40 STRUGGLE AMONGST ANIMALS 



the replacement of instinct by conscious, responsible, 

 intelligent, experimental action is the fine flower of 

 evolution, but at least we must accept the distinction 

 as fundamental and as obliterating any possibility of 

 useful comparison. 



The strength and ferocity so frequently displayed 

 in the animal kingdom, the restless pursuit of their 

 prey by hungry animals, the use of offensive weapons 

 such as beak and claws, horns and teeth, are fre- 

 quently used as analogies for the activities and 

 weapons of human warfare. But the comparison 

 does not bear close examination. The necessity of 

 eating and the peril of being eaten are associated 

 with much that is wonderful in the instincts and 

 apparatus of the animal kingdom, with the develop- 

 ment of courage and cunning, of alert senses, of 

 muscle and bone, armour and weapons, eyes and 

 ears and nose, touch and taste, colouration and form. 

 But from the lower to the higher animals, there has 

 been a gradual replacement of a general unintelligent 

 ferocity, ready to grasp at everything, friend or foe, 

 that seems a possible food, to a more specialized, 

 more competent and at the same time more limited 

 instinct that comes into action only at the necessary 

 call of hunger, and only with regard to the normal prey. 

 I suppose that the large carnivora, such as lions, 

 tigers and bears, are the highest examples of ferocious 

 animals. They, however, are not ferocious (apart 

 from fear and sex) except when they are hungry. 

 Apparent exceptions are old lions and tigers, and 

 possibly a few species such as polar bears. But 

 these, probably, are always hungry ; they have few 

 chances of getting food, the old animals because they 



