142 



ASSOCIATION OF ORGANISMS THE WEB OF LIFE 



There is good reason why they should, for, as Beddard says (in 

 The Cambridge Natural History], " they owe, too, their safety 

 from many foes to their sociable habits. Being nocturnal animals 

 they are liable to the attacks of the jaguar, which will speedily 

 overpower and devour a peccary that has strayed from its herd." 



In Deer there is usually a scent-gland (the crumen) opening 

 into a pit below the eye ; so also in most Antelopes. The latter 

 may also possess other scent-glands in the groin or between the 

 toes. Bottle-shaped structures of the sort .are found between the 

 digits in Sheep (fig. 1107). It is 

 interesting to note that a captive 

 specimen of the Klipspringer An- 

 telope (Oreotragus saltator] has 

 been observed to deliberately de- 

 posit upon various objects the secre- 

 tion that oozes out under its eyes. 

 Such a habit if practised under 

 natural conditions would no doubt 

 help these animals to find one an- 

 other. But the glands in the feet 

 of Sheep, &c., are of special interest 

 here, for drops of the strong-smell- 

 ing secretion must constantly be 

 squeezed out on to the ground, 

 leaving a well - marked " trail ". 



Many other examples of scent -glands might easily be given. 

 The exact use no doubt varies in different cases, and may have 

 nothing to do with the social habit proper. For example, an 

 animal may thus be assisted in the search for a mate, and Beddard 

 suggests that some scents are possibly of mimetic nature. The 

 odour of the Musk- Deer is perhaps of this kind, for it may 

 suggest to aggressors the musky smell of the Crocodile, an animal 

 which they would think twice before attacking. Stink -glands 

 as a direct defence have been spoken of elsewhere (see vol. ii, 

 p. 301). 



F i g . no 7 . -Foot of sheep ?/*; dissected 



