Javanese kanchil(Javanese or Malayan deer) is considered the smallest artiodactyl animal in the world, their height rarely exceeds 25 cm, and their weight is a maximum of 2.5 kg., It has similar dimensions to a cat or a hare. Despite lacking the large, branching horns of their larger counterparts, the Javanese Kanchil has sharp and strong fangs, based on the size of the animal. Outwardly, the kanchil is very similar to the roe deer: a rather large (relative to its size in general) body, bright eyes, graceful legs with small hooves, a beautiful head; wool may be different color but always soft.

The Javan deer lives in Southeast Asia, on the islands of Kalimantan, Java and Sumatra, as well as in India and Ceylon, West Africa and South Asia.

In addition to the fact that Javanese kanchil - the smallest artiodactyl in the world, these animals are considered to be one of the most ancient: its history of existence begins as early as 50 million years ago, during the formation of groups of ancient ungulates.

Javanese kanchili do not gather in flocks, they prefer a solitary lifestyle, and they get a couple for themselves only during the mating season. During the day, they usually sit among the bushes or in the holes of other animals, and at night they go out for leaves, herbs and berries - this is what kanchili like to eat. In addition to the above, they are also very good swimmers, which allows them to hunt crabs, shellfish and fish.
The behavior of Javanese kanchels when an enemy approaches is usually similar to the behavior of opossums: when the enemy approaches, the deer pretends to be dead, and as soon as the opportunity arises, it jumps sharply right in front of its nose and runs away.

The breeding characteristics of Javan deer have not yet been fully explored, but most likely they give birth to only one cub, like most other animals. Newborn kanchili develop quite quickly: an hour after birth, they already quickly follow their mother, and at 5 months they enter sexual maturity.
Keeping the Javanese Kanchil is quite popular in Europe, where they can be kept in captivity, and many owners even send their pets to exhibitions or simply show other people such an unusual animal.

A distinctive feature of the deer is his love for cleanliness: he is constantly licked and cleaned, so those who decide to keep him at home should take into account that the pet's cage must always be clean.

In the forests of Southeast Asia, scientists have observed the rarest inhabitant of our planet - the mouse deer. It is the smallest artiodactyl animal on the planet. An adult grows no more than 50 centimeters in height and weighs about 2.5 kilograms.

At the same time, zoologists managed to take unique shots and capture such a rare animal on video. The photographed individual turned out to be still very young, in size it does not exceed a small rodent. Usually mouse deer grow up to 50 cm and weigh 2.5 kg.

The smallest artiodactyl in the world leads a solitary life, and to see it in vivo, and even more so to shoot on video is considered a great success, the researchers note.

The mouse deer, canchil or Chevrotain, is a mammal from the deer family, which consists of three genera. The smallest artiodactyl on the planet. Lives in tropical rainforests Central Africa, India and Southeast Asia.

This small deer has a length of 45 to 55 cm, the height of the animal at the withers does not exceed 20-25 cm. The mouse deer weighs from 1.5 to 2.5 kg.

It is noteworthy that mouse deer are included in the order of artiodactyls along with ... hippos, pigs, deer, antelopes, camels, sheep and goats. Their small size remarkably helps them to move in dense thickets, rainforest, do not get dirty in swampy soil and forest floor.

These miniature deer do not have horns, but have long, dagger-like, sharp fangs that stick out of the male's mouth like tusks. Males regularly use this weapon in the fight against rivals. The curved torso of the reindeer is supported by thin, pencil-like legs, and a twelve-centimeter-long tongue easily reaches the eyes. The animal has a tail about 5 cm long. The muzzle is pointed, the black nose is hairless, the eyes are very large - they help the kanchils navigate in the dark forest. Despite legs with hooves, mouse deer, if necessary, can climb a tree. If the animals are in danger, they sometimes seek salvation in the water. Deer are excellent swimmers and can walk along the bottom without sticking out.

These are very shy secretive nocturnal animals leading a solitary lifestyle. Only for a moment you can see the kanchil in the dense bush. When pursued, he hides, and when caught, he bites. It is characteristic that mouse deer are very territorial animals, and each individual has sole ownership, although not large - up to 13 hectares for males and about 8.5 hectares for females - but a permanent forest plot. That's how much these babies need to feel comfortable. Tiny deer diligently mark their territory with urine, dirt, and secretions. The fight for the site between males is carried out with the help of long fangs.

During the day, kanchili hide in a wide variety of places and may sleep in rock crevices or hollow tree trunks. At night, they go in search of food, laying tunnel-like paths in the thicket. They eat everything that they come across on the way from the leaves tropical plants, mushrooms, fruits and seeds, to beetles, frogs, fish and carrion. Moreover, these deer actively hunt fish in small stakes, streams and rivulets.

Kanchili are monogamous. After a gestation period of approximately 140 days, the female gives birth to one, rarely two cubs, which feed on an udder with four teats. Already 30 minutes after its birth, the cub is on its feet. And a few hours after the birth of the cubs, the females mate again - we can say that they spend almost their entire lives in a state of pregnancy. The life expectancy of mouse deer is on average 12 years.

It should be noted that local residents hunt these animals for their meat. Kanchili are also easily tamed and are sometimes kept as pets. In the folklore of Southeast Asia, deer are depicted as cunning animals.

The main threat to these animals is the ever-increasing uprooting of forests.

Animal world our planet is very diverse. It often contains very unusual and amazing animals, one of which we would like to tell you today. Meet the small deer, he is Kanchil, he is also Javanese small Kanchil, a representative of the rainforest fauna.

The growth of an adult individual of this animal reaches 20-25 cm, and its weight is only 1.5 kg. The most well-fed can reach 2.5 kg of weight.




Like all representatives of the deer family, kanchis do not have horns, but they have huge fangs - so huge that they, like tusks, protrude from their mouths. These amazing animals are soft and fluffy, their gray-brown coat often has an orange tint. Kanchil is the smallest member of the artiodactyl order.




Habitat of the little deer Southeast Asia: from southern China to the islands of Borneo, Sumatra and Java. Most often they live near water bodies, in a forest area with dense undergrowth. These very shy, extremely territorial animals lead a solitary, night image life. The plot area of ​​the male is usually about 12 hectares, the female - about 8.5 hectares.




Primarily herbivores, kanchili also feed on insects. If necessary, they can climb a tree, and when danger arises, they hide in the water: they can not only swim perfectly, but also walk along the bottom, without sticking their heads out for a long time.

Animal Life Volume I Mammals Bram Alfred Edmund

Order XI Artiodactyls (Artiodactyla)

A species-rich and diverse order of artiodactyls, widespread in all parts of the world, with the exception of Australia and New Zealand, embraces, at the suggestion of Oken, those ungulates in which we notice only 2 developed fingers or these 2 fingers are much more developed than three the rest. There are usually two large groups artiodactyls: multi-hoofed, in which, in addition to the two middle fingers, the second and fifth are developed, and two-toed, or ruminants, in which the last fingers have completely disappeared or are poorly developed.

The vast majority of ruminants are peaceful, shy animals that feed exclusively on plant foods, sometimes very strong, tall, but not particularly developed mentally. For man, these are the most useful animals, supplying him with meat, milk, as well as material for our shoes and clothes. Therefore, man has long domesticated many of them.

In terms of organization, despite the variety of forms, ruminants are quite similar to each other. Most of them have horns, but there are also those without horns. They are distinguished by horns bovids and dense-horned ruminants. In the former (for example, in cows), the horn consists of a bone case sitting on a bone stump, which is formed on the frontal bone; hence these horns are a modification of the outer skin: they never regenerate, but only become longer and thicker at the base with age. On the contrary, the horns of dense-horned (for example, deer) sit on rather short elevations of the frontal bone, consist of a dense, bone-like substance and are often branched, and the number of branches increases with age. These horns fall off annually and are then replaced with new ones. In most cases, dense horns adorn only males, while females almost always have hollow ones.

Further, the structure of the teeth of ruminants is characteristic. On the lower jaw they have 6–8 incisors, most often in the form of a spatula with a sharp edge, while on the upper jaw they have none at all or only 2; canines are also often absent, and sometimes 1 in each side of the jaw; molars including 3–7 at the top and 4–6 at the bottom. Finally, we also note the amazing structure of the stomach, consisting of 4, rarely - of 3 separate parts: a scar, a sleeve, a book and an abomasum. The first of them is connected to the esophagus, and the last to the intestinal canal. The scar takes only roughly chewed food from the esophagus and pushes it into the sleeve in small lumps; the walls of the latter are covered with a network of folds, which rub the food somewhat, forming pellets, and the latter again enter the esophagus, then into the mouth (“burp”). In the mouth, the “belched” food is thoroughly chewed by the molars, which usually have a wide chewing surface (the so-called “plant” teeth, in contrast to the sharp-toothed teeth of predatory animals), mixes with saliva and again enters the stomach in the form of a liquid slurry, but this time already in its third compartment, a book, from there - into the abomasum, where gastric juice is secreted. Camels and deer (Tragulus) do not have a third stomach.

Ruminants are divided into seven families: giraffes, camels, bovids, pronghorns, deer, musk deer and deer.

Giraffes.- In Central Africa, in a vast expanse from the sultry sands of the Sahara to the possessions of the free Boers, there is one very strange animal, which the Arabs call " seraph"(sweetheart), and scientists - Camelopardalis (panther camel). Ordinarily, it is known under the name of the giraffe, which is a corrupted word from the same "seraph".

Both names - both Arabic and Latin - perfectly characterize the giraffe. Indeed, on the one hand, this is an extremely good-natured, peaceful, meek, shy animal that tries to live in peace not only with its own kind, but also with other animals. On the other hand, in the entire animal kingdom there is not a single representative with a more strange body figure. An unusually long neck, high legs, a round body with a sloping back and a beautiful head adorned with dark intelligent eyes - such is the general appearance of a giraffe, this highest of all animals: with a length of three arshins, its body reaches three sazhens in height! This appearance fully justifies its name panther camel. Let's say more: the giraffe, in our opinion, is a mixture not only of a camel and a panther, but also of many other animals. In fact, his thick, slender body and elongated head resemble those of a horse, broad shoulders and long neck seem to be taken from a camel, large mobile ears - from a bull, light legs - from an antelope, and finally, a yellowish skin with brown spots is extremely similar to fur. panthers. It is clear that a giraffe therefore cannot be called beautiful at all, especially when you see him in a narrow cage of a zoological garden. But in the secluded, beautiful plains of his homeland, he seems both slender and attractive. His movements are especially beautiful when he walks calmly - then you can just admire the direct descendant of the antediluvian sivaterium.

Giraffe hunting is not fun. “The hand does not raise the gun,” writes one hunter, “when you look into these meek eyes, where purely human feelings are read. Only once did I start chasing a herd of giraffes. One huge male, running away from a deadly shot, turned his head to me several times and looked intently at his pursuer. His dark, silky-lashed eyes struck me with their almost human gaze. Prayer, reproach and some kind of bewilderment shone in that look, as if a meek animal asked me why I want to kill him. I felt both pity and even shame, and from then on I promised myself not to chase a cute animal for pleasure.

In addition to humans, the giraffe has few dangerous enemies, since long, fatigue-free legs easily save the animal from any pursuer, and the sensitive hearing of the giraffe does not allow its enemy to attack its prey by surprise.

Giraffes feed on leaves, buds and branches of various mimosas, and their long, flexible tongue and lips remain completely insensitive to the pricks of the sharp thorns of mimosas. In captivity, giraffes behave quietly, but rarely endure confinement: apparently, the lack of movement is highly harmful to them.

second family, camels(Camelidae), characterized by calloused soles, lack of horns, a bifurcated upper lip and the presence of 2 incisors on the upper jaw and 6 on the lower. There is no book in the stomach. Actually camels(Camelus) are divided into 2 types: one - dromedary, or humped camel, inhabits mainly Africa, the other - bactrian camel- Asia.

Dromedary (camelus dromedarius), without a doubt, the most useful of all domestic animals in Africa, but at the same time it is the most unfriendly, stupid, stubborn and unpleasant creature imaginable. On average, it is 2–2.3 m in height and 3–3.3 m in length from the muzzle to the end of the tail, and the riding Arab camels are slender animals, while the pack ones are clumsy, like water nags. The head of the dromedary is rather short, while the muzzle is elongated and swollen; during arousal, a large leathery bladder of a nasty appearance, the so-called "howler" bulges out of its mouth; then the camel begins to roar, sniffle and grind its teeth. Eyes with a dull expression are large, ears are very small. Upper lip hangs over the bottom, and the latter sags; when the animal moves quickly, its lips constantly shake up and down, which gives an extremely unpleasant appearance to an already ugly animal. There are 2 glands on the back of the head that secrete a liquid with a disgusting smell from time to time. A fat hump lies on the back, weighing up to 1 pood in well-fed animals, while in lean animals it drops to 5-7 pounds. Legs - thin, long, ugly. The coat is soft, somewhat wavy, often light sand in color, and sometimes gray, brown or black. On the chest and joints of the forelimbs on the knees there are hard calluses that serve as a pillow for the animal during its rest. The incisors are rather large, like those of a horse; in addition, there are strong, strong fangs, which in the upper jaw resemble the fangs of predators.

At present, the dromedary is known only as a domestic animal in all countries of Africa, from the Mediterranean Sea to 12 °, also in the South-West. Asia. Then, we find it in Bukhara, Persia, Asia Minor, Syria, finally in Australia, Sev. America, Italy and Spain. His original homeland, apparently, was Arabia.

Its food consists exclusively of plants, and the animal can be content with the worst food and, on occasion, eats with pleasure an old basket or a mat of date leaves. Willingly devours a camel and thorny branches of mimosa, although their needles can freely pierce the sole of a boot ... Of course, he also does not refuse juicy, green food (beans, grains, etc.), and then he can do without water for whole weeks. With dry food, he needs water every day, although, in rare cases, these amazing animals can do without it for 7-10 days. Salt must also be given when drinking.

The gait of a camel, a rocking trot, turns into a fast run among riding animals, so that no horse can stand it. There were cases when camels ran up to 170 versts at 12 o'clock; usually, with short rests, dromedaries can travel up to 450 miles in 3-4 days. Pack camels travel no more than 45 versts a day. A camel cannot swim.

Of the external senses, hearing and touch are best developed, while sight seems to be weak, and smell is even worse developed. By nature, this is an unsympathetic animal, although, of course, a good upbringing often remakes it. But in general spiritual qualities camels are such that even the Arabs, generous with eloquent praises, cannot find them for him, although, in the desert, many of them could not even exist without him. Meanwhile, a camel benefits a person not only as a runner and pack animal, but also with its meat, wool, from which fabrics are spun, and even droppings that go in the deserts for fuel. Therefore, its price is quite high: a good runner costs 100–150 rubles on the spot, and a pack runner costs 40–80 rubles. Despite its unpretentiousness, this animal still requires careful care, as it is often subjected to severe lung diseases; in addition, one poisonous fly harms him a lot in the Sudan.

Almost as important as the dromedary for Africa is the Bactrian camel (C. bactrianus) for Eastern and Central Asia, namely the steppe areas. It is distinguished by 2 humps, on the neck and in front of the sacrum. Its body is longer than that of a dromedary, the coat is longer, and the color is usually darker, most often dark brown, and reddish in summer. Both species of camel often interbreed, producing offspring, which casts doubt on whether the Bactrian camel really constitutes a separate species.

In habits and character, the Bactrian camel is similar to its fellow, only a little more good-natured, just as hardy and unpretentious, but just as stupid, indifferent and cowardly. “It happens,” writes Przhevalsky, “that a hare that jumped out from under his feet terrifies him: he rushes to the side like crazy and rushes across the steppe; his comrades, not recognizing what was the matter, follow him. The big black stone on the road scares him too. If a wolf attacks him, he does not think about protection. It would be easy for him to knock down such an enemy with one kick, and he only spits on him and yells at the top of his lungs. Even a crow offends this stupid animal, pecking at the wounds rubbed with packs, and he only screams ... ”From food, he requires mainly saline plants, yantak (“camel grass”), thorns, etc. and feels bad on good meadows. With good treatment, a camel lives up to 25 years, all the time serving faithfully, like a beast of burden. The weight of packs should not exceed 15–20 pounds; with this heaviness, the animal passes 50–70 ver. In winter it endures terrible winter blizzards, but in summer it often suffers on both hot days and cold nights. Generally care for bactrian camel requires great experience and extraordinary patience, since only under these conditions is a camel a truly useful animal.

Compared to the dromedary and the Bactrian camel, the New World camels, the so-called llamas(Auchenia), may be called dwarfs. They belong to the mountain animals. They have a large head with a sharp muzzle, large ears and eyes, a thin neck, high legs with slight calluses, and a long, wavy coat. There is no hump. Long, narrow tongue covered with hard, horny warts; there is no book in the stomach; the length of the intestine is 16 times the length of the body.

Lamas are divided into 4 certain types: guanaco, llama proper, paco, or alpaca, and vicuña. But many consider llamas and alpacas to be only tame descendants of guanacos. Only the latter and vicuña are now found in the wild. All lamas live only in the high cold countries of the Cordilleras.

Guanaco, or huanaco (Auchenia huanaco), is the largest and one of the most important mammals in South America. In terms of height, it is approximately equal to red deer, in appearance it is a strange mixture of a sheep and a camel. The total length of the body, including the 24 cm tail, is 2.25 m, and the height at the shoulders is 1.15 m; females are smaller. The body of the guanaco is rather short and compressed, the head is long, with a blunt muzzle; long, narrow nostrils may close; the ears are equal to half the head and are very mobile; big eyes, with transverse pupil, animated; the legs are tall and slender, and there are no calluses on the joints of the forelegs, as in camels and other llamas. The coat is long, thick, wavy; consists of a short, fine undercoat and coarser long hair awn. Its color is dirty brownish-red, in places with dark brown spots, whitish below. Guanacos are distributed throughout the Cordillera from the wooded islands of Tierra del Fuego to Northern Peru. They live in small herds of 12–30 in mountain pastures; have a strange habit of putting their droppings out in one common pile, so that the Indians who use it for fuel do not need to bother to collect it.

These wild, shy animals climb mountains very well and are therefore not easy to catch unless driven into a narrow valley. Hunters usually resort to one strange means, based on the extreme curiosity of these shy animals: they lie down on the ground and begin to dangle their arms and legs, and the guanacos almost always approach to examine this strange, in their opinion, phenomenon. At this time, even rifle shots do not frighten them. But more often they try to catch them alive, especially young ones, since in captivity they are very meek and pleasant; the old ones, on the contrary, try in every possible way to free themselves from the power of man and by spitting in the face prove how unpleasant he is to them. When defending from enemies, guanacos defend themselves by biting and kicking, but more often they try to flee.

Lama, or rather llama(Auchenia lama), found mainly in Peru and has long been domesticated there, is somewhat taller than the guanaco and is distinguished by callused growths on the chest and on the front of the joint connecting the forearm to the hand. Her head is short and narrow, her lips are hairy, her ears are short; the color of the coat is different - white, black, piebald, etc. Length up to 2.8 m, with a height at the shoulders of 1.2 m. on the back, 25-30 miles a day. It should also be noted that only males go under packs, while females are kept for breeding.

“The caravan of these animals,” says Stephenson, “is a very beautiful sight: the llamas walk in large order in single file, following their leader - the front one, the lama, which differs from the others with a decorated halter, a bell and a small flag on its head. These caravans pass over the snowy peaks of the Cordillera and along steep mountain paths where horses or mules could pass with great difficulty; at the same time, the lamas are so obedient that their drivers do not use either sticks or whips to drive them. From parking lot to parking lot, they go quietly, without stopping. Chudi adds to this that the llamas are constantly looking around out of curiosity. These animals are as important to Peruvians as reindeer are to Laplanders, Mayen said. At night, the llamas are locked in a fence of stones, and released during the day; they then run to the pasture without shepherds and return home in the evening. Guanacos and vicuñas often graze with them.

Llamas breed weakly - the female will give birth to only 1 cub per year, and even then rampant epizootics (for example, plague) greatly reduce the number of these precious animals. Llama meat is readily eaten everywhere, but wool is used only for coarse fabrics. In menageries, these animals feel pretty good, but they are distrustful of strangers. Their food can be ordinary hay.

The third type of group paco, or alpaca(Auchenia pacos), smaller than a llama, and somewhat similar in body structure to our sheep, but with a longer neck and a more beautiful head; her hair is long (up to 10 cm) and surprisingly soft; Indians have long made blankets and raincoats from it. Its color is usually white or black. “Alpacas,” Chudi says, “are kept in large herds that graze all year round in high, mountain meadows, and they are driven down to the huts of the Indians only for the time of shearing. There is hardly an animal more stubborn than the alpaca. If one of them is separated from the herd, then she throws herself on the ground, but neither caresses nor blows will make her get up. She will endure the most painful beatings, and yet she will not obey for anything. Individual animals can only be made to walk when they are attached to herds of llamas or sheep. They tried to breed alpacas in Europe, but without success.

“More beautiful than a llama,” says the same traveler (Chudi), “ vicuna, or vigogne(Auchenia vicuna); in size it stands between the llama and the paco, but differs from both in its shorter, curly coat of remarkable fineness. From above, the animal is painted in a special red-yellow color (vigoni color), and below - in light yellow and partly (belly) white. During the rainy season, vicuñas live in the Cordillera ranges, where the vegetation is very sparse. They remain constantly in grassy meadows, as their hooves are soft and sensitive, and never run when pursued over stony bare peaks; most of all they avoid glaciers and snowy fields. In the hot season, they descend into the valleys, where at this time there is only water and grass. The herd consists of 6-15 females and 1 male, who carefully warns them with a loud whistle about the slightest danger. All animals then turn their heads curiously in the direction of danger, then rush into a hasty flight. Sometimes there are herds of 20-30 pieces, consisting exclusively of males. They catch vicuñas for their tasty meat and valuable wool with pens. To do this, they enclose a large circle with a rope, hang it with colorful rags, and drive vicuñas here; shy animals never dare to pass under the rope - and the hunter does not have much difficulty in killing them. As pets, vicuñas are quiet and trusting; but this is only for the time being, over the years, and they, like all their relatives, become evil and constantly spit.

The third family of ruminants form bovid(Bovidae), animals widespread throughout the earth, with the exception of South America and Australia. Between them, a person chose the most necessary domestic animals (sheep, cows, etc.). Their distinguishing features are: not falling, hollow horns and dental system: 6 incisors and 2 tongues on the lower jaw, the absence of front teeth on the upper and 12 molars on both. The structure of the body and the way of life are so diverse that it is impossible to say anything general in this respect. The bovids are shared by goats, rams, bulls, mountain goats and antelopes.

The stocky, strong body of goats (Capra) rests on strong legs; the neck is short; the head is also relatively short, but wide in the frontal part, the eyes are large, lively; ears erect, mobile. The quadrangular, rounded at the edges and compressed laterally, the horns have clear rings corresponding to the annual increment, and are swollen on the outside; both sexes have them, only females have fewer. The fur consists of a thin undercoat and coarser awns. Its coloration is more or less dark, the color of the rocks. As a distinguishing feature, one must also point out the unpleasant, “goaty” smell emitted by these animals.

Wild goats are found in Central and South Asia, in Europe and North Africa, tamed animals of this species are common throughout the world. In general, all wild goats are inhabitants of the mountains, and many of them rise beyond the border of eternal snows. They live in herds, led by brave males. Staying among the rocks and cliffs developed in them remarkable courage, dexterity in jumping and climbing, endurance and strength, as well as sharpness of feelings: goats see, hear and smell very well. Mentally, they are distinguished by courage, sometimes combined with viciousness and cunning. No more than 2 cubs will be born in wild species, and no more than 4 in domestic ones. Kids will be born very developed, with open eyes, and a few minutes after the birth of God, they are already running after their mother. Goats of three kinds - Capricorn and actually goats and half-goats.

The typical and strongest representative of the entire group of goats - the ibex (Ibex) lives at such a height in the mountains where other large mammals could not exist. Only in the most severe cold does it descend into lower hollows, in general all year round grazes on inaccessible peaks. There are several types of ibex, namely, ibex alpine(Capra ibex), living in the Alps; Iberian k. (Capra pyrenaica) in the Spanish mountains, tour(Capra caucasica), found in the Caucasus, poor(S. beden) - in Arabia, wali(S. walie) - in Abyssinia and skyne(S. skyn), - in the Himalayas. But since they all look alike, differing only in beard and horns, many consider them to be one species.

alpine ibex, once widespread in Europe, and now extremely rare, proud, slender and prominent animal, with a body of 1.6 m in length, up to 85 cm in height and up to 6 pounds. weight. Its strong strong horns reach a length of 11/2 arches, at 30-35 pounds. weight; the female is much less. The fur, rather rough and thick, has a reddish-gray color in summer, and yellowish-gray or roan in winter. No other ruminant seems to be able to live on such steep and high mountains. “What bold and fast jumps the capricorns make from one cliff to another,” says Gesner, “it’s hard to even believe. Where there is even the slightest point of support for his split and sharp hooves, there he sees no obstacles to reaching any cliff in a few jumps, no matter how high it is and no matter how far it is from another rock. Indeed, the Capricorn runs fast and tirelessly, climbs the mountains with amazing dexterity and climbs the steepest cliffs with incredible speed.

Animals kept in captivity excite no less interest than living in freedom. Once in Bern, a young ibex without a run jumped on the head of an adult man and firmly held on to it with all his four hooves. Another was seen standing with all his feet on the top of a pillar; it has also been seen how ibexes climbed a sheer wall, having no other points of support, except for the protrusions formed from the crumbling plaster.

Caught young, ibexes soon become tame, but when they grow old, they lose this quality, turning into evil, stubborn animals. The same character and offspring from wild ibex and domestic goat. Therefore, experiments on breeding them always ended in failure: they had to cut all such offspring, otherwise there was no harmony with these animals.

Pyrenean ibex- the size of the Alpine, but has more twisted horns. The predominant color is light brown, which is mixed with black hair in some parts of the body and white (below, behind). Like its alpine counterpart, this animal is now rapidly disappearing due to increased persecution by hunters.

Goats(Hircus), in the narrow sense of the word, in general, a little less than ibexes; their horns are flattened, in males they are sharper and provided with transverse tubercles, in females they are ringed or wrinkled. In all other respects, goats are similar to capricorns.

The origin of the domestic goat, like other domestic animals, has not yet been clarified.

Many consider him a descendant bezoar, or wild goat(C. aegagrus), common in Asia Minor, Persia and Afghanistan, on the island of Crete, etc. This goat is 1.5 m long, with a neck height of 95 cm; large, strong horns reach 40–80 cm in length. The general coloration is light reddish-gray or rusty-brownish-yellow. By way of life, disposition and character, it vividly resembles a Capricorn. Its meat is tender, soft, its fur goes to prayer rugs (among Muslims), and its horns go to saber hilts, powder flasks, etc.

Then, it is necessary to mention markhor goat(C. falconheri), the size of an alpine ibex. It is distinguished by heavy helical horns and hair elongated in front, taking the form of a mane; in older males, hair often hangs down to the feet. The general coloration is light roan in summer, while the beard is dark brown; in winter the fur is lighter. This species is found in the Western Himalayas and Afghanistan.

As for, finally, the breeds of domestic goats, there are so many of them that there is no way to describe them. One of the noblest angora goat(C. hircus angorensis) with long horns and luxurious, long thin, soft, shiny, silky, curly fur, for which it is bred in Anatolia (in Asia Minor). This breed got its name from the small Anatolian town of Angora, which was known to the ancients. The Angora goat needs clean, dry air. During the summer in Anatolia, the fleece is washed and combed several times a month to maintain its beauty and promote better growth. Apparently, this valuable breed can be perfectly bred in Spain, Algeria, and also in the Cape Colony. Experiments have already been carried out and have given brilliant results, so that in the Cape Colony this is put on a grand scale.

Almost as precious cashmere goat(C. h. laniger), a rather small but very slender animal, up to 1.5 m long, with a shoulder height of 60 cm, with hanging ears, slightly longer than half the head, and helical horns. It is found from Tibet to the Kyrgyz steppes, delivering soft, gentle fluff. This species is now bred in France and in Russia, in the Orenburg steppes: in the latter place, very light and thin "Orenburg" shawls are prepared.

Similar to Kashmiri in its long haired fur mambrian goat(C. h. mambrica), from Syria, but distinguished by its ears 11/2 times as long as the head. Finally, we also mention Nile goat(C. h. aegyptica), with smooth, even, bright red-brown fur, bred in the lower Nile valley, and pygmy goat(C. h. reversa), no more than 70 cm in length with 50 cm in height and about 11/2 pounds in weight. Short, dense fur - dark in color, which is dominated by mixed black and rufous-roan colors with white spots. Found between the White Nile and Niger.

All goats are made for the mountains, and the steeper, more secluded and inaccessible the latter, the better they feel there. By nature, a goat is a frisky, cheerful, curious, perky creature that can bring a lot of pleasure to the observer. “Already two weeks old, the goat,” says Lenz, “is showing a great desire for amazing jumps and ventures into all sorts of dangerous ascents. Her instinct draws her to lofty objects - and the greatest pleasure for her is to climb a pile of firewood, climb walls, stairs, etc. The goat, on the contrary, shows importance and dignity, which does not prevent him, however, from missing a single opportunity fight. These animals are easily attached to a person and, with affectionate treatment, willingly learn different tricks from him. In the mountains of Spain, goats are kept, thanks to their intelligence, as guides for sheep flocks, and shepherds completely rely on these leaders. Almost everywhere, goats are left to their will and only in some places they are driven home in the evenings to protect them from predatory animals. Often in Africa, such goats climb trees and calmly pluck tender shoots there. The dwarf goat is especially dexterous in this regard, for which some obliquely inclined trunk is enough to climb to the very top along it.

In addition to the Old World, domestic goats are now common in the New, even in Australia; in explaining such a wide distribution, it should be noted that the maintenance of goats is generally extremely cheap, meanwhile, the benefits are great: in addition to wool, a good goat can give up to 1200 bottles. milk per year.

Group representative half-goats(Hemitragus) believe container(C. jemlaica), a beautiful, tall, beardless animal, found on the peaks of the Himalayan mountains, up to 1.8 m in length with 87 cm in height at the neck. Its neck, front thighs and hind sides are covered with a long (up to 30 cm) mane; general color - whitish-roan-brown, with dark spots. By nature and habits, this is a real goat. Caught young, the taras soon become real pets.

The second group rams(Ovis), in body structure they are similar to goats, but in character only wild species show some resemblance to goats. In general, rams differ from goats in the presence of lacrimal pits, flat forehead, angular, almost triangular, spirally twisted horns with transverse folds, and the absence of a beard. Wild sheep live in the mountains of the northern hemisphere (from Asia to South Europe and Africa and in North America). Their food consists of fresh grass in summer and moss, lichen and dry grass in winter. Like a goat, a wild ram is also agile, frisky, dexterous, bold, smart and perky; on the contrary, the home represents a stupid creature cowardly running away from the last mongrel. A whole herd, frightened by some harmless animal, blindly rushes after its leader, not paying attention to whether it falls into a bottomless abyss or a noisy stream. In general, domestic rams are meek, peaceful and indifferent even to their own children, while wild ones desperately protect their cubs from any enemy. Females bring 1-4 cubs, which soon after birth are able to follow their parents. Unlike wild goats, wild sheep are easily tamed and, breeding in captivity, soon turn into real domestic animals.

From wild sheep maned ram(Ovistragelaphus) is most reminiscent in appearance and also in the absence of lacrimal pits of goats. A long mane, as well as large, expressive eyes, thanks to its bronze-colored iris, from which the standing pupil protrudes in relief, give this animal a wonderful look. Its general coloration is roan-red-brown. Length up to 1.9 m, including 25 cm tail, height up to 1 m, horns up to 70 cm long, sheep - 40. a whole labyrinth of rock fragments and heaped boulders. As a result, hunting for him is extremely difficult and dangerous. Mostly found singly.

Two degrees north of the maned ram, precisely on the mountains of Sardinia and Corsica, lives mouflon(Ovis musimon), the only wild sheep found in Europe. Its length reaches 1.25 m, counting the 10 cm tail, with a height of 70 cm and a weight of 21/2-3 pounds. Horns up to 65 cm long and weighing 10–12 lbs. Fairly short and dense fur, with the exception of the chest, where it forms like a mane, has a red-red color, which turns into ash-gray on the head, and white on the stomach. In winter, the fur takes on a chestnut-brown color. In contrast to the maned ram, the mouflon lives in herds, led by strong males; this animal is very shy and at the same time agile and dexterous; like goats, it climbs the most impregnable rocks, so that the hunt for it is not easy. In captivity, young mouflons caught by young soon become ruddy and willingly interbreed with domestic sheep. Even old sheep easily endure the loss of freedom, only remain wild and shy.

In Central Asia and North. America is home to the largest breeds of wild sheep, distinguished by strong horns and high feet. Such argali Mongols, or arkar Kirghiz (Ovis argali), reaching a length of 1.93 m, with a height of 1.12 m, with mighty trihedral wide horns of 1.22 m. The predominant coat color is matte pale gray, darkening on the muzzle and abdomen. Its distribution area extends from the mountains of the Akmola district to the southeastern slope of the Mongolian plateau and from Altai to Alatau. These rams roam singly or in small groups of 3-5 heads. Early in the morning they leave their impregnable rocks, where they spend the night, and go down to the foot of the mountains, to the pasture, then at noon they climb the steep slopes and indulge in peace, and before evening they go down again to the watering hole. In winter, they are content with moss, lichen and dry grass. In terms of sharpness of feelings, liveliness of character, playfulness, timidity and caution, argali resembles wild goats, but its character is more peaceful; he easily gets along in captivity and, no doubt, can become quite a pet.

Further south, in the Tien Shan region, in Tibet, in the Pamirs, etc., the argali is replaced by another species, kachkar(Ovis polii), reaching a length of almost 1 sazhen, with a height of 11/2 ars. and weight about 14 pounds. Trihedral, deeply twisted down horns - up to 2 ars. along the curve. The Mongols claim that they grow so strong that they stand in front of the animal's mouth, preventing it from taking food - and such a ram is doomed to starvation. Gray or light brown wool forms around the neck like a mane, up to 13 cm in length; the muzzle and underside of the body are white. In terms of lifestyle, kachkar is similar to argali.

Wild sheep living in Kamchatka are often considered similar to the American bighorn sheep(Ovis montana), meanwhile, it differs from the latter in horns, although similar, but noticeably less developed. The bighorn ram lives from 68°N. up to 40 ° in the rocky mountains and further to the west, in the wildest and most inaccessible mountains. For him, the narrowest eaves of rocks turn out to be safe roads; caves and grottoes give him shelter, grass - suitable food, and places with salt serve to satisfy the need inherent in all animals in general. The length of the ram is almost 1 sazhen, counting 12 cm per tail, with a height of 11/2 ars. and weight of 8 pounds; females are smaller. Thick, powerful horns are up to 70 cm long, 35 in girth; in section, they present sharp ribs, while those of the argali are of a flatter appearance. Thick, though soft to the touch, wool is not at all like sheep's fleece, slightly wavy; hair no more than 5 cm long. The predominant color is dirty gray-brown; rear is white. In their way of life, big-horned rams do not differ in any significant way from their relatives and even capricorns: they run just as well on rocks, they are just as careful, shy and, like others wild sheep, easily interbreed with domestic sheep, giving fertile offspring.

Regarding the breeds of domestic sheep, one has to say the same thing as about domestic goats: their forefather is also unknown, and there are also many breeds. The most important and most profitable breed are considered merinos(O. aries hispanica), which, as is known, acquired their features and served to ennoble almost all European breeds. They are of medium size, densely built and are distinguished by a large, flat-fronted and hook-nosed head, with a blunt muzzle, small eyes and large lacrimal fossae; ears - medium size, sharp; strong horns (only in rams) are bent with a double screw; the neck is short, thick, with deep folds and dewlap; legs - relatively low, but strong and strong, with blunt hooves; extremely dense fleece, consisting of a short, soft and thin awn, curls very regularly.

Then, it is necessary to mention fat-tailed; or fattail, sheep(O. aries steatopyga), which is bred in myriads in Inner Asia and Northeast Africa. It is a fairly large animal, with small horns, a non-curly, coarse fleece that cannot be woven, and plump ears. Lambs are covered with delicate, soft fur. In Africa, it is found mainly in the so-called. black-headed sheep with small horns, in Turkmenistan and the Kyrgyz steppes - other, hornless breeds. Kurdyuk in Turkmen breeds is not particularly developed; favorite pasture is salt marshes, and yet these sheep give excellent meat, and young lambs give beautiful, expensive fur (“lambskin”). Bred mainly white and black sheep. The Kirghiz sheep is of large stature, densely built, with rather high legs, with a convex nose and drooping ears; its weight is up to 5 pounds. Her coarse wool is used for felt mats (felt), which is widely used in the life of the Kirghiz.

A domestic sheep is, in general, a calm, patient, meek, devoid of will, cowardly animal that would completely disappear if a person did not come to her aid. Every unknown sound frightens a whole herd; lightning, thunder, storm and thunder completely deprive them of their presence of mind. Because of this, in the steppes of Russia and Asia, shepherds have to endure a lot with such animals. Here is the story of a shepherd who conveyed to Kolya the disasters he experienced with a flock of sheep in a snow storm.

“We grazed our own seven herd of 2000 sheep and 150 goats in the steppes near Ochakovo. The first time we drove out the herd was in March; when the young grass appeared, the weather was good; but in the evening it began to rain and a cold wind arose, and a few hours after sunset a real snowstorm raged, so that we stopped seeing and hearing. Sheepfolds and dwellings were not far from us, and we began to drive the herd there, but the wind drove the mad animals in the opposite direction. Then it occurred to us to turn the goats, which the flock used to follow, but even they did not obey us; and the sheep crowded together, crushed each other, and more and more moved away from their homes. When morning came, we saw nothing around us except snow and a gloomy, stormy desert. The furious storm continued - and we had to surrender to the mercy of fate: we ourselves walked at the head, behind us - a bleating and screaming bunch of sheep, then - bulls at a trot with a cart loaded with supplies, behind them - a pack of our howling dogs. On that day, our goats disappeared, and the path was strewn with dead animals. Another agonizing night has come. We knew that the storm was driving us right onto the steep cliff of the seashore, and we fearfully expected that we were about to fall off it along with the stupid herd. Finally, with the onset of day, we noticed several houses aside through the snowy fog. They were only 30 steps away from us, but the mad sheep paid no attention to this and continued to move in the direction of the wind, covering the path with their corpses. Fortunately, the barking of our dogs attracted the attention of the inhabitants of the houses - they were the colonists. They rushed to meet our sheep, dragged the advanced ones, and little by little directed the flock to their homes. But then another misfortune arose: as soon as the animals noticed the protection that the yards and heaps of straw provided them, they began to madly crowd, crush each other and crowd, as if evil spirit the storm was still chasing them. We then lost up to 500 sheep ... "

Sheep behave in the same way in the village during severe thunderstorms during floods or fires. During a thunderstorm, they crowd together and cannot be moved. “If lightning strikes a herd,” Lenz writes, “then many die immediately; if a sheepfold catches fire, the sheep do not run out of it or even throw themselves directly into the fire.”

These facts largely characterize the sheep. Of course, she is not devoid of some mental abilities: she knows her master, follows his call, apparently loves the shepherds playing on the horns, but still she is far from a smart, lively goat.

In Europe (in the north and south), sheep are chased by wolves, in Asia, Africa and America - wild cats and wild dogs, in Australia - large marsupial predators. Eagles and lambs are dangerous to lambs. On the other hand, the sheep, which are the least protected from enemies, are little susceptible to disease, which balances out the losses among them. Sheep live up to 14 years, but already at 8–9 years old they lose all their teeth, and they should be cut.

In the far north, in those bleak countries where the earth thaws a little on the surface only in summer, where moss and lichen tundra stretch widely, another ruminant roams next to the reindeer - muskox, or musk ox(Ovibos moschatus), once common in Northern Europe and Asia, but now found only in the North. America and the nearby polar islands, starting from 60 ° N. and further north. This strange animal, up to 2.44 m long, counting the 7 cm tail, with a height of 1.1 m, combines the features of sheep and bulls. A short tail, the absence of a dewlap and a bare spot on the muzzle and non-lonely hooves make it look like a sheep, but the size, strength and courage are like those of bulls. The strong body, resting on short, strong legs, is covered with unusually thick fur, the upper part of the muzzle and legs are also. Rather thick hairs of the awn form a mane on the chest, almost to the ground, and on the sides, especially behind, descend to the hooves in the form of a long fringe. The mane is smooth, the rest of the fur is wavy. In addition to the muzzle and legs, abundant undercoat is noticed between the awns. The general color of the fur is dark brown, in some places light gray. Sheep are found in herds of several dozen heads and, despite their clumsy figure, they move with the dexterity of antelopes. Like goats, they climb rocks, climb steep walls without any effort and look down from a height without dizziness. “In 3-4 minutes,” says Copeland, “the musk oxen we were pursuing climbed a steep basalt rock to a height of 150 m, and it took us at least half an hour ...”

As for the mental abilities and the sharpness of the external senses of this animal, one can hardly doubt their poor development: small eyes with a dull expression do not indicate a special development of vision, ears almost hidden in fur also indicate little about the subtlety of hearing. On the contrary, the sense of smell, taste and touch are hardly less developed than in bulls. Mental abilities are also not particularly developed, although not at all as weak as they used to say. The fact is that while the musk ox still knows little of the deadly power of human weapons, it displays, like many other wild animals, curiosity and partly embarrassment. There were times when a whole herd of musk oxen allowed themselves to be shot to the last. But, having recognized a dangerous enemy in a man, the musk ox became extremely shy, and the wounded musk ox goes into a real rage; then a person is in serious danger from his terrible horns, especially since a bullet in the forehead does not take him, but only flattens into a cake.

Musk oxen are hunted for their meat and wool. The latter is so thin that excellent fabrics could be made from it; From the tails the Eskimos prepare fans from flies, and from the skin they make good shoes.

group bulls(Bovinae), now common thanks to man in all parts the globe, make up large, strong, clumsy ruminants, having more or less round and smooth horns, a wide muzzle with nostrils far apart from one another, a long tail, up to the heel joint, with a brush at the end, and often a pendulous dewlap. There are no tear pits; udder in females with 4 nipples, bones are rough, thick. All bulls seem clumsy, but in fact they are very agile and dexterous; everyone swims well, those who live in the mountains are excellent climbers. By nature - for the most part meek and trusting, but, having become irritated, they do not know mercy. Females are especially protective of their young. All species are tameable and willingly obey the man, whom they serve with both meat and milk, even wool and dung.

One of the wildest and strongest bulls - yak(Bos grunniens), or long-haired, otherwise Mongolian, bull, inhabiting the highlands of Mongolia, Tibet and Turkestan. It is one of the strangest animals not only in Asia, but, perhaps, in the entire Old World. To begin with, it is found only at a desperate height, where it is difficult for a llama to climb, and not just for an ordinary animal. Below 8,000 feet above sea level, he already feels unwell; but his usual favorite region of distribution lies between this height and 20,000 feet!! What can he find there, except for eternal snows, ice and - occasionally - lichen and mosses ?! It must also be remembered that at these heights the air pressure is half that at sea level. Even a bird can hardly live under such conditions, and yet a yak, such a large mammal, its length reaches a sazhen, not only does not suffer here, but, on the contrary, yearns when it is forced to descend from these heights by force.

Such a strange property of the yak is fully consistent with the unusual appearance of the animal: it is some kind of unimaginable mixture of bison, bull, horse, goat and ram. Beautiful, round shapes and fluffy tail strongly resemble a horse; in his long hair, which sometimes drags along the ground, he looks like a goat and a ram; the head, adorned with two strong, crescent-shaped horns, is bullish, and the strong muscular body seems to have been taken from a buffalo or bison. Thick hair covers his head, shoulders, scruff, sides, thighs and upper part legs in the form of long stiff, shaggy hair, usually black. On the tail, the hair is especially lengthened (up to 2-3 feet) and forms a soft fan.

To complete the characterization of this animal, it remains to mention the voice, which is also just a match for the strange appearance of the yak: this is not the bleating of a sheep, not the lowing of a bull, not the neighing of a horse, but something like the grunting of a pig, but muffled and more monotonous.

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Artiodactyls There are nine families and 194 species in the order Artiodactyls. In artiodactyls, the axis of the leg passes between the third and fourth fingers, and there are two or four toes on the foot (in the latter case, two lateral ones are underdeveloped). The ends of the fingers are "shod" in hooves. Only camels don't

From the book Mammals author Sivoglazov Vladislav Ivanovich

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From the book Anthropology and Concepts of Biology author Kurchanov Nikolai Anatolievich

Order Insectivores This order includes hedgehogs, moles, shrews. These are small animals with a small brain, the hemispheres of which do not have furrows and convolutions. The teeth are poorly differentiated. Most insectivores have an elongated muzzle with a small proboscis.

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Order Bats This order includes bats and fruit bats. The only group of mammals capable of sustained active flight. The forelimbs are turned into wings. They are formed by a thin elastic leathery flying membrane, which is stretched between

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Squad Rodents The squad unites different types of squirrels, beavers, mice, voles, rats and many others. They are distinguished by a number of features. One of them is a peculiar structure of teeth adapted to eating solid plant foods (branches of trees and shrubs, seeds,

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Order Pinnipeds Pinnipeds are marine mammals that have retained contact with land, where they rest, breed and molt. Most live in the coastal zone, and only a few species live in the open sea. All of them, like aquatic animals, have a peculiar appearance:

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Squad Cetaceans This squad unites mammals whose whole life takes place in the water. In connection with the aquatic way of life, their body acquired a torpedo-shaped, well-streamlined shape, the forelimbs were turned into fins, their hind limbs disappeared. Tail

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Javanese deer

The majestic deer have a tiny relative, the little Javan deer or Javan kanchil (Tragulus javamcus). It is smaller than a cat (height - up to 20-25 centimeters, weight - only 2.5 kilograms), outwardly resembles a hare, but proudly bears the title of the smallest of the ungulates. These unusual animals are residents West Africa and south Asia. Outwardly, the animals resemble roe deer: with a thick body, bright eyes, a beautiful head, thin legs, small hooves and tail, soft smooth hair of various colors.

Deer lifestyle

Adult males have fangs that are strongly curved, protrude 3 centimeters from the gums and point backwards. They are flattened, as if hollowed out from the sides, and have a cutting edge.

Young deer are no different from adults. Olenka can never be found in a herd, as he leads a solitary life and only during mating starts a pair. During the day, he rests, hiding in a dense bush, lying and chewing gum. All deer mark their territory with scent marks. During the day, a burrow of another animal, recesses under the roots of trees, extremely rarely, hollows located low from the ground can serve as a refuge for them. Animals swim well, dive, often hunt crabs, fish, shellfish.

Deer tricks

Deer feed on insects and small mammals. With the onset of darkness, they go out in search of food - all kinds of leaves, herbs and berries. They cannot do without water. All the movements of this little animal are beautiful, light and very agile.

Kanchil makes quite large jumps, and easily overcomes obstacles in his path. If the deer sees that he can become the prey of his enemies, he resorts to cunning. Just like the opossum, it calmly lies on the ground and pretends to be dead. When the enemy approaches, the deer abruptly makes one or two jumps and runs away with lightning speed.

Deer breeding features

Little is known about the breeding habits of the Javan deer. Perhaps they, like other ruminants, have only one cub. Within an hour after birth, the cubs are able to move after their mother. By 5 months of age, young animals reach sexual maturity. Quite often, deer are brought to Europe and kept in captivity. Many owners of menageries put deer on display. The Javan deer is very clean, constantly cleaning and licking itself.