Badger lOOl 



its life, the side which shows love for the mate, its young, 

 and the pleasant society of its own kind. 



The Badger has many sounds that it uses in expression, ixter- 

 Unfortunately, only those used in battle have been recorded, nica- 

 The hiss, the grunt, the growl, and the low husky snarling, ^'°^ 

 which seems to show that the snarler is a little afraid of the one 

 it is snarling at. As recognition marks, or signal service ap- 

 paratus, the black and white face-spots are no doubt important, 

 for they announce its species to all the wise world that can see; 

 but there is another contrivance highly developed in the species, 

 that is, the anal group of glands. Just how it is used is not 

 known, because this belongs to the gentle side of the Badger's 

 life, and all our observations so far have been that of the bitterly 

 hostile. 



Little is known of the mating habits in this species. I mating 

 am inclined to believe that, like all the higher mammals, it is 

 monogamous, and that, as in the highest, the male, sometimes 

 at least, stays with the female all summer and helps to protect 

 and feed the young. 



All the evidence I have been able to gather is given here. 

 Professor John Macoun tells me that in Saskatchewan, where 

 Badgers still abound (1906), he commonly saw 2 adults at 

 each den door during the first week of August, but never 3. 

 In each case the bigger one, presumably the male, remained 

 sitting head out of the hole, with its bristles up, and uttering a 

 sound of menace. He saw no young. 



The following incident also goes to show that the species 

 pairs and the male continues with the female all summer. It 

 was related to me by Russell Brown, of Sunnyside, Wash. 

 While haying late in June, 1902, his dog was attacked by two 

 full-grown Badgers. He went to the rescue with a fork. On 

 killing the assailants, they were found to be male and female, 

 but he saw nothing of any young. 



R. W. Cowan, ranchman, tells me that near Calgary, 

 Aha., during the month of September, he more than once has 



