Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1893-12-14
TEMPER OF ANIMALS.
CREATURES ARE, AS A RULE, MUCH
MORE AMIAsLs THAN MEN

Deer Fight More FierceIy Than wolye.
strange to Say, and Tame Stag Hs,
Been Known to Kill a Boy-.Zebras apa
Wild Asses Are Rather Dangerous.
tne Old theory that animal good temper
might be accounted for on the ground THAI
ANIMALS are sensible Of pleasure and pain
out not Of advantage and DISADVANTAGE
/ was only half truth, for animals are snlN
Iect to Jealousy and jealousy is the direcr
result OF feeling of personal disadyau.
ass out II draws attention to the fact
'nat occasions for disagreement in the case
OF most animals are rare and unusual
Questions of domicile are almost the sole
ground of discord in the animal world
with the exception of the fierce diSSepsions
raised at pairing time, and even in the last
case combat is only general in the case of
polygamous animals
Deer fight more fiercely than wolves. and
wild sheep than lions; and though there is
or was an eagle in the Zoo which was
caught locked in the talons of another
eagle when fighting in the spring. the
nercest birds are usually friendly with
thelr own species, and while rulfs and
olack game fight like gladatorS for their
wives, the eagles and the peregrines, as a
rule, mate in peace. Proximity, the sever
est trial to human temper, seldom ruflles
the animal mind, and different species live
In harmony together, each seeming, as in
the case of owls and the prairie dogs or
rocks and starlings, rather to prefer than
shun the society of the other.
n g..
rally the source of warfare among birds
and other animals frequently fight for the
possession of some favorite breeding place
Badgers and foxes which have shared the
same earth during winter often fight for
sole possession in the spring, when the fox
invariably wins, a result which would
hardly be expected from the relative ply
sique of the two animals. But such ouar,
rels are only for the sake of rearing their
young, not for selfish reasons; and even
apprehended pressure on the food supply
rarely eXcites i'll will, except in the case Of
the largest carnivorous birds and animals,
which require a wider range for hunting
and drive their young to other districts.
ANIMAL TEMPER PACIFIC.
The rodents and ruminants are less ieal.
ous, and that strong social and gregarious
instinct which the existence of i'll temper
as Il permanent characteristic would in
evitably destroy keeps them together in
peace and harmony. They love society.
and not the least marked difference be.
tween the temperament of animals and
men is that animals do not by mere con.
tact irritate each other-a positive and not
unimportant compensation for the absence
of the gift of speech.
Since occasions of difference are so few,
nothing but the assumption of an ancient
and inbred malignity in animal minds,
such as the author of Three Men in a
Boat" supposes in the case of fox terriers
to have been due to double dose of origi.
nal sin, could justify the view so generally
held that animals are as a rule ferocious
and ill tempered, n notion summed up in
Mr.. Burnand's conclusions in Happy
Thoughts" that most of the creatures
with which he came in contact in the
country were, "when not dangerous, al,
ways very uncertain" The exact contrary
would be nearer the truth
Animal temper is naturally pacific,
squable and mild. Bad temper is the
privilege of more highly organized ma.
cable tiger finds its development in the
apoplectic fury Of the mandril and the
measured malice of mankind. Horace's
suggestion that Prometheus added to the
i'll temper of man the strength Of mad
lion must be taken literally.
SOME SAVAGE CREATURES
The general law of good nature in the
animal world makes the exceptions all the
more remarkable. Quarrelsome species
appear among friendly tribe, just as an
i'll tempered individual does in "A kindly
species. The ruminants are most peace
full race, yet deer are savage, and so is that
handsome Indian antelope, the nylghau
A tame stag is n very dangerous pet, and
even the beautiful roebuck has been
known to kill boy in n wild fit Of rage
But the fercest and most vindctive of all
with the exception Of the Cape buffalo, is
the South African gnu, which never loses
its i'll temper when tanned, and always re-
mains among the few dangerous animals
which the keepers at the Zoo have to deal
with. Hardly less i'll tempered are the
zebras and the wild asses, which suggest
that human mismanagement is not entire
ly to blame for the occasional i'll temper
and obstinacy Of mules and donkeys.
To the i'll tempered species we may add
the camel and the two horned black
rhinoceros The last is really ferocious,
charging down on any creature, man or
beast, without provocation, and capable Of
inflicting mortal wounds even on the lion,
the elephant or its own kind. But among
all the larger creatures Of the animal king
dom it is difficult to find more than a
dozen species which are, as class, i'll TEN
pered, unless we include all those car
nivorous animals which exhibit certain
ferocity in the capture Of their prey.-Lon
don Spectator.