With the Carnivora the erection of the hair seems to be almost
universal, often accompanied by threatening movements, the uncovering
of the teeth and the utterance of savage growls. In the Herpestes, I
have seen the hair on end over nearly the whole body, including the
tail; and the dorsal crest is erected in a conspicuous manner by the
Hyaena and Proteles. The enraged lion erects his mane. The bristling of
the hair along the neck and back of the dog, and over the whole body of
the cat, especially on the tail, is familiar to every one. With the cat
it apparently occurs only under fear; with the dog, under anger and
fear; but not, as far as I have observed, under abject fear, as when a
dog is going to be flogged by a severe gamekeeper. If, however, the dog
shows fight, as sometimes happens, up goes his hair. I have often
noticed that the hair of a dog is particularly liable to rise, if he is
half angry and half afraid, as on beholding some object only
indistinctly seen in the dusk.
I have been assured by a veterinary surgeon that he has often seen the
hair erected on horses and cattle, on which he had operated and was
again going to operate. When I showed a stuffed snake to a Peccary, the
hair rose in a wonderful manner along its back; and so it does with the
boar when enraged. An Elk which gored a man to death in the United
States, is described as first brandishing his antlers, squealing with
rage and stamping on the ground; “at length his hair was seen to rise
and stand on end,” and then he plunged forward to the attack.[411] The
hair likewise becomes erect on goats, and, as I hear from Mr. Blyth, on
some Indian antelopes. I have seen it erected on the hairy Ant-eater;
and on the Agouti, one of the Rodents. A female Bat,[412] which reared
her young under confinement, when any one looked into the cage “erected
the fur on her back, and bit viciously at intruding fingers.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account