The Minds and Manners of Wild Animals: A Book of Personal Observations

The reader has a right to know that the author of this volume has enjoyed unparalleled opportunities for the observation and study of highly intelligent wild animals, both in their wild haunts and in a great vivarium; and these combined opportunities have covered a long series of years. Before proceeding farther, it is desirable to define certain terms that frequently will be used in these pages. THE ANIMAL BRAIN is the generator of the mind, and the clearing- house of the senses. As a mechanism, the brain of man is the most perfect, and in the descent through the mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fishes, the brain progressively is simplified in form and function. THOUGHT is the result of the various processes of the brain and nervous system, stimulated by the contributions of the senses. SANITY is the state of normal, orderly and balanced thought, as formulated by a healthy brain. INSANITY is a state of mental disease, resulting in disordered, unbalanced and chaotic thought, destitute of reason. REASON is the manifestation of correct observation and healthful thought which recognizes both cause and effect, and leads from premise to conclusion. INTELLIGENCE is created by the possession of knowledge either inherited or acquired. It may be either latent or active; and it is the forerunner of reason. INSTINCT is the knowledge or impulse which animals or men derive from their ancestors by inheritance, and which they obey, either consciously or subconsciously in working out their own preservation, increase and betterment. Instinct often functions as a sixth sense.