DECEPTION. 525 



1. Death or dying. 



2. Disease or illness. 



3. Disablement from accident, injury or wounds. 



4. Strong emotion, especially misery or distress. 



5. Sleep or repose. 



6. Insensibility. 



7. Play or inattention. 



8. Preoccupation or intentness on occupation. 



9. Ignorance. 



10. Innocence. 



11. Suffering, mentally or bodily 

 the usual motives for which are 



1. The diversion of man or other animals from their 

 young or their nests. 



2. The securing of their own safety in presence of immi- 

 nent danger. 



It is notorious that many beetles various coleoptera 

 many of the Cantharidece and Eryotylidce, and Bromius vitis 

 (Baird), feign death in the presence of an enemy or of other 

 danger, and obviously in order to escape therefrom. The crab 

 also, like beetles, in terror or alarm especially if sudden 

 on seizure by man, sometimes even on being touched, makes 

 believe that it is defunct (Baird, Watson). The fox does the 

 same (Drake), the elephant (Tennent, Watson), the young 

 turkey ('Percy Anecdotes), and the polecat (Low), to escape 

 threatened danger. A New Brunswick humming-bird and 

 the jackal resort to the same feint or ruse on capture 

 (Adams) ; and similar phenomena are exhibited by certain 

 other birds, by snakes and spiders, by the rat, opossum, and 

 other animals. 



One of the commonest tricks that the dog is taught, is 

 to feign itself dead, to allow its limbs, and whole carcase 

 indeed, to be treated by man as if it were dead. 



A North American opossum is called e the dissimulator ' 

 from its well-known habit of feigning death. ' When at- 

 tacked it rolls itself up like a ball, submits to be kicked and 

 maltreated without moving; feigns death ; lies on the ground 

 with shut eyes, and cheats its assailants into the belief thai 

 it has been destroyed ' (Audubon). 



