Title: Brehm's Life of animals : a complete natural history for popular home instruction and for the use of schools. Mammalia Identifier: brehmslifeofanim1896breh Year: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/search/?tags=bookyear1896">1896</a> (<a href="https://www.flickr.com/search/?tags=bookdecade1890">1890s</a>) Authors: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/search/?tags=bookauthorBrehm_Alfred_Edmund_1829_1884">Brehm, Alfred Edmund, 1829-1884</a>; <a href="https://www.flickr.com/search/?tags=bookauthorPechuel_Loesche_Edward_1840_1913">Pechuel-Loesche, Edward, 1840-1913</a>; <a href="https://www.flickr.com/search/?tags=bookauthorHaacke_Wilhelm_1855_1912">Haacke, Wilhelm, 1855-1912</a>; <a href="https://www.flickr.com/search/?tags=bookauthorSchmidtlein_Richard">Schmidtlein, Richard</a> Subjects: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/search/?tags=booksubjectMammals">Mammals</a>; <a href="https://www.flickr.com/search/?tags=booksubjectAnimal_behavior">Animal behavior</a> Publisher: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/search/?tags=bookpublisherChicago_Marquis">Chicago : Marquis</a> Contributing Library: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/search/?tags=bookcontributorInternet_Archive">Internet Archive</a> Digitizing Sponsor: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/search/?tags=booksponsorInternet_Archive">Internet Archive</a>

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Text Appearing Before Image: 192 THE BEASTS OF PREY. change and need of a proportionately great supply of food, therefore the dangerous animal causes sad havoc among the flocks that he can reach. His favorite game is among domestic flocks and the larger wild animals, both furred and feathered, but lie also contents himself with the smallest, even eat- ing insects ; and he does not disdain vegetable food, consuming, it is said, maize, melons, pumpkins, cu- cumbers, potatoes, etc. The mischief he causes by his hunting might be borne, though it is con- siderable, if he were not impelled by his wild hunting zeal and indomitable thirst for blood to slay more than he needs for his sustenance. This renders him a curse to the flock-owner and sports- man, and makes him everybody's cordially hated enemy. During the summer he is less harmful than in winter. The forest gives him much food besides his regular game, such as Foxes, Hedgehogs, Mice, various birds and reptiles and vegetable food, so the only domestic animals which fall a prey to him are the smaller ones which graze unsuspectingly near his haunt. He commits fearful ravages among the wild animals, such as Elks, Stags, Fallow Deer and Roes, and he exterminates nearly all Hares in his range, the only prey procurable in winter in the proximity of villages. He does not neglect to profit by oppor- tunities, and enters stables without scruple, slaying all smaller domestic animals he can find. The in- habitants of the localities he infests lose a great number of their Dogs every winter, and the Wolf- hunter usually sacrifices several of his faithful com- panions in the chase during the summer. When the Wolf hunts in packs, he also attacks Horses and Cattle, though these animals know how to defend themselves. It is said in Russia that hungry packs of Wolves even attack Bears and finally come out victorious in the deadly struggle. It certainly is a fact, that the Wolf hunts every living thing that he thinks he can subdue. However, he always shuns Man, as long as it is possible to do so. The horrible stories which are told about the Tiger as well as the Wolf, and are profusely adorned by the imagination, are to a very small extent based on truth. A pack of Wolves, suffering severely from hunger, may in their desperation attack, kill and devour human be- ings, even if they are armed Men; but the dangers to which inhabitants of Wolf-infested countries are exposed are not so great as has been supposed.

Text Appearing After Image: AGUARA, OR BRAZILIAN FOX. This animal, which is a species of Wolf with many Fox-like attributes, is found throughout South America. It is a vigoious hunter of birds and small mammals, is very cunning and agile, nocturnal in its habits, and has other indica- tions of the Fox In its nature besides its pointed muzzle and bushy tail. (Canis retains.) but he attacks larger domestic animals only in excep- tional cases. Sometimes he contents himself with following the lowest of prey, pursuing the Lem- mings for hundreds of miles, feeding chiefly on these Mice, and also picking up Lizards, Adders, Frogs, and May-bugs. He is passionately fond of carrion, and wherever his range is co-extensive with that of the Lynx, he clears away the remains of his cousin's repasts. Great Destruction He acts quite differently in autumn Inflicted and winter. Then he uninterrupted- by the Wolf. \y sneaks among the Cattle grazing out of doors and spares neither large nor small ani- mals; refraining from attacking Horses, Cattle and Hogs only when they form compact herds, and be- fore he has combined with other Wolves in a pack. At the beginning of winter he approaches nearer and nearer to human habitations. He penetrates to the very outskirts of St. Petersburg, Moscow, and other Russian cities, enters Hungarian and Croatian villages, daring to run through towns as large as Agram, and regularly hunts in small villages, espe- cially pursuing Dogs, which arc a favorite game and Single Wolves hardly ever attack a Man, even if his only weapon is a club, unless circumstances are par- ticularly favorable for the assault, but defenseless Women and Children may be in greater danger. The preceding accounts show clearly enough how much mischief the Wolf causes. The nomadic tribes, and all those nationalities which breed Cattle, con- sider him decidedly the worst of all their enemies; and it sometimes happens that he really makes Cat- tle-breeding in many localities an impossibility. According to Kobell, a single Wolf, which prowled around Schliersee and Tegernsee for nine years be- fore he was shot, had, according to government statistics, killed one thousand Sheep and much other game during this time; so that the loss he entailed was considered to amount to from eight to ten thou- sand florins. In Lapland the word "peace" is syn- onymous with freedom from Wolves. Only one kind of war is known there, and that is the one waged against the animals under consideration, which often damage the living property of the poor northern nomads to a considerable extent. In Spain the Wolves also do much harm. In Russia about

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