They drive one another
away from the swine pastures, and fight with such fury that very often
both combatants succumb. The case is similar with bulls, rams, and
he-goats; for, though at ordinary times they herd together, at
breeding time they hold aloof from and quarrel with one another. The
male camel also is cross-tempered at pairing time if either a man or a
camel comes near him; as for a horse, a camel is ready to fight him at
any time. It is the same with wild animals. The bear, the wolf, and
the lion are all at this time ferocious towards such as come in
their way, but the males of these animals are less given to fight with
one another from the fact that they are at no time gregarious. The
she-bear is fierce after cubbing, and the bitch after pupping.
Male elephants get savage about pairing time, and for this
reason it is stated that men who have charge of elephants in India
never allow the males to have intercourse with the females; on the
ground that the males go wild at this time and turn topsy-turvy the
dwellings of their keepers, lightly constructed as they are, and
commit all kinds of havoc. They also state that abundancy of food
has a tendency to tame the males.
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