A cave, or cavern is an opening of some size in the solid crust of the earth beneath the surface. Caves are principally met with in limestone rocks, sometimes in sandstone and in volcanic rocks. Some of them have a very grand or picturesque appearance, such as Fingal's Cave in Staffordshire, others, such as the Mammoth Cave of Kentucky, which incloses an extent of about 40 miles of subterranean windings, are celebrated for their great size and subterranean waters, others for their gorgeous stalactites and stalagmites; others are of interest to the geologist and archaeologist from the occurrence in them of osseous remains of animals no longer found in the same region, perhaps altogether extinct, or for the evidence their clay floors and rudely-sculptured walls, and the prehistoric implements and human bones found in them, offer of the presence of early man.
Caves in which the bones of extinct animals are found owe their origin, for the most part, to the action of rain-water on limestone rocks. The deposit contained in them usually consists of clay, sand, and gravel combined. In this are embedded the animal remains, and stones either angular or rounded. Some of the remains found in European caverns belong to animals now found only in the tropical or subtropical regions, and others are the remains of animals now living in more northerly areas; others, again, are the relics of extinct animals. Among the latter class of animals are the cave bear and lion, the mammoth and mastodon, species of rhinoceros, etc. Of others that have only migrated may be mentioned the reindeer, which is no longer found in Southern Europe; and the Hyoena crocuta, found in the Gibraltar caves, which now lives in South Africa. The ibex, the chamois, and a species of ground squirrel, are shown to have once lived in the Dordogne, but are now found only on the heights of the Alps and Pyrenees.
Thus it is evident that the geographical conditions of the country must have been very different from what they are now. Man's relation to these extinct animals, and his existence at the time these changes took place, are demonstrated by such discoveries as those of human bones and worked flints beneath layers of hyena droppings, as in Wokey's Hole, near Wells, England; mixed up indiscriminately, as in Kent's Hole, near Torquay, with bones of elephant, rhinoceros, hyena, etc; and by the fact that many bones of the extinct animals are split up, evidently for the sake of the marrow.
In the Dordogne and Savigne caves fragments of horn have been found bearing carved, or rather deeply scratched, outline figures of ibex, reindeer, and mammoth. Among the most remarkable bone-caves are those of Kirkdale, in Yorkshire; Kent's Hole, Wokey's Hole; of Franconia, in Bavaria; the banks of the Meuse, near Liege; and the south of France. Research Cave
Agagrus (Capra aegagrus) is a wild species of ibex, found in troops on the Caucasus, and many Asiatic mountains, believed to be the original source of at least one variety of the domestic goat. Research Aegragus
The chamois (Rupicapra rupicapra) is a ruminating mammal of the family Bovidea, order Artiodactyla found in inhabiting high inaccessible mountains in south Europe and west Asia. They are a goat-like antelope similar in appearance to the AlpineIbex, but are small, more slender and easily recognised by the bold black and white head markings. Its horns, which are about 16 cm long, are round, almost smooth, perpendicular and straight until near the tip, where they suddenly terminate in a hook directed backwards and downwards. Its hair is brown in winter, brown fawn colour in summer, and grayish in spring. The tail is black. Research Chamois
A hybrid is the product of a femal animal or plant which has been impregnated by a male of a different but nearly allied species or genus. Uncertainty prevails respecting the productive crossing of species, but it seems to be established that while the crossing of different genera may result in offspring, that of different orders will not.
Hybrids are obtained amongst fishes from different Species of carp; amongst birds, from the goldfinch and canary, the swan and the goose, etc; amongst mammals, from the horse and the zebra, the horse and the ass, the produce of the last two being the mule proper; from the lion and tiger, the dog and wolf, the dog and fox, the goat and ibex.
Instances of hybrids between animals of different genera have been furnished by the union of the goat and the antelope, and of the stag and the cow. It used formerly to be considered that the propagative power of hybrids was either absolutely null, or that they propagated only with an individual of the pure breed; but the experiments of Charles Darwin and other 10th century researches showed that although infertility to some degree generally attends sexual intercourse between different species, yet in such intercourse every degree of difference from absolute sterility up to complete fertility is found. The results hitherto obtained may be summarized as follows: The crossing of species of different families is in almost every case infertile; allied species are capable of producing offspring, and this capability is in indefinite ratio to the degree of their likeness; hybrids are frequently fertile with their parents, but more rarely among themselves; there is no fixed relation between the degree of fertility manifested by the parent species when crossed and that which is manifested by their hybrid progeny.
In many cases two pure species can be crossed with unusual facility, while the resulting hybrids are remarkably sterile; and, on the other hand, there are species which can only be crossed with extreme difficulty, though the hybrids when produced are very fertile. Research Hybrid
The ibex (or steinbok) is several species of wild goat. The horns of the male are flattened, have two longitudinal ridges at the sides, and are crossed by numerous transverse knots. The horns of the female are short, more erect, with three or four knots in front. The Alpine ibex (Capra ibex) is the best known. The Spanish, or Pyrenean ibex (Capra Hispanica) has smoother and more spreading horns. Research Ibex
The Snow Leopard (Unciauncia) is an endangered species of Leopard found in the higher, colder, snow-covered mountains of parts of Mongolia, Russia, China, Bhutan, northern India, Pakistan, Nepal and Afghanistan. The Snow Leopard is has long thick fur, yellowish grey in colour, marked with dark blotches or rosettes and a long tail that affords some protection against the cold, being wrapped over the face when the animal sleeps. A generally solitary animal, Snow Leopards may be seen hunting in pairs and feed on mountain goats, ibex, gazelle, boar and smaller mammals and birds which they hunt at night and in the early morning. Because of the scarcity of prey, when they have a big kill Snow leopards will gorge themselves so as to survive until the next successful hunt. Research Snow Leopard More pictures of Snow Leopard
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Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Cave
