158 



THE BEASTS OF PREY. 



It jumps from great heights without injuring itself, 

 bears pain of all kinds almost with equanimity and 

 succumbs only to extremely severe wounds. 



A litter of Polecats is composed of four or five, 

 sometimes six young ones, for which a retreat is 

 usually established by the mother in a cavern, or 

 still better, in a heap of wood or dry branches. The 

 mother is exceedingly fond of the little ones, cares 

 for them in the tenderest way and defends them 

 against any enemy ; sometimes, when she hears a 

 noise in the neighborhood of her nest, she will attack 

 a human being of her own accord. The little ones, 

 after a childhood of about six weeks, accompany 

 the mother on her hunts, and at the end of the 

 month they are nearly as large as she is herself. 



Young Polecats may be suckled by Cat-mothers 

 and tamed, but they do not afford one much pleas- 

 ure, for their sanguinary proclivities revive when 

 they grow up and they pursue every good-natured 

 domestic animal. 

 Polecats Sometimes Polecats in the wild state some- 

 Dangerous— times conduct themselves in the 

 Hunting Them. most audacious manner when they 

 meet human beings and may even become dangerous 

 to children. " In Verna, a village in Hessen," says 

 Lenz, " a six year old boy, who had been given care 

 of a baby, set it down on the road, near a canal. 

 Suddenly three Polecats made their appearance and 

 attacked the child. One seized it by the nape of the 

 neck, another by the side of the head, the third by 

 the forehead. The baby gave a loud scream and 

 the brother was coming to the rescue, when still 

 more Polecats emerged from the canal and charged 

 at him. Fortunately two men came to save the chil- 

 dren ; they killed two Polecats and the others then 

 made their escape." 



This animal is pursued in nearly every locality it 

 inhabits because of the considerable damage it causes. 

 All the customary weapons and traps are used in its 

 extermination. In those localities that are infested 

 with Mice it would be better to leave the Polecat 

 alone and direct attention to the repairing of the 

 Chicken-coops. 



The fur of the Polecat is warm and serviceable, 

 but it is not valued as much as it would be if it were 

 not for the really unbearable odor that clings to it. 

 The long hair of the tail is used for brushes ; the 

 flesh is perfectly useless and is disdained even by 

 Dogs. 



The Ferret, a All modern naturalists agree in regard- 



Domesticated ing the Ferret ( Putorius fttro ) as a 

 Variety. descendant of the Polecat, having un- 

 dergone certain modifications in captivity and domes- 

 tication. 



The Ferret has been known since the oldest times, 

 but only in a domesticated condition. Aristotle re- 

 fers to it under the name of Iktis, Pliny under the 

 name of Viverra. On the Balearic islands the Rab- 

 bits at one time had so increased that the natives 

 appealed to the Fmperor Augustus for help. He 

 responded by sending them a few " Viverra;," whose 

 abilities as hunters were great. They were put into 

 the burrows of the Rabbits and drove the harmful 

 rodents out into the nets of their enemies. 



The Ferret resembles the Polecat in shape and 

 size. It is a little smaller and weaker, but we ob- 

 serve this phenomenon in many animals that live in 

 dependence upon Man, that is, in captivity. The 

 body is eighteen inches long, the tail five inches. 

 These are the relative measurements of the Polecat; 

 and the Ferret does not differ in any marked degree 



from the Polecat in the structure of its skeleton. In 

 Europe the Ferret is usually seen as an Albino, 

 being of a whitish or yellowish color, a little darker 

 in the lower parts, and with pink eyes. A few spec- 

 imens are darker and look like genuine Polecats. 

 No essential differences have as yet been found be- 

 tween Polecats and Ferrets, and the reasons that 

 have been given as sufficient to entitle the Ferret 

 to being ranked as a distinct species do not bear 

 close investigation, as the principal distinguishing 

 features of the Ferret have been counted its deli- 

 cate, chilh - nature, its gentleness and its tameness. 

 In my opinion this is no valid proof, as all Albinos 

 are weakly and delicate. Some naturalists supposed 

 the Ferret to be of African origin and to have ex- 

 tended from Africa to Europe, but they have not 

 been able to support their opinions by any observa- 

 tion. 



How Ferrets The Ferret is found only in captivity 

 are Used and is kept in continental Plurope only 



and Kept. f or Rabbit-hunting. In England the 

 Ferret is also used to exterminate Rats, and the 

 "Ratters" are considered of much higher value than 

 those that hunt only Rabbits. The animals are kept 

 in chests and cages, the hay and straw is frequently 

 changed and they are protected from the cold in 

 winter. Usually they are fed on bread and milk, 

 but a diet of tender flesh of freshly killed animals 

 is much more conducive to their health. Lenz's 

 observations show that they can be very cheaply 

 kept on Frogs, Lizards and Snakes, of which they 

 are very fond. 



Habits and The Ferret resembles the Polecat in 

 Traits of the its temper, except that it is not so 

 Ferret. lively; its thirst for blood is not in- 



ferior to that of its wild brother. Even when it 

 is nearly satiated, it attacks Rabbits, Pigeons and 

 Chickens with a kind of a mad frenzy, seizes them 

 by the neck and does not loosen its hold until the 

 prey is thoroughly disabled from moving. It laps 

 the blood, oozing out of the wound it has made, with 

 incredible avidity, and appears to consider the brain 

 a dainty morsel. It attacks reptiles with greater 

 caution and seems to be aware of the danger apper- 

 taining to venomous Snakes. It attacks the harm- 

 less species of Snakes without hesitation, even when 

 it sees one of them for the first time, and in spite of 

 its violent writhings, the Ferret seizes it, bites it 

 through the backbone and eats a fairly large piece. 

 But it approaches a venomous Snake with caution 

 and tries to bite the treacherous reptile in the mid- 

 dle of the body. It does not die from the effects of 

 a Snake bite, but becomes sick and dejected. 



Only in rare instances is the Ferret completely 

 tamed ; there are cases on record, however, where 

 Ferrets have followed their masters about like Dogs 

 and could be allowed to roam about at perfect lib- 

 erty. But in the majority of cases these animals 

 know how to profit by their freedom when once they 

 have made good their escape; they straightway seek 

 the forest, where the)- make themselves at home in 

 some Rabbit's burrow, which serves them as an asy- 

 lum during the summer. In a short time they forget 

 Man, anil if they are not recaptured they perish dur- 

 ing the winter, as they are much too delicate to with- 

 stand the cold. 



The voice of the Ferret finds expression in a dull 

 growl, or, when expressing pain, in a shriek. It is 

 seldom heard, for the animal usually lies snugly 

 curled up and quite still, and becomes active only 

 when there is some sanguinary feat to be achieved. 





