Catholic Holy Cards

Night monkey surprised by an ocelot

From Animals in Action (1901).

 

The ocelot commits heavy ravages among the game, and when satiated with flesh sucks the blood of his victim. He never misses an opportunity to do some hunting, whether he be hungry or not. During dark and stormy nights he creeps up to settlements and villages, looking for a chance to cultivate a close acquaintance with the occupants of the hen-roosts. He regards the monkeys as a special delicacy of his table, and our illustration shows an ocelot which has fallen upon a band of night monkeys in a forest of Brazil. These monkeys are among the most remarkable of their kind. The night monkeys climb wonderfully well and spring from tree to tree with the greatest facility in their chase of insects or their flight from danger. The ocelot, however, creeps upon them so slyly that generally the shriek of a captured animal is the first indication of the presence of the dreaded marauder.

Diver attacked by a man-eating shark

From Animals in Action (1901).

 

With great agility the imperilled toiler avoids the rush of the beast, and at the opportune moment plunges his knife from underneath deep into the belly of the shark. A mighty stream of blood stains the water ; the powerful creature lashes the sea with his great fins, and, struggling in the throes of death, seeks safety in flight. But sometimes, as is shown in our picture, a second shark appears at this juncture, and the diver must battle for his life once more. Sometimes he is fortunate enough to come out a victor from the second conflict, but often enough he is terribly mangled by the hungry hunter of the sea.

Grizzly bear attacked by buffaloes

From: Animals in Action (1901).

 

The grizzly is especially afraid of the foremost bull, who, with his colossal head lowered, his mouth covered with foam, and his tail raised in air, presents an impressive picture of unbridled strength and savagery. The battle cannot be greatly prolonged. According to trustworthy accounts a grizzly can overcome a single bison, but against a whole herd of these powerful creatures he is of little avail. Accordingly the grizzly, who can run very fast, now either makes off at his best pace, or, remaining, is gored to death by the sea of horns that heaves about him.

Dolphin and his guests

From Animals in Action (1901).

 

It is difficult to understand how the ancient Greeks acquired the impression that this extremely greedy and rapacious beast was a friend of man. The dolphins seem to have entered into an understanding of some sort with the sea gulls, as the birds do not seem to show the slightest fear of the great sea mammals.

Sea eagle picking up an ice fox

From Animals in Action (1901).

 

In northern Russia and Siberia, when all the streams are ice-bound, the sea eagle is compelled to do his foraging entirely on land, and then sometimes pounces upon an ice fox out of a pack of these animals. He sweeps high up into the air with his prey, and kills it in spite of the violent resistance which this Northern cousin of Reynard may offer.

Spider monkey surprised by eagle hawk

From Animals in Action (1901).

 

The chameck (spider monkey) is a weak and harmless creature that depends only upon its swiftness for its safety. His assailant, on the other hand, is a powerful marauder, with strong claws, a powerful beak, and very swift in flight. The chameck uses his tail also as an organ of feeling. If his favorite food is placed behind the animal, it finds it by feeling with its tail ; he also draws eggs and young birds out of the hollows of trees with the same limb. It is not true, however, that these animals are in the habit of forming a living bridge by swinging from a tree on the banks of a river to another on the opposite side.

Esqimau in kayak attacked by polar bear

From Animals in Action (1901).

 

The Esquimau in our picture is advancing boldly with lance couched against the savage polar bear that has suddenly sprung up against his kayak. The bears defend themselves with great courage and skill even in the water, and there are instances enough on record of such hunts that have terminated fatally for the hunters.

Condor capturing a llama

From Animals in Action (1901).

The swift-footed llama is especially exposed to the ravages of the condor. Our picture shows a powerful condor which has harassed one of these useful domestic animals until the poor creature has plunged to the bottom of the precipice. The bird then hastens to despatch his prey and to gorge himself with the carcass. In the distance, however, a robber companion has already appeared, and our condor must share his prize with the newcomer or risk a battle.

A duel between crocodiles

From: Animals in Action (1901)

The crocodile spends his days upon the flat sandbanks asleep or sunning himself, and seldom wanders more than a hundred steps away from the water. When disturbed he hurries back to it with great swiftness, so that he cannot be overtaken even with the speediest camel. He avoids obstacles by quick turnings, and the prevailing notion that he can change his direction only very slowly is manifestly erroneous. Moreover, he never pursues human beings shoreward, but invariably flees from them toward the water at thefirst alarm. After sundown the crocodiles leave their resting places and betake themselves noiselessly to the water to hunt for fish until daybreak. With the help of their powerful tails, which they use as rudders, they move through the streams lightly and with great speed ; and the creatures which are apparently so stupid and helpless seize the scurrying fish with great dexterity and quickness.