The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-04
ANIMALS IKE A JOKE.
They Pull Tails, Make Up Faces and Play
MischIeyOuS Tricks.

Aeot ANh W eONe eAAA Noy
MiSchievOus Tricks.
Animals with q sense of humor, or signs
of one anyway, are described by a writer
in the Strand. He tells Of a famale baboon
that delighted in teasing a certain watch
dog.
As soon as the dog settled himself for a
doze the baboon would steal up and give
the canine tail a vicious tug. OF course
the dog would go for her, but she would
simply wait till he got close enough. then
leap over his head and from behind give
his tail another pull.
A Siamese monkey was being brought
to Europe on a steamer with several other
monkeys, who, for some reason, would
have nothing to do with him.
This ostracsm ex%asperated tho Siameso
and whenever he got a chance he would
grab one Of the others by tho tail, drag
him all owe the deck and finally climb into
the rigging and drop his Victim with q dull
thud-
Darwin tells Of q female ~orangoutang
that took hold Of a dish In which her food
was served and put it on her head as IL 1t
were a hat. Thus adorned she provoked
roars OF laughter, to her evident gratihca-
ton, from the crowd around her cage.
Another naturalist saw a baboon get
even with ar officer who had often teaeed
him. Seeing the officer approaching the
baboon poured some water into a hole
in the ground, mixing It with earth 90 as
to make mud. When his enemy came up
he splashed the muddy water on the officers
uniform. For a long time after this every
time the animal saw the officer he INDUCED
In what had every appearance Of being
laughter.
Saville Kent declares that dolphins arc
fond Of teasing other fish by seizing their
tails and dragging them through the water.
He once saw W dolphins attack a big
skate swimming near the surface Of the
water. The skate tried to escape them by
raising It's tail out Of water, but the dolphin.
got hold Of it and dragged the skate in every
direction.
Foals will often tease human beings by
galloping toward them, as IL intending to
run them down, then stopping short within
an uncomfortably short step or two
Gross, the naturalist, relates several
amusing instances Of a similar nature about
dogs. He had once a dog who, when given
a piece Of bread that he did not care to eat,
dropped 1t, and then, lying upon 1t, pre-
tended to look all round with the most
Innocent air, as If wondering where it had
fallen.
Another case he speaks Of is that OF a
terrier whose greatest pleasure It was to
catch flies on the window panes. Nothing
annoyed the animal more than to be laughed
at when he missed his prey.
an order to discover what he would do
says Gross, Il purposely laughed immoder-
ately each time he was unsuccessful, and
the more I laughed the clumsier he grew.
last he was 80 Enthusiastically annoyed
that in his despair he pretended to capture
a fly, and made the appropriate movements
of tongue and lips, finally rubbing his neck
on the ground as II to crush his victim, |
after which he regarded me with a trium-
plant air.
$50 we'll had he played his little comedy
that, had I not seen the very fly still on the
window, I certainly would have been taken
in by this trick. When l called his atten-
ton to the fact that the fly he had chased
was still at large and that there was no dead
fly on the floor, he perfectly understood that
his hypocrisy had been discovered, and was
so ashamed that he skunk away and hid
under a OUCH