The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals: A Book of Personal ObservationsHornaday, William T. (William Temple)
Science
The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals: A Book of Personal Observations
Hornaday, William T. (William Temple)
Animal behavior
Even the stilt-legged and long-necked giraffes went through that
same process,--a mouthful of water greedily seized, and a fling of
the head upward to stare about for danger. Group by group the
animals of each species took their turns. The baboons drifted down
over the steep rocky slope like a flock of skimming birds, and
watched and drank by turn. Having finished, they paused not for
idle gossip or play, but as swiftly as they came drifted up the
slope and sought safety elsewhere.
And yet, it was noticeable that during the whole of that
astounding panorama of ferae naturae unalloyed by man's baleful
influence, no species attacked another, there was no fighting, nor
even any threatening of any kind. Had there been a white flag
waving over that water-hole, the truce of the wild could not have
been more perfect.
Effect of Fear in Captive Animals. Among captive wild animals, by
far the most troublesome are those that are obsessed by slavish
fear of being harmed. The courageous and supremely confident
grizzly or Alaskan brown bear is in his den a good-natured and
reliable animal, who obeys orders when the keepers enter the den
to do the daily housework and order him to "Get up out of here."
The fear-possessed Japanese black bear, Malay sun bear and Indian
sloth bear are the ones that are most dangerous, and that
sometimes charge the keepers.
Our famous "picture lion," Sultan, was serenely confident of his
own powers, his nerves were steady and reliable, and he never
cared to attack man or beast. Once when by the error of a fellow
keeper the wrong chain was pulled, and the wrong partition door
was opened, the working keeper bent his head, and broom in hand
walked into what he thought was an empty cage. To his horror, he
found himself face to face with Sultan, with only the length of
the broom handle between them.
The startled and helpless keeper stood still, and said in a calm
voice, without batting an eye.
"Hello, Sultan."
Sultan calmly looked at him, wonderingly and inquiringly, but
without even a trace of excitement; and feeling sure that the
keeper did not mean to harm him, he seemed to have no thought of
attacking.
The keeper quietly backed through the low doorway, and gently
closed the door. Had the keeper lost his nerve, _and shown
it,_ there might have been a tragedy.
Lions are the best of all carnivorous performing animals, because
of their courage, serenity, self-confidence and absence of jumpy
nerves. Leopards are the worst, and polar bears stand next, with
big chimpanzees as a sure third. Beware of all three.
Exceptions to the Rule of Fear. Fortunately for the wild animal
world, there are some exceptions to the rule of fear. I will
indicate the kinds of them, and students can supply the individual
cases.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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