OCR Text |
Show 268 SEXUAL SELEC'l'ION: MA1\1MALS. l'Al~T 11. stallion bas a thicker and fuller mane than the mare ; and I have made particular inquiries of two great trainers and breeders who have bad charge. of ~any enti.r e horses, an d am assur.e d tl mt they " lllvar,• ably " end cavour to se1·z e on. e an other· by the n.e ck. It does not, however, follow from the foregomg state-ments, that when the hair on the neck ~ervo~ as a defence, that. it was originally developed for th~s purpose, though this is probable in some cases: as m that of the lion. I am informed by Mr. MeN mll that the lona hairs on tho throat of the !:ltag ( Cervus eleph~s) scr~e as a groat protection to him w~wn ~untecl, for the dogs generally endeavour to seize lnm. by tho throat; but it is not probable that these han:s wore 'Specially developed for this purpose; otherWise ~he young and the females would, as_ we may fool assured, have been equally protected. On Preje1·ence or Choice in Pai:i~tg, ~s shewn by eithe't' sex of Quadrupeds.-Before descnbmg, m. the ~ext chapter the differences between the sexes m .vmce, odour em'itted, and ornamentation, it will be conv~nie~t he1:e to consider whether the sexes exert any chowc m thou unions. Does the female prefer any partieular male, either before or after the males may have fought together for supremacy; or does the male, when not a p~ly. gamist, select any particular female? The general Impression amongst breeders seems to be tl~at the male . accepts any female; and this, owing to h1s eagerness, is, in most cases, probably the truth. Whether the female as a general rule indifferently accepts any male is much more doubtful. In the fourteenth chapter, on Birds, a considerable body of direct and indirect evidence was advanced, shewing that tho female select.~ bor partner ; and it would be a strange anomaly I CHAP. XVII. PREFERENCES IN PAIRING. 26£} female qnadruped!:l, whic·h stand higher in the scale of organisation and have higher mental powcrF:, did not generally, or at least often, exert some choice. 'fhe female. could in most cases escape, if wooed by a male that dtcl not please or excite her; and when pursued a~ so incessantly occurs, by several males, she ,roulcl often have the opportunity, whilst they were :fiahtino· to~e~her, ?f escaping with, or at least of temp;raril~ paum?' With, some one m~le. This latter contingency has ofte~ been observed m Scotland with female reeldeer, ~s I have been informed by Sir Philip Egerton.s9 It rs scarcely possible that much should be known about fe.mal~ quad~·upeds exerting in a state of nature any chowo m therr marriage unions. The followinovery cnrious details on the courtship of one of th~ eared seals, Oallorhinus ursinus, are given 4o on th authority of ~apt. Bryant, who had ample cpportunitie: for observatwn. He says, ".1.\fany of the femal"s " h . . I . 0 IC ll " t o~r arnva at th.e rsland where they breed appear dcs1rous of rotnrmng to some particular male an l " f reque~t Iy c1 r' m b the outlying rocks to overloo'k thce " rookenes, calling out and listenina as if for a fam1'I1'a . " . Th b I " vowe. . en changing to another place they do the same agam . . . . As soon as a female reaches the " shore, the nearest male goes down to meet her makina '' meanwhile a noise like tho cluckina of a h~n to heb1 .. " c1 n· c 1c ens. H e bows to her and coao xes her until he " gets between her and the water so that she cannot "escape him. Then his manner changes, and with a 39 l\fr. ~oner in his excellent description of tho habits of the reddeer Ill Germany (' Forc5t Creatures' l8Gl p 81) says " h ·1 ih " ~tao- is d f 1. h' . I ' ' . ' w 1 e o " . o o one 1~1g ts r1g 1ts against one intruder, another invades the sanctuary _of lHs harem, and carries off trophy after trophy." Exact! th;o same tlnng occm·:; with seals, seo Mr. J. A. Allen, ibid. p. 100. y S l\~r. J. ~:Allen in' Bnll.M:us. Comp. Zoolog. of Cambridn·e United tatcs, vol. 11. No. 1, p. fJD. o ' |