Page:The Zoologist, 4th series, vol 3 (1899).djvu/499

Rh catch Monkeys to sell them, know very well that they can easily succeed in taming those which inhabit certain islands; while Monkeys of the same species, caught on the neighbouring continent, die of terror or rage when they find themselves in the power of man. The Crocodiles of one lake in the llanos are cowardly, and flee even when in the water; whilst those of another lake will attack with extreme intrepidity. It would be difficult to explain this difference of disposition and habits by the mere aspect of the respective localities. The Sharks of the port of La Guayra seem to furnish an analogous example. They are dangerous and bloodthirsty at the island opposite the coast of Caracas, at the Roques, at Bonayre, and at Curassao; while they forbear to attack persons swimming in the ports of La Guayra and Santa Martha." According to Hudson, the Puma possesses "a unique instinct of friendliness for man," though it violently attacks other large Carnivora, and is, within the tropics, "a great hunter and eater of Monkeys, which of all animals most resemble men." Another instance is the "dying-places" of the Guanaco (Lama guanacus) at the southern extremity of Patagonia, as recorded by Darwin, Fitzroy, and Hudson. That young Haddock should frequent deep water, and the young Cod seek the inshore water, "is one of those mysteries it is difficult to unravel." The Apron (Aspro vulgaris), a freshwater fish belonging to the family Percidæ, according to Prof. Seeley, "lives at the bottom, and comes to the surface only in bad weather with a north or west wind, when other fishes take refuge at the bottom."

Many actions of animals of a peculiar, constant, and distinctive character seem quite purposeless. This is particularly striking in the account given of the habits of the two species of African Rhinoceros (R. simus and R. bicornis). The calf of R. simus "always runs in front of the cow, while the calf of R. bicornis invariably follows its mother; this habit never varies." Again, R. bicornis, after dropping its dung, "proceeds