336 AN INTRODUCTION TO ZOOLOGY. 



tamed by man ; the fear of man evinced by most wild 

 creatures is merely the result of their experience and 

 observatioDj for creatures that have not been used to 

 the sight of human beings evince no fear of them. An 

 interesting experiment on the principle of non-inter- 

 ference as applied to the fauna of our own country was 

 made many years ago by the celebrated naturalist, 

 Mr. Waterton. He did not allow any of the wild 

 animals and birds on his estate to be destroyed. 

 Every one supposed the place would soon be over- 

 run by them; but it was found that the predatory 

 kinds kept the others down, so that there was no in- 

 convenient multiplication of mischievous kinds, and 

 many rare and curious creatures came to live there, 

 finding that they were not molested. It is to be 

 wished that experiments of this kind were more fre- 

 quent, and the spirit in which they were made more 

 common. 



The observation and companionship of healthy and 

 happy animals {not shut up in cages) is an everlasting 

 source of fiin. Animals of all kinds are always full of 

 frisk ; probably because, as Walt Whitman observes, 

 they do not trouble about being " respectable," i.e. do 

 not make themselves miserable by centering all their 

 energies on trying to behave exactly like their neigh- 

 bours. It is quite a mistake, however, to suppose, as 

 some misanthropes do, that animals are any better 

 than oiheT peoj^le. They would not be nearly so 

 funny or so lovable as they are, if they had not the 

 germ of most human weaknesses. Nobody can doubt 



