THE PLAY OF ANIMALS. 141 



to the belief that mock fighting in general is prepara- 

 tory for the courtship contest. The fact that ants form 

 an exception does not warrant the conclusion that the 

 principle does not apply to the animals referred to in 

 what follows. 



Again, I begin with the dog. All kinds of puppies 

 are indefatigable in playful romping, and gain in this 

 way much that is needful in the serious struggles of 

 later life. While they are very young, little dogs chase 

 each other awkwardly and try to seize the throat. Fox 

 terriers usually try to dodge the first attack,* others rise 

 on their hind feet and fight with front paws and teeth. 

 AYhen one is thrown he at once turns on his back to pro- 

 tect his neck, and dexterously wards off the enemy with 

 his fore feet. The victor, equally skilful, stands with 

 feet wide apart over his fallen foe and prevents him 

 from rising. If the dogs are of unequal size, the big 

 one often lies down of his owm accord and carelessly 

 keeps the little one at bay, as he makes excited dashes 

 for the enemy's throat from all sides. The quiet move- 

 ments of a huge mastiff in contrast with the audacity 

 and violence of a terrier, which attacked him in this 

 way, have often amused me. 



Tussling like this, where pleasure in the possession 

 of power and the closely related rivalry, as well as mere 

 pugnacity, play important parts, is almost universally 

 practised among animals. All the feline tribe without 

 exception indulge in it, young tomcats especially, so 

 that the Germans have a special word for their fight- 

 ing, " Katzbalgerei" At the age of two months young 

 lions begin their play, which is like that of the house 

 cat, and the same is true of tigers, jaguars, leopards, 



* Cf. Diezels, Niederjagd, p. 506. 



