THE LLAMAS 



1003 



beneath and among the bushes." Although mentioning that wounded guanacos 

 invariably make their way toward the river, Darwin did not attempt any explana- 

 tion of this strange habit. A later observer, Mr. W. H. Hudson, after stating that 

 this habit is only developed among the guanacos of Southern Patagonia, suggests, 

 however, that it is due to an inherited instinct, derived from a time when the ani- 

 mals were accustomed during a period of exceptional cold to seek refuge beneath the 

 cover of the bushes growing in the sheltered river valleys. " Once we accept this 



. 



THK U.AMA. 



( One-eighteenth natural size.) 



explanation as probable," writes Mr. Hudson, "namely, that the guanaco, in with- 

 drawing from the herd to drop down and die in the ancient dying ground, is in 

 reality only seeking an historically-remembered place of refuge, and not of death - 

 the action of the animal loses much of its mysterious character; we come on to 

 firm ground, and find that we are no longer considering an instinct absolutely 

 unique with no action or instinct in any other animal leading up to or suggesting 

 any family likeness to it." 



