Part 4

Four local races of the tiger are recognised by naturalists, namely, the typical Indian tiger, the Persian tiger (F. tigris virgata), the Javan tiger (F. t. sondaica), and the Manchurian or Siberian tiger (F. t. mongolica or longipilis). As regards splendour of coat, the finest of these races is the Manchurian tiger, which differs from the Indian race by the great length and woolliness of its winter coat and the larger extent of white on the face, under-parts, and the inner side of the limbs. It also appears to be a more stoutly built animal, and attains a very large size. Its skin commands a very high price. From both these races the Persian tiger, which is probably the one found in the Caucasus, differs by the copious fringe of long hair on the cheeks, throat, and under-parts; while it is also of inferior bodily size. The Javan and Sumatran tiger, which may be the same as the one inhabiting the Malay countries, differs from all the other three by the light areas on the head, body and limbs being of small extent, ill-defined, and dirty or buffish white in colour instead of pure white. In size it is always relatively small, and appears to be the smallest of all. The degree of development of the dark stripes appears to vary individually; but the Persian race seems to be the most fully striped of all, and shows in perfection the characteristic looping, or splitting of the stripes.

The striped coat of the tiger seems designed to break up the outline of the body, and thus to render the animal as inconspicuous as possible. That it is not, as was once thought, a special adaptation to match the surroundings of the animal in the jungles of Bengal, will be evident from what is stated above as to the distribution of the tiger and its comparatively recent entry into India.

Information is still required with regard to the habits of the Manchurian tiger, which has only of recent years been hunted by European sportsmen, or exhibited alive in zoological gardens. It appears, however, that these northern tigers prey on almost all the animals of their native country, from the largest to the smallest. In summer they will overpower and kill such fierce animals as bears, while in times of scarcity during the long winter they may be driven to prey on mice and rats. To capture their victims they frequently resort to the drinking-places of the latter, and in summer they likewise pay constant visits to the salt-pans where the wapiti and other deer come to lick the salt.

Each pair of tigers generally frequents the same lair, which in mountainous districts is concealed amid rocks, while in the plains the requisite shelter is afforded by reed-brakes. In winter the tigers may be completely snowed up in their retreats. As in India, the tigress is reported to separate herself from the tiger a short time before giving birth to her young; these being born in some dense thicket or rocky cleft, their number varying from two to four. At birth they are about the same size as lion-cubs, but are marked in the same fashion as their parents, although clothed in more woolly coats. In India it is generally stated that the female keeps apart from the male while the cubs are young, although both parents have been seen with their offspring. Like lions, tigers associate for the greater part of the year in pairs, and are strictly monogamous.

Whether old tigers in Siberia turn man-eaters, after the fashion of their brethren in India, does not appear to be known; but in much of their range it is probable that they do not resort to this mode of livelihood, on account of the sparseness of the population. It appears, however, that throughout northern China and Siberia the natives regard the tiger with much the same superstitious awe as do the natives of Hindustan. All the Siberian natives consider the tiger as a being of high nature, although the Tunguses look upon it as an evil spirit which has come under the influence of the Shamans, or sorcerers.

Fossil bones from the New Siberian Islands indicate that the Manchurian tiger once ranged beyond the Arctic Circle.

THE SEAL

(Phoca vitulina)

Of all mammals except whales, dolphins, and sea-cows, the true seals, of which the common British species is the typical representative, are those which have become most completely adapted to an aquatic existence. This is shown by the spindle-shaped form of the body, the total absence of external ears, the conversion of the fore-limbs into flippers, and the backward direction of the hind pair, which are also flipper-like, and lie parallel to the short tail to form an efficient rudder-like organ.

Seals are evidently descended from land Carnivora, and possibly from that long extinct group the Creodontia. When fully developed, their cheek-teeth consist of a single middle cusp, flanked by a smaller one in front and behind; and there are no teeth specially corresponding with the scissor-like pair characteristic of the modern land Carnivora. This fact, unless the teeth are degenerate, is all in favour of the direct descent of seals from creodonts.

From the true seals of the family Phocidæ the eared seals, or Otariidæ, differ by retaining small external ears, as well as by the fact that the hind-flippers are not permanently turned backwards; this latter feature being also distinctive of the walrus (Odobænidæ). In addition to being the most specialised of the aquatic Carnivora, the true seals are also the most widely distributed, inhabiting nearly all seas, and being likewise found in the Caspian Sea and in Lakes Aral and Baikal. Although seals go on land nightly to sleep, and likewise spend a considerable amount of time in the day on the shore or on ice, while the females give birth to their young on land, none of the Phocidæ regularly leave the water for a period of several weeks during the breeding-season, after the fashion of their eared cousins. Neither do any of them yield commercial sealskin, which is a product of certain members of the eared groups. Commercially, they are therefore valued only for their hides and oil, for the sake of which vast numbers are annually slaughtered.

Seals are adepts in swimming and diving, and have the power of closing their nostrils and the apertures of their ears while under water, although they are unable to remain beneath the surface for anything like so long as whales and dolphins. The food of the common seal, as well as most other kinds, consists chiefly of fishes, for capturing and holding which their sharply cusped teeth are admirably adapted. Graceful and active as are their movements in water, on land they are comparatively awkward and ungainly; progression being effected by means of the limbs, accompanied by sudden flexures of the body, so that it in some degree partakes of the nature of hopping. To land, seals shoot themselves out of the water by a strong and sudden movement of the hind-limbs. When once on land, they may remain there for days and even weeks together, till compelled by hunger to return to the sea.

The senses of the seal are highly developed. The eye, for instance, is full and globular, and thus specially adapted to catch every ray of light when the animal is in the water. It is noteworthy that seals can shed tears under the influence of excitement, and especially when in pain. And the idea of the ancients that these animals are attracted by music and singing appears to be founded on fact.

Their usual cry is a sharp bark, but when angered they give vent to dog-like snarlings. Seals always associate in parties, which may comprise hundreds of individuals. The young, which are beautiful little creatures, are tenderly and affectionately nurtured by their parents, who protect them from danger by every means in their power.

Young seals have a coat quite different from that of the adult; this baby coat in the case of the second British species, the grey seal (Halichærus grypus), being wholly white. In colour, the common seal varies greatly, the coat being sometimes yellowish and sometimes light grey with blackish mottlings and marblings. The so-called grey seal is generally much darker in colour, but is best distinguished from the common species by its greatly superior size and its relatively larger and blunter teeth.

All seals are polygamous, which leads to fights among the males for the possession of the females; but in other respects they are gentle and affectionate, easily tamed if taken young, and displaying great capacity for education. As a rule, only a single cub is produced at a birth, but there may be twins.

THE ELK

(Alces machlis)

Although the elk can claim an easy superiority in the matter of size over all the other members of the deer tribe, it certainly cannot be accorded a high position in the scale of beauty. For, truth to say, it is an ugly and ungainly creature, with disproportionately long legs, and huge head terminating in a broad, flabby, and almost trunk-like muzzle. By the sportsman, however, it is held in high estimation, owing to the magnificent trophies formed by its great spreading antlers, which in Alaskan specimens may have a span of as much as six feet. And when the build of the elk is considered in relation to its mode of life, we see that what appears ugly and ungainly to our eyes is merely adaptation to a particular mode of life. For in summer the elk spends much of its time wading belly-deep in marshes and lakes in search of the water-plants which form a large proportion of its food at this season; and in this pursuit its long limbs must obviously be of the greatest advantage, while the broad and mobile muzzle is specially well adapted for gathering in the floating leaves and stalks. Possibly the almost wholly hairy extremity of the muzzle is another adaptation to the same end. The elk typifies the wading type among mammals just as much as does the flamingo among birds.

Like many other mammals of northern Europe, the elk has a circumpolar distribution, although most Transatlantic naturalists regard its American representatives in the light of a distinct species rather than as local races.

In common with the brown bear, the elk attains its maximum stature in Alaska, where it towers to a height of close on seven feet at the shoulder. At one time an inhabitant of the British Isles, the elk is still found in many parts of Germany and Austria-Hungary, and is abundant in Scandinavia; from these countries its range extends eastward through Poland and Russia, and thence across the whole of Siberia. On the other side of Bering Strait it reappears in Alaska, whence it ranges through British Columbia to Maine and other parts of the United States. The differences between the elk (or moose, as it is there called) of the United States and the typical elk of Scandinavia are so slight that it requires an expert to distinguish between the two.

It is, however, very noteworthy that certain Scandinavian elk never develop the huge expansions, or “shovels,” which form the most characteristic feature of the antlers of the species, but carry only five simple tines; and in east Siberia this simpler type of antler seems to be very prevalent.

A peculiar feature of the bull elk is the curious hairy appendage hanging from the throat, known to hunters as the “bell.”

Elk are polygamous, like the majority of the deer tribe; and in the breeding season the two sexes learn each others’ whereabouts by means of a loud “call” or bellowing, which in some districts, at any rate, appears to be uttered by males and females alike. The call can easily be imitated with the aid of a horn or trumpet, and by this means many a fine old bull is lured to his destruction. Elk are adepts in concealing themselves in the thickets to which they resort during the daytime.

In winter, when they are compelled to subsist on bark and twigs, especially those of the birch, these giant deer experience very hard times; and in North America a bull and two or three cows often form what is called a “yard” in the forest, by constantly trampling down the snow over a certain area, and thus keeping themselves from being snowed up. The female gives birth to one or two calves at a time, which are even more ungainly-looking than their parents.

It should be added, that in America the term “elk” is misapplied to the wapiti, while in Ceylon it is bestowed on the sambar deer.

THE CAPERCAILLIE

(Tetrao urogallus)