The Human Side of Animals

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mal possesses the method of self-defence and protection best adapted to it. Most of the larger animals are of themselves so powerful that they need no pro

s. They rule by tyranny-the oppression of the weak by the strong, whether that strength be physical or mental,-a trait as common in animals as in man. Among the animals it takes the commonest fo

enious as to be real arts. Wolves, when they see that they are outnumbered, will sometimes escape by following the exact tracks of a single leader through the snow, and from all appearances only one has passed the way over which a hundred m

m the jungle, made straight for the sleeping saurian until within leaping distance, when he sprang on the alligator's back, and gained a strangle hold before the sleeping monster could awake. At first the tiger was master, for the alligator could not bring his huge jaws into act

. Like man, in the face of danger, they show great bravery and never lose their presence of mind. The ape is fast disappearing before man, but against other animals and Nature he can we

the danger of losing their own lives. Many of their brave deeds, if recorded in history, would compare favourably with those of mankind! Too often has a poor, sickly ape, which by his very feebleness allowed himself to be captured and placed in a zoo, been compared to human beings. Even in spirit and movement

ves by ingeniously rolling immense stones down upon their foes. They also hurl with great force small stones about the size

al world. This is astonishing when we remember that these animals are not professional warriors, nor do they have to fight to obtain their food. Their gre

, when fighting among themselves, often play more than anything, and are not serious. Red deer seldom injure one another with their long antlers, b

war-schools. His horns are long, sharp-pointed, and bend backwards. When wounded, or attacked by wolves or dogs, he lies down, an

lions attack a buffalo, who rarely escapes them. The strength of a lion is almost beyond our

m of Natural H

DEFENCE, NOT THE LEAST OF WHICH IS HIS A

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ANIMALS. BY MEANS OF THEIR GREAT STRENGTH A

river would use a sledge hammer. Swinging it round and round, he lets his head descend upon his adversary like a heavy ax! The two animals use the same kind of tactics, and bracing themselves so a

ence. The chameleon, for example, erects his snake-like hood, though he is harmless, and at the most could scarcely injure the sm

ample, when captured, will abruptly break loose his tail in order to escape; and certain wood rats, when caught, loosen the skin on their tails and deliberately slip away. Autotomy not only permits flight, b

part in it. Strangely enough, animals which have never resorted to mimicry as a means of protection, when associated with othe

tice as old as the hillsides with animals. They have learned the extreme value of silence, and that they must remain at times motionless. This is especially noticeable with crocodiles, which wait for whole days without moving, concealed in the water or deep

many occasions I have been 'possum hunting in the South and found my dog barking at an apparently dead 'possum. As soon as these animals are approached by larger and stronger enemies, they drop absolutely motionless on the ground an

fall to the earth and later apparently die. In many instances the fastenings are removed from their legs and head and the carcass is abandoned as useless, when to the

ies, by erecting hair, skin, or folds, or by unusual poses. Darwin speaks of the hissing of certain snakes, the rattl

toads of America when disturbed actually eject blood from their eyes. Every one is familiar with the cat's habit of raising the fur on his back when molested by a dog. All bluffing animals, when in danger, try to

otect himself, but in winter there is considerable danger from hordes of wolves. This is especially true just after a heavy snowstorm, if the snow is wet and melting. When it is dry and frozen, he can travel over it with great speed, and this he does by a most unusual tr

us hoofs. The advantage seems to be with the wolves, and if ever they bring the moose to bay in the snow, his life is doomed. For they care little for his arrow-like horns, but boldly jump at his throat and kill him. Herein comes the elk's wisdom-he deliberately sets to work, before the snow melts, and builds for himself and family an elk-yard, which is nothing more than a large space of ground on which the snow is smoothed o

timents which arise from social relations in man and animal are the same. Moral obligations, especially in relation to family ties and conjugal unions of animals, are in many cases sacred binders to such ties. The

or mutual protection; wolves band together in packs; and after they have been domesticated there is still not only a strong desire to band together for social

acy where all power comes from the working class. The claims of the working class to the exercise of supreme control in all political affairs are practically realised. Among a herd of wild Arabian horses, the leading stallion, or so-called king, is

in a herd of horses, instead of forming factions in the state which end in civil war, they fight it out personally until one of them is killed or defeated. Once in a great while the other horses intervene,

not uncommon for his herd to remain as near him as possible, and in their attempt to release him are often trapped themselves. The king has no heirs, either apparent or presumptive, and no

sily be proved among animals by their more primitive and savage habits. Monkeys, for example, in civilised monkey communities, differ very greatly from those of wilder and less trained districts. They are constantly changing their habits, becoming more and more civilised

They seem all at once to forget their peaceful industries and lose all desire for clean and right living. And strangely enough, when they once turn bad, they seldom reform.

s. A missionary friend told of his experience with monkey folk, and how once, when hunting, his gun was accidentally discharged, instantly wounding a large semi-tame baboon near his home. He hastened to help the injured animal, but saw that the relatives had crowded around and were terrorised, as they thought it was intentional. They not only followed him to h

t often takes the form of feuds, which are still in vogue in the mountainous counties of the Sout

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EQUIPPED TO DEFEND THEMSELVES ARE THE ONES

NOT ONLY WITH A PAIR OF STRONG HORNS,

not afford to wait until the insects which thrive upon the leaves of aquatic plants fall into the water. So as he cannot leap high enough to catch them, he fills his mouth with water and squirts it at an insect with such aim and for

Michigan discovered one morning, just after a flood, that all his potato sacks, which had been hung on a back fence to dry, had suddenly disappeared. A few days later he found them in a nearby beavers' colony,

s and stones in capturing their

that many tribes of savages had reached only a few years ago, when they learned to use the boomerang and lasso. Some naturalis

, near Mount Lookout, a few years ago a donkey grazed in the same pasture with a ferocious bull. He was frequently attacked by the bull, and always got the worst of the fight. His feet were no matc

Innumerable times she has opened a gate in the same way to permit her calf to go free with her. So skilled is she in the manipul

lling latch-strings. And not a few cats show a strong desire

nes best suited for their work, and from their progress in the past it is reasonable to believe that in the near future they will not only be able to make their own tools-thus placing themselves on a mental footing with

hwood upon the fires left by travellers, and though they do not know how to kindle a fire, they have learned how t

ad not yet made his appearance upon the earth in the miocene age, and that all the marvellous chipped flints of that age belong to semi-human pithecoid apes of

dried leaves over the blaze to make it burn, and then heap on dead wood to feed the fire. This knowledge with them, exactly as with primitive peoples, is a product of long experience and does not show any mathematical truths o

ng so as to allow the ape to swing out from a kitchen window and touch the ground. Just for fun, some one cut a piece from the line so that he could not reach the ground

and for their monarchies and republics. They use shells, scales, plates of every kind, with innumerable modifications for various purposes-spines and allied armaments-all shapes and sizes; poisonous secretions, deadly odours, strong c