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CHARLES DARWIN 



fine legs. It is very common over the whole of the temperate 

 parts of the continent, as far south as the islands near Cape 

 Horn. It generally lives in small herds of from half a dozen 

 to thirty in each ; but on the banks of the St. Cruz we saw 

 one herd which must have contained at least five hundred. 



They are generally wild and extremely wary. Mr. Stokes 

 told me, that he one day saw through a glass a herd of these 

 animals which evidently had been frightened, and were run- 

 ning away at full speed, although their distance was so great 

 that he could not distinguish them with his naked eye. The 

 sportsman frequently receives the first notice of their pres- 

 ence, by hearing from a long distance their peculiar shrill 

 neighing note of alarm. If he then looks attentively, he will 

 probably see the herd standing in a line on the side of some 

 distant hill. On approaching nearer, a few more squeals are 

 given, and off they set at an apparently slow, but really quick 

 canter, along some narrow beaten track to a neighbouring 

 hill. If, however, by chance he abruptly meets a single ani- 

 mal, or several together, they will generally stand motionless 

 and intently gaze at him ; then perhaps move on a few yards, 

 turn round, and look again. What is the cause of this differ- 

 ence in their shyness? Do they mistake a man in the dis- 

 tance for their chief enemy the puma? Or does curiosity 

 overcome their timidity? That they are curious is certain; 

 for if a person lies on the ground, and plays strange antics, 

 such as throwing up his feet in the air, they will almost 

 always approach by degrees to reconnoitre him. It was an 

 artifice that was repeatedly practised by our sportsmen with 

 success, and it had moreover the advantage of allowing sev- 

 eral shots to be fired, which were all taken as parts of the 

 performance. On the mountains of Tierra del Fuego, I have 

 more, than once seen a guanaco, on being approached, not 

 only neigh and squeal, but prance and leap about in the most 

 ridiculous manner, apparently in defiance as a challenge. 

 These animals are very easily domesticated, and I have seen 

 some thus kept in northern Patagonia near a house, though 

 not under any restraint. They are in this state very bold, and 

 readily attack a man by striking him from behind with both 

 knees. It is asserted that the motive for these attacks is 

 jealousy on account of their females. The wild guanacos, 



