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ALMOST HUMAN 
transfer his affections from his old master to any of the keepers, and 
remained as reserved and repellent as any of the other members of his 
species there. 
About two years afterwards Mr. Josephs returned to Melbourne. 
He was interested to find out whether his old pet remembered him, and 
so one Sunday afternoon he went to seek him out. There were perhaps 
a hundred people about the cage, but since Mr. Josephs reached six feet 
seven or eight inches in height it was with little difficulty that he looked 
over the heads of the crowd and called “Nigger! Nigger!!” At the first 
sound of his voice the animal jumped with astonishment and quivered 
painfully as he held back his ears to listen for the unexpected sounds. 
The second time his former name was called he was certain that he was 
not dreaming, but that, although he could not yet see him, his old master 
was somewhere very close to him. He sprang nearly to the roof of his 
cage in his eagerness to catch a glimpse of Mr. Josephs, and flung himself 
desperately again and again at his bars in a wild attempt to break through 
to liberty and friendship. When at last Mr, Josephs managed to elbow 
his way through to the cage, and was able to get inside to pet and fondle 
him. Nigger was so excited, and found himself so utterly incapable of 
giving vent to all his joy that he nearly went mad. The poor creature’s 
anxiety to remain with his long lost master was so pathetic a sight that 
it brought tears to the eyes of those who were watching the little romance 
of wild life. There is something very good about an animal that can 
treasure up memories of past kindness like that, and remain true to an 
affection after so long a time. 
A TUG OF WAR. 
Generally speaking, keepers have not too much to say in favor of 
hyaenas. The spotted hysena is rather smaller than the largest varieties 
of the striped hysena, but it is more fierce and dangerous, and, perhaps, 
more treacherous. The striped hysena barks like a dog; the spotted one 
can bark too, but it has a most extraordinary way of expressing any 
strong emotion — delight or passion — by a weird laugh, so uncanny that 
it can only be compared with the ghastly lapgh of a maniac. Therefore 
it is frequently called the Laughing Hysena. It is an inhabitant of South 
Africa, and the people of the Cape of Good Hope call it the “Tiger-wolf.” 
Hysenas seize an object with so firm a hold that once they get a grip it 
is almost impossible to wrench their jaws apart, and among the Arabs 
this tendency has caused them to be proverbial for obstinacy. This 
characteristic is well brought out in the following story. 
At the Zoo some time ago there was a spotted hysena that was so 
