MAMMALS 315 



known in all communities. The ill-smelling fluid which causes 

 other animals, including man, to keep a respectful distance when 

 possible, is secreted by two glands near the base of the tail. 

 The skunks are very destructive in poultry yards, but since 

 their skins are now much used as substitutes for otter, mink and 

 sable, they will probably soon be much less common than at 

 present. The badgers, Taxidea, are broad, flat, short-legged 

 animals living in burrows throughout the west, and feeding on 

 ground-squirrels and any other small animals that they can 

 capture. 



The raccoons, or " coons, " family Procyonida, are found in 

 wooded regions throughout America. They usually live in 

 hollow trees, and eat almost all kinds of food. They sometimes 

 give poultry raisers a good deal of trouble, but are usually 

 easily trapped or hunted and killed. 



The bears belong to the family Ursidce, and all, except the 

 polar bear, to the genus Ursus. They feed on almost any kind 

 of meat or fish that they can obtain, and on roots, berries, 

 honey and many other things. Unless fighting in defense of 

 self or young they will seldom molest man, but some of the 

 larger species make occasional destructive raids on stock 

 ranches where they may kill sheep or hogs oryoung cattle. The 

 polar bear, Thalarctos maritimus, is found throughout the Arctic 

 regions and is one of the largest of our bears. The fur is white 

 all the year around. The black bears, U. americanus, are the 

 most common and widely distributed. They vary greatly in 

 color and size, and are sometimes called brown bears or cinna- 

 mon bears. The huge grizzly bear, U. horribilis, occurs 

 throughout the mountain regions of the west but is rapidly 

 being exterminated. The long brown hairs that make up the 

 heavy coat are tipped with gray, hence the name "silver tip" 

 so often used. Several other species occur in America, the 

 largest of all the bears being the great brown Kodiak bear, 

 U. middendorffi, of Kodiak Island, Alaska. 



The seals and the sea-lions, order Pinnipedia, are all aquatic, 

 mostly marine animals. The true seals, family Phocidce, have 

 their legs so thoroughly modified for swimming that they are of 

 little use on land. The common harbor seals, Phoca vitulina, 



