WILD ANIMALS IN CAPTIVITY 



and strong belief, and those who come forward with that 

 intention may be allowed to cry — 



" Despair thy charm." 



In taking up this subject the writer must ask the 

 reader's consideration of the following mode of treating 

 the conflicting statements and disputed points published 

 in various works. Now suppose a man or other animal is 

 bitten by a well-known venomous serpent, by what test or 

 means can we ascertain that the man or animal so wounded 

 has received the poison in sufficient quantity to destroy life ? 



It is well known that these creatures often inflict severe 

 wounds that are not poisoned, but the shock received on 

 the infliction is sufficient to produce, especially upon a 

 nervous organization, an amount of alarm and consequent 

 derangement so as to give the appearance of actual poison. 

 Well-recorded instances are not wanting to show that 

 persons bitten by serpents destitute of poison have died 

 from the effect of the bite. Some years ago a keeper in 

 the Zoological Gardens in Dublin was bitten by one of 

 the harmless boas, and the terror that ensued, together 

 with a somewhat shattered constitution, proved fatal 

 in a few hours, in spite of every aid that was promptly 

 afforded by the most skilful medical men in attendance 

 upon him. There is nothing to justify us in supposing 

 that man only is capable of this panic-stricken alarm at 

 being wounded by a serpent. Let any one who has wit- 

 nessed the battles that take place between snake-eating 

 animals and their prey say, if he can, that the victims 

 exhibit no fear and are careless of the bites of the snakes. 

 To say so would prove that such person is not a trust- 

 worthy observer. 



It is true that the ichneumon will rush, sometimes, upon 

 the snake so eagerly that he gets wounded, but its most 

 frequent and certain mode of proceeding is with caution, and 



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