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The nature of the bear, and peculiar, and its character is treacherous, and it is heavy in body. Often, therefore, having been wounded by the deepest blows, it heals itself by stuffing its wounds with the driest mullein. When it wrestles, it skillfully entwines its feet, and trips up, and seizing its opponent around the middle, it fastens on powerfully. The bull is armed with its horns for defense against its adversaries, and with its feet it paws the dust in the manner of an athlete; and looking from under its brows with fiery eyes, and having bent its horns, and boiling with rage, it charges with its whole body. But the boar, when it sees hunters lying in wait in the woods, rousing itself, does not charge before it has whetted its tusks against the nearby trees. There is an animal, the anthalops, exceedingly fierce and hard to hunt, and having long horns like saws, it saws through tall and large trees; and when it is thirsty it comes to the Euphrates river, and after drinking, it plays among the heath-plants, which are by the banks of the river, and is ensnared by them. For being slender-branched, they become entangled around its horns, and it cries out; and the hunters, perceiving this, immediately seize and kill it. And among the Scythians called Loi there is an animal called the tarandos, having the size of an ox, but its appearance is very similar to that of the deer. And it is hard to hunt, because it changes its color according to the trees and places, and to everything it might approach, and it assimilates itself to their appearance, and for this reason it is unrecognizable to many. Similarly, the chameleon also takes on the color of whatever meadows and dry grounds it crawls upon. The deer is timid and sharp-sighted, and is an enemy to creeping beasts; and if a snake escapes it and enters into a cleft of a rock, being thirsty it comes to the springs; for it is very burning with thirst, so much so that it puts its tongue out of its mouth, 741 so that it may be cooled by the coldness of the air. Having been filled with water, therefore, it goes where the snake is hiding, and having drawn it out from the cleft, it tramples and kills it. And if a small piece of its horn or hair is burned in a house, if a wild beast is lurking anywhere, it flees. And when it sheds its horns, it seeks solitude, and takes to an inaccessible cliff, and pursues an untrodden wilderness, as having cast off its means of defense against other beasts. Since, therefore, there are sores at the roots of the shed horns, it encamps in a place with many trees, so that the wounds may not be sucked by flies, and at night it grazes having relief. But when its horns have grown, it goes forth boldly even at midday. And wishing to test if its horns are hardened—for being tender they are broken by the sun, being burned—it lays its head against trees, and rubs it against them firmly, trying to know if it is securely fixed. And for the bites of venomous spiders, it is cured by eating a crab. The wild goat in Crete, if it is pierced by an arrow, having eaten what is called dittany, the wound is easily healed. Leopards hunt animals with ease. For knowing clearly that the other animals delight in the scents from them, they establish themselves in deep caves; and the others, as if sensing the aroma of roasting meat, track the scent, and having approached the place, are immediately devoured by the leopards. The panther is a friend of all the animals, but an enemy of the dragon. It is star-spangled in its body and very quiet. And as long as it does not need food, it remains sleeping in its den; but on the third day, having become hungry it comes out, and cries with a loud voice, and from its mouth a certain fragrant aroma comes out, by which the other animals, being charmed, both near and far, approach it, and follow, delighted by the variety of its body. And the panther, having gone a little way ahead of them, turns back, and watches, and whichever of the animals pleases it, leaping upon it, it takes. The elephant is pregnant for a long time, for it develops the seed for ten years, and when the offspring becomes old, then

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φύσις τῆς ἄρκτου, καὶ ἰδιότροπος, καὶ τὸ ἦθος ὕπουλος, καὶ βαρεῖα τῷ σώματι. Πολλάκις οὖν βαθυτάταις τρωθεῖσα πληγαῖς, ἰατρεύει ἐαυτὴν ξηροτάτῳ φλόμῳ τὰς ὠτειλὰς παραβύουσα. Παλαίουσα δὲ διαπλέκει τοὺς πόδας τεχνικῶς, καὶ ὑποσκελίζει, καὶ μεσολαβοῦσα κραταιῶς καθάπτει. Ὁ ταῦρος τοῖς κέρασι πρὸς ἄμυναν τῶν ἀντιπάλων καθώπλισται, τοῖς δὲ ποσὶν ἀθλητοῦ τρόπον κονίζεται· ὑποβλεπόμενος δὲ πυρωποῖς ὄμμασι, καὶ τὰ κέρατα ἐγκεκλικὼς, καὶ ζέων θυμῷ, ἐφορμᾷ ὅλῳ τῷ σώματι. Σῦς δὲ, ὅταν ἴδῃ κυνηγοὺς ἐν ταῖς ὕλαις λοχῶντας, διανιστάμενος, οὐ πρότερον ἐφορμᾷ πρὶν ἢ τοῖς πλησίον δένδροις παραθήξῃ τοὺς ὀδόντας. Ἔστι δὲ ζῶον ἀνθόλοψ σφόδρα δριμύτατον καὶ δυσθήρατον, ἔχον δὲ μακρὰ κέρατα ὅμοια πρίοσιν, δένδρα μετέωρα καὶ μεγάλα πρίζει· διψῆσαν δὲ ἔρχεται ἐπὶ τὸν Εὐφράτην ποταμὸν, καὶ πιὼν παίζει ταῖς ἐρεικίναις, ταῖς οὔσαις παρὰ ταῖς ὄχθαις τοῦ ποταμοῦ, καὶ δεσμεῖται ὑπ' αὐτῶν. Λεπτόκλονοι γὰρ ὑπάρχουσαι, ἐμπλέκονται αὐτοῦ περὶ τὰ κέρατα, καὶ βοᾷ· καὶ οἱ κυνηγοὶ, αἰσθόμενοι, εὐθέως αὐτὸν συλλαμβάνουσι, καὶ ἀναιροῦσιν. Ἔστι δὲ ἐν τοῖς Σκύθαις τοῖς καλουμένοις Λώοις ζῶον καλούμενον τάρανδος, μέγεθος ἔχον βοὸς, τὴν δὲ ὄψιν τῆς τοῦ ἐλάφου παραπλήσιον. Καὶ ἔστι δυσθήρατον, τῷ πρὸς τὰ δένδρα καὶ χωρία, καὶ πρὸς πάντα οἷς ἂν ἐγγίζῃ τὴν χροιὰν μεταβάλλειν, καὶ τῇ ἐκείνων ἀφομοιοῦσθαι ἰδέᾳ, καὶ διὰ τοῦτο εἶναι πολλοῖς ἀνεπίγνωστον. Ὁμοίως δὲ καὶ ὁ χαμαιλέων εἰς οἵους ἂν ἕρπῃ λειμῶνας, καὶ ἐδάφη ξηρὰ, τὴν χροιὰν ἐκείνων μεταλαμβάνει. ∆ειλὸν ἡ ἔλαφος καὶ ὀξυδερκὲς, καὶ πρὸς τὰ ἑρπετὰ θηρία πολέμιον· καὶ εἰ διαφύγῃ αὐτὴν ὄφις, καὶ εἰς ῥαγάδα παρεισδύῃ πέτρας, ἀφικνεῖται διψήσασα εἰς τὰς πηγάς· πάνυ γάρ ἐστι πρὸς τὴν δίψαν διάπυρος, ὡς καὶ τὴν γλῶτταν ἐκβάλλειν τοῦ στόματος, 741 πρὸς τὸ ὑπὸ τῆς ψυχρότητος τοῦ ἀέρος αὐτὴν ἀναψύχεσθαι. Ἐμπλησθεῖσα οὖν τοῦ ὕδατος, ἔρχεται ἔνθα ὁ ὄφις κρύπτεται, καὶ ἀνασπάσασα αὐτὸν ἐκ τῆς ῥαγάδος, συμπατοῦσα ἀναιρεῖ. Εἰ δὲ καὶ τῶν κεράτων αὐτῆς μικρόν τι ἢ τῶν τριχῶν ἐπ' οἰκίας κατακαῇ, εἴ που ἂν ἐμφωλεύει θηρίον, διαδιδράσκει. Ἐπειδὰν δὲ ἀποβάλῃ τὰ κέρατα, μόνασιν ζητεῖ, καὶ κρημνὸν ἀπρόσιτον καταλαμβάνει, καὶ ἄβατον ἐρημίαν μεταδιώκει, ὡς ἀποβαλοῦσα πρὸς τὰ ἄλλα θηρία τὸ ἀμυντήριον. Ἐπεὶ οὖν πρὸς τὰς ῥίζας τῶν ἀποβληθέντων κεράτων εἰσὶν ἑλκώσεις, εἰς πολύδενδρον τόπον κατασκηνοῖ, πρὸς τὸ μὴ ὑπὸ μυιῶν ἐκμυζεῖσθαι τὰ τραύματα, καὶ νυκτὸς νέμεται ἄνεσιν ἔχουσα. Ὅταν δὲ ἐκφύσῃ τὰ κέρατα, θαῤῥοῦσα πρόεισι καὶ μεσημβρίας. Βουλομένη δὲ δοκιμάσαι εἰ πεπηγότα αὐτῇ τὰ κέρατα, τρυφερὰ γὰρ ὄντα ὑπὸ τοῦ ἡλίου θραύεται καταφλεγόμεναι· δένδρεσι δὲ παραβάλλει τὴν κεφαλὴν, καὶ ἐντρίβει ἀντιτύπως, πειρωμένη γνῶναι, εἰ βεβαίως ἐρήρεισται. Πρὸς δὲ τὰ δήγματα τῶν φαλαγγίων, καρκῖνον ἐσθίουσα ἰᾶται. Ἡ δὲ αἲξ ἡ ἀγρία κατὰ τὴν Κρήτην, ἐὰν βέλει διαπαρῇ, τὸ καλούμενον δίκταμον ἐμφαγοῦσα, ῥᾳδίως τὸ τραῦμα θεραπεύεται. Αἱ δὲ παρδάλεις θηρῶνται εὐμαρῶς τὰ ζῶα. Σαφῶς γὰρ εἰδυῖαι ταῖς ἀπ' αὐτῶν ὀδμαῖς χαίροντα τὰ ἄλλα ζῶα, βαθέσιν ἄντροις ἱδροῦσι· τὰ δὲ, οἷα κνίσσης αἰσθόμενα, ῥινηλατεῖ, καὶ ἐγγίσαντα τῷ τόπῳ, εὐθέως ὑπὸ τῶν παρδάλεων κατεσθίονται. Ὁ δὲ πάνθηρ φίλον μέν ἐστι πάντων τῶν ζώων, ἐχθρὸν δὲ τοῦ δράκοντος. Ἔστι δὲ τῷ σώματι ἀστερωπὸν καὶ πάνυ ἡσύχιον. Καὶ ἕως μὲν οὐ χρήζει τροφῆς, μένει καθεῦδον ἐν τῷ φωλεῷ· τῇ δὲ τρίτῃ ἡμέρᾳ πεινάσαν ἔξεισι, καὶ μεγάλῃ φωνῇ βοᾷ, καὶ ἐκ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ εὐωδία τις ἔξεισιν ἀρωματικὴ, δι' ἧς τὰ ἄλλα ζῶα θελγόμενα τὰ ἐγγὺς καὶ τὰ πόῤῥωθεν ἐγγίζουσιν αὐτῷ, καὶ ἕπονται τερπόμενα αὐτοῦ τῇ ποικιλίᾳ τοῦ σώματος. Ὁ δὲ πάνθηρ ὀλίγον τι προηγησάμενος αὐτῶν ὑποστρέφεται, καὶ ἐπιτηρεῖ, καὶ ὅ, τ' ἂν τῶν ζώων ἀρέσῃ αὐτῷ, ἐπιπηδήσας λαμβάνει. Ὁ δὲ ἐλέφας ἐγκυμονεῖ μὲν χρόνῳ, εἰς δέκα γὰρ ἕτη πέττει τὴν σπορὰν, καὶ ὅταν ὁ τόκος γέρων γένηται, τότε