How Animals Talk 



but they are strangely blind to any motionless 

 object however large or small. Repeatedly when 

 I have been sitting quiet, without concealment 

 but with "neutral" clothes that harmonize with 

 the soft woods colors, I have known deer, moose, 

 caribou, bear, wolf, fox, lynx, otter, alert beasts 

 of every kind, to approach within a few yards, 

 giving no heed till a chirp or a slight motion called 

 their attention. Then they would whirl upon me 

 in astonishment, telling me by their attitude that 

 till then they had not noticed or suspected me. 

 Almost invariably at such times animals of the 

 deer family would come a step nearer, their heads 

 high, their eyes asking questions; but beasts of 

 prey after one keen look would commonly drop 

 their heads, as if I were of no consequence, and 

 slyly circle me to get my wind. In either event 

 success or a better view of the animal depended 

 on just one condition, which was to hold absolutely 

 still. So long as I met that condition, none of these 

 wary beasts seemed to have any clear notion what 

 they were looking at. 



Occasionally, indeed, their lack of discernment 

 almost passes belief. One winter day, while cross- 

 ing a frozen lake in Ontario, I noticed a distant 

 speck moving on the snow, and stopped in my 

 tracks to watch it. The speck turned my way, 

 drew near and changed into an otter, who came 



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