CHAP. 46.—WILD ASSES.
Great numbers of hyænas are produced in Africa, which also gives birth to multitudes of wild asses. In this species each male rules over a herd of females. Fearing rivals in their lust, they carefully watch the pregnant females, and castrate the young males with their teeth, as soon as they are born.[1800] The pregnant females, on the other hand, seek concealment, and endeavour to bring forth in secret, being desirous to increase their opportunities of sexual indulgence.
CHAP. 47.—BEAVERS, AMPHIBIOUS ANIMALS;[1801] OTTERS.
The beavers of the Euxine, when they are closely pressed by danger, themselves cut off the same part, as they know that it is for this that they are pursued. This substance is called castoreum by the physicians.[1802] In addition to this, the bite of this animal is terrible; with its teeth it can cut down trees on the banks of rivers, just as though with a knife.[1803] If they seize a man by any part of his body, they will never loose their hold until his bones are broken and crackle under their teeth. The tail is like that of a fish;[1804] in the other parts of the body they resemble the otter;[1805] they are both of them aquatic animals, and both have hair softer than down.
CHAP. 48. (31.)—BRAMBLE-FROGS.
Bramble-frogs,[1806] also, which live both on land and in water, are replete with various medicinal substances, which they are said to discharge each day, and to take in again with their food, of which they only retain the poisonous parts.
CHAP. 49.—THE SEA-CALF; BEAVERS; LIZARDS.
The sea-calf, too, lives equally in the sea and on land, being possessed of the same degree of intelligence as the beaver. It vomits forth its gall, which is useful for many purposes in medicine; also the rennet,[1807] which serves as a remedy in epilepsy; for it is well aware that it is hunted for these substances. Theophrastus informs us, that lizards[1808] also cast their skins like the serpent, and instantly devour them, thus depriving us of a powerful remedy for epilepsy; he says, too, that the bite of the lizard is fatal in Greece, but harmless in Italy.[1809]
CHAP. 50. (32.)—STAGS.
Stags, although the most mild of all animals, have still their own feelings of malignancy;[1810] when hard pressed by the hounds, of their own accord they fly for refuge to man; and when the females bring forth, they are less anxious to avoid the paths which bear traces of human footsteps, than solitary spots which offer a retreat to wild beasts.[1811] They become pregnant after the rising of the constellation Arcturus;[1812] they bring forth after a gestation of eight months, and sometimes produce two young ones. They separate after conception, but the males, upon being thus abandoned, become maddened with the fury of their passion; they dig up the earth, and their muzzles become quite black, until they have been washed by the rain.[1813] The females, before they bring forth, purge themselves by means of a certain herb, which is called seselis, by the use of which parturition is rendered more easy. After delivery, they take a mixture of the two plants called seselis[1814] and aros,[1815] and then return to the fawn; they seem desirous, for some reason or other, that their first milk, after parturition, should be impregnated with the juice of these plants. They then exercise the young ones in running, and teach them how to take to flight, leading them to precipices, and showing them how to leap. The sexual passion of the male having been now satisfied, he repairs to the pasture lands with the greatest eagerness. When they feel themselves becoming too fat, they seek some retired spot, thus acknowledging the inconvenience arising from their bulk. Besides this, they continually pause in their flight, stand still and look back, and then again resume their flight when the enemy approaches. This pause is occasioned by the intense pain which they feel in the intestines, a part which is so weak, that a very slight blow will cause them to break within. The barking of a dog instantly puts them to flight, and they always run with the wind, in order that no trace of them may be left. They are soothed by the shepherd’s pipe and his song;[1816] when their ears are erect, their sense of hearing is very acute, but when dropped, they become deaf.[1817]