HOOFED ANIMALS (Ungulata)
It is impossible to overestimate the importance of this order, because all the domestic animals which are used for food belong to it.
The name Ungulata is derived from the Latin word ungula, which signifies a nail, claw, or hoof. The Ungulates, which are all vegetable feeders except the pig and the peccary, include the largest of all the mammals, save only the whale and the sea elephant.
Antelope (Antilopidæ).—The family of antelopes is a very large one, and includes many important species. It belongs to the order of Ruminants in which the horns consist of a horny sheath, surrounding a bony process of the skull, and are permanent, not annually renewed. The body is slender and deer-like, the feet small and elegant, the tail short and tufted, the hair generally short, and the color often lively. Some species, however, have comparatively long hair; and a few which inhabit cold mountainous regions are clothed with wool mixed with longer and coarser hair, as in the chamois of the Alps, Caucasus, etc.; the Rocky Mountain goat of North America; and the chiru of the Himalayas. The females of many species, as of deer, are destitute of horns; and if they alone came under observation, it would be difficult to say to which genus they belonged. The size is very various; the guevi, or pigmy antelope of Africa (Antilope pygmæa), is only eight to nine inches high at the shoulders, while the largest forms measure five or six feet. Almost all the species of antelopes are peaceable, timid animals, and are distinguished by agility and fleetness. most of them are gregarious. Some inhabit plains; others are found only in the most inaccessible mountainous regions; others still, dwell in jungles and deep forests. Many, on the other hand, are water-loving forms, and frequent the banks of rivers.
North America possesses two species, found only in the western parts of the continent, the prong-horn (Antilocapra) and the Rocky Mountain goat (Aplocerus), which depart considerably from the typical character of the genus. The prong-horn sheds the horns annually like most species of deer. Europe produces only the Alpine chamois and the saiga (A. saiga), which inhabits the southern plains of Poland and Russia. Most species are African, and take the place of the true deer in that continent. The Springbok is goat-like in form and movement; the Gnu, with a body resembling that of a horse, but with forward-directed, hook-shaped horns; the Eland, or Cape Elk, with nearly straight backward-directed spiral horns; and the Gazelle, of north Africa, with nearly upright horns and noted for the luster of its eyes. In India is the curious Chickara, the females of which are hornless, while the males have four horns.
Bison.—The name applied to two species of ox. One of these, the European bison, or aurochs, (Bos bison or Bison europæus), is now nearly extinct, being found only in the forests of Lithuania and the Caucasus. The other, or American bison, improperly termed buffalo (Bison americanus), is found only in the region lying north and south between the Great Slave Lake and the Yellowstone River, and is rapidly becoming extinct in the wild state, though formerly to be met with in immense herds. The two species closely resemble each other, the American bison, however, being for the most part smaller, and with shorter and weaker hind-quarters. The bison is remarkable for the great hump or projection over its fore-shoulders, at which point the adult male is almost six feet in height; and for the long, shaggy rust-colored hair over the head, neck, and forepart of the body. In summer, from the shoulders backward, the surface is covered with a very short, fine hair, smooth and soft as velvet. The tail is short and tufted at the end. The American bison used to be much hunted for sport as well as for its flesh and skin. Its flesh is rather coarser grained than that of the domestic ox, but was considered by hunters and travelers as superior in tenderness and flavor. The hump is highly celebrated for its richness and delicacy. Their skins, especially that of the cow, dressed in the Indian fashion, with the hair on, make admirable defenses against the cold, and are known as buffalo robes; the wool has been manufactured into hats, and a coarse cloth. The American bison has been found to breed readily with the common ox, the issue being fertile among themselves.
Buffalo. See [Bison].
Chamois (Capella rupicapra).—This European representative of the Antelope family attains the size of a goat. It is red in summer, and dark brown in the winter, the lower portion of the body being lighter, while a dark, brownish-black band reaches from the corner of the mouth to the eyes. It has small, erect horns, which are curved backwards at the tips. The chamois is found in herds, numbering from five to twenty, in the Carpathian Mountains, the Pyrenees, and the Apennines; but most frequently in the Alps of Bavaria and Styria. It feeds on the buds of Alpine herbs and trees. When pursued it will leap down the most precipitous cliffs. The peculiar flavor of the flesh of these animals, especially of the young ones, is greatly appreciated by many persons. Out of their skin, a leather is manufactured noted for its softness. The horns are utilized for handles of various kinds.
Deer (Cervidæ) are animals of graceful form, combining much compactness and strength with slenderness of limb and fleetness. They use their horns for weapons of defense and offense; but in general they trust to flight for their safety. They have a long neck, a small head, which they carry high, large ears, and large, full eyes. Many have scent glands, usually beneath the eyes, which serve as sexual attractions. Deer are distinguished from all other ruminants by their branching horns (antlers), which in most species exist in the male only; they are solid, fall off annually, and are renewed with increase of size, and number of branches, according to the kind, until the animal has reached old age.