Fig. 45.—Bongo. Showing on the strong mus­cu­lar chest, well-formed pec­toral pat­terns.

This West African antelope is a forest-dwelling species, about which little is known as to its habit of life, though its form and anatomy are well described by Lydekker. It has a powerful chest, long and strong horns, and short hoofs, and it is shown in Fig. 45 with its large pectoral whorl, feathering and crest, in which it strongly resembles the domestic horse. One may be allowed here, as exact knowledge is wanting, to point out that “reconstruc­tion” of its habits may be reasonably attempted along the lines laid down in these pages. It is doubtful if any large mammal could possess so powerful a fore-end with very muscular forelimbs, highly-developed pectoral patterns and short strong hoofs without being a very fleet animal much accustomed to relying upon its speed for its protec­tion, and if a greater knowledge of it be obtained in the future it is highly probable that this predic­tion will be verified. Part of its habitat is described as the Ashkankolu Mountains, a region where speed would be of great value.

Kiang—Thibetan Wild Ass.

This member of the Equidæ is shown in Fig. 46 and there is an excellent specimen of it at South Kensington. I have chosen it because it is very unusual among others of its family in the possession of an inguinal and axillary whorl, feathering and crest. No other than the domestic horse that I have examined shows these patterns. They are nearly as well developed as in the horse, and require no special descrip­tion. It lives in high altitudes up to fourteen thousand feet, and travels often in large herds, its food being composed of the various woody plants of these dry and barren regions. Lydekker says that it “is remarkable for its fleetness and its capacity for getting over rough and stony ground at a great pace.” From these facts one can gather that a large portion of its working day would be spent in rapid locomo­tion from place to place in search of its sparse food-supplies and in avoiding enemies—two paramount objects of its existence which are pictured in the two animal pedometers displayed on its hairy coat.

Fig. 46.—Kiang. Side view showing inguinal (W F C) and axillary (W F C) patterns.

Llama—L.