Uncommon Pets 15 
animal, although only so to Mr. Brooke. Owing to being annoyed in her younger 
days by street curs, she is rather a terror to strange dogs, and, with the Dingo 
also shown, has killed a sheep-dog in a couple of minutes; but to dogs who are 
properly introduced she is amity itself, and quickly makes friends with them. She 
has a companion, a bull-terrier, with whom she is very fond of playing. Wolves vary 
very much in disposition: some are very gentle and confiding even with strangers; 
others, on the contrary, are very treacherous. The wolf, when wild, does not bark, 
and some, even when tamed and kept with domesticated dogs, remain absolutely 
dumb; others, however, soon learn to bark. It is curious and at the same time 
worthy of attention that wolves, unlike dogs, never bark at nothinge—there is always 
some reason for their bark. Those who haye 
gone in for wolves are all agreed that the 
wolf is a very nervous animal and most 
suspicious of what it does not perfectly 
comprehend; it therefore follows that in 
training these animals the utmost patience is 
required, especially until they get accustomed 
to, and have perfect confidence in their 
owner or keeper. Wolves have an advantage 
over foxes and jackals in that they are 
less “snappy” and less odoriferous, and 
with careful attention to cleanliness can be 
kept quite or almost without smell—far 
sweeter, in fact, than many dogs are. Mr. 
Brooke has often, he tells me, taken one 
of his white females—the one on the lady’s 
lap—for a ride im a train and cab, and 
even taken her with him into London 
restaurants. 
There appears to be no reason why wolf- 
breeding should not become a_ profitable 
hobby when once the general public realise 
what delightful companionable pets they may 
be trained to become, as wolves in captivity 
pair with readiness and bring forth their 
young in due season. They breed regularly 
in all the Zoos and in the hands of the 
various travelline-menagerie keepers, ¢e.g., they 
breed at Sanger’s place at Margate every oe woe 
year. If the male wolf is left with the A PET WHITE WOLF. 
female when the cubs have arrived he will 
take an active imterest in bringing the young cubs up, and it has been noticed that 
when the cubs begin to run about, the male, after feeding, regurgitates a considerable 
portion of his half-digested food, which the cubs rayvenously devour; it has been 
further noticed, and is a remarkable fact, that if for some reason at this period 
the male is removed, the female immediately commences to do likewise. Wolves 
not only breed iter se, but will cross also with suitable dogs and the dingo. Many 
of the habits of the wolves and jackals show themselves in the domestic dog, as, 
for instance, the turning round two or three times when about to lie down, this 
action, no doubt, being originally intended to form a hollow in the ground to make 
a resting place. 
