DESERT SANDS 349 



they turn wistfully and bloodthirstily towards the approach- 

 ing stranger. The jaguar, oncelot, leopard, and other tree- 

 cats, on the other hand, are dappled or spotted a type of 

 coloration which exactly harmonises with the light and 

 shade of the round sun-spots seen through the foliage of a 

 tropical forest. They, too, are almost indistinguishable 

 from the trees overhead as they creep along cautiously 

 on the. trunks and branches. But spots or stripes would 

 at once betray the crouching lion among the bare rocks or 

 desert sands ; and therefore the lion is approximately sand- 

 coloured. Seen in a cage at the Zoo, the British lion is a 

 very conspicuous animal indeed ; but spread at full length 

 on a sandy patch or among bare yellow rocks under the 

 Saharan sun, you may walk into his mouth before you are 

 even aware of his august existence. 



The three other great desert beasts of Asia or Africa 

 the ostrich, the giraffe, and the camel are less protectively 

 coloured, for various reasons. Giraffes and ostriches go in 

 herds ; they trust for safety mainly to their swiftness of 

 foot, and, when driven to bay, like most gregarious animals, 

 they make common cause against the ill-advised intruder, 

 In such cases it is often well, for the sake of stragglers, 

 that the herd should be readily distinguished at a distance ; 

 and it is to insure this advantage, I believe, that giraffes 

 have acquired their strongly marked spots, as zebras have 

 acquired their distinctive stripes, and hyaenas their similarly 

 banded or dappled coats. One must always remember that 

 disguise may be carried a trifle too far, and that recognisa- 

 bility in the parents often gives the young and giddy a 

 point in their favour. For example, it seems certain that 

 the general grey-brown tint of European rabbits serves to 

 render them indistinguishable in a field of bracken, stubble, 

 or dry grass. How hard it is, either for man or hawk, to 

 pick out rabbits so long as they sit still, in an English 



