The law of battle-Special weapons, confined to the males-Cause of absence of weapons in the female-Weapons common to both sexes, yet primarily acquired by the male-Other uses of such weapons-Their high importance-Greater size of the male-Means of defence-On the preference shown by either sex in the pairing of quadrupeds.
With mammals the male appears to win the female much more through the law of battle than through the display of his charms. The most timid animals, not provided with any special weapons for fighting, engage in desperate conflicts during the season of love. Two male hares have been seen to fight together until one was killed; male moles often fight, and sometimes with fatal results; male squirrels engage in frequent contests, "and often wound each other severely"; as do male beavers, so that "hardly a skin is without scars. " (1. See Waterton's account of two hares fighting, ‘Zoologist,' vol. i. 1843, p. 211. On moles, Bell, ‘Hist. of British Quadrupeds,' 1st ed., p. 100. On squirrels, Audubon and Bachman, Viviparous Quadrupeds of N. America, 1846, p. 269. On beavers, Mr. A. H. Green, in ‘Journal of Linnean Society, Zoology,' vol. x. 1869, p. 362.)
Sign in to unlock this title
Sign in to continue reading, it's free! As an unregistered user you can only read a little bit.
