The rarest of all the animals which are still found in Assyria is the wild ass (Equus hemionous).  Till the present generation of travellers, it was believed to have disappeared altogether from the region, and to have “retired into the steppes of Mongolia and the deserts of Persia.  But a better acquaintance with the country between the rivers has shown that wild asses, though uncommon, still inhabit the tract where, they were seen by Xenophon.” [Plate XXVI., Fig. 1.] They are delicately made, in color varying from a grayish-white in winter to a bright bay, approaching to pink, in the summer-time; they are said to be remarkably swift.  It is impossible to take them when full grown; but the Arabs often capture the foals, and bring them up with milk in their tents.  They then become very playful and docile; but it is found difficult to keep them alive; and they have never, apparently, been domesticated.  The Arabs usually kill them and eat their flesh.

[Illustration:  Plate 26]

It is probable that all these animals, and some others, inhabited Assyria during the time of the Empire.  Lions of two kinds, with and without manes, abound in the sculptures, the former, which do not now exist in Assyria, being the more common. [Plate XXV., Fig. 2.] They are represented with a skill and a truth which shows the Assyrian sculptor to have been familiar not only with their forms and proportions, but with their natural mode of life, their haunts, and habits.  The leopard is far less often depicted, but appears sometimes in the ornamentation of utensils, and is frequently mentioned in the inscriptions.  The wild ass is a favorite subject with the sculptors of the late Empire, and is represented with great spirit, though not with complete accuracy. [Plate XXVI., Fig. 1.] The ears are too short, the head is too fine, the legs are not fine enough, and the form altogether approaches too nearly to the type of the horse.  The deer, the gazelle, and the ibex all occur frequently; and though the forms are to some extent conventional, they are not wanting in spirit. [Plate XXVII.] Deer are apparently of two kinds.  That which is most commonly found appears to represent the gray deer, which is the only species existing at present within the confines of Assyria.  The other sort is more delicate in shape, and spotted, seeming to represent the fallow deer, which is not now known in Syria or the adjacent countries.  It sometimes appears wild, lying among the reeds; sometimes tame, in the arms of a priest or of a winged figure.  There is no representation in the sculptures of the wild boar; but a wild sow and pigs are given in one bas-relief, sufficiently indicating the Assyrian acquaintance with this animal.  Hares are often depicted, and with much truth; generally they are carried in the hands of men, but sometimes they are being devoured by vultures or eagles. [Plate XXVIII Figs. 1, 2.] No representations have been found of bears, wild cats, hyaenas, wolves, jackals, wild sheep, foxes, beavers, jerbdas, porcupines, or badgers.