The winners in life's race

by Arabella B. Buckley

The Wolf,[175] showing the dog-like form, and long mouth full of teeth.

Moreover, it is quite a mistake to suppose that the greater part of the life of a lion or a wolf is spent in killing and destroying, any more than ours is because we eat beef and mutton. The Lion, at any rate, never attacks an animal unless he is hungry, and even the wolf, generally considered so cruel and bloodthirsty and pitiless, spends the greater part of the year in some quiet place in the mountains with wife and cubs, only hunting for their daily food (though sometimes he is guilty of killing more than he needs), and playing, gambolling, and resting the remainder of the time.

It is when winter comes, and the young ones are stronger and food is scarce, that he grows wild with hunger, and starts off, with a number of others, to scour the forests, so that the animals fly in terror as they hear the howling from afar; and even the traveller, driving his sledge across the snow, urges his frightened horses to their utmost speed, since, with a pack of hungry wolves, even if he has firearms, his life is at stake.

The Wolf, with his relations, the foxes and jackals,[176] is the form of flesh-eating animals which has become least altered from the general type of milk-givers. He has the slim form peculiar to flesh-eaters, but the claws of his feet cannot be drawn in like those of tigers, nor has he those powerful hindquarters which enable them to bound and leap, or the strong paw and fore leg with which they give the death-blow to their prey. Moreover, his face is long like a sheep’s, and his jaws are full of teeth, some of which are blunter than the tiger’s teeth, and more fitted for grinding, for wolves and dogs are omnivorous. But then, on the other hand, he is not so much of a vegetarian as the bears, nor has he their clumsy gait and cumbersome body, for he walks upon his toes and not his flat foot; lastly, his front teeth are large and sharp, and his fangs strong, for they are his chief weapons, and he uses them with wonderful effect. He is essentially a running animal, and chases his prey, rarely leaping on it but tearing it down with his teeth. Strong as he is, he seldom attacks an animal larger than himself, except when he has companions to help him, and then, indeed, he makes little account of a horse or a buffalo, for combination and co-operation are the great strength of the wolf tribe. Even their cowardly cousins the Jackals hunt in packs when they attack living animals, feeding at other times on offal and the remains of the lion’s feast. Yet such is the power of numbers that there is no part of the world, except a few islands, where some member of the wolf family is not to be found. In Northern Europe, Asia, and North America, the common wolves and the prairie wolves hunt in large packs, and in South America the Red Wolf takes their place. In Africa and India the jackals wander with their dismal howl; and even in Australia the wild Dingo dog, probably brought there long ago by savage man, is the terror of all peaceful creatures.

Nor must we forget the cunning clever Fox, with his keen face and bushy tail; for he, curiously enough, is the only one of the wolf family which always hunts alone. The reason of this probably is that he contents himself with small prey—birds, rabbits, and game; while his burrowing habits, his cunning, and his night-hunting, enable him to escape destruction. He is one of the most subtle and knowing of animals except, perhaps, the jackal; and the fact that the pupil of his eye expands and contracts like a cat’s, especially fits him for night-work. So, although he has only himself to depend upon, his race has spread from the Arctic regions, where the Blue Fox wanders over the frozen sea to eat dead seals, down to Africa where the tiny Fennecs feed upon dates, and South America where the Gray Foxes follow the jaguar, as the jackals in Africa do the lion.

And now, does it not seem strange that from a family so fierce and bloodthirsty as the wolf family, our own true, faithful, large-hearted dog should have sprung? But do not let us be too hasty. Remember that this hunting and killing is not for pleasure but for daily bread, and that the wolf and jackal at home are good, tender, and loving parents; and, moreover, that they have both of them been tamed, and shown great affection to man.

Surely we wrong the animals when we call bad men “brutes,” for men love and forget, but a dog will die on his master’s grave, and a tame wolf, whose mistress went away, pined and grieved till she returned, when, on hearing her footstep, he bounded to meet her, and springing up upon her, fell back dead,—his faithful heart had burst with the shock of joy.

And then, also, we must remember that the family of the wolf is the only one among the carnivora in which the animals hunt in packs, so as to learn sociable habits and to obey the will of others. And here, perhaps, we have the reason why, though we have tamed the cat and brought her to our homes, she still remains half-defiant, and can never be taught to work for man; while the dog, on the contrary, has become our obedient servant, and will tend our sheep, guard our homes, and defend our lives.

Fig. 76.