CHAPTER n 

 ANIMALS AS PRIZE-FIGHTERS 



THE power to fight, or to give battle in defence 

 and offence, is a gift which Nature has be- 

 stowed upon the majority of animals ; but we 

 find that certain races and individuals develop a 

 taste for combat and strife far exceeding that of 

 the majority of their kind. These born prize- 

 fighters, as they may weU be called, are not confined 

 to any special group of creatures, for included 

 amongst their numbers are mammals, birds, fishes, 

 and insects. 



Prom very early days records have been handed 

 down of organised animal fights being held for the 

 purpose of providing sensational exhibitions for the 

 beholders ; and although it is pleasing to state 

 that many of the practices which found favour in the 

 past under the name of sport are no longer allowed, 

 yet, nevertheless, if we inquire into the subject, a 

 great deal of interesting information is to be obtained 

 regarding its historical associations, and we obtain 

 also an insight into the curious nature of some of 

 the combatants. 



Few of us, for instance, would expect to find 



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