FAUNA OF THE ALEUTIAN ISLANDS AND ALASKA PENINSULA 277 



On Juty 21, 1925, I saw a mink at Moffet Cove, Izembek Bay. 

 In 1911, Wetmore had seen proof of the presence of mink at 

 Morzhovoi Bay, Frosty Peak, and King Cove. 



In 1936, we were informed at Afognak that there are mink 

 on that island, but Jack Benson, of the Alaska Game Commis- 

 sion, reported in 1940 that there are no mink on the Kodiak- 

 Afognak group. It is of interest to note that a blue-fox farm 

 on Long Island (near Kodiak) has released mink. 



I have not seen specimens from the Kodiak-Afognak group, 

 and there are no records of mink west of Unimak. 



Gulo luscus: Wolverine 



Aleut (dialect?) : Khachimo.yughnakh (Geoghegan) 

 Russian, Siberia: Rus-so-makah (Buxton) 



The wolverine never becomes abundant, being largely a solitary 

 animal, but it occurs throughout the length of Alaska Peninsula 

 and on Unimak Island. There are wolverine skulls in the Fish and 

 Wildlife Service collection from upper Nushagak River, from the 

 area between Portage Bay and Becharof Lake, from Chignik, and 

 from Frosty Peak. Allen (1903) describes a specimen taken at 

 Oksenof Bay, Unimak Island. 



In 1925, I found evidence of wolverines at the west end of 

 Alaska Peninsula. A wolverine was seen on May 25 on a ridge 

 west of Aghileen Pinnacles, and, on June 3, another was seen 

 north of Aghileen Pinnacles high on a rocky slope. Wolverine 

 tracks were seen on several occasions, and a wolverine, identi- 

 fied by tracks, was noted as having fed on a brown bear carcass — 

 it had carried off a foreleg. 



In 1925, it was reported that wolverines were extremely scarce 

 on Unimak Island. By means of extensive inquiries, Donald 

 Stevenson had estimated that over a 20-year period before 1925, 

 four male wolverines had been killed on Unimak Island. How- 

 ever, in 1936, we saw tracks on the beach at Ikatan, and, in 1941, 

 Beals and Longworth stated that wolverines were plentiful on 

 Unimak. They saw their tracks "on practically all the beaches 

 from Swanson Lagoon to Banjo Bay." On January 13, they 

 watched a wolverine foraging along the beach at Ikatan, and, 

 on April 22, they saw a very dark animal, almost black, high 

 on a mountain on Ikatan Peninsula. 



It was reported that a wolverine, killed near Pavlof Mountain, 

 had small rock fragments embedded in the skin of the head and 

 neck. The hair was gone from these spots, but the skin had 

 healed perfectly. It was surmised that these pieces of rock could 



