when young, otters make affection- 

 ate and gentle pets. 



Weasels — Weasels range over all 

 of Alaska except the islands west 

 of Umnak in the Aleutian chain. 

 During the summer the fur of this 

 slender animal is light brown, but 

 in winter it becomes white, except 

 for the tip of the tail which stays 

 black as jet. Although essentially 

 a ground-dwelling animal, the 

 weasel is a fair climber, and is often 

 seen in the lower branches of trees. 

 Small birds and mammals are the 

 normal foods of this inquisitive, 

 bold, and bloodthirsty little animal 

 which in its smaller Alaskan form 

 is the world's littlest carnivore. 



Wolverine — A gluttonous killer 

 and the largest member of the 

 weasel family, the wolverine is said 

 to attack anything but bears and 

 men. This solitary animal looks 

 like a small bear and measures from 

 3 to 4 feet in length. 



Wolverines are cabin invaders 

 and despoilers, and are notorious 

 trap-line robbers. The fur, of little 

 commercial value, is generally used 

 by Eskimos to trim the hoods of 

 their parkas beciause it is frost- 



proof. The wolverine inhabits 

 mountainous timbered areas, in- 

 cluding the Alaska Peninsula. Its 

 population remains constant be- 

 cause trapping is difficult. 



Muskrat — The muskrat is found 

 from Southeastern Alaska north to 

 Kotzebue Sound. Its foods are 

 sedges, horsetails, pondweeds, mus- 

 sels, and even small fishes. Its 

 predators are legion, coming from 

 land, air, and water, with the mink 

 its arch enemy. Biggest cause of 

 muskrat loss in Alaska is deep icing 

 of shallow ponds, which kills tens 

 of thousands in a single hard 

 winter. Fall and early winter 

 trapping is used to gather pelts that 

 would otherwise be wasted by 

 winter freeze-outs. The take of 

 muskrat pelts has been quite uni- 

 form, about 144,000 skins each year, 

 and represents an income of about 

 $216,000. 



J-^^ 



''M:^'^-'.:^ 



BEAVER 



MUSKRAT 



WOLVERINE 



Beaver — The beaver is found 

 over most of the Interior from 

 Brooks Range south to the base of 

 the Alaska Peninsula. A few occur 

 in the Southeastern mainland, and 

 on some of the larger islands, espe- 

 cially Prince of Wales. 



Monogamy is the rule for 



32 



