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Giraffe.
This beautiful and interesting
animal, which inhabits various parts of
Africa, constitutes the only species of
its genus and family, and is furthermore
distinguished by being the tallest of all
animals, a full grown male reaching the
height of 18 or 20 feet. This great
stature is due mainly to the
extraordinary length of the neck, in
which, however, there are but seven
vertebrę, as is usual in all mammals. It
has two bony excrescences on its head,
resembling horns covered with skin. It
feeds upon the leaves of trees, which its
great height and prehensile and extensile
tongue enable it to procure easily. It
rarely attempts to pick up food from the
ground. It is mild and inoffensive, and
in captivity gentle and docile. It is,
however, very delicate, and is a costly
feature of any menagerie in which it is
exhibited. Its eyes are wonderfully
expressive. It is believed to be one of
the very few silent animals, never having
been known to utter a sound, even in the
agonies of death. It can fight with its
heels in such a lively manner as to daunt
even a lion. It is not swift, and when
running, as it does by a series of
frog-like leaps, its long neck rocking up
and down, is extremely laughable. It
herds in numbers of five to thirty, under
the guardianship of an old, experienced
male.
Lion.
The largest of the carniverous
animals, distinguished by its tawny or
yellow color, a full flowing mane in the
male, a tufted tail, and the
disappearance of the feline markings in
both sexes on arriving at maturity. The
largest are from eight to nine feet long.
It is native to Africa and the warm
regions of Asia. It preys chiefly on live
animals, avoiding carrion unless impelled
by extreme hunger. Approaches prey with
stealthy movements, crouching for a
spring, which is accompanied by a
terrific roar. The whole frame is
powerful and majestic, and its appearance
well deserves the title of the King of
Beasts. Its tongue is covered with
conical projections pointing towards the
throat, larger through the centre than at
the sides, their chief use being to strip
the meat from the bones of animals, and
they easily draw blood by licking. The
mane is not fully developed till the
third year is completed. Each hair of the
whiskers is connected with a set of large
nerves that convey to the brain the least
touch, and by means of these feelers the
animal guides itself through the thicket
without alarming its victim. Wounds from
a lion's tooth, after being entirely
healed, are said to break out afresh on
the anniversary of the time on which they
were inflicted. Although living on animal
food, the lion prefers to quench its
thirst with juicy fruits and vegetables.
Gems-Bok.
The South African oryx,
sometimes called the Kookaam, is a large
and powerful member of the antelope
tribe, equaling the domestic ass in size,
and measuring about three feet ten inches
at the shoulder. It has very long,
slender, sharp and nearly straight horns,
sometimes over a yard in length, forming
most efficient weapons of defense with
which it strikes right and left with such
effect that it has been known to
successfully resist a lion, and sometimes
both have been found dead together with
the horns driven into the lion's body so
firmly that one man could not extricate
them. The neck is maned and the tail
tufted. This animal is almost independent
of water, being able to live on certain
succulent plants that absorb all the
moisture that settles in their vicinity.
It is never found in the wood, but keeps
in the open plain, and lives in pairs, or
in families of four or five individuals.
It is especially dangerous to approach
when wounded, unless completely disabled.
Dr. Livingston gives a graphic
description of a fight which he witnessed
between one of these animals and a lion,
in which, although the lion made the
attack, he was fatally wounded, while the
victor trotted off, kicking up his heels
as though nothing had happened out of the
common order of events.
Camel.
The Arabian camel, now only
known in the domesticated state, is used
chiefly in Arabia and Egypt. It has but
one hump, whereas the Batrician has two.
There are several breeds of the Arabian
camel, of which the dromedary is one,
being simply a thoroughbred camel of
great speed and bottom, used as a saddle
animal, and comparing with the heavier
and slower varieties as a race horse does
with a cart horse. The camel is
poetically called the "Ship of the
Desert." Without it the Arabian
could not subsist, carry on trade, or
travel over the sandy deserts. It can
carry from 600 to 1,000 pounds. It has a
peculiar stomach, in which it learns by
experience to store water, so that it can
exist for several days without drink. A
few coarse, dry, prickly plants serve it
for food. The hump is a very curious part
of its structure. The Arabs say the camel
feeds upon its hump, for under privation
and fatigue the hump diminishes, and at
the end of a long and painful journey
will nearly vanish, only to be restored
by long and abundant feeding. In setting
out on a long expedition the Arab looks
carefully to the condition of his camel's
hump, for on that may depend the animal's
very life. While the camel is so useful
to man, it is far from being of a
friendly disposition, but is invariably
morose, and apt to bite, and will fight
its own species. The height of an
ordinary camel, at the shoulder, is six
or seven feet.
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