172 STEPHEN R. WILLIAMS Vol. XXII, No. 6 



make entrance of food into the mouth from the front absolutely 

 impossible. There is, however, a small section of the mouth 

 opening to the left side just behind the origins of the lower 

 teeth which looks as though it could have been used. The hair 

 around this corner of the mouth looks rubbed and worn thin. 

 Possibly by turning the head to one side and by manipulating 

 with the tongue as effectively as it could act under the per- 

 manent tongue depressor (the left upper incisor) some leaves 

 and other small fractions of plant tissue could be forced far 

 enough into the mouth to be caught and ground up by the 

 back teeth. 



Whatever explanation one makes concerning the method of 

 feeding, the animal certainly obtained enough food to keep 

 alive, for it was killed by the trapper. And from the date of 

 capture, nearly a month after the normal woodchucks had dis- 

 appeared, we can be just as sure that the creature had been 

 unable to hibernate because incapable of accumulating fat. 



There is no means of learning the age of the animal, but 

 since these rodent teeth grow rapidly it was probably a young 

 one and these tusk-like teeth the unworn accumulation of one 

 season's growth. It seems impossible to imagine a half blind, 

 deformed and infected animal ever having been able to store 

 fat enough to live over even one hibernation period. 



