THE PLAY OF ANIMALS. m 



ments of these lumbering animals on land are remark- 

 able, it is in the water that their skill is most admirably 

 displayed. They may be seen plunging into the sea, 

 either sliding down the smooth, sloping sand banks or 

 throwing themselves from a high rock; then they carry 

 on their play like dolphins, rapidly throwing themselves 

 over so that the belly is uppermost, and sometimes 

 springing entirely out of the water. They swim round 

 in circles, now and then leaping up, splash about, whirl- 

 ing and turning and tumbling about like mad, and so 

 entirely forgetting themselves that the wary hunter 

 can easily come within harpooning distance and capture 

 them. The behaviour of seals in captivity is equally re- 

 markable. 



In speaking of dolphins, Losche says: " Every sea- 

 man is delighted to see a school of dolphins. The 

 cheery travellers hurry along through the swelling waves 

 in a long and regular train, pursuing their way with a 

 speed that suggests a race, and with leaps of wonderful 

 agility. Their glittering bodies rise in the air in fine 

 curves from one to two yards wide, fall headlong into 

 the water, and soon spring up again, carrying on the 

 game. The j oiliest of the flock turn somersaults in the 

 air, turning up their tails in a most comical manner. 

 Others fall flat on side or back, and still others remain 

 bolt upright, dancing along with the help of their tails 

 until they have made three or four forward move- 

 ments. They no sooner see a ship under full sail than 

 they turn about and follow it, and then begins real 

 sport. They circle around the vessel, leap in front of it, 

 and make the best possible exhibition of their skill. 

 The faster the boat moves the more riotous their an- 

 tics." Brehm gives this description of the exercise of a 

 caged marten: " He amused himself for hours at a time 



