A Maternal Hunter
Here is an unusual example of the way in which a sort of matetnal instinct may quite overcome the hunter's cruelty. An excellent sporting spaniel, whose chief sin has been an irrepressible desire to chase rabbits. was taken for a walk past some rabbit-haunted bushes and whins. At the end of one sudden sally the dog was seen with his head half-buried in a bush and the tail wagging furiously. When the owner went to inspect the cause of the concentration, he found the dog fondly licking the face of a young rabbit: the hunter and hunted had made terms and fraternised. The refusal of the babe to run away was probably, the efficient cause. I once saw beagle puppies which bad been pursuing tame rabbits utterly routed when the rabbits, tired of the game, turned round and faced the dogs. Their instinct was quite unable to cope with so topsy-turvy a situation.
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