amongst Insectivorous and Carnivorous Mammals, 753 



squealing as theij go ... . If they be left uumolested, they 

 are quite iiioflfensive .... but if they he in any loay alarmed 

 or disturbed during their progress, the air is forthwith filled 

 by ail intolerable smell of musk that adheres persistently to 

 everything that they may come in contact with. It seems to 

 be as offensive to most dogs as to human beings, and is 

 doubtless a most effectively protective agent. Many dogs, 

 although eager to pursue musk-shrews, absolutely refuse to 

 touch them, and those who cannot resist doing so in the 

 excitement of the chase show unequivocal signs of disgust 

 and shame over the consequences." 



This account^ be it observed, was written by a highly 

 competent naturalist, bent on describing, without embellish- 

 ment, hypothesis, or explanation, the liabits of a familiar 

 Indian animal ; and it contains no suggestion that the writer 

 was familiar with theory of animal advertisement, ^et the 

 passages I have italicised supply all the facts necessary for 

 the belief that the shrews in question are protected self- 

 advertisers. They emit an intolerable stencli when disturbed 

 or alarmed ; are abhorrent to many dogs ; are fearless in 

 their behaviour ; constantly utter shrill cries as they move 

 about ; and are conspicuous in the dusk. In other words, we 

 have in this species di.stastefulness associated with fearless- 

 ness of exposure and with advertising attributes that a[)peal 

 to the siglit, hearing, and scent of possible enemies. 



Judging from the analogy supplied by the porcupines, I 

 long ago inferred that hedgehogs with their protective 

 armature of banded spines are coloured so as to be con- 

 spicuous in the dusk. It is, indeed, a matter of common 

 knowledge that they are. comparatively easy to see at night 

 on account of their colour and easy to catch on account of their 

 habit, when touched, of stopping to roll up, instead of attemp- 

 ting to run away like all unprotected mammalia. 



Evidence that they sometimes produce a violently offensive 

 smell is supplied by Mr. C. B. JMoffat, who informed Major 

 Bavrett-IIamilton that he put a hedgehog into a water-butt to 

 see it swim. '' Immediately on finding itself in the water, 

 the animal tilled the whole surrounding air with an effluvium 

 so awful that I had to run back five or six yards to find an 

 atmosphere I could breathe .... I am not morbidly sensitive 

 to odours, but this experience beat anything on the part of a 

 live animal that I had ever encountered before or since .... 

 A fairly strong odour is sometimes produced when hedge- 

 hoo'S are fio-htino- at night, but this is nothing whatever to 

 the stench made by the animal that I put in water .... 

 It puts a good deal of trust in its own immunity from attack, 



