Bruno Liljefors

Bruno Liljefors admired the hound for its completeness and believed that, unlike setters and pointers, it had something primitive about it that suited the realm of the wild. From a young age, he had become a passionate hunter and spent much time either hunting or simply wandering in the Uppland countryside, where he settled in the late 1880s. In "The Realm of the Wild," Bruno Liljefors describes how the hound operates when out hunting for foxes: "The hound searches the terrain in wide circles ahead of its master. It crosses a clearing, a small meadow in the forest. The grass is just moist enough. It senses where a hare has passed and soon after how a fox track comes into play. It investigates and finds that the hare has been taken by the fox and dragged away. It lifts its head and scents the faint wind from the mountain, which informs it that the fox is up there with its hare. For the dog, it is as simple and natural as reading a book." Bruno Liljefors scrutinised nature carefully and often alternated with visits to the Veterinary Institute, where he could study the anatomy of animals, such as a mounted fox, a fox skeleton, or, ideally, a living fox.