The Courtship of Animals

by W. P. Pycraft

[Face page 72

Plate 12.

Photo copyright by A. H. Bishop.

GIRAFFE.

The horns of this animal can prove formidable weapons of offence on occasion, though they are useless against predatory animals.

While the ungulates, or hoofed animals, are peculiar in the development of horns as weapons of offence, they are by no means singular in the use of teeth for this purpose. In some cases, as in the Muntjac, both forms of armature are present. The only other instances where teeth in this group of animals are used for offensive purposes are those furnished by the Camel and the Horse. But here they do not exhibit that excessive size which is met with in the Elephant, and some of the Swine. In both the Camel and the Horse it is the canine which is used, and both jaws are similarly armed. Since the camel has no upper incisors, the part played by the teeth is beyond dispute; but it has been contended that the horse uses his incisor or “front-teeth” alone when fighting. But this is not so; the canines can, and do, inflict ugly wounds, as is shown by the necks of zebras.

A further method of defence among the larger Ungulates, at any rate, is resorted to when hard pressed: and this is the use of the hoof in kicking. Giraffes kick both after the usual fashion and in striking downwards with the fore-foot. And an interesting demonstration of this has been furnished by Mr. F. C. Selous in his delightful “African Nature Notes.” He relates that on one occasion he came across a calf only a day or two old, with its back broken. From scratches on the calf, and the footprints on the ground in its vicinity, he was at once enabled to gather the cause of its terrible plight. In a word, it had been attacked by two leopards, and the mother, in an endeavour to beat off the assailants with a blow of her fore-foot had accidentally struck her offspring. Horses, Cattle, Antelopes, Camels and Elephants can all kick with precision and effect. So far as the evidence goes, however, this is a method of defence used against beasts of prey, and is rarely, if ever, employed in conflicts between rival males. Females persecuted by the undesired attentions of amorous males, however, do, as we know from the case of domesticated animals, use this device to defend themselves.

It is not difficult to account for the origin of such secondary sexual characters as manes, beards, tusks, and brightly-coloured areas of skin, though whether our interpretations are really correct is another matter. But no attempt to explain the origin of horns has yet achieved a like degree of persuasiveness. These weapons appear only in the Ungulates, a group which has, in past times, given birth to some very extraordinary types of head armature of this kind. These must be excluded from the present discussion; suffice it to say that, as usual, they were the adjuncts of the males. According to current theories it is supposed that these weapons arose as the result of the action of sexual selection. It is assumed that the hornless ancestors of now horned ruminants fought for their mates by “butting” with the forehead. Naturally, other things being equal, the thickest skulled combatants obtained the mastery. Any tendency to develop frontal “bosses” of bone would further enhance the chances of success, and would, indeed, soon become necessary for survival. And from such “bosses” the passage to horns and antlers forms an easy transition. Just such incipient horns or “bosses” actually make their appearance in the domesticated horse: but these animals never butt at one another. If, however, we regard horn-production as an inherent diathesis of the ungulate somatoplasm, we have an intelligible basis for the explanation of horn development.

The formidable horns of the Rhinoceros are of a totally different character, being solid structures formed by hairlike agglomerations, firmly fixed upon a roughened area of the nasal region. These weapons play a very important part in settling disputes between rival males, but on other occasions demanding offensive tactics the Indian Rhinoceros at any rate seems to depend rather on his power of wounding by means of the chisel-shaped lower incisors. These, by means of a swift lateral movement of the head can be made to inflict most terrible gashes, as those who hunt with elephants well know. It is quite possible, however, that the teeth are also thus used during struggles for supremacy. And this may perhaps account for the enormous bucklers of skin developed by the Indian Rhinoceros, but only indicated in the case of the African species.