EMOTIONS OF ANIMALS

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 6 November 1926, Page 11

EMOTIONS OF ANIMALS

El EFORE one of the recent sessions of the C British Association for the Advaneef' ment of Science, held at Oxford, Julian

Huxley, the biologist, confirmed the facts set down by Charles Darwin on the, instinct of courtship in the animal world, and described the gallantry of crabs and spiders under. the spell of love. t The grandson of the famous Thomas Huxley confined his field of vision to the tender passion among the lower species. But numerous naturalists, from Linnaeus down, have left on record the effects of various emotions as seen in the actions of animals. Hate, fear, rage and jealousy play a major part in animal society, just as they do among humans. Singular as it may sound, there are sneak thieves, highway robbers, _ kidnappers, drunkards and murderers among insects, birds and other animals, both domestic and wild. Even counterfeiting is not unknown! , Everybody has heard, of the rogue elephant. Kipling made him the subject of a short story. A rogue elephant seemingly goes Avrong out of sheer perversity, though his apologists excuse him on the ground of insanity. Destruction incarnate, this big brute runs amok. The herd of which he is a member drives him out and he is condemned to live and die alone. Once affected, he -goes from bad to worse. In his native India, where he is known as “hora.” he will uproot trees, tear down houses and try to kill man and beast. Until exterminated, he is a terror to the countryside. Horses can lie outlaws. Western coAvboys and Avranglers tell endless yarns of these wiclced specimens of horseflesh that cannot be AA r on bv kindness nor beaten into obedience. They A'iciouslv attack their companions of the corral, and do their cunning best to murder their masters. This type of bad horse has been studied in the cavalry of France by Rodet, a distinguished French A'eterinary surgeon. He noted that the head of the animal differed in shape from the normal, being narrow, with a retreating forehead. Gall has left a record of certain mares that kidnapped foals and hid away in an effort to

HATE, FEAR AND RAGE

CREATURES WHICH LOVE TO KILL

keep them for themsehm.s. Espinas noted the same freak in asses.

Few would suspect the dog—man’s faithful friend—of deliberate wickedness. Vet there have been sheep-killing dogs that, like elephants, may lead model lives until a mysterious change takes place. Then they develop into night assassins. They may be called Jekyll and Hyde dogs, serving the master with his flocks all day, and in the darkness transforming themselves into villains, slyly stealing out to murder defenceless victims. Monkeys are born thieves. In their native state of freedom baboons organise regular bands to plunder orchards and plantations. Usually they obey a chief, who distributes liis sentinels at strategic points and lines up his forces so that the booty lie gets may be passed along from hand to hand until deposited in a safe spot. William T. Hornaday, former director of the New York Zoological Park, will admit, that there are birds that commit murder, deliberate murder— and they are often most charming and innocent species, too. Being imprisoned in a cage often generates blood-thirstiness. It is a curious fact that murders are remarkably feAV and far betAveen in the snake family. Occasionally one snake Avill SAvallcnv another; but the deed is usually atributable to hunger rather than to hate. There are snakes, however, that despise each other. For instance, a king snake has no use for a rattler and Avill, at sight, seek to choke him to death. German naturalists have observed the exhibition of murderous passion in some bird species, especially storks. Ivarl Vogt, the celebrated naturalist, tells of a stork triangle tragedy. While the male mate Avas away a younger lover wooed the female. She repulsed. tolerated, then Aveleomcd him. One day when the old bird was off frog-hunting the guilty pair Acav to his marsh and killed him. The swordfish has the reputation of being the star killer of the deep. Deliberately he Avil 1 stab a Avhale in a score of places, for the A'ieioAis sport of the thing, and finish him off.