XIII. RHINOCEROS

There are no fewer than four different kinds of rhinoceros to be found in India and Burmah; viz. Indicus, Sondaicus, Lasiotis and Sumatrensis. The first, which is the most generally known, extends from the Nepal Terai to Assam. The second is found in the Sunderbuns, and from Manipur through Burmah to the Malay Peninsula; the third is found in Arakan and Tenasserim; the fourth, from Tenasserim through Burmah to Siam and the Malay Peninsula; the two first varieties being one-horned, the two last two-horned. The Asiatic rhinoceros differs from the African in three particulars: the skin is divided into shields by well-marked folds; he has long upper cutting teeth (the African having none), and the nasal bones of the skull are produced and conical instead of broad and round (Sterndale).

The chief difference between R. indicus and R. sondaicus is that the latter has a well-marked fold in front of the shoulders, the line running over the back of the neck, whilst in Indicus it dies away on the shoulder-blade; the head of Sondaicus is also somewhat slenderer, and the female has no horn. In Indicus both sexes have this horn, and the curious tesselated appearance of the hide in one is very different from the tuberculated armour of the other.

Though Sondaicus has been described as the lesser Indian rhinoceros, there is little difference in the size between this and other Indian varieties.

R. lasiotis and R. sumatrensis have more or less hairy hides instead of tubercles. Lasiotis is larger, lighter in colour, with wide-set ears, a short tufted tail, and a long fringe of hair on the back edge of the ear; Sumatrensis is smaller, darker, with close-set ears (which are filled with black hair but have no fringe), and tail long, tapering, and semi-nude.

The native names of all four varieties seem much the same: ‘Gaindá,’ ‘Gairá,’ ‘Gonda,’ generally; ‘Gor’ Assam, ‘Khyenhsen’ Burmah, ‘Bodok’ Malay.

The rhinoceros does not extend to Central and Southern India, being only found in the heavy grass swamps of the Terai, Assam, &c.; consequently the only way of hunting this beast is with elephants. The rhinoceros may be either tracked up to his lair on a single elephant, or the jungle may be beaten as for tigers.

Measurements

AuthorityHeight at shoulderLength head and bodyTailGirth chestGirth forearmLength of hornGirth at baseRemarks
R. indicus
ft. ins.ft. ins.ft. ins.ft. ins.ft. ins.ins.ins.
Col. Kinloch, ‘Large Game Shooting’5 910 62 59 83 212..
British Museum..........1920½
”..........3826½Single horns—doubtful specimens
”..........33½27”
R. sondaicus
Sterndale5 612 32 4½........The length 12 ft. 3 ins. appears to include tail
R. lasiotis
No measurements procurable
R. sumatrensis
Sterndale3 8............
British Museum..........2717½
”..........32¼17¼
Mr. A. Manson, ‘Oriental Sporting Magazine,’ 1876..........8½..Rear horn merely a knob

In no branch of sport is it more necessary to have trustworthy men in charge of the mahouts of the pad elephants. A rhinoceros when roused makes such a noise crashing through the reeds and snorting, that, though he rarely charges home, and even then only bites instead of using his horn, he fairly terrifies both mahouts and their animals, and consequently, unless the line is under good control, the beating is carried out in a very half-hearted manner. The usual pace of a rhinoceros is a trot, but he will sometimes break into a gallop and gets over the ground with surprising speed. When shot they usually sink down on their knees and rarely roll over on to their sides. The flesh is said to be as good as, or better than, most Indian beef. The track is easily distinguished, as the foot has only three toes.

There is a story of a fight having been witnessed between a rhinoceros and a wild male elephant, in which the latter was worsted. A rhinoceros is said to have wantonly attacked the camp of two officers from Dinapore, near Derriapore, in 1788. The brute killed their horses, which were picketed, treed the officers and their servants, and ‘after keeping them in dreadful suspense for some time, and using some efforts to dislodge them, seeing the sun rise, retreated to his haunt.’

Their habit of depositing their dropping on the same spot, which is shared by many deer and antelopes, has been noted by all writers on the subject. Native shikaris watch these large heaps and take poor rhino at a disadvantage.

XIV. THE MALAY TAPIR (Tapirus malayanus)

Native names: ‘Ta-ra-shu,’ Burmese; ‘Kuda-ayer,’ Malayan

Sterndale says of it:

Habitat: Tenasserim provinces, as high as 15° N. Lat., Lower Siam, the Malayan Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. Description: General colour glossy black, but with the back, rump, and sides of the belly white; the young are beautifully variegated, being striped and spotted with yellow fawn on the upper parts of the body and with white below. Mr. Mason writes: ‘Though seen so rarely, the tapir is by no means uncommon in the interior of the Tavoy and Mergui provinces. I have frequently come upon its recent footmarks, but it avoids the inhabited parts of the country. It has never been heard of north of the valley of the Tavoy river.’ The tapir is naturally, all the world over, a very shy, retiring animal, but it is capable of being tamed when taken young, and of showing great attachment. It is not found in India proper, but is occasionally come across in Burmah.

Measurements

AuthorityHeightLength, head and bodyRemarks
British Museum36½ ins.75 ins.A skeleton, tail with some vertebræ wanting

XV. WILD BOAR (Sus indicus)

It is a maxim in India that the only sportsmanlike way of killing boar is with horse and spear, and therefore as these volumes treat principally of those beasts which fall or should fall to the rifle, this pluckiest of all beasts must be dismissed with a very brief notice.

Occasionally there may be some justification for shooting boar, but as they travel great distances, none ought to be shot within forty miles of rideable ground.

Several cases are on record in which an old boar has beaten off a tiger, and some in which the latter has been killed by a boar. The boar’s extraordinary activity and sharp tusks make him no mean adversary, and his short neck makes it difficult for a tiger to seize it and give it that fatal wrench with which he likes to polish off his victims.

XVI. THE PIGMY HOG (Porcula salvania)

Native names: ‘Sano-banel,’ Nepal; ‘Chota soor,’ Hindi

This tiny little wild pig is found in the Sál forests of Nepal and Sikkim. It has the reputation of going in herds like the peccary and attacking intruders in the same fearless way. In shape it only differs from the common wild pig in that its snout is comparatively shorter, and the eye consequently set midway between snout and ear. Its tail, too, is short and is hidden among the bristles on the rump. It has long bristles all over its back and sides, but no well-defined mane like an ordinary boar, whilst its ears are quite hairless and the under parts of the body and limbs almost so. Some stuffed specimens in the British Museum of apparently half-grown beasts are deep chestnut, a full-grown one being nearly black.

Measurements

AuthorityLength, head and bodyHeightWeightRemarks
Sterndale18 to 20 ins.8 to 10 ins.7 to 10 lbs.
British Museum28 ins.11½ ins...A stuffed specimen tusks 1 in.