CRIMINALS OF THE ANIMAL WORLD

New Zealand Times, Volume LIII, Issue 12621, 4 December 1926, Page 11

CRIMINALS OF THE ANIMAL WORLD

LOVE, ROBBERY, MURDER AND KIDNAPPING

Before one of the recent sessions of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, held at Oxford, Julian Huxley, the biologist, confirmed the facts set down by Charles Darwin on the instinct of courtship in the animal world, and described the gallantry of crabs and spiders under the spell of love.

THE grandson of the famous Thomas Huxley confinedhis field of vision to the tender passion among the lower species. But numerous naturalists, from Linnaeus down, have left on record the effects of various emotions as seen in the actions of animals. Hate, fear, rage, and jealousy play a major part in animal society, just as they do among humans. Singularly as it may sound, there are sneak thieves, highway robbers, kidnappers. drunkards, and murderers among insects, birds and other animals, both domestic and wild. Even counterfeiting is not unknown! THE ELEPHANT OUTCAST Everybody has heard of the rogue elephant. Kipling made him the subject of a short story. A rogue elephant seemingly goes wrong out of sheer perversity, though his apologists excuse him on the ground of insanity. Destruction incarnate, this big brute runs amok. The herd of which he is a member drives him out, and he is condemned to lire and die alone. Once affected, he goes from bad to worse. In his native India, whore he is known as “horn.” he vili uproot trees, tear down houses, and try to kill man and beast. Vntil exterminated, he is a terror to the countryside. Horses can be outlaws. Western cowbnvs and wranglers tell endless yarns; of those wicked specimens of horseflesh that cannot be won by kindness nor beaten into obedience. They viciously attack their companions of the corral, and do their cunning best to murder 1 their masters. This type of had horse has been studied in the cavalry of franco by Rodet. a distinguished French veterinary surgeon. He noted that the head of the animal differed in shape from the normal, being narrow, with a ictreating forehead. Call has left a record of certain mares

that kidnapped foals and hid away in an effort to keep them for themselves. Espinas noted the same freak in a t&v* Few would suspect the dog man’s faithful friend—of deliberate wickedness. Yet there have been sheepkilling dogs that, like elephants, may lead model lives until a mysterious change takes place. Then they de\elop into nignt assassins. They may be called Jekyll and Hyde dogs, serving the master with his flocks all day, and in the darkness transforming themselves into villains, slyly stealing out to murder defenceless victims. Monkeys are born thieves. In their native state of freedom baboons organise regular bands to plunder orchards and plantations. Usually they obey a chief, who distributes his sentinels at strategic points and lines up his ioroes so that the booty he gets may be passed along from hand to hand until deposited in a safe apot. MURDEROUS INSTINCTS William T. Hornaday, former Director of the New York Zoological Park, will admit that there are birds that commit murder, deliberate murderand they are often most charming and innocent species, too. Being imprisoned in a cage often generates bloodthirstiness. it is a curious fact that murders are remarkably few and tar between in the snako family. Occasionally one snake will swallow another; but the deed is usually attributable to hunger rather than to hate. There are snakes, however, that despise each other. For instance, a king snake lias no use for a rattler and will, at sight, seek to choke him to death. German naturalists have observed the 4.xhib tion of murderous pa*.don in some bird species, especially storks. Knrl Vngv, the celebrated naturalist, tells of a stork trianglo tragedy. While

the male mate was away a younger lover wooed the female. She repulsed, tolerated, then welcomed him. One day when the old bird was off frog hunting the guilty pair flew to his marsh and killed him. WICKED BEES AND ANTS Inseete, particularly bees and ants, display wicked traits. Ants massed in army fashion will assault and lavage a .neighbour state, destroy the inhabitants and carry off the young for slave*. Buchner, the German naturalist, is an authority on brigand bees. He describes them as banding together for plunder like professional highwaymen. These renegade citizens of the hive grow too lazy to work. They will form their own freebooting colony, and attack wellstocked hives or richly-laden workers returning home. It has been discovered that there nro bees and ants that are fond of their “dram,” which they come across iu certain flowers and in decaying fruit. A tipsy bee does not act unlike a drunken man, reeling in flight, falling helplessly on its back, and finally sleeping it off. Lombroso asserted that intoxicants were the cause of crime among many animals, and cited the sheep and goats of Abyssinia, which go on regular sprees, eating tho bean* of tho coffee plant. THE TIPSY GOOSE Perhaps the most curious case on record was that of a goose in New Jersey some years ago. Tho fowl became addicted to beer, and would scream and scold at -a regular hour unless it. got what it wanted. If delayed too long beyond its expectation, the goose would run after people and nip their clothes.