Bartlett, E., 1891. Notes on the Bornean rhinoceros. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1891 December 1: 654-655, fig. 1
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| Location: |
Captive - Europe |
| Subject: |
Behaviour - Towards Man |
| Species: |
Sumatran Rhino |
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A very remarkable circumstance connected with the mother was her unexpected quietness; for she had, previously to the birth of the young one, been inclined to attack the keeper or any one who went near her; but after the young one was born, she allowed the keeper to enter the den and milk her as quietly as the tamest cow; and moreover, after she was in the stable, I and the rest were inside with her and the young one, patting and caressing her with our hands as though she were a tame old pet that had been used to receive this marked attention from visitors. It has occurred to me since that she was probably in the sulks; for I remember the account of the Hairy-eared Rhinoceros when being removed in Calcutta; she turned sulky and lay down in the street, and it was with the greatest difficulty she was dragged or rather slid along over the muddy road to the stable; so stubborn and determined not to move was she that, although hundreds of pails of water were thrown over her, she would not rise. Was our animal now under consideration quiet by being under the influence of the sulks? I think this must have been the case; for she allowed the men to enter the den, and some were pushing at her nose, others pulling her ears to back her out, and all this was done without any attempt on her part to resent or injure her tormentors*.
* Since the foregoing was written, my suspicion has been fully confirmed; for only a few days afterwards her savage disposition and temper caused Mr Rice and his assistants the utmost alarm, lest she should escape from the stable or kill some of the men who attended to her; for she broke and smashed almost everything within her reach, and they had the greatest difficulty in getting her into the den in which she was shipped to America.
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Notes on the Bornean rhinoceros
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