Fishes - Home

thousands of Kilometres over vast continents in our hemisphere are able to
reach the same southern haunts for wintering and return to their usual abodes
for nesting in summer. A human child has no such instinct whatsoever, and
can get lost at a small exhibition or in a crowd. Many birds have a biological
clock inside that enables them to know precisely when the sun is going to
rise, and to start their activities accordingly. The thrift, planning and cooperative
living of ants, bees and wasps are models for any human
community. The toughness of certain forms of animal life is noteworthy;
man can live only a few days without water and only a few weeks without
food. Camels can live without water for a month. A rattle snake is known to
live without food for one year. Wild animals such as blackbuck in the Runn
of Cutch — even bulky animals like the lion — are known to adapt
themselves to arid conditions, and to live without water altogether or from
one spell of rains to the next. The firefly produces light almost without heat,
and man has not yet been able to achieve anything even approaching it. The
spider's thread can be as thin as a millionth of one centimetre, and several
strands have to be brought together before they become visible to the human
eye. The strength and agility of wild cats is proverbial. A tiger of about 200
kg weight can without a start jump vertically about 6 metres and across
about 12 metres; his own length without the tail being less than 3 metres.
Such feats are just impossible for human beings. The tiger is known to have
moved the carcass of a 550 kg bull a distance of more than 400 metres over
rough ground, while a leopard has been known to put a 140 kg giraffe (killed
by it) high up in a tree. The speeds reached by animals are no exception to
their other powers; a lion can reach in his charge a speed of 80 km (50
M.P.H.) per hour, and bulky animals like the buffalo and rhinoceros
weighing around a tonne can reach speeds of 40 km per hour (25 M.P.H.).
Even the sloth-bear can run at about 50 km per hour (30 M.P.H.) for a short
distance and a porpoise can exceed the same speed in water without
difficulty. The wolf is noted for its stamina, and can move at 25 to 30 km per
hour (15 to 20 M.P.H.) for 12 hours during the night. Finally, a hawk diving
for its prey may reach a speed of 400 km per hour Man has power to
conserve as well as to destroy. Are we to lose for ever these wonderful
creatures for no fault of theirs, when with some effort it is possible to avoid
their extermination and at some cost it is possible to ensure their continuance
in numbers ? Any person having to deal with any aspect of fauna, cannot fail
FAUNA 18