426 ANIMAL INTELLIGENCE. 



CHAPTER XV. 



FOXES, WOLVES, JACKALS, ETC. 



The general psychology of these animals is, of course, 

 very much the same as that of the dog ; but, from never 

 having been submitted to the influences of domestication, 

 their mental qualities present a sufficient number of 

 differences from those of the dog to require another 

 chapter for their consideration. 



If we could subtract from the domestic dog all the 

 emotions arising from his prolonged companionship with 

 man, and at the same time intensify the emotions of self- 

 reliance, rapacity, &c., we should get the emotional 

 character now presented by the wolves and jackals. 

 It is interesting to note that this genetic similarity of 

 emotional character extends to what may be termed 

 idiosyncratic details in cases where it has not been 

 interfered with by human agency. Thus the peculiar, 

 weird, and unaccountable class of emotions which cause 

 wolves to bay at the moon has been propagated unchanged 

 to our domestic dogs. 



The intelligence of the fox is proverbial; but as I 

 have not received many original observations on this 

 head, I shall merely refer to some of the best authen- 

 ticated observations already published, and shall begin 

 with the instance narrated by JVIr. St. John in his ' Wild 

 Sports of the Highlands ' : — 



When living in Ross-shire I went out one morning in July, 

 before daybreak, to endeavour to shoot a stag, which had been 

 complained of very much by an adjoining farmer, as having 

 done great damage to his crops. Just after it was daylight I 

 saw a large fox coming quietly along the edge of the plantation 



