Identifier: animalsinactions00broo (find matches)
Title: Animals in action; studies and stories of beasts, birds and reptiles; their habits, their homes and their peculiarities
Year: 1901 (1900s)
Authors: Brooks, Elbridge S. (Elbridge Streeter), 1846-1902
Subjects:
Publisher: Boston, Lothrop pub. co
Contributing Library: The Library of Congress
Digitizing Sponsor: The Library of Congress

View Book Page: Book Viewer
About This Book: Catalog Entry
View All Images: All Images From Book
Click here to view book online to see this illustration in context in a browseable online version of this book.

Text Appearing Before Image:
iscovered the tree-home of the kangaroo, the huntercan count on results almost with certainty, for several of theanimals are generally found there fast asleep. A native climbsup, seizes the nearest creature by its long tail, and kills it witha club, or else drives it from the tree, thus putting it at themercy of the dogs. The Striped Adder and the Frog. A WELL-KNOWN animal painter here places before us,with wonderful truth to nature, his sketch of an interest-ing scene from the lower animal kingdom, — an illustra-tion of the fact that even there, as everywhere else, the strugglefor existence is constantly going on. The picture shows us astriped adder, which has caught a frog and is preparing to de-vour the poor, trembling creature. Frogs are, in fact, the chiefprey of the otherwise harmless striped adder, which is amongthe most common species of serpent. Linck has described,in a most vivid manner, the course of such a hunt: — Fully aware of the intentions of the nearing enemy, the
Text Appearing After Image:
An Adder catching a Grass Frog. THE STRIPED ADDER AND THE FROG. 85 frog notices in due season the coming of the adder, for herecognizes his grim enemy by instinct, and sometimes by therecollection of previous experiences with the creeping hunter.The frightened animal tries to run away from his pursuer,but discovers, as all hunted animals generally do, that the gapbetween him and the enemy that is pursuing him only closesup the faster for its futile struggles. The poor frog isbenumbed with terror, so that he seldom hops, but seekssafety in running, and when he hops at all it is only in short,jerky jumps. Escape would be easy for him if he could makethe mighty standing springs by which he propels himself overthe ground with great speed under ordinary circumstances. Atthis time the hunted animal utters a strange cry of anguish,which has no resemblance whatever to the sounds which weare accustomed to hear from frogs, and which might proceedfrom any creature but a frog. It is like the trem

Note About Images