Abstract
A HAND-REARED female of the prongbuck, or American antelope, owned by Mr. L. T. Murray at Mertzon in Texas, displayed a most remarkable originality in getting itself hunted, as related by its owner in the Journal of Mammalogy for February, p. 41. Its habit, as it was allowed complete liberty, was to go to the main street of the little town and entice dogs to pursue it; the resulting hunt might last as long as three-quarters of an hour, at the discretion of the doe, which had so much the advantage of her pursuers in speed and intelligence that she did as she liked with them, fleeing in pretended fear, circling and waiting for them to come up, and then darting off in the opposite direction, until at last she left the pack behind and went home. It is satisfactory to learn that she came to no harm and was ultimately sent to a park and bore twins; but it would be interesting to know if playing at being hunted is a recreation indulged in by animals we usually regard as food for others, when they live in the natural state. That the hunters may play at hunting we know from what has been observed of the puma and the peregrine falcon.
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Animals Playing at being Hunted. Nature 129, 573–574 (1932). https://doi.org/10.1038/129573d0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/129573d0