19: 



THE BEASTS OF PREY. 



change and a disproportionately 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 

 he 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 constantly loses 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. 



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 vigorous hunter of birds and small mammals, is very cunning and agile, nocturnal in its habits, and has other indica- 

 tions of the Fox inits nature besides its pointed muzzle and bushy tail. (Canis veiulits.) 



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, and then feeds only on 

 these Mice, 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 are 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 



