MAMMALIA 387 



manders, snakes and the eggs of birds nesting on or near the ground. 

 Under conditions of civilization his fearlessness ^ renders him an 

 important enemy of poultry. It is said that owls, eagles, and the 

 puma prey upon skunks. 



The badger skunks resemble badgers in that they are expert 

 diggers. They are found in South America but range northward 

 into Arizona. The badger lives in burrows and feeds on ground 

 squirrels and prairie dogs. It has naked soles, short legs and a 

 broad, flat body. In the United States, it is found in the Rocky 

 mountains and westward to the Pacific coast. (Wisconsin is called 



Fig. 218. Young red foxes. (Courtesy of A. B. Brooks.) 



the " badger " State.) In Alaska it hibernates during most of the 

 winter. The European badger lives in the woods. The Asiatic 

 badgers have a strong musky secretion. 



The Dog family {Canidae) have served as man's companion 

 ^onger than any other domesticated animal. They are found every- 

 where except in New Zealand. The genus Canis includes dogs, 

 wolves, foxes, and jackals. (Figure 218.) 



The common red fox is found throughout the whole northeastern 

 United States extending westward to the limit of trees. Foxes 



* Few there are who will brave the overpowering scent from the anal glands of a 

 skunk, which can be discharged in any direction to a distance of ten feet. The scent 

 is so powerful that it can be readily detected when a mile away, and it is capable of 

 anesthetizing a person. The scent is n-butyl mercaptan, C4H9SH, the excretion of 

 sulphur being quite characteristic of the scent glands as well as the urine of the meat 

 eaters. 



