THE LION AND HIS KIN
A Surprising Relationship—The Lion’s Mane—The Sabre-toothed Tiger—Some
Theories about Origins—Sea-lions in Love—Some Strange Ornaments—Whales
and Weapons.
That the Lion and the Lamb could possibly have been derived from the
same stock seems incredible: yet such is the case, though the pedigree
is now well-nigh lost in the mists of a hoary antiquity. It is not
surprising, then, that in their present-day garb they should show so
little in common. Nor is it strange that among their many points of
divergence the one should differ so conspicuously from the other in the
matter of secondary sexual characters. For when these are conspicuous
among the Ungulates they usually take the form of horns, of which the
Carnivores have no need, for the teeth and claws whereby they win their
daily portion of meat make equally serviceable weapons of offence when
turned against their own kind.
Among the larger Carnivora, the Lion alone displays any obvious
distinction between the sexes in the matter of ornament, and this in
the form of the well-known mane. Darwin, and later authorities, have
regarded this as a shield to protect the great blood-vessels from
injury during battles between rivals. But it is not very clear that
this alone is sufficient to explain its presence, inasmuch as the Tiger
in this respect is defenceless. Mr. F. C. Selous long ago pointed out
that the varying abundance of the mane is due to climatic causes. Lions
which live in districts where the nights are very cold, as in high
table-lands, have large manes; those which occupy lower ground, where
the nights are relatively warm, have but a scanty mane. It is clear,
however, that the abundance of the mane is not determined by the need
for warmth, otherwise it would have been as well developed in the
female. Rather we must regard a low temperature as conducive to the
growth of long hair when a natural tendency to produce this is present.
There are few men who can claim to have so great a first-hand
acquaintance with Lions as Mr. Selous, and he has pointed out to me
one significant fact which seems to show not only that the mane has
not been developed to serve as a shield when fighting, but that fights
between rival males must be rare. And this because of the absence
of any evidence in the shape of scars on the skin. With claws so
formidable as those of the lion, ugly wounds would certainly be made in
any prolonged conflicts, for the skin of this animal is very thin.
In the now extinct Sabre-toothed Tiger the upper canines were of
enormous length, and it is not improbable that they, on this account,
exceeded the bounds of usefulness; that, while as weapons of offence
they may have proved exceedingly effective, yet they hampered the
animal when feeding. In many ways one is reminded by these weapons of
the huge tusks of the Walrus. These are blunt-pointed, and are said
to be used very largely for digging up the large clams and other
burrowing shell-fish on which this animal mainly feeds. They are also
used as levers to drag the huge body out of the water on to the ice.
As fighting weapons they are formidable, and the wounds they inflict
are sometimes serious. The polygamous habits of this huge creature may
account for the fact that they are so much larger in the males, wherein
they may attain a length of thirty inches, and a weight of eight pounds
a-piece.
In connection with the monstrous tusks of the Sabre-toothed Tiger there
is a point which so far seems never to have attracted the attention it
deserves. And this concerns two small flanges of bone which project
from the lower border of the end of the lower jaw. In themselves they
are unimportant: they lie, it is to be noticed, parallel with the
points of the great upper teeth which descend on either side of them.
Their full significance is not apparent till we turn to the skull of
another extinct animal of quite another type—the huge Dinoceros, one
of the Ungulates. This animal was also armed with an enormous pair
of tusks, which also, when the mouth was closed, descended on either
side of a flange. In this case, however, the flange was developed to
such an extent that its free edge descended to the level of the point
of the tusk, thus affording it protection against injury. The really
striking feature of this curious down-growth is not apparent till an
attempt is made to explain its presence. What determined its growth?
It seems to furnish us with another of the many instances which are
to be found of the correlation of growth between unrelated parts, for
there is apparently no traceable connection between the growth of this
pair of teeth in the upper jaw and the development of the flanges of
the lower border of the jaw which are embraced by these teeth. In the
Sabre-toothed Tiger the inciting cause to this flange growth, whatever
it may have been, seems to have been much weaker than in the case of
Dinoceros.
Naturally one asks, can the whole thing be explained by the theory of
Kinetogenesis promulgated years ago by Cope? That is to say, are these
curious down-growths the result of a response to a stimulus set up in
the lower jaw by constant lateral blows dealt by the tusks against
the side of the jaw during the lateral movements of the jaw when
feeding or ruminating? Such movements in an Ungulate would be frequent
and constant: hence perhaps the more striking result. On account of
the scissor-like action of the jaws in the Sabre-tooth such lateral
movements were far less extensive, and less powerful. But though this
explanation sounds plausible, it presents many difficulties. In the
first place it seems to commit one to the admission that the responses
of the Somatoplasm during the life of the individual are transmitted
to the germ-plasm: that, in short, the characters acquired by the
individual during its lifetime are transmitted to its offspring. And
there are insuperable difficulties in the way of such a theory. Yet,
it must be admitted, it is no less difficult to believe that this
correlation of growth is due solely to fortuitous variation, for one
cannot really conceive of a variation of this kind taking place in two
such different structures independently. Such a conception would have
been less difficult if the case of Dinoceros alone were known to us.
We could have supposed that, somehow, the lower jaw started to produce
its flange just as the teeth began to develop an excess of growth which
carried their points beyond the level of the jaw. But the Sabre-tooth
shows that the tusks had assumed a growth relatively exaggerated as
in Dinoceros, and yet the flange never attained to more than feeble
development. We cannot rest content with the theory that the flange is
due to the constant stimulus of blows struck against this region of the
jaw during the lateral movements which take place when feeding. Were
these animals alive to-day it could be tested by extracting the tusks
during infancy, when, the stimulus being removed, the flanges should
not appear.
There are yet other aspects of the skull of Dinoceros which may well
be considered here. The first concerns the excessive armature of
horns, there being no less than three pairs supported on massive bony
cores; and the second the ridiculously small brain cavity which is
proportionately smaller than that of any other known mammal, recent or
fossil. This poverty of brain-power was probably one, if not the chief,
factor among the causes which brought about the extinction of this
strange beast. Even more formidable horns were borne by the extinct
Arsinoetherium. But this animal did not display the double armature of
horns and tusks.
Among the Carnivora monogamy is the rule, though the Lion is
occasionally polygamous. But the Eared-seals (_Otaria_), or Sea-lions,
and Sea-bears afford a striking example of polygamous species and
of the ferocity they display when sexually excited. These animals,
moreover, are capable of the most astonishing powers of endurance and
vitality, exceeding indeed that of all other mammals. Since the habits
of the Northern Fur-seal (_Otaria ursina_) have been more carefully
studied than those of any others, it may serve as a sample of the rest.
Living for the greater part of the year in the open sea, the old
bulls—animals of six or seven years old—are the first to seek the
“rookeries,” or breeding grounds, taking up their territory a full
month before the cows arrive. Later, the younger bulls appear, and the
more daring endeavour to force their way through the ranks of those
who have already taken up positions. This often leads to fighting, but
more usually nothing further than “bluffing” is indulged in, though
it is commonly supposed that very severe engagements take place. This
seems, however, to be only occasionally true. In due course, generally
about the second week in June, the cows begin to arrive, at first in
straggling numbers, but soon the main body puts in an appearance, and
before the end of the month many thousands of both sexes are crowded
along the foreshore. But yet, contrary to the generally accepted
belief, no serious fighting takes place. The bulls quietly seize the
females as they arrive. It would seem that the first arrival serves as
a focus of attraction for all later comers landing in the vicinity. The
bull holding the most advantageous post—that is to say, that nearest
the best landing-place—starts the collection and, unintentionally, the
distribution of the cows. Having seized the first arrival, he places
her by his side. As the later females arrive he gives each a most
cordial welcome, and then proceeds to round up his harem. But soon he
has more wives than he can continue to control. Do what he will, he
cannot be in two places at once; and thus it is that in rushing off to
chastise some covetous neighbour, one or more bulls on the opposite
side of his harem proceed to make captures from his horde. And this
system of abduction goes on over the whole rookery till all the cows
have been appropriated, leaving a crowd of envious bachelors in the
background who have not yet developed either courage or strength to
secure mates for themselves.
[Illustration: Plate 13.
_Photo by New York Zoological Society, from “The Living Animals of the
World.”_
CALIFORNIAN SEA-LIONS, OR EARED SEALS.
The “bulls” of the Eared Seal are much larger than the “cows”; they
have otherwise no very conspicuous “Secondary Sexual Characters.”
Face page 82.]
But within forty-eight hours of their landing the cows give birth to
their “pups.” And it is for this purpose, and not for mating, that they
come to land. Within a few days of the birth, however, the females
are “in use” again. This is the critical period in the life in the
rookery. For the bulls now become frenzied with excitement and fight
most viciously one with another, each hoping to possess himself of his
opponent’s harem. Each tries to seize the other by the fore flipper,
and, failing in this, the fangs are buried in the back. They hold
tenaciously, each trying to force the other to relax his hold; but
commonly this vice-like grip is maintained till the skin gives way,
leaving great bleeding rents. Sometimes the contest rages till one or
both is fatally wounded. Often during such duels an idle bull, hitherto
unable to secure a harem, will rush in and capture that of one of the
combatants!
In the management of the harem the bull is an adept. Whether he has
five cows or fifty, he is, says Dr. Lucas, “master of the situation.”
His will is law. Not that it is always tamely accepted as such, but
the result is the same. If a cow becomes restless, and moves about, a
warning growl usually quiets her. If the movement is persisted in and
an attempt to escape evident, the bull is up at once with a show of
fierceness and in chase. He may simply strike her down with his open
mouth. Often in doing so his sharp canines tear a gash in her skin. He
may even seize her in his mouth and deliberately throw her, or carry
her back into the harem. If the cow thinks she has a chance to get away
she may try to outrun him. If she miscalculates the distance he seizes
her, after a few swift bounds, by the skin of the back, or by the hind
flipper, and tosses her, often torn and bleeding, into the family
circle. As a rule, however, she avoids this seizure by turning and
facing her lord and master, and biting him in the breast and throat.
But all to no purpose. In spite of her violent protests he pushes her
backwards before him into the fold.
Sometimes in her efforts to improve her position she runs up to, and
is seized by, a rival bull. Her lord speedily asserts his ownership by
getting a grip wherever he can on the would-be truant. Then begins a
tug-of-war between the two bulls, during which the wretched victim of
their rage may be torn in pieces. By the elimination in each generation
of the more querulous and discontented, the peculiarly gentle and
passive nature so characteristic of the females has been developed.
After the first ten days’ sojourn ashore the female is allowed to go
to sea to feed, returning presently to suckle her young. The bull, on
the other hand, can enjoy no such privilege. For three long months he
must keep watch and ward fasting—at first, in order that he may retain
his territory; later, that he may retain his harem. This fast, having
regard to the loss of energy and blood which this strenuous period
entails, is wonderful; for in the case of all other animals fasts
are always associated with absolute rest and sleep. Not so with the
Sea-lion; he arrives at the breeding-ground fat and well-liking, he
leaves a starved and battered wreck.
The foregoing summary of the habits of these most interesting and much
persecuted animals is taken from the exhaustive report of Dr. F. A.
Lucas and Mr. Charles Townsend. These two distinguished naturalists
accompanied the United States contingent of the Fur-seal International
Commission despatched in 1896-97 to inquire into the threatened
extermination of these animals. Major Barrett Hamilton accompanied
the British contingent, and also made a report. And it is curious to
note that on some points he is diametrically opposed, not only to
the American naturalists, but to all other writers on this theme. He
contends, for example, that “nothing could better illustrate the fact
that it is the cows, and not the bulls, which have the real control of
the harem-system.” He traced the rapid growth of two harems from four
or five to as many as eighty cows. And he tells these were completely
out of control and free to move about as they wished. “The bulls, in
spite of all their bluster, had the flimsiest of nominal dominion, and
the cows were always able to, and frequently did, leave the harems
daily to dally with the cowless bulls on the outside. Yet ... as long
as they chose to sit massed together on the ground which had been
appropriated by the two stronger bulls, no weaker rivals could approach
to within ten yards of them. The master of the harem had no control
over its occupants, but he was absolute lord of the ground on which
they sat.” This is certainly curious, but more so is the fact that
these females were allowed to return by the “cowless bulls” outside
the charmed circle. Later in the season he tells us he witnessed an
even better illustration of this singular behaviour. At this time “the
division of the cows into harems was a very unequal one, the smaller
bull being only able to keep a very few cows, while the larger one
claimed the greater part of the rookery. But the cows could pass over
to the smaller bull’s ground as often as they liked; and he probably
was father to a great many more of the pups born in 1898 than those of
the half-dozen cows over whom he claimed control.” In regard to two
other bulls in another cart of the island, there came a time when the
inequality of the harems reached such a pitch, that the newly-arriving
cows “had to lie in scattered groups outside the main mass, and thus
permitted the weaker bulls to form new harems out of the reach of the
two strong old bulls.” But perhaps the most singular feature of all
was the indifference which one old bull displayed towards a little
bachelor, permitting him to enjoy the most intimate relations with one
of his cows without displaying the least sign of annoyance, as if he
could scarcely regard one so young as a rival.
There is much evidence to show that the erotic side of the male-seal
develops early. “I saw,” he says, “the little black pups acting to each
other in a way that made it certain that their sexual feelings had
already made themselves felt.” This one can well understand, for only
animals of strong sexual tendencies could survive the strenuous life
which the period of sexual activity entails.
The very different interpretation of the behaviour of these animals
at this very important stage of their life-history must be due to the
fact that different colonies were studied which were living, too, under
somewhat different conditions. It seems clear, for example, that the
landing of the females so graphically described by Dr. Lucas was a
landing under exceptional circumstances, the master bulls having taken
up positions at the only spot where access to the desired breeding
quarters was to be found; while Major Barrett Hamilton was probably
fortunate in seeing phases which were wanting in the “rookeries”
examined by Dr. Lucas. And both these observers again differ in the
accounts they give of the life of such “rookeries” with those by Mr.
Elliot, who explored these teeming colonies some years earlier when the
number of animals forgathered there was far larger and the fighting,
apparently in consequence, was far more severe.
In the matter of secondary sexual characters the most remarkable of the
seal-tribe are those of the Elephant Seal and the Bladder-nosed Seal,
and this because of the extraordinary development of inflatable tissue
above the muzzle which these animals display. Of their life-history
we know little enough, and this despite the fact that for generations
the Elephant Seal was mercilessly hunted and slain for the sake of its
oil. Millions were slaughtered during the last century, yet only scraps
of information on the economy of the creatures has come down to us.
All that is of any value, and especially in regard to the “Courting”
period, we owe to Mr. Charles Townsend, of the New York Aquarium, and
this in regard to the northern species, _Macrorhinus angustirostris_
of Guadelupe, though it may safely be inferred that the Southern,
Antarctic species, _M. leoninus_, differs in no essential respects.
According to Mr. Townsend, the adult bull, having taken possession of
his territory and formed a harem, is constantly called upon to wage
duels for both with less fortunate rivals. And the severity of such
combats was attested by the deep wounds and festering sores of the
necks of these old warriors—which, at their maximum, attained in the
days of their prosperity a length of nearly thirty feet and a girth of
sixteen feet; but the last survivors of the race to-day seem rarely to
exceed twenty-two feet. The weapons used in fighting are the canines,
and the only armour they possess is that formed by the thickening of
the skin of the neck, which forms a great massive shield, so that
really dangerous wounds are rare. The great fleshy proboscis, the most
vulnerable part, is carefully guarded by the upturned position of the
head. The use of this trunk-like organ, which may attain a length
of about fifteen inches, is not clear; it seems to serve mainly as
an “ornament,” at times, too, furnishing a very definite indication
as to the temper of its owner. While the animal is slowly moving its
great carcase from place to place, this remarkable organ is relaxed,
and pendent; but when fighting it is closely contracted so as to be
out of harm’s way. Whether it plays any useful part in the capture of
food is not known; but it is probably much displayed during phases of
sexual excitement. In young animals, it is significant to notice, as
well as in the adult female this trunk is entirely wanting, which seems
to suggest that this peculiar feature has only been recently acquired,
the young and the adult female, as is the rule, standing nearer to the
early forebears of this strange type. There is an enormous difference,
it should be remarked, between the sexes in the matter of size, the
female not attaining more than half the bulk of her lord. A further
interesting point concerns the coloration of the young, which are
black, while the adults are brown. Doubtless this is connected with the
requirements of the young, the black coat attracting more heat than the
lighter-coloured coat of the adult.
As touching that curious creature, the Crested, or Hooded Seal
(_Cystophora cristatus_), a native of the colder regions of the North
Atlantic. This animal is remarkable for the development, in the males
alone, of a great crest or casque on the head, which is formed by a
large inflatable air-sac over the ridge of the nose, and communicating
with the nostrils. When fully inflated, it covers the head as far back
as the eye. Its purpose is a matter of conjecture. It seems to be
inflated either when he animal is greatly excited, as when challenging
rival males, or when threatened with danger from other causes, as
when attacked by man. The males are exceedingly pugnacious, and fight
with one another for the possession of females with great ferocity,
such contests being accompanied by cries which can be heard for miles.
From the difficulty which Esquimaux and sealers find in killing the
animal with clubs it certainly seems as if this strange wind-bag were
more than merely ornamental.
[Illustration: Plate 14.
_Photo copyright, W. P. Pycraft._
ELEPHANT SEAL.
This is a young animal. Note the great size of the eyes, and the
general “seal-like” character of the head as compared with that of the
adult.]
[Illustration: _Photo by courtesy of Charles Haskins Townsend, Director
of New York Aquarium._
NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEAL.
Adult male and female, and yearling. The male shows the enormously
inflated snout.
[Face page 88.]
That those extraordinary creatures the Cetacea—the Whales and their
kin—are derived from the same common stock as the typical carnivora
there can nowadays be no doubt, widely as they have departed from
their land-dwelling relatives in almost every possible feature of
their organization. In the matter of their “Courtship” we know
nothing, but we may infer certain incidents in this critical period
of their life-history from the peculiar nature of the secondary
sexual characters which some species display. Thus in the Pilot
Whale (_Globicephalus_) and the Bottle-nose Whale (_Hyperoödon_) the
forehead, in the bulls, is enormously swollen by a mass of fibrous
tissue so dense as to turn the blade of the sharpest knife, as I
know well from attempts to dissect this region. Now the only use,
surely, for such a cushion is that of a battering-ram by rival males
in charging one another, as rams and other horned animals will do. In
the Bottle-nose Whale this cushion is backed up by an enormous mass of
solid bone thrown up by the maxillæ. The origin of this bony growth
is interesting, for it appears first as a slight swelling in the rare
species _Berardius_; it is seen at a further stage of growth in the
female “Bottle-nose” (_Hyperoödon_), and attains its maximum in the
male, where it stands unique. There are two other species which demand
notice here. The first is Layard’s Beaked Whale (_Mesoplodon_); the
second the Narwhal. The former is the only vertebrate which in a wild
state wears a muzzle! In this species the teeth have totally vanished
save for a pair in the lower jaw, which are found towards the end of
the jaw. These in the adult, or perhaps we should say senile, male
grow upwards and inwards, finally meeting one another above the upper
jaw, so as to make it impossible for the animal to open its mouth more
than the fraction of an inch! Surely here we have a secondary sexual
character carried to an excess, and so proving not only disadvantageous
to the animal, but positively disastrous, for it seems clear that so
hampered the creature can feed only on the most minute forms of animal
life, which could only be captured and swallowed with difficulty. It
is true that the Rorquals feed on excessively minute Crustacea, but
they are able to take in enormous quantities at a time, the “whalebone”
serving the office of a sieve to prevent their escape. The Mesoplodon
has no such aids. One is tempted to believe that the skulls displaying
this most curious feature are abnormal, comparable to those, say, of
rabbits wherein the teeth have grown so excessively long as to close
the mouth, on account of the displacement of the cutting surfaces by
accident. But there is nothing to afford support to this view, and one
must therefore fall back on the suggestion of senility.
The Narwhal has long been celebrated for the enormous size of the
canine teeth, the only teeth present in the jaws. As a rule, only
one leaves its bony socket, the other, commonly the right, remaining
as a mere vestige, seven or eight inches long within the skull. The
protruding tooth, which is spirally fluted, may attain a length of
nine feet. Occasionally both teeth are developed, and in this case
the spiral is the same, differing in a very striking manner from
the spiral horns of ruminants, wherein one presents a right, the
other left-handed spiral. But what purpose do these teeth serve? This
question has never yet been definitely settled. Some hold that it is
used to break open breathing holes in the ice, for the animal lives
in the far north: others that it is used as a spear in hunting prey.
Some aver that it serves as a weapon of offence, being used by rival
males in their struggle for mates. Scoresby, the explorer, indeed, says
he has seen young males in mock-battle, fencing with these remarkable
weapons. But until we have more satisfactory data, we must regard this
armature of the Narwhal as affording another instance of a secondary
sexual character of doubtful value to its possessor.