MAMMALS OF THE REGION 101 



further efforts at photography were abandoned. The 

 odor of these big skunks differs but little from that of 

 the common Mephitis, but the fluid appears to be more 

 copious and more powerfully ejected. 



The hog-nosed skunk is the largest of the three 

 genera of skunks, with naked nose pad, very long dig- 

 ging claws, and a solid white back and tail. 



LITTLE RIO GRANDE SPOTTED SKUNK 



Spilogale leucoparia (Fig. 37) 



These graceful, weasel-like, little skunks, with their 

 dazzling pattern of black and white spots, and stripes 

 and zigzag lines, their plumy tails and intelligent 

 faces, are the most attractive of the skunk tribe. They 

 are common in the caves and in crevices of the cliffs, or 

 under broken rocks wherever food and cover are to be 

 found. They are great climbers over cliffs and rocks, 

 as well as in bushes and trees, and seem to delight in 

 prowling through the dark recesses of caverns or follow- 

 ing the narrow shelves of cliffs and canyon walls, where 

 their little tracks are often found in the dust. At the 

 mouth of the great cave one was caught in a wood-rat 

 trap under a hollow ledge where the wood rats lived. 

 As it was not injured, it was kept alive during my 

 stay at the cave and occupied a cage in my sleeping 

 room for several weeks. It soon became fairly gentle 

 and would take food, very cautiously, from my hand. 

 On two occasions it escaped from the box at night and 

 went pattering around the floor, creating great excite- 

 ment among my other small animals, running loose in 



luJiLIU RY 





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