The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1901-02-21
ANIMALS THAT WEEP.
Man Not che cniy Creature That
sheds Tears.

The weeping mock turtle" In "Alice
In Wonderland" and the walrus In the
same classic who held "hls pocket
handkerchief before his streaming
eyes" are not wholly creatures Of the
Imagination II we may believe NJ. Hen.
ri Coupin, writing in La Nature Of
Paris. He quotes numerous authori-
ties to show that many animals shed
real tears and for the same reasons
that cause human beings to weep. He
intir-'qtes also that there Is fruitful
field for investigation along this and
similar lines. Says NJ. Coupln:
Laughing is believed to be peculiar
to man, but the same Is not true of
weeping, which is a manifestation Of
emotion that Is met with in divers an
imals.
among the creatures that weep
most easily we may first mention the
ruminants, with whom the act Is so
well known that 1t has given rise to a
trivial but accurate expression. to
weep like calf Among these AMI
mails the facility of shedding tears is
explained by the presence of n supple
mentary lachrymal apparatus.
-All hunters know that the stag
weeps, and we are also assured that
the bear sheds tears when 1t sees its
last hour approaching. The giraffe is
not less sensitive, as might be expected
In so gentle a creature, and regards
with fearful eyes the hunter who has
wounded 1t.
Tf we are to credit Gordon Cum.
ming, the eland (African antelope, acts
In the same way. He says Of one Of
these animals that he had pursued for
long time: 'Flecks of foam flew from
Its mouth. Abundant sweat had given
its gray skin an ashy blue tint. Tears
fell from its great black eyes, and II
was evident that the eldnd felt that its
| last hour had come
dogs weep quite easily. II their
master goes away. for instance. leav.
| ing them tied, they bark, with tears
both in their eyes and in their voices.
| The same is true of certain monkeys.
es are opposed or when it is frightened
and the eyes Of the Callithrix sciureus
fill at once with tears when it is seized
with terror.
'The aquatic mammals. too. are able
| to weep. Thus all authors agree In
saying that dolphins at the moment OF
death draw deep sighs and shed tears
abundantly. A young female seal has
also been seen to weep when teased by
a sailor st. Hilaire and Cuvier assure
us that on the authority of the Malays
when a young dungong is captured the
mother is sure to be taken also. The
little ones then cry out and shed tears
These tears are collected with care and
preserved as a charm that Is certain tc
make lovers affection lasting.
"As for the elephant. there is abun
dant evidence of the ease with which
1t weeps Sparrman assures us that II
sheds tears when wounded or when Il
sees that It cannot escape. Its tears
roll from Its eyes like those of human
being in aff1iction. Tennent. speaking
OF captured elephants says that some
remain quiet. lying ON the ground with
out manifesting their gyief otherwise
than by the tears that bathe their eyei
and run constantly down.
"Such are the principal animals thai
have been reported as shedding tears
Doubtless they will become more pu
merous when we have taken the trou
BILE to observe the same phenomena ir
other species. l advise those who wisf
to give attention to the matter to nott
carefully the circumstances in which
the tears have manifested themselves
From the examples given above 1t will
be seen that tears have about the sam,
emotional significance in animals as il
man, but to establish the certainty o.
this we should have many more in
stances"