Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1902-05-10
"cRIME" AMONG ANIMALS.
Evil Deeds Among Brutes Correspond
ing to Those Among Humans.

ing to Those Among Humans.
Facts show beyond question that in
the animal kingdom there are many
curious equivalents Of crime among
men. Cannibalism is not unknown in
the animal world. Wolf eats wolf,
and in certain circumstances, and de-
spite proverbs to the contrary, dog
will eat dog. Well-nourished dogs are
not often guilty of this savage custom,
though it has been observed where
necessity did not impel; but Arctic
travellers have frequently fed their
famished Esquine team on the car
cases of brethren that died from eff
fects of cold or hunger, and under such
conditions mothers have devoured
their puppies with no hesitation or
lack of appetite. Domestic cats have
killed and eaten their young, and rab-
bits have been known to feed on one
another even when plentifully supplied
with food to their liking. The rat is
nearly always & cannibal under stress
of circumstances. The cannibaIistic
propensities of the pike need very lit
tie stimulus. Young crocodiles are
occasionally gobbled by their parents,
or at least by their mothers. Warrior
ants devour in a fury the ants they
have killed in battle.
certain famous case in the reptile
house at the Geological Gardens was
evidently not one of genuine cannibal-
ism, but serpents have been guilty of
Tnfo faSl ~ 4~s
eide, and fratricide are aggravating
circumstances of cannibalism in the
animal world. There are crimes
known to our calendar of which the
only or the chief motive appears to
be the inveterate dislike of one indi-
assaulted,) and these strange antipa-
thies exist in the animal world, and
are the cause of assault and battery,
and often of the death of both parties.
Horses, dogs and monkeys furnish
many examples of violence proceeding
from antipathy. The sudden gusts of
uncomfortable rage which impel the
Malay to run amuck through his ma
tive High street, seize at times upon
the gentlest of animals, and the re-
suits are much the same as in the Ma
lay Peninsula, unless the subject of
his brief, terrible, madness, can be
caught or slain. Different are the
cases of animals proverbial for their
patience, which may be goaded into
fury.
The dromedary, ordinarily a model
Of good behavior, is sometimes leased
by his drivers until they are COM
PEELED to fly before his rage or to strip
off and throw him their garments
that he may tear and trample them to
pieces. Every one knows to what a
pass the docile elephant will carry his
desire for revenge, when his dignity
has been badly insulted or his good
nature abused. More curious it is to
note that, among animals as among
men, some Of the worst offenses that
can be committed have their origin in
the passion Of love. Jealousy burns
fercely in many brute's bosom, and
when affected with the universal dis
temper of love- the whole animal Gre
alton, from the tiger to the dove, is
capable of anv excuses against it's
disturbers, whether of it's own or the
human kind. Association for deliber-
ate purposes of wrong-doing is not
rare among ANIMALS, both Of the high
er and the lesser order Of intelligence.
Other animals steal in bands. Balloons
go out in troops to rob orchards diff
cult of access. Conditions of climate
and change of atmosphere have their
influence upon the temperaments Of
animals. Speaking generally, wild
creatures inhabiting very hot coun-
tries are more savage than those in
habiting cold or temperate climes.-
London Leisure Hour
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