# ON BULLS

There are certain cloven-hoofed animals that are assigned various names depending on their age and sex. For example, an ox in its youth is called a calf (*Vitulus*), a term derived either from its "green" or vigorous age, from its habit of frolicking (*vitulando*), or from the word for life (*vita*), as is recorded in its own specific History. When it reaches adulthood and before it is castrated, it is called a bull (*Taurus*), just as it is known as an ox (*Bos*) after castration. Similarly, in terms of sex, the female is called a cow (*Vacca*). Accordingly, we have nothing more to add in this section other than the figure of a one-month-old calf's teeth.

Furthermore, the Indians have an animal they call the *Tlachaxolotl*, a beast not very different from a bull but somewhat larger. It has a massive head, an elongated mouth, broad ears, and fierce teeth, along with a thick neck and hooves like a bull's, though larger. Its tail is thick and long, and its skin is dense and covered in bristly hair. This creature is an inhabitant of the wilderness and is edible. It feeds on certain mountain herbs, often devastating fields and crops; when these are lacking, it resorts to the leaves of trees. It does not fear the presence of humans, nor is it easily killed by arrows, as its hide is almost impenetrable. For this reason, it is easily captured by digging pits and covering them with tree branches, much like the way elephants are trapped in India.

Teeth of a one-month-old calf.

Pinna