290 



THE WORLD OF ANIMAL LIFE 



This takes us quite by surprise, and for a minute or two we 

 only look at it and wonder what it can possibly be doing. When 

 at last we seize it we find that we have caught, not the blind-worm 

 at all, but only its tail, and that the head and body are now 

 nowhere to be seen. 



The fact is, that when the blind-worm thinks that it is in 

 any danger, it has the power of snapping off its tail just where 

 it joins the body. Stranger still, the tail at once begins to twist 



Blind-worm 



and spring about as described above, and continues to do so for 

 some little time. The attention of the blind-worm's enemy is 

 quite taken off by this; and while he is watching it the blind- 

 worm itself creeps quietly away. 



But, it may be asked, does the blind-worm not die after re- 

 ceiving such an injury .-' No! on the contrary, the wound heals 

 over at once, and very soon a new tail grows in the place of the 

 old. This power of throwing away certain parts of the body is 

 possessed by many animals. Several species of lizards, crabs, and 

 lobsters, and some star-fishes, are known to do the same thing. 

 You may frequently find a blind-worm which has a rather short 

 and blunt tail. You may be quite sure that this is a second tail, 

 and that the first one was snapped off. 



