26o WILD TRAITS IN TAME ANIMALS. 



the sake of its contents, and is still in pos- 

 session ready to defend its spoil against an- 

 other robber? If a wolf, fox, glutton, marten, 

 or other animal is generally ready to face 

 starvation rather than meddle with anything 

 that appears to him in the least like a baited 

 trap, still more would such a beast avoid the 

 risk of thrusting his nose or his paw into a 

 cavity from which there issues the awful men- 

 ace of an explosive hiss. For, in addition to 

 the habitual diffidence and cautiousness of the 

 beast, there is its ingrained terror of the serpent 

 fighting in favour of the innocents lying within 

 the hole. 



Whatever doubt we may have as to the 

 protective meaning of the concentric bands 

 upon the sleeping ocelot or tabby, or of the 

 attitude, movement, and utterances which char- 

 acterise a cat at bay, there can, I think, be 

 no two opinions as to the cause of origin, and 

 as to the protective value, of the hiss when 

 uttered by helpless young creatures such as 

 those we have been discussinof. 



And if the latter part of the case be ad- 

 mitted, I do not see where the sceptic is to 

 draw the line and say, " This may be true 



