46 A GAMEKEEPER'S NOTE-BOOK 



be found, and a living is to be made with the least 



exertion. 



How far animals are conscious of fear, and where 



the instinct of self-preservation merges into fear, are 



questions not easily to be solved. A hare 



Studies appears to be among the most timid of 



Fear creatures, making ofi with speed at the 



slightest alarm yet confidence in her own 



power to escape danger may drive all real fear from 



her heart. Instincts of fury, bravery and fear are 



nearly related. 



There is a common idea that wild animals have 

 an inborn fear of man. But it seems probable that 

 where fear of man is marked it has been impressed 

 upon the animals by example of parents, or experi- 

 ence. Fear, or at least a strong suspicion of what is 

 unknown and strange, is evident among creatures of 

 uninhabited places, though wild-fowl on waters visited 

 by man for the first time may take no notice of a boat 

 that sails through their flocks. 



Flight is usually the first instinct of self-preservation. 

 The zigzag start of a flight is cultivated by many 

 besides snipe and woodcock by hares, which bound 

 from side to side of their line, and double back with a 

 wonderful turn, when hard pressed ; by deer pursued 

 by wolves ; by stoats when danger threatens ; or by 

 the rabbit nearly taken unawares by the spring of a 



