DIET OF ANIMALS. 197 



are the lion, the tiger, the jaguar, and all cats. The carnivora which 

 feed on living prey are always ferocious. Those which feed on dead 

 nnimal matter are usually cowardly, as the vulture, hyena, jackal, etc. 

 As a rule, they seek their prey alone and seldom hunt in flocks or 

 herds. They differ in their manner of searching for food. Some lie in 

 wait for their food and surprise it, others chase it ; some feed almost 

 solely on fish, others on mammals. The general rule, however, holds 

 that animals seldom, if ever, feed on their own species. Carnivorous 

 animals invariably devour the herbivorous. There are, however, many 

 exceptions to this ; thus, swans have been said to eat their own kind ; 

 ducks and ravens are said to have eaten birds of their own species ; while 

 it seems well established that wolves and rats both destro} T each other 

 for food ; so. also, the sow has been known to eat her young ; but all 

 these are merely exceptions to the general rule that animals, even when 

 pressed by the most extreme hunger, refuse to devour flesh of their own 

 species. These animals differ greatly in their mode of devouring their 

 food. Some consume their prey when freshly killed; others simply con- 

 sume the blood ; some wait until decomposition has commenced; while 

 many bury the remains, to wait until again pressed by hunger. 



Among carnivorous birds we always find a mode of prehension of 

 food suitable to the character of their diet. Insect-eating birds have, as 

 a rule, long, narrow beaks, with prehensile tongues. Fish-eating birds 

 have beaks which enable them to seize and consume their prey. 



Herbivora are of a very different organism from carnivora. Their 

 molars are flat, or have tuberculated crowns ; their jaws are longer, more 

 slender, and less strong ; their stomachs are always more ample from the 

 fact that in vegetable food the nutritive principles are in less relative 

 bulk than in animal food ; their intestines are larger, longer, and more 

 complicated, and often have special diverticulse for the retention of food ; 

 their senses are not as delicate as those of the carnivora. The}", as a 

 rule, want means of aggression, while the instincts, courage, and cunning 

 of the carnivora are absent. While many of them are provided with 

 defensive organs, as a rule they depend upon their speed for their pro- 

 tection. 



Herbivorous animals are divided into the grass-eaters, the herbivora 

 proper; the granivora,OY seed-eaters; the fructivora, or those which feed 

 on fruits. Of the large herbivora, the solipedes, of which the horse and 

 ass are examples, and the ruminants, are the most prominent examples. 

 In the savage state they live exclusively on herbs and leaves, and never 

 eat roots or fruits. Others, such as the hippopotamus, rhinoceros, and 

 the elephant, prefer roots, but eat leaves and herbs, and in the domestic 

 state all may^ live on dry forage. Others belonging to this same group, 

 such as the castor and beaver, and the rodents generally, will eat the bark 



