Roberts, E., 1833. Mofussil stations, no. VIII. Berhampore. Asiatic Journal and Monthly Miscellany 11 (44), May 1833: 245-255
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| Location: |
Asia - South Asia |
| Subject: |
Captivity |
| Species: |
Indian Rhino |
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[253] Rajmhal hills arise on the opposite bank of the river, and thither parties of gentlemen are continually attracted by the exciting warfare which Anglo-Indians delight to carry on against the beasts of prey infesting the jungles of India. Numerous wild animals, of the most savage description, abound in the sunny dells and shady thickets of the extensive mountain ranges, which divide Bengal from the neighbouring province of Behar. The rhinoceros is an inhabitant of the woods of Rajmhal, and though of too sullen and cruel a character to become domesticated or useful to man, when taken young may be permitted nearly the same liberty of action as that with which the elephant in the Zoological gardens is indulged. An en- closure of not very large dimensions, but in which there is a spreading umbrageous tree, and a small muddy pond, in Barrackpore Park, contains one of these huge unwieldly animals. The creature is apparently well-satisfied with its condition, wallowing for half the day in the mire, and spending the remainder under the sheltering boughs of its leafy canopy. It does not dis-play any anger or impatience at the approach of visitors, and gazes unconcernedly at the carriages which are continually passing and re-passing the place of its confinement, which, for the convenience of those who may wish to see it without much trouble, is close to the public road. This extraordinary animal is rarely seen in Europe; a young one, captured a few years ago, which was intended for an English menagerie, unfortunately perished in consequence of the miscalculations of the natives to whom it was entrusted. As they learned that there would be some difficulty in procuring proper food for their four-footed companion, in one stage of their journey to Calcutta, they crammed it with three days provision at once, and it died of repletion, a contingency which never occurred to men who can endure the extremes of abstinence or of excess without sustaining much personal inconvenience.
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Mofussil stations, no. VIII. Berhampore
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