72 WOLF'S WILD ANIMALS. 



of offence and defence, are still subject to many perils both from the irresistible 

 forces of nature, and also from the different members of the animal kingdom. 

 Foremost as a destroyer stands Man, who does his will among the lower creatures, 

 assaulting them with weapons against which they can oppose no adequate defence, 

 and employing in the pursuit of his savage, or may be timorous quarry, an intellec- 

 tual strategy, in comparison with which the instinctive cunning of the wild animal 

 amounts to little more than no resource at all. Man's superiority over all other 

 animated beings does not in any degree, however, affect the relationship of the lower 

 creatures to each other. As man dominates over them all, so do some wild 

 animals, by the possession of a greater instinct or physical force, govern others. 

 Thus, the lion, by means of his great strength, and the fox by a wonderful sagacity, 

 are both enabled to accomplish their desired ends ; while the elephant is endowed 

 with a physical power equalled by few created beings, and ruled by an intelligence 

 that at times appears almost human. 



The habits of all wild animals in their haunts are interesting in the highest 

 degree, and worthy the most careful attention. It is hoped that from the preced- 

 ing pages some general insight may have been gained of the modes of life of the 

 various creatures which have formed the subjects of the illustrations ; and that as 

 the reader lays down the book, here brought to a conclusion, he may carry away 

 some new scrap of information, which will lead him to study the different mem- 

 bers of the animal kingdom, and to contribute, in his turn, new facts derived 

 from his own observation. 



