302 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 19 40 



and replaced, with a lighter coat better adapted for summer wear. 

 If animals did not give enough care to their clothes, they might be 

 left in a precarious condition between seasons. In fact, they might 

 have "nothing to wear." Therefore, each species has developed a 

 very definite technique for the care of its clothing. 



Upon awaking at their leisure nearly all animals go through 

 more or less the same procedure as human beings. They yawn, 

 stretch, and the furry creatures proceed to groom their coats and 

 straighten their whiskers painstakingly. Indeed, all furry and 

 feathered creatures take good care of their clothes — a fact evidently 

 recognized by the composer of the song, current in the early 1900's, 

 that referred to a raccoon as "combing her hair by the light of the 

 silvery moon." 



As animals travel through shrubbery and grass their coats are 

 brushed and the shedding of the old hair is especially aided. The 

 wear incidental to such passage through coarse grasses is very notice- 

 able in lions, the wild individuals rarely having as fine manes as 

 those grown by captives. 



Most people are familiar with the house cat's very careful licking 

 of itself for cleanliness and to keep its fur in good condition. 



The horse that rolls, particularly when his harness has just been 

 removed, is using one means of loosening and straightening his 

 hair. In the springtime, it is a common sight to see two horses 

 standing side by side faced in opposite directions each using its lips 

 and teeth to pluck the heavy winter coat ojff of his companion. Even 

 the ungainly bison (Bison) roll. Bears just out of hibernation rub 

 vigorously against trees and rocks and quickly remove great patches 

 of hair so that they sometimes become exceedingly ragged and for 

 a short time almost naked. 



Some animals enjoy bathing and if one will observe such a creature 

 taking a bath after having been deprived of the opportunity for 

 some time, he will witness enjoyment as great as any person could 

 display in enjoying a long-deferred bath. 



Desert mammals that rarely have access to water abhor it and 

 are greatly offended by even a drop that may get on them ; but they 

 have evolved a method of keeping their fur in good condition by 

 rolling in fine dry sand. This is not an aimless process; the move- 

 ment is so definite that it partially combs the fur without mussing 

 it up. They then shake themselves and carefully comb their fur 

 with the tiny nails on tlieir hands and feet, assisted in some cases 

 by their teeth and lips. Perhaps in some cases there is a slight 

 licking of the fur; but more often the cleaning process appears 

 to be nothing more than smoothing the fur or freeing it of tangles. 

 In grooming the tail, almost all begin at the base and work 



