Intellect in Brutes

Abstract

THE case of the Norwegian dog, Nero, mentioned by Mr. Horsfall in NATURE, vol. xx. p. 505, is certainly an admirable example of abstract reasoning. Here the dog thought as any man would have thought how, where, and when to catch the railway train suited to his purpose. It has reminded me that, when I was in Malta a few years ago, a fine Newfoundland dog (if I remember correctly) used to accompany Miss Hallett in her ride from Slienia to Valetta on a visit to her grandfather in Strada Forni, The ride is about four miles round the head of the harbour. On one occasion she observed that the dog had ceased to follow her, and concluded that, owing to the heat or some other cause, it had returned home. Her surprise was considerable on arriving in Strada Forni, for there she found the dog-waiting for her at her grandfather's door. The explanation is, as was subsequently discovered by a frequent repetition of the same thoughtful dodge: the dog had gone to the ferry, waited there until passengers stepped into the boat, got in himself, was ferried across the harbour, and in this way was saved a long and, it may be, a hot and a dusty run. So far as I can remember, the animal had no previous experience of this short mode of transit between Sliema and Valetta, except that he had observed people performing the journey by that route.