without exposing its whole head. The color is a deep 

 yellowish brown, becoming paler along the sides and 

 blending to gray beneath. The outer hairs are hard and 

 glossy while the under fur is dense and soft. The males 

 and females are similar in color and there is no sea- 

 sonal variation. The tail is more than a foot in length 

 and the animal may weigh up to twenty pounds. 



In the far north, the otter sometimes hibernates, 

 but in Pennsylvania its tracks are to be seen in winter 

 along most streams that have fish. The young are born 

 in April and a litter contains, usually, from one to four 

 little ones which remain with their mother until Fall. 



The Skunk 



Mempliitis nigra 



The common skunk or "polecat" is certainly one of 

 the most beautiful of our native mammals. Its coat is 

 black, with a broad white stripe down the middle of 

 the back to the tip of the broad, bushy tail. This band 

 is of varying widths in different animals and is some- 

 times very narrow, making the animal appear almost 

 entirely black. There are two coats of hair on the 

 Skunk, the outer coat being long and rather coarse, 

 while the under fur is short and soft. The furs are 

 much sought after, and bring good prices on the mar- 

 ket, there being a demand for them in making gar- 

 ments for women, usually under the name of Hudson 

 Sable. 



But sometimes the most beautiful of creatures are 

 disagreeable at times and when it chooses to be so, the 

 Skunk can make things very unpleasant. Beneath the 

 tail are two glands, one on either side, which are 



-*>i 101 >*■- 



