by the aid of its grinding teeth and tongue, and swallows only the soft part of the animal. It also feeds on other molluscs, sand-worms, star-fishes, and shrimps. ”

“ As soon as they begin to require other food than her milk, she kills for them, teaching them to do so for themselves by practising on small animals, such as deer and young calves or pigs. At these times she is wanton and extravagant in her cruelty, killing apparently for the gratification of her ferocious and bloodthirsty nature, and perhaps to excite and instruct the young ones, and it is not until they are thoroughly capable of killing their own food that she separates from them. The young tigers are far more destructive than the old. ”

“ The surface of the skin generally is covered with short, adpressed hair of a light, yellowish-brown colour, which, on the under parts of the body and base of the flippers, passes into dark reddish-brown or chestnut. In old animals the hair becomes more scanty, sometimes almost entirely disappearing, and the skin shows ample evidence of the rough life and pugnacious habits of the animal in the innumerable scars with which it is usually covered. It is everywhere more or less wrinkled, especially over the shoulders, where it is thrown into deep and heavy folds. ”

“ They are solitary, nocturnal, shy, and inoffensive, chiefly frequenting the depths of shady forests and the neighbourhood of water, to which they frequently resort for the purpose of bathing, and in which they often take refuge when pursued. They feed on various vegetable substances, as shoots of trees and bushes, buds, and leaves. They are hunted by the natives of the lands in which they live for the sake of their hides and flesh. ”

“ A full-grown male walrus measures from ten to eleven feet from the nose to the end of the very short tail, and is a heavy, bulky animal, especially thick about the shoulders. The head is rounded, the eyes rather small, and there are no external ears. ”

“ All the American species are of a nearly uniform dark brown or blackish colour when adult; but it is a curious circumstance that when young (and in this the Malay species conforms with the others) they are conspicuously marked with spots and longitudinal stripes of white or fawn colour on a darker ground.
The habits of all the kinds of tapirs appear to be very similar. ”

“ The smaller buffaloes are also easily dis posed of; but the buffalo bulls, and especially the wild ones, are formidable antagonists, and have often been known to beat the tiger off, and even to wound him seriously. ”

“ The tail scarcely projects beyond the skin. The fore-limbs are free only from the elbow; the hand is broad, flat, and webbed, the five fingers being of nearly equal length, the first slightly the longest. Each finger has a small, flattened nail, situated on the dorsal surface at a considerable distance from the end. The hind-limbs are enclosed in the skin of the body almost to the heel. ”

“ Their strong affection for their young, and their sympathy for each other in times of danger, have been particularly noticed by all who have had the opportunity of observing them in their native haunts. ”

“ When one of their number is wounded, the whole herd usually join in a concerted and intelligent defence. Although harmless and inoffensive when not molested, they exhibit considerable fierceness when attacked, using their great tusks with tremendous effect either on human enemies who come into too close quarters or on polar bears, the only other adversary they can meet with in their own natural territory. ”

“ Westward it reaches to Turkish Georgia and eastward to the island of Saghalin. It is absent, however, from the great elevated plateau of Central Asia, nor does it inhabit Ceylon, Borneo, or the other islands of the Indo-Malayan Archipelago, except those named.
The principal food of the tiger in India is cattle, deer, wild hog, and pea -fowl, and occasionally human beings. The regular "man-eater" is generally an old tiger whose vigour is passed, and whose teeth are worn and defective ”

“ Larger specimens are certainly recorded, but 10 feet from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail is, according to Jerdon, an unusual length for a large male tiger. The female is somewhat smaller and has a lighter and narrower head. The tiger has no mane, but in old males the hair of the cheeks is rather long and spreading. ”

“ They remain with her until nearly full-grown, or about the second year, when they are able to kill for themselves and begin life on their own account. Whilst they remain with her she is peculiarly vicious and aggressive, defending them with the greatest courage and energy, and when robbed of them is terrible in her rage ”

“ Although this function of the tusks is affirmed by numerous authors, some of whom appear to have had opportunities of actual observation, it is explicitly denied by Malmgren.
Walruses are more or less gregarious in their habits, being met with generally in companies or herds of various sizes. They are only found near the coast or on large masses of floating ice, and rarely far out in the open sea; and, though often moving from one part of their feeding ground to another, they have no regular seasonal migrations. ”

“ Tapirs appear, however, to have become extinct in Europe before the Pleistocene period, as none of their bones or teeth have been found in any of the caves or alluvial deposits in which those of elephants, rhinoceroses, and hippopotamuses occur in abundance ”

“ The markings vary much in different individuals, and even on the two sides of the same individual. The under parts of the body, the inside of the limbs, the cheeks, and a large spot over each eye are nearly white. ”