Page:Walter Matthew Gallichan - Women under Polygamy (1914).djvu/18

 at the sex-relations of the animals nearest to ourselves in the evolutionary chain.

In the Primates, "the lords of the animal world," we find that the Simiæ, or true apes, possess organs and nervous systems very closely resembling those of the human being. They have also human-like desires and appetites. Yet among the monkeys we note that polygamy is not the invariable form of union; for some of the species are rigidly monogamous. And so with birds, which are, generally speaking, excellent examples of fidelity to a single partner after courtship and pairing.

The stag has his group of hinds; but the blackbird is supposed to pair with one hen for life. The hawks are monogamous. There is sufficient evidence that the polygamous instinct is not general among animals. The farmyard cock and the male grouse are polygamists, but these are exceptions among birds.

Although most of the carnivorous animals are monogamous, the lion sometimes secures more than one mate. The sea-lions are extremely polygamous, and so are some of the seals.

Among birds the polygamic instinct is strongly instanced in the ruffs. The polygamous birds are almost invariably addicted to conflict, and the males are usually bigger and more gaily-feathered than the females. Stags, especially among the red-deer, are