96 SIXTEENTH REPORT. 



casionally found on the lake beach, and we were shown a three inch phmk 

 at the Life Saving Station that was nearly destroyed by them in search of 

 the salty flavor. This plank was in a pile of drift wood on the beach, and 

 one of the crew hearing a noise under it turned it over and found a porcu- 

 pine lying on its back and gnawing the hard oak wood ; for several feet there 

 was only a thin shell left of this plank. This animal is hated by campers 

 and trappers alike, as it enters their camps and destroys many articles, 

 especially those of leather and wood. On June 20, 1914, the WTiter found 

 five in an old lumber camp in the beech-maple forest west of Vermilion. 



18. Lepus americanus (Erxleben). American Varying Hare. — This species 

 is common, particularly^ in the spruce-balsam forests and thickets. The 

 writer saw tracks on the sand dunes and occasionally on the lake beaches, 

 and found their runways in thickets and swamps. Very few were seen and 

 but two, both females, secured. On May 20, 1914, two young, l)ut a few 

 days old, were taken. 



19. Lynx canadensis (Kerr). Canada Lynx. — This lynx was not seen, but 

 the wTiter examined a mounted specimen taken near the Whitefish Point 

 postoffice years ago. The hunters and trappers say that it is still occasionally 

 found, although much hunted on account of the high price of its fur. 



20. Lynx rufifus (Guelden.). Bay Lynx. — Unlike the Canada lynx this 

 species does not seem to be decreasing rapidly. The writer saw footprints 

 in the sand on several dunes, and during the summer one of the life-saving 

 crew at Vermilion saw one, early in the evening, near the beach a mile east 

 of the station. The writer also saw one mounted that was taken near the 

 camp a few years ago. 



21. Canis occidentalis (Rich.). Timber Wolf. — In 1912 this species was 

 rather common. The tracks were seen less than half a mile from camp, on 

 the sandy plains south of Vermilion, and on the beach just west of that 

 town the writer saw where a very large one had chased a deer out of the 

 woods a short time before. In 1875 a pack of thirteen wolves was seen on 

 the point by Hawkins, and his son shot two in 1910 and one in the winter of 

 1911. Clarke stated that he once counted the remains of six deer that had 

 been destroyed in one place by wolves. In the winter of 1912-13 it was 

 hunted persistently and since that time has not been seen on the point. 



22. Vulpes fulvus (Desm.). Red Fox. — The red fox is apparently not very 

 common as few tracks and but one specimen were seen. In May, 1914, 

 one was seen near Vermilion and there is a mounted one in the Clarke col- 

 lection that was taken near the postoffice a few years ago. The hunters 

 stated that it is not rare and some are taken each j'car. Very rarely a 

 cross fox is seen, and one black fox is said to have been shot here. 



23. Ursus americanus (Pallas). Black Bear. — The black bear is still com- 

 mon in the Whitefish Point region. The expedition secured two skins, two 

 skeletons and four skulls, and observed signs of its presence on a number of 

 occasions. There is a small mounted specimen in the Clarke collection, 

 which was taken near the postoffice, and records were secured of a specimen 

 taken west of Vermilion in 1911, and of twenty-seven trapped in the White- 

 fish Point region in the winter of 1913-1914. 



24. Procyon lotor (Linn.). Raccoon. — This species is rare on the point, 

 but a few are to be found in the vicinit}- of the hardwoods about the streams 

 and ponds. Weatherhog caught one, in 1909, near the Whitefish Point post- 

 office. This skin was given to the Museum. On August 3, 1912, the writer 

 caught an adult female in a trap set for beaver at the outlet of a small beaver 

 pond. This specimen was in good condition and measured, length 900 mm., 



