THE BEGINNINGS OF SOCIAL EVOLUTION 147 



since hunting can, as a rule, be better accomplished 

 alone. But even among these we learn of packs of 

 wolves and wild dogs. Leopards are sometimes met 

 in groups of six or eight. Jackals sometimes hunt in 

 companies ; polar foxes may be found in packs, and 

 the social habits of seals are known to everybody. 

 Among the Ungulata societies are almost universal. 

 Buffaloes, deer, antelopes, and all the rest are nearly 

 always found in herds, sometimes of such size as to 

 baffle comprehension, as illustrated by the American 

 bison of earlier days. Elephants are usually found 

 in herds ranging from ten to two hundred, and the 

 whole list of hogs, rhinoceroses, hippopotamuses, 

 also commonly live in companies of varying sizes. 

 Among the primates solitary life is exceptional. 

 The lemurs, the true monkeys and the apes all gen- 

 erally agree in living in societies. Moreover, we 

 find that the grade of organization in these societies 

 is frequently on a high plane. The band is usually 

 under the control of some old male, and the habits of 

 the tribe are well regulated by custom. They aid 

 each other in various ways ; they hunt in companies 

 with posted sentinels, and even make preconcerted 

 attacks on enemies, apparently under the leadership 

 and generalship of the old males. 



An almost endless list of examples illustrating 

 animals' societies might be given, but the above will 

 suffice to show that a tendency to formation of 

 societies is very widely distributed even below man. 

 The instinct that underlies these societies is doubt- 

 less varied. It is commonly for protection, or for 

 better success in offensive attack on enemies. It is 

 hardly possible that the combinations for these pur- 

 poses are made intelligently, for we cannot believe 



