136 : - The Carnivora. 
t 
“Moorman” also says: “I can confirm the statement made 
by Mr. B. St. A. Jenner that foxes wag their brushes. At 
least, I have had three in confinement which did so. One was 
taken when quite a little thing, and reared by hand; when 
full grown he was quite tame, and, whenever I paid him a 
visit in his kennel, would come to the full tether of his 
chain, and, lying close to the ground, wag his brush in a 
very decided fashion; but when loose he very rarely did this. 
The other two were both taken when about half grown, and 
became fairly tame. They both used to wag their tails when 
the food appeared in the morning. I have often had oppor- 
tunities of watching foxes (wild) on the hunt and at play; 
but the only time I remember to have noticed this feature 
in their movements was when watching a fox winding out a 
rabbit across a pasture field.” 
A fine specimen of the American prairie wolf (Canis la- 
trans), from the Rocky Mountains, lodged among the small 
carnivora at the Zoological Gardens, and named “ Mee-Mee,” 
indicates her pleasure by wagging her brush vigorously on 
being spoken to by name. All the dingoes I have seen, both 
at the Gardens, at Mr. W. K. Taunton’s Kennels, and else- 
where, evinced the habit more or less distinctly. It is not, 
then, purely an acquisition of the domestic dog, for -“ Moor- 
man” saw it in a wild fox which had never been under 
human influence. Still, it” differs markedly from the same 
action in our dogs, being a timorous swinging of the tail 
at a low level, rather than that strong waving of the “flag” 
at or above the line of the back, with which our canine 
friends greet us, and show their delight at a word of com- 
mendation; and it is. entirely deficient in those nice gra- 
dations. expressive of many moods. and conditions of the 
mental state. 
The change in the voice is one of the most marked cha- 
racters of domestication. So far as I can ascertain, all 
genuine wild species hunt silently, whether singly or in 
packs, as would appear to be necessary in order to avoid 
