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Show 74 THE DESCENT OF J\IAN. P.ART I. would have been right. and the other wrong; but to these terms I shall have to recur. Sociability.-Animals of many kinds are social; we find even distinct species living together, as with some American monkeys, and with the united flocks of rooks, jackdaws, and starlings. l\fan shows the same feeling in his strong love for the dog, which the dog returns with interest. Every one must have noticed how miserable horses, dogs, sheep, &c. are when separated from their companions; and what affection at least the two former kinds show on their reunion. It is curious to speculate on the feelings of a dog, who will rest peacefully for hours in a room with his master or any of the family without the least notice being taken of him; but if left for a short time by himself, barks or howls dismally. We will confine our attention to the higher ocial animals, excluding insects, although these aid each other in many important ways. The most common service which the higher animals perform for each other, i the warning each other of danger by means of the united senses of all Every sportsman knows, as Dr. Jaeger remarks, 6 how difficult it is to approach animals in a herd or troop. Wild horses and cattle do not, I believe, make any danger-signal; but the attitude of · ny one who first discovers an enemy, warns the others. Rabbits tamp loudly on the ground with their hind-feet as a signal: beep and chamois do the same, but with their fore-feet, uttering likewise a whistle. Many birds .and some mammals post sentinels, which in the case of seals are said 7 generally to be the females. The leader of a. troop of monkeys acts as the sentinel, and utters erie expressive both of danger and of safety.8 Social 6 ' n· e D:vwin'sche Theorie,' s. 101. ~ Mr. R. Browne in 'Proc. Zoolog. Soc.' 1868, p. 40D. 8 Brehm, ' Thierlcben,' B. i. 186!, s. 52, 7D. lTor the case of the Cn.AP. III. MORAL SENSE. 75 animals perform many little services for each other : horses nibble and cows lick each other, on any spot which itches:' monkeys search for each other's external paras1· te s ; a nd Brehm states that after a troh op ohf the Cercopithecus griseo-viridis has rushed throng at amy brake each monkey stretches itself on a branch, and anoth~r monkey sitting by "conscientiously" examines its fur and ·extracts every thorn or burr. . Animals also render more important serviCes to each other: thus wolves and some other beasts of ~re~ ~unt in packs, and aid each other in attacking thmr viCtiDl.s. Pelicans fish in concert. The Hamadryas baboons tmn <>ver stones to find insects, &c. ; and when they c?me to a larue one as many as can stand round, turn It over tocrether and share the booty. Social animals mutually defend each other. The males of some ruminants come to the front when there is danger and defend the h~rd with their horns. I shall also in a future chapter g1~e ~ases of two young wild bulls attacking a~ old one. m conceTt, and of two stallions together trymg to dnve away a third stallion from a troop of mares. Bre~m encountered in Abyssinia a great troop of baboons whiCh were crossing a valley: some had alre~dY. ascended the opposite mountain, and some were still IJ?. the valley : the latter were attacked by the dogs, but the old ma~es immediately hurried down from the rocks, and With mouths widely opened roared so fearfully: that the dogs precipitately retreated. They were agam encouraged to the attack; but by this time all the baboons had r~ascended the heights, excepting a young one, about BlX monkeys extracting thorns from each other, sec ~- 5~. With respect to tlw Hamadryas turning over stones, the fact IS g1v_en {s. 7?) on the evidence of Alvarez, whose observations Brehm th1~s qmte trustworthy. For the cases of the old male baboons attackmg the dogs, see s. 79; and with respect to the eagle, s. 56. |