Life — August 4, 1904 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Wild Animal Whobbers by James Montgomery Flagg This is a humorous nature essay, not political satire. Flagg recounts observing beavers building a dam while lounging in his cabin. The piece gently mocks human assumptions about animal behavior—particularly the notion that beavers mindlessly repeat the same task generation after generation. Flagg's humor centers on anthropomorphizing the beavers: he imagines one advertising himself, another building an "opera house" or "bank," suggesting beavers might have ambitions beyond dam-building. The accompanying sketches show beavers at work and the "trouble" that erupts when newcomers arrive and clash with the original gang. The satire targets not animals but human nature—our tendency to underestimate animal intelligence and creativity.