File:Brehm's Life of animals - a complete natural history for popular home instruction and for the use of schools. Mammalia (1896) (20419919141).jpg

Title: Brehm's Life of animals : a complete natural history for popular home instruction and for the use of schools. Mammalia
Identifier: brehmslifeofanim1896breh (find matches)
Year: 1896 (1890s)
Authors: Brehm, Alfred Edmund, 1829-1884; Pechuel-Loesche, Edward, 1840-1913; Haacke, Wilhelm, 1855-1912; Schmidtlein, Richard
Subjects: Mammals; Animal behavior
Publisher: Chicago : Marquis
Contributing Library: Internet Archive
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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THE HORNED ANIMALS—GOATS. 451 uation the hair forms a short beard, not over two inches long and absent in the young males and all females. The color of the beard slightly differs with age and season. In summer a reddish gray tint prevails, in winter it is yellowish gray or of a pale tint. Habits and Pecul- The Bouquetins form herds of vari- iarities of the ous sizes, the old males joining them Ste'mbock. only during the breeding season, however, and leading a solitary life during the re- mainder of the year. The she Goats and kids al- ways live in a lower belt of mountain region than do the males, in whom the yearning for the highest altitudes is so powerful that only lack of food and the severest cold can compel them to descend. According to Berthoud von Berghem, whose ac- counts are still accepted as authentic, all males that are over six years old retire to the highest spots in the mountain, lead a more and more solitary life and finally become so insensible to the severest cold that •they will sometimes stand on the highest peaks with their faces turned against the storm, motionless as statues, as a result of which they not infre- quently get the tips of their ears frozen. Like the Chamois, the Ibex also grazes during the night in the forests near- est the line of vegetation, in summer never descend- ing lower than a quarter of an hour's journey from the perpetual snow limit. At sunrise they begin to climb upwards, grazing, and finally settle down to rest on the highest and warmest places, facing east and south; in the afternoon they descend again, grazing, to spend the night in the forest, if possible. No other Ruminant seems to be so well fitted to climb mountains as the wild Goats in general and the Ibex in particular. All the movements of the latter are quick, vigorous and yet easy. It runs with great speed, climbs with admirable facility and exhibits a truly astonishing security and speed in going along almost perpen- dicular walls of rock where it alone can gain a foot- hold. An uneven spot or indentation in the wall, which a human eye barely sees when quite close to it, affords it sufficient support; minute crevices and small holes constitute for it the steps of a conven- ient ladder. It plants its hoofs so firmly and se- curely that it can keep its hold upon the smallest spots of standing room. Schinz has observed and interestingly recorded with what precision these ani- mals reach the spots at which they aim. A young Bouquetin in Berne sprang voluntarily and without having been pursued, alighting on the head of a tall Man, and kept its place there with all four hoofs. Another was seen to stand on all four feet on the top of a pole, a third stood on the narrow upper edge of a door and mounted a vertical wall without any other support than that formed by the projec- tions of the bricks, at such joints as had been de- nuded by the falling off of mortar. Running along this wall, it scaled it to the top with three bounds. It took its stand opposite the goal it had selected and measured the distance with its eye; then it trav-
Text Appearing After Image:
PYRENEAN IBEX. Closely allied in its nature to the Steinbock is the Pyrenean Ibex, which is distin- guished from its Alpine relative by a more graceful form and by differently shaped and twisted horns. It inhabits the snowy heights of the Pyrenees, and is very difficult to hunt because at the slightest alarm it retreats to places inaccessible to Man. (Capta fyrenaica.) ersed an equal horizontal space taking short steps, repeatedly coming back to the starting point; it swayed to and fro on its legs as though trying their elasticity, then jumped and reached the top in three bounds. They scarcely seem to touch the rocks or walls in leaping, and their bodies bound upwards like balls. The ease and security with which the Ibex crosses the deepest and most dangerous cre- vasses and abysses are also truly wonderful. Sensory and Mental The vocal expression of the Ibex Attributesof resembles the whistle of the Ibexes. Chamois, but is longer drawn-out. Among the perceptive senses that of sight ranks first. The eye of an Ibex is much keener than that

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