Charlevoix county herald. (East Jordan, Mich.) 189?-1953, 1906-09-22
TAME WILD BEASTS.
WONDERFUL INSTANCES FROM
ISLANDS WHERE LIFE Is
PROTECTED.
They Are in No Danger and Seem to
Realize IL and Show No Fear OF
Man at All.

That wild animals become extremely
tame is well known. The wild quail
of southern California will enter gar
dens and nest there and in the protect
ed season have seen flock stand in
a country road, jaunty male between
them, and my horse not 20 feet away,
moving only when / moved and then
with reluctance, says a writer in the
Scientific American.
Several years ago some residents
on one of the channel islands of south
ern California introduced number OF
black-tailed deer, which were protect
ed to such an extent that in time they
discovered that they were privileged
characters and assumed nearly the abb
solute contempt for human beings
held by the sacred bulls of India that
crowd men and women from the road.
They persisted in entering gardens
day and night, destroying the plants,
and finally to locate them the jewellers
ON the island had bells fastened to
them. One buck made his home near
the town of CabriIlo and walked about
the place and over the hills with the
freedom of a dog. When boat land
ed off the pier the buck ran down to
greet the newcomers and share their
lunch and became q welcome guest at
barbecues and lobster and clam bakes-
Nearly all animal life is protected at
this island. ] have counted half hun
dred bald eagles in an eleven-mile run.
have seen them take large fish from
the water within easy gunshot and
they build their nests on pinnacles
that are not difficult of approach. The
sea birds are equally tame. Gulls
gather in flocks a few feet from those
who feed them. In the winter fiocks
of cormorants swim into the bays and
are so tame that they merely divide
when a boat passes and fishermen
often find that the cormorants take of
bait almost as fast as they can put 1t
a long-winged bird resembling the
petrol follow my line under water at
a cast, using it's wings to fly along and
take the bait and at times scores OF
sea birds are seen inshore feeding up
on small shrimps, paying no attention
to observers photographing them.
The most remarkable illustration Of
tameness to be seen here is that OF the
sea lions. For ages the animals have
held possession of mass of rocks on
the shore Of the islands. A few years
ago many were killed by vandals, but
laws were passed and for a number of
years the sea lions have been protect
size until a split has recently occurred
and another settlement has been es-
tablished halfway up the island.
It has been the custom for years for
fishermen in cleaning their fish to toss
the refuse into the bay and the sea
lions formed the habit of coming down
to the bay at this time to dine there
upon. At first only one or two came;
now a band Of two large bulls and sew
eral females make their headquarters
at the bay TO spend most of their time
there, constituting valuable sanitary
corps, as they eat every fragment of
fish, the gulls joining in the feast.
w lCH hOC lCCuihs9 IiiS oS' iiCiio p'''H
the time lying within few feet of the
beach, sleeping or playing, the females
and young leaping from the water and
going through various tricks of inter
est to the looker-on.
But a few feet away from the sea
lions are the boat stands Of the fish
ermen and boatmen and boats are
moving out and over the sea lions
constantly, yet they are apparently OBJ
livious to the men. who never modest
them. This has had peculiar result.
The enormous animals have become so
tame that they almost allow the men
to touch them and readily come out
upon the shore to feed from their
hands. 1t so happened that l was up.
on the sands when no sea lions were
in sight, and upon asking boatman
where they were he began to whistle
as though calling for a dog and to
call. Here, Benz" repeating the call
several times. whereupon out from
among the anchored boats appeared
not only Ben but two large bull sea
lions, which must have weighed half