The Human Side of Animals

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The Human Side of Animals, by Royal Dixon

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Title: The Human Side of Animals
Author: Royal Dixon
Release Date: November 17, 2006 [EBook #19850]
Language: English
Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
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[Illustration: RECREATION IS AS COMMON AMONG ANIMALS AS IT IS AMONG CHILDREN.]

THE HUMAN SIDE OF ANIMALS
BY ROYAL DIXON AUTHOR OF "THE HUMAN SIDE OF PLANTS," "THE HUMAN SIDE OF TREES,"

"THE HUMAN SIDE OF BIRDS," ETC.
WITH TWO ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLORS AND THIRTY-TWO IN BLACK-AND-WHITE

NEW YORK FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY PUBLISHERS
Copyright, 1918, by FREDERICK A. STOKES COMPANY
All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign languages
MADE IN U. S. A.

TO MARCELLUS E. FOSTER WHO BELIEVED

NOTE
The author wishes to acknowledge his indebtedness to his fellow-naturalist and friend, Mr. Franklyn Everett Fitch, for carefully reading the entire manuscript and making many scholarly and valuable criticisms and corrections.

CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
FOREWORD xiii
I ANIMALS THAT PRACTISE CAMOUFLAGE 1
II ANIMAL MUSICIANS 18
III ANIMALS AT PLAY 32
IV ARMOUR-BEARING AND MAIL-CLAD ANIMALS 46
V MINERS AND EXCAVATORS 61
VI ANIMAL MATHEMATICIANS 88
VII THE LANGUAGE OF ANIMALS 99
VIII IN THEIR BOUDOIRS, HOSPITALS AND CHURCHES 120
IX SELF-DEFENCE AND HOME-GOVERNMENT 130
X ARCHITECTS, ENGINEERS, AND HOUSE-BUILDERS 150
XI FOOD CONSERVERS 170
XII TOURISTS AND SIGHT-SEERS 181
XIII ANIMAL SCAVENGERS AND CRIMINALS 199
XIV AS THE ALLIES OF MAN 210
XV THE FUTURE LIFE OF ANIMALS 234

ILLUSTRATIONS
Recreation is as common among animals as it is among children (in Colours) Frontispiece
The Indians claim that the mother bison forced her calf to roll often in a puddle of red clay, so that it might be indistinguishable against its clay background 6
The zebra is one of the cleverest of camouflagers. The black-and-white stripes of his body give the effect of sunlight passing through bushes 7
Monkeys are the most musical of all animals. When they congregate for "concerts," as some of the tribes do, the air is filled with weird strains of monkey-music 20
Cats, unlike dogs, are very fond of music. And it has been proved that their music-sense can be developed to a remarkable degree 21
A happy family of polar bears. The young cubs wrestle and tumble, as playfully as two puppies. This play has much to do with their physical and mental development 34
Dryptosaurus. The prehistoric animals, too, undoubtedly had their play time, with games and "setting up" exercises 35
The mother opossum is never happier than when she has her little ones playing hide-and-seek over her back 38
This young fox came from his home in the woods daily to play with a young fox-terrier. He is now resting after a romp 39
Naosaurus and Dimetrodon, two extinct armour-bearers who should have been well able to protect themselves 50
An armour-bearer of prehistoric times whose shield was an effective protection against enemy horns 51
To the polar bear the ice and snow of the Far North means warmth and protection. The mother bear digs herself into a snowbank, where she lives quite comfortably throughout the winter 84
The sharp claws of the ground squirrel are efficacious tools in digging his cosy underground burrow 85
The coyote can readily distinguish whether a herd of sheep is guarded by one or more dogs, and will plan his attack accordingly 94
The zebu, the sacred bull of India, in spite of its domestication, has an agile body and a quick, alert mind 95
Roosevelt's Colobus. These horse-tailed monkeys chatter together in a language exclusively their own, yet they seem to have no difficulty in making themselves understood by other monkey-tribes 112
A tamed deer of Texas, whose constant companion and playmate was a rabbit dog. Between the two, there developed, necessarily, a common language 113
Water-loving animals, like the beavers, seemingly take great pride in their toilets. Their fur is always sleek and clean 122
Great forest pigs of Central Africa. Like the common domesticated hogs, they will seek a clay bath to heal their wounds 123
The Rocky Mountain goat has many means of defence, not the least of which is his agility in climbing to inaccessible places 134
Wild boars are among the most ferocious of animals. By means of their great strength alone they are well able to defend themselves 135
Brontosaurus. The animals that seemed best equipped to defend themselves are the ones that, thousands of years ago, became extinct 144
This prehistoric monster was equipped not only with a pair of strong horns but with a shield back of them as well 145
The beaver is the greatest of all animal architects. His skill is equalled only by his patience (in Colours) 158
The skunk