THE ANIMAL SENSE OF HUMOUR 69 



animals ; while in others some of its elements are so 

 often present, that it would be difficult to deny to 

 them a share in it. We fancy, however, that humour 

 in its most developed form is possessed by dogs 

 alone among the animals ; and that they have 

 acquired the faculty partly from man. The power 

 of laughter is peculiar to man, and the sense of 

 humour may be said, speaking generally, to be also 

 his special property. In seeking to disentangle the 

 'manifestations' of humour in the animal mind, we 

 must carefully distinguish between the instances of 

 the conscious appreciation and enjoyment of what 

 is comical, and the extreme but involuntary comicality 

 of many animals themselves. There are at least a 

 dozen species whose form and actions are so absurdly 

 humorous that it is next to impossible not to read 

 into an interpretation of their thoughts something 

 of the feeling which they excite in ourselves. A 

 polar bear in the ordinary enjoyment of his tub, or 

 an eagle-owl holding a young rabbit in one claw 

 and a duckling in the other, and making alternate 

 efforts to swallow each whole, while his eyes wink 

 in time to the gulps, look as if they were consciously 

 performing for the public amusement, though neither 

 is the least aware that it is doing anything odd, or 

 would hesitate for a moment to leave off and claw 

 the spectator the instant he appeared on the wrong 



