Family: Bovidae (Cavicornia) = Bovids. Animal of the bovid family - artiodactyl of the bovid family. The bovid family includes the saiga antelope.

The bovid family contains 140 species, ranging from the 5-kg dik-dik to the 1,000-kg bison. An important difference is the horns: there is almost always one pair of them (an exception is the genus of four-horned antelopes), and the length can range from 2 cm to 1.5 meters. Some species have horns only on males, but most have horns on both sexes. These are bony structures firmly connected to the skull. Unlike deer and pronghorn, bovids never have branched antlers.

The largest representative of the family is the gaur (up to 2.2 m tall at the withers and weighing more than a ton), and the smallest is the dwarf antelope (weighs no more than 3 kg and is as tall as a large domestic cat).

The majority of bovids live in open areas. African savannas provide an ideal living space for many species. There are also species that live in mountainous areas or forests.

Digestive system

Most members of the family are herbivores, although some antelopes can also eat animal food. Like other ruminants, bovids have a four-chambered stomach, which allows them to digest plant foods, such as grasses, that cannot be used as food by many other animals. Such food contains a lot of cellulose, and not all animals are able to digest it. However, the digestive system of ruminants, which are all bovids, is able to digest such food.

Horns

The horns are attached to the protruding frontal bone. The length and width are different (the girth of argali horns, for example, is 50 cm). The horns of bovids grow throughout their lives, but never branch. They consist of a substance of epidermal origin. Mainly, horns are used by males in skirmishes with relatives.

Evolution

Historically, bovids are a relatively young group of animals. The most ancient fossils that can be confidently classified as bovids are the genus Eotragus (English) Russian from the Miocene. These animals resembled modern crested duikers, were no larger than roe deer and had very small horns. Even during the Miocene, this genus split, and in the Pleistocene all the important lineages of modern bovids were already represented. In the Pleistocene, bovids migrated along the then existing natural bridge from

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Family Bovids
(Bovidae)

/ / Bovids /
//Bovidae/

Family Bovidae This is the most extensive family of artiodactyls, both in the number of species and in the diversity of biological types: from tiny dik-diks, almost the size of hares, to huge bulls, from light, slender gazelles to massive rams. The clearest and constant sign bovids - the structure of the horns, although their shape and size are extremely diverse. The horn is a bony rod that develops on the outgrowths of the frontal bones. This rod is covered with a horny sheath, which grows along with the rod, never branches and is not completely replaced throughout life. The growth of the horny substance occurs from below, from the base. In most bovids, both males and females have horns, but females usually have smaller ones. There are also hornless females.

The dental system of bovids is characterized by the absence of upper incisors and canines. They have very strongly developed skin glands on the head, at the base of the tail, in the groin, between the hooves and in some other areas of the body. Bovids are geologically one of the youngest families. The earliest finds of their remains date back to the Lower Miocene of Eurasia. Representatives of the genera Archaeomeryx and Geolocus from the Eocene of Southeast Asia are usually considered to be the original forms; these were small hornless ungulates, close to deer. In Europe, bovids appeared in the Miocene, and in Africa - modern center its development - only in the lower Pliocene. The geographical distribution of bovids covers Africa, Eurasia and North America. They are completely absent in South America and Australia (with the exception of domestic animals brought by humans). The ability of bovids to develop a wide variety of landscapes, from tundras and highlands to tropical forests, steppes and even arid deserts, is unusually wide. This is one of the most progressive features of the family, indicating the evolutionary flourishing of the group as a whole. There is no single, generally accepted view of the bovid system. Research recent years, carried out in Europe, Asia and especially in Africa, made it possible, however, to form a fairly complete picture of the total volume of the family and the order of subfamilies, genera and species. We divide the bovid family into 10 subfamilies with 53 genera and approximately 115 species. It should be noted that the widely used term “antelope,” which refers to the vast majority of African ungulates, has no meaning systematic category and unites species that are very distant both in origin and appearance. Almost all bovids are considered important game animals. True, some of them have now become rare and are under protection. The most important domestic animals also belong to this family. DOOKERS (Cephalophinae) (Subfamily) Duikers are small, typically African antelopes; the largest of them reach the size of a roe deer, the smallest are slightly larger than a hare. Despite the insignificant size and disproportionate thin legs, duikers have a rather dense build; Their hind limbs are somewhat longer than the front ones, which is why the animal appears hunched over. The horns are short, usually straight, less often slightly curved, and are often absent in females. On the forehead there is a crest of coarse hair that partially hides the horns. Females are slightly larger than males. The subfamily includes 2 genera: bush duikers (Sylvicapra) and crested or forest duikers (Cephalophus). Dwarf antelopes (Neotraginae) (Subfamily) Like duikers, pygmy antelopes are among the smallest representatives of the bovid family. The subfamily includes 8 genera with 14 species, although such a division cannot be called completely established and generally accepted. ANTELOPE (Tragelaphinae) (Subfamily) Animals are medium and large in size, their horns (with a few exceptions) are twisted into a more or less pronounced spiral. The subfamily has 4 genera with 10 species, distributed in Africa and South Asia. COW ANTELOPE (Alcelaphinae) (Subfamily) Cow antelopes are animals with a very distinctive appearance. An elongated narrow head with strongly curved, more or less S-shaped horns, a sharply sloping back from the shoulders to the rump and a long tail ending in a lush brush make it possible at first glance to distinguish representatives of this subfamily from all other antelopes in Africa. Both males and females are armed with horns. The taxonomy of cow antelopes is complex due to wide geographical variability and only recently was developed in detail by the German zoologist T. Haltenort. In the following presentation (with minor exceptions) we adhere to the system proposed by this researcher. The cow antelope family includes 3 genera and 6 species. SABER-HORNED ANTELOPE (Hippotraginae) (Subfamily) Large, strong and at the same time slender, armed with long, beautifully shaped horns, saber-horned antelopes are among the most beautiful animals in Africa. The subfamily has 3 genera with 5 species. WATER GOATS (Reduncinae) (Subfamily) Large to medium-sized antelopes with slightly curved or lyre-shaped horns (only males have horns). The subfamily includes 3 genera with 8 species, distributed only in Africa. Despite their name, waterbucks are not related to real goats. GAZELLES (Antilopinae) (Subfamily) With the word “gazelle” we associate the idea of ​​a slender, graceful and graceful animal. Indeed, all the antelopes included in this subfamily are unusually slender and light in build, with a beautifully raised head, decorated with thin black lyre-shaped horns. Harmony and perfection are felt in the entire appearance of gazelles. At the same time, despite their apparent fragility, gazelles are strong and hardy animals, capable of withstanding difficult conditions of deserts and semi-deserts. Gazelles are usually tall-legged, and their height reaches 100-120 cm at the withers with a weight of up to 70-85 kg; usually they are much smaller. In most species, both males and females have horns (in some species of gazelles, females are hornless). The color is usually uniform grayish-sandy or brownish with a lighter underside. Sometimes a dark stripe runs along the sides of the body, but there are no transverse stripes on the body. Often the head is decorated with a so-called facial pattern of longitudinal dark and light stripes. Representatives of the subfamily inhabit deserts, steppes, savannas and dry light forests of Africa, Western, Middle and Central Asia. Species belonging to this subfamily have been known in Asia since the Upper Miocene, and their cradle apparently lies in Western Asia. In Africa, where they are now most diverse, gazelles appeared only in the Pleistocene, possibly at the end of the Pliocene. According to modern ideas, the subfamily has 7 genera with 19 species. However, the taxonomy of gazelles is not sufficiently developed, and, probably, some of the species of the genus of gazelles proper (Gazella), of which, according to the latest reports, there are about 12, will turn out to be only subspecies upon further study. The lifestyle of most gazelles has been poorly studied. The exception is the gazelle and some gazelles inhabiting East Africa. SAIGAS (Saiginae) (Subfamily) Animals united in this subfamily occupy an intermediate position between gazelles and goats. In addition to the saiga, this includes the orongo, a little-studied ungulate from Tibet. GOATS AND RRAMS (Caprinae) (Subfamily) This subfamily unites bovids that are very diverse in appearance, belonging to 11 genera and 16-20 species. Despite noticeable differences in the size, structure and shape of the horns, the species included in this subfamily represent a single group, the extreme members of which are interconnected by a long chain of related forms. The subfamily consists of three groups, which modern taxonomists assign the meaning of tribes. Experts have no disagreement regarding the number of genera included in the subfamily, but the number of species of real goats (Sarga) and rams (Ovis) remains unclear. Representatives of the subfamily are known from the Upper Miocene of Eurasia. Later, already in the Pleistocene, some species settled in Africa and America, but even now they reach their greatest diversity in Asia. This subfamily includes two species of important farm animals - goats and sheep. BULL (Bovinae) (Subfamily) Bulls are the largest of the bovids. These are powerful and strong animals. Their massive body rests on strong limbs, their heavy, wide, low-set head in both males and females is crowned with horns, thick and short in some species, flattened and long in others. The shape of the horns is also very variable among different representatives: in some cases the horns resemble a simple crescent, in others they are S-shaped. There are no intercoffin glands. The tail is relatively thin, with a brush at the end. The hair is short, close to the body, or thick and shaggy. Representatives of the subfamily are distributed in Asia, Europe, Africa and North America. The subfamily includes 4 genera with 10 species, of which one in the wild was exterminated by humans in historical times, but exists in the form of numerous breeds of domestic cows, which were also brought to South America and Australia.

Males, and mostly females, have horns. The horns of bovids are permanent, irreplaceable outgrowths. The absence of horns (polledness) in males is sometimes observed as a domestication feature of the frontal bones, covered on the outside with horny sheaths made of a modified epidermal layer of skin.

Unlike the pronghorn family (Antilocapridae), the horn sheaths do not fall off or change throughout the animal's life. The growth of antlers, in contrast to deer (Cervidae), occurs not at the top, but at the base; the top represents its oldest part, formed in the first stages of formation. Characteristic is a periodic increase and decrease in the growth of horns, which is expressed in the formation of rings on the surface of the horny sheaths and is obviously associated with the cyclical function of the reproductive system.

The shape of the horns is very diverse, but never branched. The horns may look like simple matches; are arched forward or backward; snail-shaped; rolled or twisted into a spiral; straight, standing vertically or directed backwards. The twisting and folding of horns can be homonymous or heteronymous. The length of the horns can be small, not exceeding half the length of the skull or, conversely, exceed the latter several times.

Habitat and distribution of bovids

Europe, Asia, Africa, North America and adjacent islands. Absent in Australia, South America, Madagascar and Sakhalin. They are acclimatized in New Zealand. At home, they are distributed all over the world.

Evolution of bovids

The bovid family is phylogenetically the youngest and most numerous of the modern groups of ungulates, which has not yet experienced its heyday. The roots of bovids lead to the Lower Oligocene deer (Tragulidae). Their immediate ancestor or original form is not known, but probably the genus Gelocus Aymard, which lived in Europe in the Lower Oligocene, was very close to that. Gelocus did not have horns, the ulna was independent, but the fibula was greatly reduced. The side toes probably touched the ground when walking. On the forelimbs, the central (III and IV) metapodia were separate, but on the hind limbs the corresponding bones fused and formed the tarsus. Both proximal and distal rudiments were preserved from the lateral metapodia. The molars were of an extremely brachyodont type, the upper saber-shaped canines were preserved, but the upper incisors had already disappeared, and the canines of the lower jaw were functionally incisors. The premolars had an extremely primitive structure, and the first of them had already disappeared in the upper jaw, while it was still preserved in the lower jaw.

Forms intermediate between deer and true bovids are not yet known. In the Middle Miocene of Europe, there lived antelopes that had permanent horns, but also had extremely primitively structured brachiodont molars of the skull and a long, horizontally located post-horn part. They could be considered the initial forms for all subsequent bovids. But in layers of the same age in Europe and even earlier in Mongolia, relatively highly specialized representatives of the family were found, which lead us to assume that the departure of the ancestors of bovids from the common trunk of Resog occurred no later than the Upper or even Middle Oligocene. The homeland of bovids should be considered the Eurasian continent, where at its junction with Africa lay the primary center of settlement of this group. The secondary centers were, on the one hand, Central Asia, and on the other, the regions adjacent to India, to the west of the latter.

A characteristic feature of bovids - horns covered with a permanent sheath - apparently did not appear immediately in the history of this group. The original forms probably did not have horns or had small outgrowths of the frontal bones, covered with periodically shed caps of keratinized skin. The original purpose of the horns is to decorate the males and serve as a tournament weapon. They began to serve as weapons of defense against enemies and attacks later.

Classification of bovids

The division of bovids into bulls, goats, rams and antelopes, which has existed since the time of Pallas, does not correspond to modern ideas about their phylogenetic relationships and therefore is currently abandoned by most zoologists. The apparently artificial group of “antelopes” in the system has been eliminated, since many of them are genetically closer to bulls or goats with rams than to other antelopes. However, there is no agreement on the relationship of individual groups of Bovidae to each other and the related division of the entire family into subordinate groups, and its classification is carried out in different ways. The division of bovids into six subfamilies is generally accepted.

1. Real antelopes(subfamily) - Antilopinae. With a few exceptions, only males have horns; the bases are located above the eye sockets, massive, without internal cavities inside the rods. The nostrils are located close to each other; the distance between them is no more than the height of the upper lip (from its lower edge to the nostrils). The mammary gland has four nipples. The posterior part of the skull is long, longer than the length of the forehead. The frontal bones are short, no more than 36% of the main length of the skull. The auditory bubbles are swollen. The middle pair of incisors is greatly expanded compared to the others and has the shape of asymmetrical blades. Distribution: Africa, Western, Middle, Central and South Asia, some areas of southern Siberia (Altai, Tuva, southern Transbaikalia).

2. Duikers(subfamily) - Cephalophinae. Females often have horns, they are massive, without internal cavities inside the rods. The nostrils are located close to each other, the distance between them is no more than the height of the upper lip from its lower edge to the nostrils. The mammary gland has four nipples. Unlike other bovids, the preorbital glands are located midway between the nostrils and the eyes and open into a series of linearly spaced small holes on a hairless area of ​​the skin. Distinctive features in the skull are also very large preorbital fossae, in the formation of which the nasal bones greatly expanded in the posterior half take part, and the bases of the horny processes are shifted far beyond the orbits, without extending laterally beyond the boundaries of the braincase. The posterior part of the skull is significantly shorter than the length of the forehead. The frontal bones are long, more than 36% of the main length of the skull. The auditory bubbles are swollen. The middle pair of incisors is greatly expanded compared to the others and has the shape of asymmetrical blades. Distribution: Africa south of the northern tropics. More than 30 species of duiker are morphologically close to each other and are usually combined into one genus Cephalophus N. Smith.

Infraclass - placental

Family – bovids

Literature:

1. I.I. Sokolov "Fauna of the USSR, Hoofed Animals" Publishing House of the Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 1959.

(Bovidae)**

* * The family of bovids, or bulls, is the largest and most diverse group of artiodactyls, including 45-50 modern genera and about 130 species.

Bovids form a natural, clearly defined group. No matter how close deer are to bovids, they differ from them in the structure and development of their antlers, which tend to fall off every year, grow again and branch out more and more. “Bovids,” says Blasius, “have cone-shaped sharpened bone growths on the forehead, which are surrounded by a horny sheath; these bone growths constantly grow in length, and at the base and in width. As they grow, new horny layers are constantly formed on this bone stump, for which the old layers serve as a kind of case. And in hollow antlers, a new horny mass separates the old layers of the antlers from the bone growth, but these old layers do not fall off, as in deer, since the cone-shaped appearance of the surface of the old horny layers prevents this. The annual layers on the antlers are noticeably wavy grooves. The horny substance does not grow the same all year round. The annual increase also varies depending on age; the older the animal, the less the annual increase is."***.

* * * Due to seasonal uneven growth, “annual rings” are visible on the horns of some artiodactyls, allowing one to determine the age of the animal.

Other characteristics of this family may include dental system: all bovid animals have six incisors and two canines only on the lower jaw; there are no front teeth on the upper jaw; on each side of the jaws, above and below, we find six molars. The zygomatic arch is very dense.
Apart from the dental system and horns, it is difficult to find common features common to all bovids. The structure of their body is very diverse; this family includes both thick and massive animals and light and graceful ones. The shape of the horns and hooves, the length of the tail, hair and coloring are very different; lacrimal dimples are sometimes present, sometimes not; the tip of the muzzle is covered with hair or bare - in a word, upon closer examination of these animals you notice they have a lot distinctive features*.

* Unlike deer, bovids never have upper canines; the molars have a higher crown and a more complex chewing surface. The number of fingers is sometimes reduced to two.

The lifestyle of bovids is as diverse as appearance. They are distributed throughout the earth, with the exception of South America and Australia**; Many species are found in all zones of the globe and in a wide variety of areas: in arid deserts and in tropical forests rich in vegetation, in swampy plains and in high mountains.

* * Being numerous and diverse in Africa and Eurasia, bovids in limited numbers penetrated into North America only in the Pleistocene, crossing the Beringian land. Now only 5-6 species from 4 genera (subfamilies Caprinae and Bovinae) are found here. Bovids never reached South America and Australia, as well as many islands and archipelagos. In Russia there are 12 wild species of bovids from 8 genera.

Most live in herds. Almost everyone has well-developed mental abilities. Many species are distinguished by their intelligence, but some, on the contrary, are naturally very stupid. They reproduce quite quickly, although the female brings one cub at a time, less often two, as an exception - three, and only in rare cases - four. Young animals do not differ in growth and development from other ruminants. They are born developed and, for the most part, within a few hours after birth, they can follow their parents through the most dangerous places. In many species, growth continues for several years, but in most, the young are capable of reproduction within a year, and this explains the rapid increase in the number of individuals in individual herds of ruminants.
Bovids are more important to humans than all other ruminants. Between them, man chose the most necessary domestic animals; from them we get a significant part of our food and clothing material; Without them, it would be impossible for a person to live today. Even wild species of this family, enjoying unlimited freedom, do much more good than harm. Almost without exception, everyone provides us with delicious meat, skin, wool and horns. All wild bovids are considered game animals. In addition to humans, these animals also have other enemies, but even more often than from violent death, they die from hunger and various diseases that are very common among them.
Bulls are large, strong and clumsy ruminants, the signs of which are mainly more or less round and smooth horns, a wide muzzle with nostrils far apart from each other, a long tail reaching the heel joint with a brush at the end, the absence of lacrimal pits and intercoffin glands; females have an udder with four teats. Most have a saggy dewlap or fold of skin on the top of the neck. The skeleton consists of very rough and thick bones. The skull is wide at the forehead and slightly narrowed towards the muzzle; round eye sockets are located on the sides of the skull far from one another; the frontal processes on which the horns sit extend laterally from the back of the frontal bone. The structure of the teeth is nothing special. On each jaw, the largest are the internal incisors, the front ones are usually small, while the back ones are very developed. The horns widen at the root and therefore can cover almost the entire forehead, but in most they leave it open. The horns are smooth, rounded and have transverse wrinkles only at the base; they bend differently: outward or inward, backward or forward, up or down, or have a lyre shape. The hairline is short and lies smoothly against the skin, but on some parts of the body it can lengthen in the form of a mane.
The homeland of bulls should be considered all of Europe and Africa, Central and South Asia, as well as North America; Currently, domesticated species are distributed in all parts of the globe. In the wild, bulls inhabit a wide variety of areas; some live in dense forests, others among the free steppes, some on the plains, others in the mountains, where they reach heights of up to 6000 m. Some species prefer swampy areas and swamps, others - drier places. Those who live in the mountains descend into the valleys in winter; those living in the north move south; in other areas they move from one place to another, richer in vegetation. Without exception, all species live in societies and gather in herds led by strong and experienced animals. Old males usually separate and live as hermits.
Although bulls appear clumsy and slow, they are able to move quickly and show much more agility than one might expect. They usually move at a slow pace, but they trot and sometimes turn into an extremely clumsy gallop, which speeds up their movement to a significant extent. Species living in mountains climb masterfully. All bulls swim easily and well, some cross the river without fear. widest rivers. They have extraordinary strength, and their endurance is amazing. Of the sense organs, smell is the most developed, hearing is also good, vision is not particularly strong. Wild people show much more intelligence than domestic ones, who do not need to strain their mental strength. They are meek and trusting of animals, which are not dangerous to them and do not bother them. But they are extremely fierce, stubborn and highest degree courageous. Irritated, they rush, despising death, at predatory animals, even the strongest, and with such dexterity they know how to use their terrible weapon- horns and hooves, which often remain winners. In general, peaceful with each other, at certain periods, especially during the mating period, they enter into battles, showing great ferocity. Their voice is a clear or dull moo or resembles grunting and grumbling, which is heard mainly when they are excited.
The food of bulls consists of plants. They eat leaves and tender buds, shoots and branches of a wide variety of trees, grasses and cereals, tree bark, mosses and lichens, marsh and aquatic plants, even sharp cutting sedge and reed plants. In captivity they also feed on plant matter. Salt is a delicacy for everyone, water is an urgent need; many enjoy wallowing in muddy swamps or lying in rivers and ponds for hours.
Mating is preceded by fierce battles between bulls; 9-12 months later, the cow calves one calf, very rarely two. The calf is born fully developed and is almost immediately able to follow its mother. She treats him with great tenderness, feeds and cleans him, licks and caresses him, and in case of danger protects him from any attack with great courage; in some species, males also guard the young.
All types of bulls can be tamed and obey, more or less willingly, people, get used to their masters, love and recognize them, go to their call and obey even a weak child.
Hunting for wild bulls is dangerous. A particularly formidable opponent is the irritated bull, whose blind rage knows no bounds. But it is precisely because of the danger that this hunt seems attractive to many; some peoples value it especially highly. Hunting wild bulls brings in considerable income; people use not only their skin, but also their meat, which, despite its often musky odor, serves as excellent food.
Bulls living in the wild only harm humans except by gnawing trees and bushes in forests, destroying grass in meadows and various plantations on plantations; tamed ones, on the contrary, benefit with their strength, meat and bones, skin and horns, milk, wool and even dung. In the west of Russia there is a unique treasure. This is the famous Belovezhskaya Pushcha, a real northern primeval forest covering an area of ​​2000 square kilometers. It is isolated and, like an island, surrounded by fields, villages and moorland. There is only one village in the forest, which has the same name as the forest, but is inhabited not by cultivators, but by foresters and rangers. About four-fifths of the forest area consists of pine trees, which retain exclusive dominance over a large area. In damper places, spruce, oak, linden, hornbeam, birch, alder, poplar and willow trees appear. B. this forest is home to the greatest European mammal - bison(Bison bonasus). Only here and in some forests of the Caucasus, as well as in Mięzercitz in Silesia, this powerful animal has been preserved at the present time; on the rest of the earth's surface it has already been exterminated. In Belovezhskaya Pushcha it is protected by strict laws, and if for many centuries the changing owners of this amazing menagerie had not provided the bison with such protection, then by our time the bison could only be found in the Caucasus.
In former times things were, of course, different; it can be proven that the bison was distributed throughout Europe and large parts of Asia. During the prosperity of Ancient Greece, it was often found in what is now Bulgaria; in central Europe it was found almost everywhere. Aristotle calls it “bonassus” and makes an accurate description; Pliny gives it under the name “bison” and considers Germany to be its homeland. Ancient written monuments mention him in the 6th and 7th centuries after the birth of Christ, and the “Song of the Nibelungs” says that he lives in the Vosges. During the time of Charlemagne, the bison was found in the Harz and Saxony; around the year 1000, according to Ekkegaard, this wild animal was found near St. Gallen. Around 1373, he lived in Pomerania, in the 15th century in Prussia, in the 16th century in Lithuania, in the 18th century in eastern Prussia, where in 1755 the last representative of this species was killed by a poacher.
The kings and magnates of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth were zealously involved in the protection of bison. They were kept in special gardens and parks, for example, near Ostroleka, Warsaw and Zamoysk. The increasing population and cultivation of the fields made such protection impossible in the course of time; The bison remained for some time in Prussian Lithuania, where foresters protected them by setting up open sheds with food in winter. They were usually caught then as gifts to foreign courts. So, in 1717, two bison were delivered to the Landgrave of Hesse-Kassel, and the same number to the English King George. The widespread rinderpest at the beginning of the 18th century destroyed most of these herds. There is no doubt that the bison living in Belovezhskaya Pushcha would have suffered the same fate if the Polish kings and then the Russian emperors had not protected an animal rare in the modern world.
According to information that came to me through the late Count Lazar, the bison lived longer than in Prussia in Hungary, in wooded Transylvania. This is also indicated by the fact that the names of some mountains, streams and even villages contain the word “bison”. In the Turech Chronicle, which was printed under King Matthew I, there are richly decorated initial letters; on one of these decorations we see the Hungarian king on horseback, with a crown on his head; he swings a high-raised spear at a madly racing bison. During the time of the Transylvanian princes, the bison was often found there, and it is quite confirmed that even in the 17th century its skin was used for various products. As proven, he lived in the mountain forests of Hungary as early as 1729 and at the end of the last century was found in the mountain forests of Szekler, not far from the area of ​​Füle*.

* The habitat of the bison in the Middle Bek covered the Central and Eastern Europe from Germany and Hungary to the Don basin and the Caucasus. Wild bison survived for the longest time in the Caucasus and in the area of ​​Belovezhskaya Pushcha. By the 20s of the 20th century it disappeared from nature. 45 animals of the nominate subspecies are preserved in zoos, mainly in Poland. As a result of restoration work in captivity (including absorptive crossing with bison), the bison was saved as a species and returned to some of its former habitats in nature reserves in Poland and former USSR. In the Moscow region there is a nursery at the Prioksko-Terrasny Nature Reserve; groups of bison have been reacclimatized in the Caucasus, in the Carpathians, and brought to the Tien Shan. Now there are about 1.5 thousand animals in the world.

Although it is safe to admit that the bison has decreased in stature, it is still a powerful animal. The bison killed in Prussia in 1555 was 7 feet high and 13 feet long, weighing 19 hundredweight and 5 pounds. Currently, the largest bison rarely reaches a height of 1.7 m, a length of 3.4 m, and a weight of 500-700 kg*.

* The height of bulls at the withers is up to 2 m, weight is up to 850 kg. Cows can be half the weight.

The bison appears to us as an example of primitive strength and power. His head is moderately large and not only not awkward, but rather slender, the forehead is high and very wide, the bridge of the nose is slightly arched, the front part is evenly narrowed towards the end. The muzzle is wide and ugly; it occupies the entire space between the large, round, obliquely located nostrils; the ears are short and rounded, the eyes are rather small, the edges of the eye sockets protrude above the cheeks; a very strong, short and raised neck forms a dewlap. On strong, but not short legs, equipped with large oval hooves and rather small calloused toes, rests a massive body: the back rises significantly from the back of the head to the middle, from where it falls to the sacrum; the tail is short and thick. The horns are spaced far apart from each other, not too thick, round and sharp; they bend slightly forward, then inward and backward. The body is covered with thick fur, consisting of long, mostly curled awn hairs and felt-like undercoat. This fur lengthens at the back of the head into a wide bang, consisting of smooth hair and falling on the forehead and temples; on the back the hair forms a high ridge; on the chin a long and rather thin beard hangs down. A large mane covers the neck and dewlap. The whole face is covered thick hair; the auricles are shaggy at the edges; at the end of the tail there is a wide and long brush, descending almost to the heel joint. The general color of the fur is light brown, the beard and tail brush are black, the legs are dark brown, the bangs are light brown. A cow's build is noticeably smaller and thinner than a bull, her horns are weaker, her mane is less developed; the coloring, however, is the same. A newly born calf is lighter in color**.

* * The bison differs from the bison in its larger size. but at the same time with a lighter physique. It has a not so large head, set much higher, longer and thinner horns, a curved back profile, and a more developed rear part of the body. The legs are noticeably higher, the tail is longer. The coat is more uniform in length and a uniform brown color. Branches and leaves play a greater role in their diet (in total, bison consume more than 200 plants).

Until recently, the question: whether the wild bull living in the Caucasus Mountains belongs to the same species as the bison remained unresolved. We have so far received little information about this animal. More than 200 years ago, Archangel Lamberti only mentioned, albeit rumored, the existence of a “wild buffalo” on the border of Mingrelia. At the end of the last century, Gyldenstedt found 14 bison skulls in a cave in the Caucasus. At the beginning of our century, Eichwald collected news about the whereabouts of the remaining wild bulls. But only Baer could, on the basis of the skin sent to him by Baron von Rosan in 1836, make sure that the Caucasian wild bull and bison belonged to the same species. Since then there have been many reports of the wild bull of the Caucasus. And in 1868, a young male bison was caught there and taken to the Moscow Zoological Garden. Thus, it has been established that our European wild bull - the bison - also has another habitat and can be considered insured against extermination, at least in the near future.
Nordmann, Tornau and Radde meanwhile provided further information about the existence and lifestyle of the Caucasian bison, as well as about hunting for them. Nordman testified at the end of the thirties that bison are no longer found near the mountain road from Taman to Tiflis, but that inside the mountain ranges of the Caucasus they are often found, permanent place its habitat is a space of at least 200 kilometers along the coast of the Kuban to the source of the Bzybi. Based on oral reports from Tornau, he talks about one Caucasian hunt for bison in the Bolshoi Zelenchuk valley and notes that these animals are found not only on the indicated river, but also in the rocky, gorged valleys of Urup and Bolshaya Laba, as well as in coniferous forests The main ridge is below the permanent snow line. Radde informs Brandt, from whose work I borrowed the following news about bison, that back in 1865, bison lived in the vast pine forests west of the Maruhi glacier, which were found there in herds of 7-10 heads. Tornau, who lived for three years in the mountains as a captive of the mountaineers and was present during the hunt for bison, often saw the camp of these animals and the paths they made even on the steepest cliffs in order to move from the rocky valley to the stream where they could quench their thirst. Once on Zelenchuk he heard a loud noise coming from the stomping of a herd of bison and breaking branches, and soon saw up to 20 cows and calves following a huge bull, walking importantly with his head down; they were all heading to the usual watering hole*.

* The last bison of a special Caucasian subspecies (B. b. caucasicus), distinguished by very dark curly hair and some other features, were exterminated by poachers in 1925 - 1927 in the Teberda region. Now in Teberdi and other parks and reserves of the Caucasus live herds of bison, Belovezhsky in origin, as well as bison. Sedentary on the plains, in the mountains bison make vertical migrations, rising in the summer to 2000 m above sea level.

The number of bison in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, according to the census, in 1829 reached 711 heads, among which there were 633 old bulls, in next year the herd increased to 772 heads, but then decreased again to 657 due to the Polish rebellion that took place during these years. Subsequently, the strengthening of protective laws favored their reproduction so much that in 1857 the number of all bison living in Belovezhskaya Pushcha was 1898. But according to other sources, in 1863 there were only 874 bison in the herd, and since then their number has constantly fluctuated from 800 to 900 heads; there are currently up to 1,500 bulls, according to Freese.
In 1865, Prince von Plese made an attempt to settle bison on the Ples estate in Silesia, in a park of more than 600 hectares. One bull and three cows were brought from Belovezhye by rail, which got along well and even multiplied in the new place. Later, in 1871, the animals were transferred to the Metsertsitsa forest. According to Friese, in 1889 there were already 11 bison there, although nine bulls were shot during this time.
In summer and autumn, the bison lives in damp places of the forest, usually hidden in thickets; in winter it prefers drier and higher forests. Very old bulls live alone, younger ones roam in small herds, 16-20 in summer, and 30-50 in winter. Each herd has its own permanent camp and always returns to it.
Bison are active both day and night; they graze most readily in the morning and evening, sometimes even at night. Their food consists of various grasses, leaves, buds and tree bark: they gnaw off the bark from the trees as much as they can and bend young flexible trunks to the ground in order to reach the top of the head, which they completely destroy. Their favorite tree seems to be the ash, the succulent bark of which they prefer to all others; coniferous trees, on the contrary, they do not touch. In winter, they eat almost exclusively the bark and branches of deciduous trees available to them, in addition to lichens and dry grass. In Belovezhskaya Pushcha, hay cut in the meadows is stored in stacks for them; but they, not content with this, raid the haystacks of neighboring villages, breaking the fences in the process. They need fresh water to drink.
At first glance, the movements of the bison seem heavy and clumsy, but upon closer inspection, you will notice that they are quite agile.
Bison walk at a fast pace, run at a heavy but fast gallop, with their heads lowered to the ground, and their tail raised and extended*.

* Bison can jump up to 3 m in length and up to 2 m in height.

They easily wade or swim across swamps and rivers. Among the external senses, smell occupies first place; vision and hearing are less developed, and taste and touch are only mediocre. The character of bison changes over the years. Young animals are cheerful, lively, playful creatures; although they are not very meek and peace-loving, they are still not evil. The old, on the contrary, have a gloomy, even ferocious disposition; they become irritable and not in the mood for any games. Although bison usually do not touch people who do not bother them, the slightest reason can awaken their anger and make them extremely dangerous. In the summer they try to avoid people, in the winter they do not give way to anyone, and it happened more than once that the peasants had to wait a long time until the bison wanted to leave the path it occupied, along which no one could pass. Wildness, stubbornness and temper - distinctive features these bulls. The younger ones are more shy and fearful than the older ones. Old animals living as hermits can become a true scourge of the country. They seem to take special pleasure in teasing people. One old leader bull took possession of the road passing through the Belovezhsky Forest for some time, overturned carriages more than once and caused many other misfortunes. The horses show fear and horror in front of the bison from afar and, sensing it, try to run away.
The mating period, which usually begins in August, and sometimes only in September, lasts two or three weeks. Around this time, bison are in their best condition, fat and strong. Before mating, they play some kind of games, and there are serious battles between bulls. The animal, mad with love, seems to take special pleasure in tearing out not very thick trees from the ground and felling them. Then they begin to fight, at first, perhaps, only jokingly, then more and more seriously, and finally they madly rush at each other and clash their horns in such a way that one can only be surprised how both of them do not get hurt from such a thing. strong blow. Little by little, the hermits gather in herds, and the fights now become even more terrible, the younger and weaker bull must either retreat or die. In 1827, a dead three-year-old bull with a crushed leg and a horn broken off at the root was found in the Belovezhsky Forest. Not only bulls were found dead at this time, but also cows*.

* During the rut, the bull has a “harem” of 2-6 females with him.

Immediately after the end of the mating period, the old bulls again separate from the herd and return to their former quiet, solitary life. Cows calve nine months after mating, usually in May or early June. Before this, they retire, find a convenient place somewhere deep in the forest and hide here with the calf for several days. In case of danger, they defend their offspring with extraordinary courage. The calf presses to the ground, raises its ears and turns them, opens its nostrils and eyes wide and fearfully looks at the enemy, towards whom the mother is rushing. Then it is dangerous for both man and beast to approach the female bison - she bravely goes against any enemy. For several days after birth, the calf follows its mother, who treats it with extraordinary tenderness. While he still does not know how to walk properly, she gently pushes him forward with her head and tries to protect him from cold and danger, placing him between her front legs; licks it clean every day; during feeding, it stands on three legs to make it easier for the calf to reach the udder, and while it sleeps, it protects its safety. Calves are the cutest, graceful animals, although from their youth they show the makings of character. They develop very slowly and reach full height probably only by the eighth or ninth year**.

* * The weight of a newborn is about 22 kg, lactation lasts 5-6 months (sometimes up to a year), but the calf begins to eat grass from 2-3 weeks. Sometimes the calf remains with its mother for up to 2 years, despite the fact that, under favorable conditions, the female brings new offspring next spring. Puberty occurs at 1.5-2 years, but animals reach their final size by 5-8 years. Maximum life expectancy is about 40 years.

The age to which bison can live is determined to be approximately 30-50 years. Cows die 10 years earlier than bulls, but the latter usually become blind or lose teeth in old age, then they are no longer able to feed properly, cannot bite young branches, quickly weaken and finally die.
Compared to other bulls, bison reproduce slowly. In Belovezhskaya Pushcha, they conducted an observation and found out that cows are pregnant once every three years, and at a more mature age they remain infertile for several years in a row. In 1829, out of 258 cows, only 93 calved; of the rest, most were already infertile, while others were still too young.
These strong animals are excellent at defending themselves against enemies. Bears and wolves can only be dangerous to calves, and then only if for some reason the mother is no longer alive and the cub is defenseless. However, it happens that when deep snow falls, hungry wolves chase adult bison until exhaustion and finally overcome them.
Even in the time of Julius Caesar, a hunter who killed one aurochs or bison acquired great fame; all ancient songs praise such heroes. In the Middle Ages, knights and barons fought valiantly against bison and aurochs. Some hunted on horseback, others on foot, but they always chose the spear as their weapon of attack. Two of them went out to confront the beast: one approached the mad beast, the other tried to distract the bison’s attention from the attacker by shouting and waving a red scarf and attracting it to himself; at this time the first one thrust a spear into the body of the animal. Ordinary hunters, in order to take possession of a powerful animal, built a deep hole on its path and killed the bison that fell into it.
According to the legends with which the history of Hungary and Transylvania is so rich, bison hunting was the most militant activity of the Magyar knighthood and the nobility of neighboring countries. During the time of the first Hungarian kings, hunting became the exclusive right of the king or sovereign prince. There are many posts on this topic. “In the same year (1534), says one German manuscript, wild bulls, known in Hungary as Begin or Beogin, living in herds in the Zhurzhevo mountains in the Szekler country, caused a lot of harm and attacked men and women who went into the forest. Therefore, Moylar Istvan, according to ancient custom, called the old commanders for a big hunt on St. Fabian's day. Then many gentlemen and nobles gathered, who hunted successfully and also feasted decently." And 100 years later they were hunting with the same pomp, as can be seen from the letter of George Racoca I, Prince of Transylvania to Paul Bornemisser in 1643.
In Belovezhskaya Pushcha, the rulers of past centuries appeared with a large retinue, convened forest rangers and forced the surrounding peasants to become beaters. A detachment of 200-300 people had to drive the bison to the place where the hunters stood on a safe platform. One brilliant hunt, organized by the Polish king Augustus III in 1752, is still evidenced by a six-meter pyramid of white sandstone with an inscription in German and Polish; in one day 42 bison, 13 elk and two roe deer were killed; only one queen shot 20 bison without missing even once. On the eighteenth and nineteenth of October 1860, the Russian emperor organized a hunt: the sovereign himself shot six bison bulls and one calf, two elk and six fallow deer, three roe deer, four wolves, one badger, one fox and one hare. The Grand Duke of Weimar and Princes Karl and Albrecht of Prussia killed eight more bison. This hunt was described in detail in a special essay in Russian.
D. V. Dolmatov, chief forester of the state forests of the Grodno province, tells how these animals were caught. The Emperor promised Queen Victoria two bison for the menagerie and therefore ordered several heads to be caught. This was in July. At dawn, 300 beaters and 80 hunters gathered with guns loaded with gunpowder alone and surrounded the hunted herd. Dolmatov and his companion, Count Kiselev, who brought the royal order, saw a herd that was located on a hill. The calves jumped merrily, throwing up the sand high with their nimble legs, returning from time to time to their mothers, rubbing against them, licking them, and then jumping merrily again. Suddenly the sound of a horn interrupted this idyll. The herd jumped up in fear, the calves timidly clung to their mothers. When the barking of the dogs was heard, the herd hastily gathered in the usual order: the calves were in front, and the adults formed a rear guard, protecting them from the attacks of the dogs. The old bison broke through the chains of the beaters and rushed further, not paying attention to the people, screams and shots. I was immediately lucky enough to catch two young bison: a calf about three months old was captured without much difficulty; another, about fifteen months old, knocked eight people to the ground and ran away, but, pursued by dogs, was caught in the garden of a forester. Four calves, one male and three females, were caught later, one female was only a few days old.
I saw bison in the menagerie in Schönbrunn. They lived for many years in the same stable, in front of which there was a yard fenced with thick logs. Very strong oak fence posts, dug a meter into the ground and, moreover, reinforced with supports, were fastened with crossbars. When I visited, the cow had a suckling calf, and she expressed concern for him with all her behavior. To get a better look at the rare animals, I came closer to the fence, when suddenly the cow lowered its head and rushed at me, mooing and sticking out its long tongue far, and threw its head against the beams with such force that even the oak pillars shook. Another creature would have crushed its skull with such a blow: the bison, without the slightest difficulty, repeated its exercises three or four times in a row.
In our zoological gardens, with favorable care, bison survive well, mate without difficulty and reproduce even more than in the wild. According to Schepf's observations, the pregnancy period lasts 270-274 days. A mother treats her newborn with extreme tenderness, unless touched by a human hand; she becomes enraged and takes out every uninvited touch of the overseer on the defenseless calf. The bull should be separated from the pregnant cow, since the family life of these animals is impossible in a cramped room. In Dresden, on May 22, 1865, a newly born calf was picked up by its parent on its horns and thrown over a fence; here he again stood on his feet and was brought into the stable to his mother, who had been separated from the bull. The cow, having sniffed her calf and probably noticing that human hands had already touched it, threw it up and trampled it to death. Many weeks before calving, the meekest bison cow becomes wild and vicious, and after calving and starting to feed the calf, she behaves in most cases as I described above.
The taste of bison meat is a cross between the meat of domestic bulls and venison; The meat of cows and calves is especially famous. The Poles considered salted bison meat an excellent delicacy and used it as gifts to the courts of sovereigns. The hide produces strong and durable, but soft and tough leather, which is used for making belts and trims.
Horns and hooves are credited with medicinal properties. Our ancestors made drinking vessels from beautiful, strong horns. In the Caucasus they are still used instead of cups. At a dinner at which one Caucasian prince honored General Rozan, instead of glasses, 50-70 bison horns, separated by silver, were used.
The same fate that the bison suffered for centuries befell its only relative - bison(Bison bison)*, in an incredibly short time, one might say, in one decade.

* Bison entered America from Eurasia in glacial period. Their different forms will replace each other in the tundra-steppes, forests and prairies; some species were much larger than the modern steppe bison (Bison bison); their scope long horns reached 2 or more meters. Despite the common American name (Buffalo), bison, like bison, are more closely related to bulls than to buffalos.

Several decades ago, millions of these powerful animals roamed the vast expanses of North America; at present there are no more than a few hundred buffalo there. History does not know, and will never record on its pages, another example of such systematic destruction, such ruthless mass extermination for the insignificant benefit of harmless and useful animals. Moreover, the government did nothing to protect them. Now only bleaching bones scattered across distant deserts indicate the once countless herds of North American bison.

The number of surviving bison reached, according to the exact information of William Gornedey, on January 1, 1889, up to 835 animals, including those 200 bulls that live under government protection in Yellowstone Park. This extermination of bison began in the seventies, when the railroads were built

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Bovids are the largest, youngest and most progressive family of the artiodactyl order. Its name does not accurately reflect the structure of their horns. They are not hollow. On the outgrowths of the frontal bones in bovids there are bone rods covered on the outside with a horny sheath. Removed from the bone rods, they become hollow, as any case should be. In the Caucasus, it is customary to make expensive cups from horn cases, decorating them with silver and sometimes with precious stones, in which wine is served to the most honored guests at feasts.

According to a long-established custom, bovids use one pair of horns. The only exception is the four-horned antelope. They have two small horns on their foreheads and two more, more

long, on the crown. Both males and females can sport horns, although in the fairer sex they are usually somewhat smaller than in males. Horns grow throughout their lives, so their size can be used to partially judge the age of animals. Horns grow from bottom to top. None of the bovids have antlers that branch or change during life, as regularly happens in deer.

Horns can be formidable weapons. However, the use of horns for defense appears to be a secondary function. Some members of this family have exotic shapes and are not suitable for use as a pike or sword. In rams they are so twisted that they can hit the enemy

Antelope. marking territory.

Grant's Gazelle.

Saber-horned antelope.

the tip of the horn is almost impossible. The horns of spinboks are also not suitable for defense. Their tips are curved inward, while those of chamois and takins are curved back. Even among the owners of truly formidable weapons, not everyone uses them for the purpose of protection from predators. The original function of the horns, apparently, was ritual fighting between males. And don’t be surprised that it’s used at sports tournaments military weapon: the more dangerous it is, the stricter the rules for its use, which exclude the possibility of causing serious injury to the enemy. During tournaments, no one hits the opponent in the side. Long-horned antelopes fencing with their horns like rapiers, striking not at the enemy’s body, but striking flatly on his horns. The sportiness of the competition is also indicated by the fact that in many species of bovids the opponents fight,

kneeling down or, like goats, rearing up and striking from top to bottom, trying to hit horns with horns. At first glance, only the fights of rams seem deadly, as they run away and knock their heads together with a loud crash. The blows have truly terrible force, but they are not dangerous for the rams either. The bones of their skull and cervical vertebrae have increased strength, and the brain does not suffer from a concussion.

Some bovids do not use horns during tournaments. Males of large nilgai antelopes kneel during a fight, rest their foreheads against each other and try to move the enemy, or intertwine their necks and try to knock the competitor onto his side. Fatal outcomes of battles are rare, since the rivals, if one of them is having a hard time, surrender to the winner, taking a pose of appeasement. In this case, they are guaranteed immunity. A pose of appeasement, a request for mercy may be falling to your knees,

which is clear even to us humans. Thomson's Gazelles use another method. They lie flat on the ground, pressing their heads and outstretched necks against it. Only females do not consider it obligatory to follow the unwritten rules of conducting tournament battles. Representatives of those species that are not supposed to have horns, in conflicts with each other, hit each other with their heads in the side.

Among other features characteristic of most bovids, especially important is the absence of incisors and fangs in their upper jaw and the presence of skin glands that produce odorous substances. The glands can be located on the head, at the base of the tail, in the groin, between the hooves and in other areas of the body.

The bovid family includes 10 subfamilies and about 120 species, widely distributed throughout the world, which indicates its progressive development. They are not found only in South America and Australia. But they completely mastered the rest of the continents - from the lowland Arctic tundra to the snowy highlands and from swamps and tropical rainforests to waterless steppes and deserts. However, their patrimony is undoubtedly Africa. The largest number of bovid species live here.

Not only is the bovid family rich in species, representatives of these species are very diverse. First of all, this is manifested in their size. Among the bovids there are many very large animals, such as bulls (bison, bison, buffalo), and very small ones, the size of a cat, such as the royal dwarf antelope and dik-dik, reaching a height of 25 to 35 cm at the withers and a weight of 3 to 10 kg.

The smallest bovids are united into the subfamilies of dwarf antelopes and duikers. Their size is indicated by the names of the animals: dwarf antelope, little suni antelope, tiny antelope. Very young are some dik-diks, whose skin is widely used in glove production. They are so small that a couple women's gloves two antelope skins leave -

Merino and fat-tailed sheep (below).

Bighorn sheep.

ki. Duikers are not giants either. The smallest are as tall as a hare, and the largest are no larger than a roe deer. All males have horns, although sometimes they are tiny, not exceeding 1-1.5 cm in length. Babies’ legs are as thick as an adult’s little finger, and their hooves are slightly larger than a woman’s marigold. However, mini-antelopes are fleet-footed and jumping. They easily and naturally make jumps up to 3 m in length. The vast majority of these animals live in forests or bushland, some of them like plains, some prefer mountains, some like dry forests, others are found only in humid areas. They do not gather in herds and live alone or in pairs. Males rub their muzzles against tree trunks, leaving odorous marks and secretions of the infraorbital glands at the boundaries of the areas they occupy. Some of them mark females in the same way, and they, in turn, mark their children. Kids feed on leaves, berries, fruits and are always ready to feast on a fat snail or caterpillar, eat a lizard or frog, and if they are lucky, they also catch birds. Duikers do not just grab random game, but actually hunt, carefully creeping up, and only when they are very close do they make a throw. A frog or gecko is grabbed directly with the teeth, and a flying bird is knocked down with a blow from the front leg.

The subfamily of antelopes includes large animals. In size and weight they are second only to bulls. Their most characteristic feature there are horns twisted into a spiral; however, the degree of twisting in different species is far from the same. The greater kudu is the most typical representative of this subfamily. This is a large animal, reaching a height of 1.5 m. The heads of males are decorated with huge, up to 1.5 m, horns, while females do not have horns. Females with calves live in small groups of 6-10 animals or in herds of up to 30-40 animals. Bulls join them only during the mating season. At this time, stubborn fights occur between males. Sometimes they cling so tightly with their horns that they can no longer disengage and die in the claws of lions. For life, kudu choose rocky plains, certainly with dense bushes and good watering places.

An unusual way of life is characteristic of the sitatunga. This is not a very large dark-colored antelope. Despite the fact that it lives in the hottest regions of the planet, the antelope's body is covered with long, thick hair. But the most unusual thing for bovids is the sitatunga’s greatly elongated hooves, reaching 10 cm. Their structure is explained by the fact that the antelope lives in swamps and spends most of its life knee-deep, or even waist-deep, in water. Sitatunga is an excellent swimmer, able to dive and hide in the water, as hippopotamuses do, with only their nostrils above the surface. Here, in the center of the swamps, she is not afraid of lions, leopards, or a man with a gun.

The sitatunga's large hooves are capable of spreading widely, which allows it to feel confident in any quagmire. In the depths of the African swamps, heated by the sun and almost completely deprived of oxygen, all vegetation dies and rots. The processes of decay occur here at cosmic speed, but the development of new plants on the surface does not lag behind the processes of their decomposition. The top layer of marsh turf usually consists of a dense interweaving of thick stems that have not yet had time to collapse and equally strong rhizomes. The human leg does not find support here, slips off these slimy plant ropes, pushes them apart, and the person falls to the waist. This does not happen with sitatunga, marsh, water and reedbucks, which also belong to the bovid family. Their hooves act as grippers. The random interweaving of plant debris is so dense that with each step between the hooves some rhizome or stem is sure to fall, capable of supporting the weight of the animal, or even several “ropes” at once, and the sitatunga calmly overcomes such areas where animals with a much larger area supports that do not have cloven hooves are hopelessly stuck.

If necessary, sitatunga remain neck-deep in water for weeks. Interestingly, her long and thick fur does not get wet. The hair protects the secretions of the sebaceous glands from water. Only thanks to this, sitatungs are able to stay in the swamps for a long time, without going onto land to dry out.

The eland, another representative of the horned antelopes, has horns in both males and females. In males they reach a length of 1 m, and in females they are much shorter. Eland is the largest of the antelopes. Its height at the withers can reach 180 cm, and its weight can reach 943 kg. Elands live in the arid regions of Africa, keeping in small groups of 8-10 animals, but during migrations caused by drought they can form large herds. Elands feed mainly on grass, and when it turns into dry straw, they switch to the foliage of drought-resistant trees. These antelopes are able to go for a long time without water, but they clearly do not like this existence, because if there are watering holes, they willingly drink water.

It is not clear why the eland was not domesticated at one time. As a result of systematic persecution, these antelopes have now become very timid and are mortally afraid of humans, but, once in captivity, they gradually become tame. Nowadays, African farmers in the driest areas of the continent have begun to raise eland in large fenced pens. Elands can survive on the most meager food, not suitable for livestock, and besides, they are not susceptible to many dangerous diseases hoof-

Buffalo.

Canna.

Wildebeest.

such as sleeping sickness, which is rampant in the African bush. Breeding eland for meat (and they have excellent quality meat) is much more profitable than breeding cows and sheep.

At the end of the last century, a large group of elands was brought to the Askania-Nova steppe reserve. Since then, there has been a systematic formation of a herd of giant antelopes. Now Ascanian elands are completely domesticated animals. Unlike African farmers, our breeders sought to create a breed of milk eland. Although antelopes produce milk much less than cows, their milk is four times fatter, and besides, milk left in the sun does not sour for 10 days. This is explained by the fact that it contains natural substances that kill microorganisms. The presence of these substances makes milk medicinal. In the Askania-Nova nature reserve there is even a small hospital where stomach ulcers and, more importantly, duodenal ulcers, which are usually difficult to treat, are treated without surgery using canna milk.

Representatives of the cow antelope subfamily are also predominantly large animals. Of these, wildebeest are the most famous. They have a heavy head, a tousled beard and intricately curved horns, and a shaggy mane on their forehead, throat and shoulders.

There are two types of wildebeest. The white-tailed fish was almost completely exterminated by the colonialists of South Africa and was preserved only in nature reserves. The blue wildebeest is the best preserved of all the other antelopes. The favorite habitat of these animals is savannas. The wildebeest's main food is grasses, but the animals do not eat all plants.

contract. Therefore, the easily occurring lack of food and drought force them to undertake long migrations twice a year. Herds of wildebeest scattered across the vast expanses of the steppe, walking in a chain stretching from horizon to horizon, can still be seen in many regions of Africa. Apart from lions and hyena dogs, adult wildebeest are not particularly threatened. During the day, the mother can not only fight off the leopard herself, but also protect the calf. A hyena that dares to get close to the baby will be chased across the steppe for a long time. But at night, in the confusion caused by the attack of lions, the female often loses her newborn. This is widely used not only by hyenas, but also by jackals. If a young, inexperienced mother chases one of the attackers at dusk, his fellow tribesmen will not fail to take advantage of this to attack the calf.

The most beautiful antelopes, perhaps, belong to the saber-horned subfamily. These are large slender animals with huge beautiful horns. In the horse antelope, they are sickle-shaped and reach a length of 90-95 cm, and in the smaller black antelope - even 170 cm. The long, straight and sharp horns of the oryx serve as an excellent weapon for them. There are cases when these antelopes killed lions. Oryx are lovers of the arid regions of the planet. Oryxes live in small groups of 6-12 heads. They feed on grass, young shoots of shrubs, and are able to dig out moisture-retaining plant roots, their bulbs and tubers from the sand. Animals graze in the early morning and late evening, when the desert is cool, and spend the hot part of the day lying in the shade of rocks, in deep ravines, looking for a hole or shielding themselves from the sun with the shade of bushes and trees.

Warthog.

review. But if the need arises, oryxes can run away from any pursuer in the heat of the day. They don't suffer from the heat while running. The air rushing into their wide nostrils cools the blood going to the brain, so that the vital centers of the animal are protected from overheating, and a slight increase in temperature is not dangerous for the muscles.

Representatives of the gazelle subfamily are small, slender and graceful, long-legged animals with their heads held high, adorned with black horns. They live in Africa and Asia. In the CIS, the most famous is the goitered gazelle, found in Azerbaijan and Central Asia. These sandy-colored gazelles live in deserts and arid mountain valleys. Goitered gazelles feed on grasses, shoots of bushes, and bulbs. At the height of summer they move closer to the water; According to the gazelles, it should be located at a distance of 10-15 km, and they go to quench their thirst once every 3-7 days. They often drink water from bitterly salty lakes, the Aral and Caspian seas. Goitered gazelles graze at dawn and dusk, and during the day they seek shelter from the sun.

Marriage ceremonies take place in the fall. The first thing males do is make latrines in their areas: they dig holes with their front feet and leave their droppings in them. If another male comes across such a latrine, he throws out the owner’s droppings and replaces them with his own. Restrooms serve as odorous beacons. They are intended to indicate occupied territory and attracting females. In April, when it is time to give birth, the female separates from the group and searches for a flat, bare area among the thickets of bushes.

Saiga.

Two newborn babies lie apart, splayed out on bare patches of soil. They are so well colored that it is difficult to notice them. The mother comes to feed the children 3-4 times a day, and after two weeks the babies can already accompany her. Previously, when goitered gazelles were numerous, they were a favorite object of hunting. Currently, the number of goitered gazelles has sharply decreased, and hunting them is completely prohibited.

The main representative of the saiga subfamily is the saiga antelope, or saiga. During the era of mammoths, saigas inhabited the entire steppe part of Europe and Asia, and now they survive only in Kalmykia

Brush-eared pig.

Horned goat.

Dairy goat (above) and powder breed.

and in the Central Asian steppes. In the spring, females go to “maternity hospitals”, where they bring one cub from year to year. The baby lies on bare ground, because dew does not fall on such areas of soil at night. As soon as the newborns get stronger, the animals set off on new journeys. Saigas are amazingly hardy animals, capable of covering hundreds or thousands of kilometers in a short time if necessary. Currently, they have become an important object of commercial hunting. They have tasty meat, good-quality skin, and their horns are used to make medicine.

There is no need to list the main features of the representatives of the subfamily of goats and rams. These animals are easily recognizable. Their homeland is Eurasia, from where they settled in Africa and America. Among them are chamois, Caucasian turs, argali and mouflons, and snow sheep that live even beyond the Arctic Circle.

Goats are characterized by an inconspicuous gray color that matches the color of the rocks. Most of them have huge horns. In bezoar and Siberian goats they are bent back, like the runners of a sleigh were bent in the old days, and in the horned goats there is a huge “corkscrew” on the head up to 120 cm long. The muzzle of both males and females is most often decorated with a beard, and the exclusive accessory of males is the odorous gland located under the tail, the stench from which is difficult to bear.

The tenth subfamily of bovids is bulls. These are the largest of the bovids. Bulls have a four-chambered stomach. Out to pasture

Babirussa.

they hastily tear up the grass and, without subjecting it to special processing, send it to the first two chambers of the stomach, and then, while resting half asleep, they regurgitate it from there, chew it melancholy and send it to the next sections (see also article “Protozoa”). This method of feeding allows bulls not to stay long in pastures, where they may be attacked by predators. Now there are 10 species of bulls preserved. Bulls live on all continents except Australia and South America. Among them are bison, bison, and the aurochs, the wild ancestor of the domestic bull exterminated by humans. The last round died in Poland in 1627. True, the German zoologists the Heck brothers, shortly before World War II, tried to “put together” the genes scattered like fragments across the breeds of domestic bull

Buffalo and heron.

tour. And they succeeded - an animal was bred that was outwardly indistinguishable from the aurochs. But this is not a “real” wild aurochs, but only a breed of livestock.

Yaks are close relatives of real bulls. These are large animals up to 2 m high at the withers. Their thick fur forms a kind of “skirt” under which mothers hide their calves from the cold, and when they lie down in the snow, it serves as bedding for them. Wild yaks living in the highlands of Tibet are not at all afraid of frost and swim in ice-free reservoirs all winter. These are ferocious creatures that do not retreat even from humans.

3 thousand years ago they were tamed by people. Domestic yaks are smaller and calmer than wild ones. They are also used in our country for transporting heavy loads. Yaks have excellent wool, milk and meat, they do not require special care and are able to be content with the sparse vegetation of the mountains.

Buffaloes are not considered real bulls. There are only 3 types. The smallest, calf-sized, dwarf buffalo, Anoa, is an inhabitant of the swampy forests of the island of Sulawesi. The Indian buffalo is one of the most big bulls. Its huge horns, sometimes more than 2 m long each (these are the longest horns in the world), are directed backwards. Animals are attached to water and are found only near rivers and swamps, willingly feed on aquatic plants and spend the entire daylight hours in the water, immersed in liquid mud. The Indian buffalo has been domesticated since time immemorial and is widely used in countries with hot climates. They ride buffaloes, plow, and cultivate rice plantations. Big

Buffalo milk is in demand. It contains 2-3 times more fat than cow's fat. The African buffalo is the most powerful of the bulls. They live in forests, mountains and, of course, savannas. Like other buffalos, they avoid appearing in areas of cultivated land, so they are preserved in large numbers only in nature reserves. Buffaloes stay in small groups, and in dry season unite in large herds. These animals are quick on their feet. The avalanche of galloping buffalos is impressive. They are ferocious, and hunting them involves considerable danger. It’s a pity that we will never again see thousands of African buffalo herds rushing in a cloud of dust they raise across the endless savannah!

DOMESTIC SHEEP

At the end of the Stone Age - 6-8 thousand years BC. e. somewhere in Western Asia, people domesticated mountain sheep. Scientists do not yet know what type of ram this ram, tamed and domesticated by man, was - mouflon or argali. Several decades later, Europeans also domesticated sheep. Since then, people have worked to improve the original material and have created more than 150 breeds. As a result of the influence of pastoralists, the appearance of sheep and their behavior changed. In domestic sheep, the herd instinct is more pronounced than in their distant ancestors. Try dividing the flock into two parts. This task is practically impossible. Only from animals with such a pronounced herd instinct can large flocks be formed and get by with 2-3 shepherds.

Sheep provide people with milk, meat and fat, wool, sheepskin and smushka. The most valuable thing is wool. It has significant strength, stretchability, hygroscopicity and is indispensable in the manufacture of fabrics.

Sheep are divided into 4 groups based on the shape of their tail. The short-tailed ones include the Romanov sheep, which are widespread in our country. The skins of these sheep are used for sheepskins and fur coats.

Long-tailed sheep are both meat breeds and merino sheep, producing up to 10 kg of wool per year. They were used to create many fine-wool sheep breeds. Fabrics can be made from coarse hair or down, but 5-6 thousand years ago, clothing made from fine woolen fabrics won the liking of fashionistas in Babylon and Egypt. This stimulated the creation of appropriate breeds of sheep.

Fat-tailed sheep include, in particular, Karakul sheep bred on the territory of Uzbekistan. These are unpretentious animals that can live in the desert and make do with meager food. Karakul (kara gul) translated into Russian means “black rose”. However, their fur can be either black or white. These sheep give a lot of milk, and their meat is excellent.

Finally, fat-tailed sheep. Fat tail - fatty deposits in the form of large bags on the sides of the tail. It can contain up to 16 kg of fat. It is curious that none of the wild sheep have a fat tail.

Meat and fat are important products, but the main value of sheep is their wool. It was she who once glorified Georgia throughout the world, and made England a rich country. It is not for nothing that the ram was worshiped in Georgia until relatively recently, and the head of one of the chambers of the English parliament, presiding over its meetings, still traditionally sits on a bag of sheep’s wool.

BISON

Europe is now home to only one species of wild bull - the bison. These are the largest bulls currently existing. The body length of these forest giants is up to 3.5 m, height at the withers is up to 195 cm, and weight is up to 1200 kg.

Once upon a time, bison lived throughout Europe and were considered the most tempting object of hunting, and therefore they were mercilessly destroyed everywhere and pushed into the most remote corners of the continent. As a result, the last European bison died in Belovezhskaya Pushcha at the hands of a hunter in 1921, and the Caucasian bison survived him by only 2 years. There are no more wild bison left in nature. But a miracle happened. Thanks to the fact that 56 animals were kept in zoos in different countries, it was possible to begin work on the restoration of bison. Now there is no need to worry about them, but they all, without exception, live in reserves, that is, in protected areas. In winter, they are fed with hay at the rate of 8 kg per day per adult bull.

Bison graze in the morning and evening, and rest the rest of the day, lying in secluded places, and chewing. In the summer, bison live in small family groups, and in the winter they gather in herds. These are shy animals. Sensing the smell of a person, the bison leave, but they are curious, and if the breeze is blowing away from them, and their dim eyes do not allow them to determine who disturbed their peace, the bison, forming a semi-ring, peer anxiously at the person. Inexperienced tourists perceive this behavior as preparation for an attack, but as soon as the herd realizes that there is a person in front of them, the animals hide in the thicket of the forest. In Belovezhskaya Pushcha, where most purebred bison now live, there have been no cases of attacks on humans.

BUFFALO

Bison - close relative bison He looks like him too. At the beginning of the 18th century, when Europeans intensively settled North America, about 60 million bison lived in its vastness - more than people! Bison were then perhaps the most numerous ungulates on Earth. Herds of bison, as numerous as locusts, trampled the prairies and forests from northern Mexico to Great Slave Lake in Canada. More than one third of North America was occupied by the territory they inhabited.

Bison trails stretched across the continent. The first American railroad tracks mainly lay along them. They brought death to the bison. In the 60s XIX century Construction began on the transcontinental Pacific Railroad from Chicago to San Francisco. Railway companies employed detachments of professional hunters, who supplied them with tons of free meat.

At that time, William Cody, nicknamed Buffalo Bill, became famous throughout the world, who killed 4,280 bison in a year and a half. One day he shot 69 bulls.

Often, bison were killed only to cut a small piece of meat from the bull's carcass for roast breakfast. Sometimes only the tongues were cut out, leaving hundreds of bovine corpses to rot in the steppe. TO early XIX V. There is not a single free bison left in the United States.

The initiative to save bison belongs to the Indians, who for centuries these animals not only fed and clothed, but also provided them with almost everything they needed in their humble everyday life: sinew for bows, skins for beds; The Indians made cups and spoons from bull horns, and shoes, roofs and walls of their homes from leather.

In 1873, an Indian named Wandering Coyote captured two young bison - a bull and a heifer. He looked after them and hid them from gangs of hungry vagabonds. After 23 years, there were already 300 bison in Coyote's herd. At the beginning of the 20th century. The herd was purchased by the US government, and the animals were relocated to Yellowstone National Park.

Now there are already more than 20 thousand bison all over the world. Undoubtedly, the bison family is no longer in danger of extinction. He's saved!

Bison live in small herds, females living separately from males. They are fast and agile, capable of rushing at a speed of 50 km/h.

When a calf is about to be born, the mother does not leave the herd, and all its members joyfully greet the newborn, sniffing and licking him. The baby quickly gets to his feet and is ready to follow his mother.

PIGS

The pig family includes only 8 species of animals. All of them resemble a domestic pig in their body shape. They have a massive body and short legs with four toes equipped with hooves. The muzzle is decorated with protruding fangs that grow throughout its life.

Pigs are omnivorous creatures. This is quite unusual for ungulates that are vegetarians. However, pigs with their rather simply structured stomach, unable to chew the food they eat repeatedly, as ruminants do, unable to grow a host of microorganisms in the digestive tract in order to later use the protein substances of their bodies, are not able to exist on rough plant feed alone and are constantly in need in a protein supplement. They inevitably have to supplement the plant menu with worms, insects, mollusks, as well as larger living creatures if they get into their teeth. They obtain this part of the food by digging in the ground and forest floor.

Of the pigs, the wild boar is the most famous. Its fangs grow in males up to 10-12 cm, and the body is covered with brown elastic bristles, which bristles on the back, imitating a mane. Wild boars live sedentary lives and keep in small groups, uniting in winter into larger herds. In the area they occupy, they have dug beds, covered with rags, where the animals rest, and there are also baths - pits filled with water and liquid mud. Boars love damp, wetlands.

Boars dig up most of their food in the ground. In addition to animals living in the soil, they eat roots and rhizomes, tubers and bulbs. The carrion of fruit trees, acorns, and all kinds of nuts, including pine nuts, are of great help.

Females give birth to from 4 to 12 piglets. For children, an insulated den with thick walls and good bedding is equipped, most often with a roof. Piglets spend the first two weeks of their lives in the den. When leaving to feed, the mother covers them with bedding. Small striped wild boars lie huddled closely together and wait for the return of their nurse. Every 3-4 hours the mother returns to the den and feeds the children. Later they begin to accompany her and learn to eat pasture.

Winter is the most difficult time of the year. It is not easy to find food under the snow, and when there is a lot of snow, it becomes difficult for wild boars with their short legs to even walk. But the worst thing is the crust, you’ll scratch your feet on it, and you won’t be able to get food from under it.

Where there are not very many wild boars, the animals bring tangible benefits to the forest. Pigs loosen the soil, embedding seeds into the soil, and destroy many insect pests, such as chafer larvae and pine moth pupae. However, when making forays into fields and vegetable gardens, climbing into haystacks left in hayfields in winter, they can cause significant harm. Boars have few enemies, but they are serious enemies. First of all, these are wolves, but Far East and a tiger. The wild boar is the ancestor of domestic pigs. It was domesticated at the end of the Stone Age and was already considered a common breeding object in Ancient Egypt.

There are 3 species of wild pigs in Africa. The smallest of them are warthogs, so named because their faces are strewn with huge skin warts, which turn into large bumps in older males. The average length of their fangs is 30 cm, but they can grow to almost 70 cm.

Warthogs live throughout Africa. As a shelter, they use spacious holes with several chambers, which they dig themselves or occupy ready-made ones. When running away from enemies, they raise their tails high. The piglets are the first to hide in the hole, and the females back away into it, blocking the entrance with their impressive head. Males do the same.

The female brings 3-4 cubs, occupying a separate chamber with them in the burrow. There is no bedding there, but it is dry and warm, and the piglets do not freeze. The mother leaves the children for the whole day, and returns at night and feeds them only once. After a week, the piglets begin to crawl out of the hole and accompany their mother to the pasture. The family remains for up to a year, until the female feels that she will have new children.

Warthogs are diurnal animals. Among pigs, they are the strictest vegetarians and eat mainly grass. They nibble the grass, kneeling down, and in such an unusual position they move around the pasture, fortunately they have thick calluses on their wrists, which protect their feet from injury. In captivity they are funny creatures. A couple of animals from the St. Petersburg Zoo dozed for hours during the day, patiently waiting for visitors to leave them alone, and in the evening they started a fun game. They started catching up, jumped on each other or plopped down on each other’s knees, peering for a long time at the “face” of their partner, only to suddenly simultaneously take off and bury their heads in a pile of hay. And all this fuss took place in complete silence, not disturbed even by the tramp of feet on the sawdust-strewn floor.

Brush-eared pigs are very impressive, brightly colored animals. Unlike their closest relatives, warthogs, cyst-eared pigs are convinced predators. They are short, no longer than 15 cm, but sharp fangs help them easily deal with any prey. They willingly eat carrion, during the calving period they attack newborn ungulates, have a fierce hatred of dogs and mercilessly kill them. In zoos, in order for animals to feel normal, they have to be fed mainly meat and fish. Brush-eared pigs are cautious nocturnal animals. They lead a gregarious lifestyle and do not use permanent daytime shelters. Only females, when they have children, keep them in the hole for some time. Brush-eared pigs are persecuted everywhere, because they often go out into the fields and rampage there. A herd of 30-40 heads can cause significant damage to crops. However, it is not possible to significantly reduce the number of pigs. Previously, the growth of their population was restrained by leopards, but now they have been exterminated in many areas of Africa.

The giant forest pig is the largest pig. Its size can be judged at least by the fact that the diameter of this pig’s snout reaches 16 centimeters! They live in dense, impenetrable African forests, in wilds where Europeans rarely go, so scientists only learned about their existence at the beginning of our century.

The smallest pigs, the size of a hare, are dwarf pigs and live in the foothills of the Himalayas. They live in herds of 5-20 animals: one male, females and their children. Pygmy pigs are the most warlike of pigs. Protecting his family from enemies, the male does not hesitate to attack any enemy. Intensive hunting of pigs for tasty meat and the development of the original habitats of dwarfs led to their extermination. In the mid-70s, zoologists

It was believed that there were no more than 100-150 heads left. How many have survived to this day is unknown.

A bearded pig should rather be called a whiskered pig, since it does not have a real beard, in our understanding of the word. Light stubble grows on the sides of the head from the corners of the mouth to the ears. Bearded vultures are the same size as a European boar. They live on the Malay Peninsula and on the islands of Kalimantan, Sumatra, and Java. This is the only pig that tends to lead a nomadic lifestyle, however, only pigs from Kalimantan show a taste for annual migrations. In spring, these migrations are especially widespread. The animals walk in separate small herds, but adhere to a strictly defined route, as a result, a huge number of pigs pass along it in a short period. The Dayaks, the natives of Kalimantan, have long hunted them during this period, killing animals with spears in the water as they crossed numerous rivers. With the appearance on the island firearms hunting has become easier and more productive.

Bearded men live in small family groups. Like all pigs, they are omnivores, and fruits occupy a significant place in their diet. But since they do not grow on the ground, and pigs are not able to climb trees, families of bearded men accompany gibbons and herds of macaques wandering in the treetops. Monkeys, as you know, are finicky creatures and, having bitten a rosy-cheeked fruit once, throw it to the ground to immediately try another. Nature experts say that monkeys often amuse themselves by throwing specially picked fruits at pigs and watch their behavior with interest.

In families of bearded pigs, up to 8 piglets are born. The mother builds them a house ahead of time from branches, grass and large palm leaves. The result is an impressive nest a meter high, where the babies spend the first 10-20 days of their lives in warmth and comfort.

Babirussa is the most interesting of the pigs. She doesn't look like an ordinary pig at all. She has a small head, short ears, a tiny snout, an arched back and long thin legs. The most memorable thing about her appearance is two pairs of large fangs, curved back and intended for decoration. The lower pair takes its usual place between the teeth of the lower jaw. The upper one does not grow from the mouth, but sticks out directly on the muzzle. In old males, their tips reach the forehead or bend 180° and grow back into the skin of the snout. They reach a length of 40 cm. Females do not have upper fangs, but the lower ones are of a decent size. This amazing pig, feeding almost exclusively on leaves, green shoots and grass, lives only in mangroves, tropical rainforests and reed beds of the island of Sulawesi. Its digestive system copes with its task only because it has acquired features inherent in typical ruminants. Babirussa has the same complex stomach as theirs, where fiber is successfully digested with the help of small “cookies” - special microorganisms. Babirussa is a hermit. Animals do not like to gather in large herds and often wander in the jungle completely alone or, in extreme cases, in small families. In the Sunda language they are called “deer pigs” - there is so much in common in the feeding habits of these animals.

A pig with the habits of a real herbivore, capable of doing without tubers, grain additives, cake and animal feed, would be indispensable on our farm. And this is not the only advantage of the babirussa. Its meat has excellent taste and is not very fatty. In addition, pigs themselves are not susceptible to many infectious diseases that are dangerous for farm animals, are not afraid of heat, easily tolerate high humidity, swim well, are able to forage for aquatic plants and generally subsist on pasture, but they never dig in the ground, which is important for preservation of pastures.

Alas, babirussa has a significant drawback. Her mammary glands have only two nipples, and she cannot feed more than two piglets. It is difficult to breed infertile animals, although no one would refuse such a piglet. Sulawesi hunters never kill babies. They are brought to the village and kept together with other farm animals. Babies quickly become tame and do not cause any trouble to their owners.