Amazing facts about the animal kingdom. Descriptions and attempts to classify animals in the 16th and 17th centuries Scientists and naturalists who made great contributions

He was a doctor and knew better than anyone that he would never get out of bed again. However, for this one did not have to be a doctor: the plague that raged in Europe and did not pass Zurich in 1565 took hundreds of lives with it. And the signs of this terrible disease were known to almost everyone. But Gesner, as a doctor, understood that he was not only sick, he understood: his hours were numbered. And asked:

Take me to my office.

People in long, coarse robes and tarred masks that covered their faces granted the wish of the dying man and left, closing the doors tightly behind them. There was a heavy smell in the room. But Konrad did not feel it - he was already accustomed to this smell, as he was accustomed to the mask and robe, which he had not parted with lately. He put on this armor and rushed into battle with a terrible disease. Nobody forced him to go into this battle - his life's work is here, in this office, and outside the windows of the office - in the garden. But Gesner always remembered that he was a doctor. And rushed into battle.

The bathrobe and mask did not save him - he became infected. Gesner knew that he would not get up, and he wanted to spend the last hours of his life in his office.

... Consciousness now and then left the patient - he fell into oblivion. And then the room was filled with bizarre creatures. They flew, sat on cabinets, on tables, on window sills. And Gesner recognized them: well, of course, these are “sea monks”. And over there, in the corner, is a monkfish with a dog's head, with goat horns and a fish's tail. "Here they are!" - Gesner shouted, - maybe it only seemed to him that he was screaming? - but now it did not matter: the main thing - here they are, sea monsters, now he sees them with his own eyes. But until this moment he had not been able to see them!

Consciousness returned to the patient, and the sea monsters disappeared. Memories came instead.

Yes, here, in this office, many people visited, bringing the scientist "dragons" and "monkfish", "sea monks" and basilisks. Some monsters were more expensive, others cheaper. But Gesner would give all the money he had for a genuine "monkfish" or "sea monk." However, each time it turned out that they brought him fakes, cleverly fabricated, sewn from parts of various animals, monsters.

The scientist discovered deception, drove the scammers away. But there were others. Hope arose again - and again deceit was revealed!

But Gesner still believed that such monsters exist - he was a gullible person, and people who saw these animals "with their own eyes" always circled around him. Yes, Gesner believed these monsters existed. And hoped to see them myself. And if you don’t succeed on your own, others will see them. But one way or another, the descendants will appreciate the work of a scientist who strove to discover and describe the "sea monks" at all costs.

The descendants were convinced that neither "sea monks" nor "sea devils" exist. And they forgave the scientist for his gullibility and naivety. But they appreciated his enormous titanic work, the work of a man who, for the first time after Aristotle and Pliny, created a "complete zoological encyclopedia" that collected all the information accumulated by mankind over two thousand years.

The time in which Gesner lived is now called the Renaissance. In the 15th-16th centuries, interest in ancient culture revived again - in art, literature, and philosophy.

It was the time of the great geographical discoveries, the largest of which was the discovery of America.

It was the time of the invention of printing - the greatest milestone in the history of human culture.

Finally, it was the time of church reforms - Martin Luther raised a revolt against the Catholic Church, Lutheranism appeared.

However, all this does not mean at all that the church has given up its positions. She retreated a little, but the fires of the Inquisition were still burning, torture and prisons - a proven weapon of churchmen - continued to persecute all dissidents. And hundreds of thinkers and scientists were accused of "heresy" and died on the block or in prison. But nothing could hold back the development of science.

In the XV-XVI centuries - during the Renaissance - many remarkable discoveries were made, many brilliant scientists appeared. But in the first place still stood Gesner. He did not immediately find his way, the way that glorified his name.

Conrad was left without parents early, and was raised by his uncle, a poor, illiterate craftsman. Apparently, the fate of the artisan was waiting for Conrad, if it were not for the thirst for knowledge and the desire for science that manifested itself from early childhood.

It is not known who advised Conrad to abandon the profession of an artisan, who showed him the way to the university. But it is known that in 1537 a young professor of the Greek language Konrad Gesner appeared at the University of Zurich. He was then in his twenty-second year. It seemed that Gesner achieved what he aspired to - he became a scientist, became a professor. But Conrad aspired not to titles and not to money. This is not why he went into science. The study of Greek grammar did not captivate him - he was passionately drawn to natural science. And four years later, a doctor and naturalist appeared in Zurich, in the recent past - professor of the Greek language Konrad Gesner.

At twenty-five, people do not feel their age. And Gesner felt - he looked much older than his years and was often sick. Years of malnutrition, overwork, years when he had to study and earn a living had an effect.

And yet Conrad, despite his illnesses, could not sit still: a naturalist should see with his own eyes, as far as possible, the plants and animals of other countries.

Gesner visited many countries and collected plants everywhere - botany was his first passion in natural science. True, he did not travel outside Europe, but even in Europe at that time there was a lot of work for the naturalist. And it is not surprising that when he returned to his hometown, he brought with him a huge number of folders with plants. Then he organized a botanical garden, which he maintained at his own expense, although this garden very soon became the pride of Zurich.

As a natural botanist, he studied plants, trying to find a principle by which they could be systematized, as a doctor, he was looking for plants that could be used as medicines.

Gesner published several books on botany, but he did not forget his former specialty: he wrote and published books on linguistics. Then he became interested in minerals and wrote a book about them. These were very significant works for that time - both in botany, and in linguistics, and in mineralogy. And yet he owes his fame to zoology. Apparently, Gesner understood this - it was not for nothing that he wanted to spend the last hours of his life in his office.

Gesner's office was unusual. It was more like a museum. The world's first zoological museum.

The patient could no longer see the exhibits of this museum, even when he came to his senses for a short time - there was no strength to open his eyes. But in order to see the office and everything that is in it, Konrad did not even have to open his eyes - he perfectly knew and imagined every thing, every object that was here. Stuffed animals and birds looked at him from glass cabinets, on shelves, on special stands, there were animal skeletons, herbariums, collections of insects. But the main, the greatest value of the cabinet-museum were four large (each in the format of a modern newspaper) books and a pile of scribbled sheets - material for the fifth, last volume. This volume will mainly deal with insects. More precisely, it should have been dedicated ... Alas, Gesner was not destined to finish the fifth volume and see it published - it will be published after the scientist's death by friends and students. But Gesner managed to release four volumes during his lifetime.

Four volumes, one of which is devoted to mammals, the second - to oviparous quadrupeds, the third - to birds, the fourth - to aquatic animals. These volumes included everything that was known at that time to people about the animal world of our planet. Gesner studied all the works, from Aristotle and Pliny to the works of his contemporaries. Gesner was fluent in French, English, Italian, German, Greek, he knew Latin, ancient Greek and several oriental languages. And if he found a book of interest to him in one of these languages, he would read it in the original. Doing a huge, literally titanic work, Gesner from the many books he read, and he read books that had nothing to do with natural science, chose everything that related to animals.

He was an honest man, an honest scientist, and, using someone else's work, he always referred to the author, naming his last name, and a list of used books was also attached to each volume.

Quoting some authors or borrowing facts from them, Gesner sometimes made the reservation that he himself did not really believe the original source. It was the same with the drawings - there are about 1000 of them in the book. Sometimes the drawings were accompanied by such captions: "This drawing is the way the artist made it, I have no data on its accuracy."

But Gesner still suffered from excessive credulity. And in his books, along with reliable descriptions of animals, fairly accurate observations, there are descriptions of "sea monks" and other miracles recorded from the words of people who saw these miracles "with their own eyes."

Well, here Gesner was the son of his age. And yet, having created an encyclopedia of the animal world, he overtook his time.

Modern books on zoology - if they are not dictionaries and reference books - are not compiled alphabetically. Otherwise, let's say, a kangaroo, a grasshopper, a cuckoo - everything will go in a row, everything will be dumped into one heap - and mammals, and insects, and birds. Now in zoology there is a strict and definite system. And all animals are distributed in it into classes and families, genera and species. Characteristics of each class and genus are determined.

But it is now. And what was Gesner supposed to do if there was no system in his time, and what was there was very confused? Gesner apparently had neither the time nor the inclination to sort out this confusion, nor to come up with his own system. He had to arrange the animals alphabetically. But this did not turn his book into either a dictionary or a reference book. Inside each volume, even within each article, there was a system: first, Gesner said what this animal is called in different languages ​​- after all, in every country or in every language the same animal is called differently. This alone made Gesner's books very useful. But that was far from all. The names were followed by a description of the animal, its distribution. Then - the next paragraph - his way of life, then - a description of habits. The next paragraph is a kind of applied zoology: hunting, training, the use of animal meat, and, finally, at the end of the article it was said about the origin of the name of this animal, about its place in religion, proverbs, poems, legends and fables about it.

The four-volume work of Conrad Gessner, called, as it was supposed to be for the scientific works of his time, in Latin "Historia animalium" ("History of animals"), had a huge impact on entire generations of zoologists around the world. And it is all the more annoying that this Swiss scientist, who was born in Zurich and worked there all his life as a doctor and university professor, is still little known in his homeland. That is why, on his 500th anniversary, the city decided to rectify the situation and help everyone to rediscover the works of this very universal genius, who may well take a place among such outstanding characters as Leonardo da Vinci.

Konrad grew up in a rather poor family, and yet, all of his outstanding talents were discovered fairly quickly. Among those who supported him, by the way, is the famous Zurich religious reformer Ulrich Zwingli (Huldrych Zwingli). “Konrad Gesner is one of the most important personalities in the history of Swiss and world science, because it was his works that laid the foundations, in particular, for modern zoology and bibliography. He was also actively involved in botany, physics, chemistry, and in general he was well versed in all the main branches of scientific knowledge of that time,” said Alex Rübel, director of the Zurich Zoo, in a conversation with swissinfo.ch.

Zoology as a science in the 16th century was still in its infancy. However, it was then that truly sensational things happened in it, for example, scientists were able to discover for science several new species of animals that lived in South America at once. It was in this "breakthrough" atmosphere that Konrad Gesner started his book "Historia animalium", having decided to "populate" it with all the representatives of the fauna known at that time. As a result, the book included more than 1 thousand species of animals, among which, however, frankly fabulous creatures came across, which, however, does not at all detract from the significance of this work, four volumes of which were published between 1551 and 1558.

Drawing of an Indian rhinoceros (lat. Rhinoceros unicornis), made by K. Gessner in 1560 from an engraving by Albrecht Dürer. Gessner himself had never seen a live rhinoceros in his life.

K. Gesner's approach to the creation of this encyclopedia was strictly scientific. He described the methodology of his work as follows: “The researcher (who takes the trouble to write this kind of work - ed. note) must collect all the texts and drawings about (currently existing in the world) animals - both ancient and modern - and begin to observe, literally take (animals) apart, then describe them, while making (as accurate as possible) illustrations. After that, the scientist must systematize the entire array of data received and build (information) in a (convenient for use) order.

Attentive visitors to the jubilee Gessner exhibition currently taking place at the Zurich Zoo will surely notice that Konrad Gesner often hit the nail on the head in his descriptions. For example, relying only on already published scientific literature, he was able to very accurately describe, in particular, camels and the work of their digestive apparatus. The only mistake he made was in assuming that the camel's legs were in no way adapted for a long journey.

“He corresponded with scientists from all over Europe, right up to Russia itself, and they all willingly sent him scientific samples, descriptions and illustrations. He managed to take a fresh look at the information that came down to us in the works of Aristotle and Pliny, supplementing and modernizing the data collected by these great ancient scientists,” says A. Rübel. A large number of illustrations Konrad Gesner, who was also a talented draftsman, made his own.

These include, for example, images of such "exotic" animals as elephants and rhinos, as well as the recently discovered armadillos and guinea pigs. His drawings of guinea pigs were especially accurate, not least because several of the guinea pigs lived in his own home mini-zoo. Pigs, a gift from a doctor colleague from Augsburg, Germany, arrived in Zurich and became a real scientific sensation here.

As already mentioned, some creatures from Gesner's encyclopedia are quite capable of surprising modern man a lot. Such, for example, is the unicorn mentioned in his work and which, by the way, meets visitors immediately at the entrance to the Zoological Museum of the University of Zurich. “His History takes into account animals that, according to K. Gesner, could really live somewhere in the world,” explains Museum Director Lukas Keller.

“It was rather difficult for Gesner to assess the likelihood of the existence of, for example, a unicorn, but in the end such an animal seemed real to him, because it looked like a horse, it had a horn on its head, and such animals really exist. Therefore, according to K. Gesner, there could be some hybrid form of them, which he entered into his encyclopedia. But in the reality of such a creature as "Seemönch" (literally "lake monk") Konrad Gessner doubted very much, again relying on his scientific approach.

“He emphasized that science had not yet known cases of successful crossing of man and fish. It was here that he was one hundred percent right, while, interestingly, having proved that no “lake monks”, or “mermaids”, exist in nature, he still left this creature in the encyclopedia, probably just for the sake of order and completeness of the book, and maybe for edification,” says L. Keller. In his opinion, then such an encyclopedia played the same role that the Google search engine already plays in our era, since the main goal of the publication was precisely that any user, as we would say now, could get all the information he needed “quickly, accurately and efficiently."

Until the 18th century, it was simply impossible to publish new encyclopedias and other systematizing scientific works without taking into account the achievements of Konrad Gesner. He also put a lot of effort into the project of creating an equally beautifully illustrated Botanical Encyclopedia. Unfortunately, he was not destined to complete this work. During the plague in 1565, he worked as a doctor. Saving his patients, K. Gesner became infected and died.

“Having been completed, the Botanical Encyclopedia could well surpass even his work on animals,” says Urs Leu, head of the Fund for Rare Prints and Manuscripts (“Alte Drucke und Rara”) of the Central Library of Zurich. It is here that most of the creative and scientific heritage of K. Gesner is stored, including more than 60 titles of books published by him. Recently, under the editorship of Urs Loy, a modern scientific biography of K. Gesner has been published. Urs Loy was also very active in preparing a large-scale exhibition organized by the Swiss National Historical Museum (Schweizer Landesmuseum) on the occasion of the 500th anniversary of the Swiss scientist.

The "highlight" of this exhibition is a number of recently discovered botanical drawings by Gesner, including an image of a tulip flower that is amazing in its accuracy and vitality. It also presents the very first scientific work of K Gessner of a generalizing nature "Bibliotheca Universalis" ("Universal Bibliography"), which is today the oldest known bibliographic reference book on handwritten and printed works in Hebrew, Greek and Latin. The book was published in 1545 and was a huge success, from which the scientific fame of K. Gesner went.

Konrad Gesner had to live in a very turbulent time of the Renaissance, the emergence of the principles of humanism, as well as the invention of printing. He was born at the final stage of the Middle Ages, and died already at the transition of Europe to the New Age. “Surprisingly, this Swiss “Leonardo da Vinci” was more famous abroad than at home,” says W. Loy, who has repeatedly had the opportunity to speak about Konrad Gesner in England, Germany and the USA. Why did it happen?

Urs Loy believes that the circumstance that K. Gesner wrote in Latin could play an important role here, and rather little personal biographical information was known about him. From his letters it becomes clear that K. Gesner was a man of even and calm disposition and - as you might guess - a real workaholic. And it is also noticeable that he seriously believed in God. It remains to be hoped that thanks to the exhibition at the National Museum in Zurich, the scientist-encyclopedist Konrad Gesner will come out of the shadows and become literally a prophet in his own country.

All anniversary celebrations

The exhibition "Konrad Gesner, 1516-2016" will be held from March 17 to June 19, 2016 at the Zurich National Museum (Landesmuseum Zürich). The exposition is organized jointly with the Central Library (Zentralbibliothek) of the city of Zurich.

The exhibition "Conrad Gessner, Father of Zoology" ("Conrad Gessner: Vater der Zoologie") will be held at the Zurich Zoo from 17 March to 23 October 2016.

The exhibition "Animals from A to Z - Book of Animals by Konrad Gesner, 1516-1565" will be held at the Zoological Museum of the University of Zurich from March 17 to September 11, 2016.

The exhibition "From the tropics to the scientist's laboratory - Hesnerian diversity" will be held at the Botanical Garden of the University of Zurich from May 27 to October 2, 2016.

The International Congress dedicated to Konrad Gesner, organized by the Institute for the History of the Swiss Reformation at the Theological Faculty of the University of Zurich (Institut für Schweizerische Reformationsgeschichte, Theologische Fakultät der Universität Zürich), will take place on June 6-9, 2016.

In the publishing house "NZZ Libro Verlag" ed. Urs Leu published a new scientific biography of K. Gesner called "Conrad Gessner, 1516-1565" ("Conrad Gessner, 1516-1565"). Recently, a documentary film was also made about K. Gessner.

You can also visit an exhibition about K. Gesner in the Zurich National Museum (Landesmuseum Zürich) with accompaniment in Russian.

Translation into Russian and adaptation: Ludmila Klot,

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Konrad Gesner(Gesner) (March 26, 1516, Zurich - December 13, 1565, ibid.), Swiss naturalist, philologist and bibliographer. Since 1537 he was a professor in Lausanne, since 1541 a doctor in Zurich, where he died of the plague. Author of Historiae Animalium (History of Animals) (vols. 1-5, 1551-1587), the first zoological encyclopedia of that time.

Konrad Gesner

Based largely on Aristotle's classification, Gesner described animals in detail in this order: four-legged viviparous and oviparous, birds, fish and aquatic animals, snakes and insects. In each volume, the material is arranged in alphabetical order of animal names; some related forms are grouped around one type animal. Gesner's work played an important role in the dissemination and systematization of zoological knowledge. For more than 100 years, it has been repeatedly reprinted and translated. Gesner also collected and studied plants. Published works on philology. Author of the first universal bibliographic work "The General Library" (1545-1555).

The scientific work of Konrad Gesner "The History of Animals" was written more than four hundred years ago (1551). She was born in those ancient times, when many species of African fauna lived in the imagination of people only as supposed, known from stories, often mysterious, and sometimes simply invented. Therefore, one should not be surprised that sometimes these descriptions were simply distorted and had no scientific basis. Nevertheless, we consider the work of Professor Gesner to be among the valuable scientific publications in the field of zoology.

Gesner's book was an important step forward in the knowledge of various animal species that had previously been little studied or nothing was known about them. Gesner took a worthy place among progressive figures who, in the most diverse forms and in the most diverse fields of science, over the centuries, expanded the knowledge and experience of mankind and thereby influenced its development.

Gesner's work can be viewed as an experiment that laid the foundation for subsequent, ever-expanding research.

Below are a lot of modern-day comical beliefs. Reading them can be a lot of fun.

Introduction. The General Book of Animals is a real and allegedly existing likeness of four-legged animals, both tamed and wild, living in Africa, a detailed description of their appearance, internal structure, innate qualities, accidental diseases and their treatment, their special and multifaceted usefulness. The famous scientist D. Konrad Gesner wrote in Latin.

Buffalo.

• Read more: African buffalo (kafsky)

The buffalo is completely black and tall, like the slender Hungarian ox, however, it has stronger limbs and rougher skin. He has a steep broad forehead, and on it, around the horns, there is a lot of curly hair. It is said that this animal was at first a wild cow and lived in the wild places of Africa, from where it came to Europe. There are still rumors that the buffalo is a peaceful and calm animal, but it can also become furious. Therefore, a ring is inserted into the buffalo's nose so that it can be taken anywhere. When he becomes furious, he rushes terribly and scatters the ground around him with his hooves furiously. And although the buffalo does not know how to run well, in a rage he rushes to every wall and pays no attention to fire, or arrows, or swords. But as a calf, he is very playful, affectionate and meek. As soon as it grows up, it becomes angry and stubborn.

The buffalo is a very useful animal. Buffalo milk is just as good as cow's milk, and it is used to make a delicious cheese, called muchacho in Rome. Buffalo meat is tough and not very suitable for eating. Buffaloes are especially used as draft animals because one buffalo can pull as much as two horses. From the horns and hooves of the buffalo, rings are made that are worn on the fingers, and bracelets that are worn on the arms and legs, they protect against convulsions.

If someone passes near a herd of buffaloes, he must make sure that there is nothing red on him or in his hands. Red color is especially annoying for buffaloes.

maiden monkey

The monkey maiden, in Latin Sphinx, has brown hair, two nipples on her chest, and her appearance resembles a maiden of tender beauty. Diodorus Siculus says that these monkeys are terribly fond of various pranks. They can never be tamed to such an extent that they do not harm those who torment them. But with those who leave them alone, they live in peace. Some pundits claim that their head, shoulders and arms are like those of a virgin, the upper body is like a dog, wings are like those of a bird, the voice is human, the claws of a lion, and the tail is like that of a dragon.

Palefates told an interesting story about this animal: a certain Cadmus had an Amazon wife named Sphinx, whom he took with him on a military campaign against the Thebans, whose king was the Dragon. Cadmus killed the king, conquered his country and married his sister Harmonia. The Sphinx, having learned that Cadmus had taken another woman as his wife, destroyed her palace, and raised the people against Cadmus. Many residents followed her and set up camp in the mountains. In the meantime, the Sphinx visited Cadmus and took away his beloved dog so that longing would torment his heart. She fortified herself on the mountain, every day she attacked the subjects of Cadmus, took them prisoner and then burned them, until Cadmus promised a high reward to the one who would kill the Sphinx. It was taken up by a young man named Oedipus. At night, he climbed a mountain on a horse and killed a woman, so he put an end to the war.

Monkey

A monkey, outwardly similar a little to a man, but in the insides differs from a man from all animals most of all. Monkeys most often live in barbarian countries, especially in Mauritania. There they can be seen in numerous herds, as described by Strabo and Posidonius. All the vast lands between Egypt and the Nubian kingdom are full of amazing monkeys.

Of all the animals, the monkey is the most curious, she wants to imitate in everything, but she always does everything the other way around. Mitania claims that a monkey can learn to play chess.

Monkeys are caught in the following way: since the monkey is an animal that wants to imitate man in everything, it can be easily caught. A hunter who wants to catch a monkey sits under a tree on which the monkey is sitting, fills a goblet with water and wash his face. Then he fills this cup again, but with glue. The monkey will come and want, like the hunter, to wash his eyes too. At the same time, she will close them up so that she will no longer see, after which it is easy to catch her.

If someone is bitten by a monkey, it is good to apply crushed and dried radish peel to the wound. Ox bile also helps, if it is applied to the wound in time.

Doctors and paramedics can serve the heart of a monkey - dried and ground into powder, it will cure heart disease, it also helps with the onset of consumption. If we put the heart of a monkey under the head of a sleeping person, he will have nightmares.

The Chinese make beautiful brown paint from monkey blood.

http://www.kulichki.com/plife/PLIFE.htm

On this page we are trying to reflect only reliable facts about the various forms of life on Earth.

• Conrad Gesner, History of Animals, 1551

The scientific work of Konrad Gesner "The History of Animals" was written more than four hundred years ago (1551). She was born in those ancient times, when many species of African fauna lived in the imagination of people only as supposed, known from stories, often mysterious, and sometimes simply invented. Therefore, one should not be surprised that sometimes these descriptions were simply distorted and had no scientific basis. Nevertheless, we consider the work of Professor Gesner to be among the valuable scientific publications in the field of zoology.
Gesner's book was an important step forward in the knowledge of various animal species that had previously been little studied or nothing was known about them. Gesner took a worthy place among progressive figures who, in the most diverse forms and in the most diverse fields of science, over the centuries, expanded the knowledge and experience of mankind and thereby influenced its development.
Gesner's work can be viewed as an experiment that laid the foundation for subsequent, ever-expanding research.
Below are a lot of modern-day comical beliefs. Reading them can be a lot of fun.

• Introduction

"The General Book of Animals" is a real and allegedly existing likeness of four-legged animals, both tamed and wild, living in Africa, a detailed description of their appearance, internal structure,
congenital qualities, accidental diseases and their treatment, their special and multifaceted usefulness. The famous scientist D. Konrad Gesner wrote in Latin.

• Buffalo.
• The buffalo is completely black and tall, like the slender Hungarian ox, however, it has stronger limbs and rougher skin. He has a steep broad forehead, and on it, around the horns, there is a lot of curly hair. It is said that this animal was at first a wild cow and lived in the wild places of Africa, from where it came to Europe. There are still rumors that the buffalo is a peaceful and calm animal, but it can also become furious. Therefore, a ring is inserted into the buffalo's nose so that it can be taken anywhere. When he becomes furious, he rushes terribly and scatters the ground around him with his hooves furiously. And although the buffalo does not know how to run well, in a rage he rushes to every wall and pays no attention to fire, or arrows, or swords. But as a calf, he is very playful, affectionate and meek. As soon as it grows up, it becomes angry and stubborn.
• The buffalo is a very useful animal. Buffalo milk is just as good as cow's milk, and it is used to make a delicious cheese, called muchacho in Rome. Buffalo meat is tough and not very suitable for eating. Buffaloes are especially used as draft animals because one buffalo can pull as much as two horses. From the horns and hooves of the buffalo, rings are made that are worn on the fingers, and bracelets that are worn on the arms and legs, they protect against convulsions.
• If someone passes near a herd of buffaloes, he must make sure that there is nothing red on him or in his hands. The red color is especially strong in buffaloes
• annoys.

• maiden monkey
• The monkey maiden, in Latin Sphinx, has brown hair, two nipples on her chest, and her appearance resembles a maiden of tender beauty. Diodorus Siculus says that these monkeys are terribly fond of various pranks. They can never be tamed to such an extent that they do not harm those who torment them. But with those who leave them alone, they live in peace. Some pundits claim that their head, shoulders and arms are like those of a virgin, the upper body is like a dog, wings are like those of a bird, the voice is human, the claws of a lion, and the tail is like that of a dragon.
• Palefates told an interesting story about this animal: a certain Cadmus had an Amazon wife named Sphinx, whom he took with him on a military campaign against the Thebans, whose king was the Dragon. Cadmus killed the king, conquered his country and married his sister Harmonia. The Sphinx, having learned that Cadmus had taken another woman as his wife, destroyed her palace, and raised the people against Cadmus. Many residents followed her and set up camp in the mountains. In the meantime, the Sphinx visited Cadmus and took away his beloved dog so that longing would torment his heart. She fortified herself on the mountain, every day she attacked the subjects of Cadmus, took them prisoner and then burned them, until Cadmus promised a high reward to the one who would kill the Sphinx. It was taken up by a young man named Oedipus. At night, he climbed a mountain on a horse and killed a woman, so he put an end to the war.

• Monkey
• A monkey, outwardly similar a little to a man, but in the insides differs from a man from all animals most of all. Monkeys most often live in barbarian countries, especially in Mauritania. There they can be seen in numerous herds, as described by Strabo and Posidonius. All the vast lands between Egypt and the Nubian kingdom are full of amazing monkeys.
• Of all the animals, the monkey is the most curious, she wants to imitate in everything, but she always does everything the other way around. Mitania claims that a monkey can learn to play chess.
• Monkeys are caught in the following way: since the monkey is an animal that wants to imitate man in everything, it can be easily caught. A hunter who wants to catch a monkey sits under a tree on which the monkey is sitting, fills a goblet with water and wash his face. Then he fills this cup again, but with glue. The monkey will come and want, like the hunter, to wash his eyes too. At the same time, she will close them up so that she will no longer see, after which it is easy to catch her.
• If someone is bitten by a monkey, it is good to apply crushed and dried radish peel to the wound. Ox bile also helps, if it is applied to the wound in time.
• Doctors and paramedics can serve the heart of a monkey - dried and ground into powder, it will cure heart disease, it also helps with the onset of consumption. If we put the heart of a monkey under the head of a sleeping person, he will have nightmares.
• The Chinese make beautiful brown paint from monkey blood.

• Unicorn
• The unicorn is an animal that is often described, but no one has yet seen it. It should be remembered, however, that a horn can grow in a person in certain diseases, as the great scientist Bartholin was kind enough to describe in his "Observationes". Some birds and insects also have horns. In Rome, Cardinal Berberini is shown a snake with real horns, as Hernande describes it.
• Mr. Louis of Rome writes that in Mecca, in Arabia, two unicorns are kept in closed cages, which are sometimes shown to people. The larger one, about the size of a three-year-old foal, with one horn on its forehead, five and a half feet long. The smaller one is about the size of a one-year-old foal, and the horn is the size of four fingers. Both are burgundy. They have a head like a deer, a not very long neck and a sparse mane. The hooves are split in front. It is assumed that the unicorn beast is wild, but, for all its wildness, cute.
• No one has yet seen this animal in Europe, so we can only trust travelers to distant lands and the descriptions they give us. The mentioned animal certainly lives in the world, otherwise no one would be able to see the horns. Therefore, we will assume that this beast lives in India, Arabia and Mauritania. There are rumors that there is also a water unicorn in the world.
• Some pundits, in particular Albert, argue that the unicorn loves virginity so much that if he sees a girl, he goes to her, puts his head on her lap and calmly waits to be grabbed and tied. Arlunius believes that the unicorn smells the girl by scent.
• They say that only small unicorns can be caught, and adults are not given alive.

• Hyena
• The hyena is considered a kind of wolf and outwardly similar to it, as well as the shape of the teeth, gluttony and predatory character. She has the same color as a wolf, only more shaggy. Some say that the eyes of a hyena after her death turn into precious stones. Hyenas eat any carrion and even, they say, rake out dead people from the graves. They see perfectly at night and are able to imitate human voices and the voices of cats. They recognize people by name, and then call them at night, and when a person leaves the house, the hyena insidiously strangles him, which does not seem plausible.
• Fried hyena meat helps against gout. And hyena bone marrow, mixed with vegetable oil, is a proven cure for nervous diseases.

• Chameleon
• The chameleon is a type of lizard that lives in Africa, India and the island of Madagascar. It is partly like a lizard and a crocodile, and partly like a rat. The size from head to tail is seven or eight fingers. He is distinguished by exceptional thinness and the fact that he allegedly does not have a drop of blood in his body. There is only blood in the eyes and in the heart. It has everything inside, except for the spleen. Theophrastus says that his whole body is filled with lungs. Landius writes that his tongue is very long. His appearance is disgusting. Chameleons move very slowly and enjoy climbing trees.
• They keep their mouth open because they feed on air and dew, but some say that they catch flies with their long tongues and eat them. They hatch from eggs, burrow into the ground in winter, and crawl out from there in summer. There is no animal more fearful than a chameleon. Their biggest enemy are snakes. Chameleon bile ointment heals cataracts in three days.
• Its eggs are poisonous.
• Crocodile
• The crocodile is an ugly and cruel animal that belongs to the group of lizards. Some crocodiles reach a length of 20 to 26 cubits, but usually no more than 10 cubits. They are yellow in color, on the back and on the sides are covered with some kind of thick shields that no arrow can penetrate. You can only wound him in the stomach, which has a white color. Aristotle writes that crocodiles can't see well underwater, but they have sharp eyesight in the air. This animal does not have a tongue, but on the other hand it has a huge and long toothy mouth, in which the teeth are as even as on a comb. His tail is the same length as his whole body, and he uses it for swimming. It is derived from eggs that are the size of goose eggs. The crocodile has strong claws or sharp nails on its feet. We do not have this animal, it lives only in Egypt, Africa, on the Nile River and its tributaries.
• Crocodile is an aquatic animal. It feeds in water and heats up in the air. It usually stays in the water at night and stays on land during the day. It feeds on everything that comes across: it devours old and small people, all kinds of animals, such as calves, dogs and various fish.
• Crocodiles are insidious predatory animals, hostile to all other animals. Friendship is recognized only with a bird called trochylis. A crocodile always has a lot of meat leftovers in its mouth and between its teeth. When he lies down in the sun to sleep, he always does this with his mouth open, the bird enters his mouth and pecks out the remnants of meat from his teeth, which is good for the crocodile and does not harm the bird.
• Crocodile fat, which is completely white, is rubbed on patients suffering from high fever. Crocodile blood helps with eye diseases.

• Leopard
• The leopard is a terrible, voracious and dexterous beast, always ready to shed someone's blood. Leopards live along rivers, where many trees and bushes grow, or in similar places. They love wine terribly, they can drink a huge amount of it, and it is usually necessary to catch them when they are in a state of intoxication. Often they engage in gluttony, and after eating too much, they go to bed and sleep until everything is digested. Epian describes the insidious way in which leopards lure monkeys: a leopard, having tracked down a herd of monkeys, comes closer to them and lies down on the ground, spreading its legs wide, opening its mouth and eyes, does not breathe, pretends to be dead. When the monkeys see this, they are overwhelmed with great joy, but, distrustful by nature, they first send the most daring monkey to find out everything. The monkey, heart pounding with fear, sneaks up on the leopard, looks into his eyes, sniffs him to make sure that he really is not breathing. The monkeys, seeing that nothing has happened, cease to be afraid and, for joy, begin to dance and jump around the motionless enemy. When the leopard sees that the monkeys have spent a lot of energy and lost all caution, he jumps up, tears several monkeys to pieces, and eats the fattest of them. A leopard hates a man terribly, he even tears the painted people apart. But if he sees the head of a dead person, he leaves.
• Leopard fat is good for dizziness and heart weakness.
• Leopard bile is highly poisonous and kills a person in an instant.

• a lion
• The lion is the king of quadrupeds, as can be seen from his broad and shaggy back, his majestic posture, his gait and pomp, and his strong claws. This is a brave, beautiful, courageous and cheerful beast. There is male and female, and the lioness is smaller and does not have a mane. Males have long manes and are generally considered stronger, bolder and more predatory than females.
• Lions have different colors. Some are dark red, others are yellow or white, some are black. Their eyes are gray-black and fiery sparkling, causing horror and fear, and they sleep with their eyes open. They have sharp teeth, a hard tongue, and a strong, jointless neck so they cannot see behind them. They have a narrow stomach, and in the stomach, except for the intestines, there is nothing. They have a long tail with a bushy tuft at the end. With their tail, they often fan themselves and beat them, preparing for battle. They have five claws on their front paws, and only four on their hind paws, and they can pull them in and out as they please, like a cat.
• A lioness can be recognized by the fact that she does not have a mane, and she has two nipples hanging on her stomach. The insides of a lion are the same as a dog. Galen says that the lion has especially strong muscles at the temples. And Epian believes that there is no marrow in the bones of lions, but Fallopius writes that he once found some marrow in them.
• Lions are naturally warm-blooded, and therefore cannot stand the sun's rays. They walk just like camels, only faster, so that their backs shake. If a lion pursues an animal, it usually overtakes it with a jump, but when it runs away, it does not jump.
• Lions do no particular harm unless hunger compels them to do so. And when they are full, then they are distinguished by friendliness and fun. Male and female never hunt together, each lives independently and eats meat that he himself produces. When the lion becomes old and can no longer get food for himself, he comes to the village and attacks people, children and livestock. He drinks very rarely and little.
• The lion is a proud, brave, strong and courageous animal. He strives for victory, but at the same time he is peaceful, fair and loyal to those with whom he lives. He loves his cubs very much and protects them without sparing his life. When a lion walks, he covers his tracks with his tail so that the hunter does not track him down and find the cubs. Elian tells the following story about the love of lions for their cubs. Once a bear found a hole of a lion pair. Somehow he unexpectedly came there, tore the cubs to pieces, ate one of them, and then he left in great fear and climbed a tall tree in order to avoid the revenge of the lions. When the lions discovered the villainy, downcast, they followed the tracks and finally found the killer in the tree. And since the lions could not climb the tree after the bear, the lioness lay down under the tree and diligently began to guard. Meanwhile, the lion began to run through the valleys and mountains until he met a peasant with an ax. The peasant was terribly afraid. However, the lion approached him very peacefully and began to lick him. When the peasant saw that the lion did not want to do anything bad to him, he stopped being afraid and stroked the lion. The lion grabbed an ax in his mouth and led the peasant to the tree, where the killer bear was still sitting on the branches, and began to point with the ax so that the peasant cut down the tree. Then the peasant cut down the tree, and the lions tore the bear, which fell from the tree, thus avenging the murder. The lions escorted the peasant to the place from which he came.
• When the lion is old, the young lions provide him with food. They take him hunting with them, and when he gets tired, they leave him to rest. When they come with prey, the old lion eats with them. Lions eat the meat of various animals, especially camels, zebras and monkeys. Oxen and baby elephants are considered delicacy. Lions cannot stand the smell of garlic, and therefore they will never attack a person rubbed with garlic. The Roman Mark Antony harnessed lions to his chariot, which caused the greatest admiration of the Roman people.
• If we hang lion's eye teeth around the neck of children, then their teeth will not hurt until old age.
• Lion's fat drives the disease out of the ears.
• Sextus recommended lion meat as a good remedy for melancholy.
• Dried and powdered lion's blood should heal ulcers.
• Lion's liver soaked in wine cures liver ailments.

• Rhinoceros
• The rhinoceros is huge, like a bull, the color is like that of an elephant, and outwardly it looks like a wild boar - the horn protrudes above the nose, harder than bone. His forehead is decorated with beautiful hair, his back is spotted, and his skin is hard and rough, covered with such scales that no arrow will take it.
• Some claim that the rhinoceros has two horns, but others deny this. Boethius, who allegedly saw this beast dead twice, gives the following description: the beast has a black or ashy color, the skin, like that of an elephant, is all wrinkled, on the back and on the sides with deep folds. The skin is so strong that even a Japanese gun cannot penetrate it. The muzzle is similar to a pig's, only more pointed, and on it is a hard horn. Said horn may be black, may be white, but is most often grey. The size of a rhinoceros can be compared with an elephant, but the legs are much shorter. One variety of this animal is said to still exist in Africa: no larger than a wild ass, with legs like a deer, ears like a horse, and a tail like a cow. The rhinoceros allegedly feeds on sharp thorns that cannot damage its hard tongue - the tongue is so sharp that if a rhinoceros licks a person or a horse, then death can occur.
• Epian writes that rhinos are unisexual and nothing is known about their reproduction.
• If a rhinoceros wants to attack an elephant, then first he sharpens the horn on the rock, and then he drives the horn into the elephant's stomach and cuts it. But if it doesn’t hit, but if it hits another place with its horn, the elephant will knock it down with its trunk and tear it to pieces with its fangs. These animals have a terrible hatred for each other. In the city of Lisbon, where there are many people and among them respectable merchants, one could somehow see a rhinoceros that made an elephant run away from him, and then there were many stories testifying to the dexterity, cunning and speed of this beast. When a rhinoceros is wounded, it rushes through the forest with a menacing howl and noise around a large bush or tree and grunts like a pig.
• Isidore writes that this beast cannot be caught except with the help of a pure girl. It is only unknown if he confused this beast with a unicorn?

• Elephant
• Some of these animals live in the mountains, others in the valleys, and some in swamps or marshy places. By nature, they love wet places. They live in large numbers in warm regions, but they cannot stand the cold. The elephant is the largest animal living on Earth. The male is larger than the female. He is completely black, bald, his back is hard, his stomach is soft, his skin is wrinkled. With folds on the stomach, they catch flies and other annoying insects. Elephants can relax their skin, and then wrinkle again, they catch insects in folds, squeeze them there and kill them. In the mouth of each elephant on each side there are four molars with which they chew food. Above the teeth there are two large and long fangs protruding from the upper gums. There is, however, a difference between the female and the male - the male's fangs are not as large as the female's. The fangs are up to ten feet long and so heavy that a grown man cannot lift them. Wartman writes of such a pair of tusks weighing 336 pounds. Some think that fangs should not be considered teeth, but should be considered horns, because they sometimes fall out and grow back. The elephant has a short and wide tongue, but an unusually long nose, called the trunk, which he uses instead of hands.
• Elephants have a great memory. If someone offends them, they will remember it and take revenge even many years later.
• White color is so hated that they are enraged at the mere sight of it.
• The elephant gives food and drink with its trunk, because the trunk is so mobile and bends so that the elephant can stretch it out and then twist it again. The trunk is hollow and provides the elephant with air for breathing. An elephant can grab the smallest thing with its trunk, for example, a coin or some other small thing, and give it to its owner. When an elephant crosses the water, the trunk rises. The trunk has such strength that it can pull out a bush, and a whole tree with roots. The elephant has a double heart, it does not have a gallbladder, but it has huge lungs. The hind legs flex like a human, although some argue that they have no joints. The legs are round and have five toes. An elephant lives a very long time, some elephants live two hundred years, and some even count three hundred, but a lot of elephants die from all sorts of diseases and as a result of various unexpected events. After sixty years, elephants are at their best age. Elephants are killed by many diseases. But the cold is especially dangerous for them. You can save an elephant from the cold if you give him thick red wine to drink. If an elephant eats a worm, which is called a chameleon, then he immediately dies from poisoning. Here only wild olives can save him. These fruits contain an antidote. If an elephant swallows a leech, he is in great danger. It is useful for a tired elephant to anoint his back with vegetable oil with salt and mixed with water.
• The elephant loves her cubs immensely, protects from various dangers and would rather sacrifice her life than leave her cub.
• The elephant is completely tameable. He can hit the target with a stone, and he can also learn to write, read, dance and play the drum so perfectly that it is simply impossible to believe. Elephants are believed to worship the stars, the Sun and the Moon. When the sun rises, they turn to him and raise their trunks, as if calling the sun.
• Elephants are afraid of snakes. In Ethiopia, they say, there are huge snakes, up to thirty steps long, they have no name, for some reason they are called suicides. As soon as the snake tracks down the elephant, it crawls onto a tall tree and hangs down, catching a branch with its tail. When the elephant approaches, she catches his eye, tears them out, and strangles the elephant.
• Elephants serve people instead of horses for riding. Sometimes they are used in household work. An elephant can carry four people on its back. And if someone cannot resist and falls, he will pick him up with his trunk so that he does not break. The inhabitants of the Libyan country catch elephants only for the sake of tusks, which are considered very valuable, they are called ivory.
• Elephants incredibly love their homeland, and if they are taken to a foreign country, they never forget their native places, they sigh and yearn for their country so much that they lose their mind and die more than once from tears and suffering.
• The smoke from the burnt elephant hair will drive away all poisonous snakes. Elephant's tusk rubbed with honey, rashes, and spots on the face heal.

• Dog
• Of all animals, the dog is the most faithful and most useful to man. The dog has a developed mind, she knows her name and recognizes her owner after a long separation. She is intelligent and can learn various tricks, so whenever she listens to us, she gets a treat, and if she does it wrong, she gets punished. The meat of young fat dogs in the old days was sacrificed to the gods.
• If someone is tormented by a stomach ailment, let him put a small dog on his stomach, she will relieve the ailment. Hair falls out from dog blood, if someone is bitten by a rabid dog, dog blood will surely save.
• A proven medicine - where the dog has bitten you, cover with dog hair. And we will remove the warts if we rub them with dog urine.

• zebra
• In the country of the Congo, as in other parts of black Africa, there is a beast called a zebra. Outwardly, she looks like a mule, but is not barren. And its color is different from all other animals. It has three different colors: black, white and chestnut and is painted in stripes from the back to the stomach, three fingers wide.
• Zebra runs fast like a horse.
• This beast brings a cub into the world every year. Zebras live in very large herds. Local residents consider the zebra a useless animal, not realizing that during peace and war it can replace a horse. But they live in ignorance, and they haven’t heard anything about horses, and they don’t know how to tame the beast, and therefore they carry the burden on their own back. They allow themselves to be carried by porters on their shoulders in high stretchers, and if they get out on a long journey, then a crowd of porters accompanies them. The porters replace each other, and with their quick step they will overtake the horse.

• Giraffe
• A giraffe is a type of camel. He is a big music lover. Even if he gets very tired, having heard the song, he immediately continues his path. A giraffe can run faster than a horse. Giraffe meat contains harmful juice, and therefore it is hard to digest and tasteless. However, his milk is sweeter and better than human milk. Giraffe milk is recommended to drink when a person has irregular stools, it also helps with joint pain.