MAMMALIA 



3^S 



two feet. The sea otter is one of the most valuable of the fur-bearing 

 animals. It is now raj-ely found except in Alaska. Its fur is a 

 lustrous black and very thick and fine in texture. The 7nink, much 

 smaller than the otter, lives along the banks of streams, but is not 



Fig. 2 1 6. Bear and cub, in Yellowstone National Park. (Photo by V. J. Mele.) 



an aquatic animal like the otter. The pine marten or " American 

 sable " lives in dense forests of pine and spruce, and feeds on small 

 rodents, birds and reptiles. It grows to the size of an ordinary 

 house cat. Demand for their fur has reduced the number until but 

 few of these shy animals remain. Pennant's 77jarten, called the 

 black cat, is rather large, sometimes reaching a length of three feet 

 and a weight of eighteen pounds. 



The weasel, the smallest of the marten family, is brown in sum- 

 mer, but becomes the white " ermine " in winter. It kills chickens 

 and small mammals, being particularly valuable in the extermination 

 of rats and field mice. ^\\z ferret is a domesticated variety of the 

 English " pole-cat." Formerly used in this country in hunting 

 rabbits and rats, it is rarely seen today. (Figure 217, A and B.) 



The wolverine, " mountain-devil " or Carcajou, is the greatest 

 thief among animals. It follows a " line " of traps, devouring the 

 bait and sometimes stealing the trap. Cabins and caches are 

 stripped of edibles and foodstuffs, too large to carry away, are 



