166 



THE BEASTS OF PREY. 



spacious dwelling, and several times has left it. The 

 first time it did this, I found it hidden in a corner of 

 a room. Later on, whenever it succeeded in freeing 

 itself during the night, I always found it on its hay 

 in the morning, as if it had undertaken its nocturnal 

 wanderings with a view to relaxation rather than with 

 the intention of escape." 



After the Mink had become completely reconciled 

 to its loss of liberty, and so tame that it allowed its 

 owner to take it up and seemed susceptible to 

 caresses, Claudius sent it to me in a chest. Even 

 while I was opening it, I knew that I had to deal 

 with a Mink, for there was no trace of the disagree- 

 able odor a Polecat would have given forth under 

 similar circumstances. I may well say that no other 

 animal ever gave me the joy I experienced in seeing 

 this rare specimen, a European Mink. I had been 

 yearning for years to possess one, and this animal, 

 fortunately, has thrived for many years in my care. 

 Late in the evening, never before sunset, it quits its 

 bed and prowls around in the cage. This it does 

 every night, and thus explains the ignorance that pre- 

 vails concerning its habits ; for who can follow the 

 Mink in the dark of night in its favorite haunts — the 

 moors ? As far as one can judge in a confined space 

 it seems to resemble the Polecat most in its move- 

 ments. It possesses the agility of the Martens, but 

 has neither their aptitude at climbing nor their activ- 

 ity. It may be said that the Mink does not make 

 one unnecessary step. The intelligent little head is 

 never at rest ; the keen eyes incessantly search the 

 room, and it pricks up its little ears to take in, by its 

 sense of hearing, what might escape the eyes. If it 

 is offered a living prey, it pounces upon it with 

 Weasel-like rapidity, kills it with a few bites and 

 drags it into its hole. 



Fish and Frogs seem to be its favorite food, 

 though Claudius thought that it preferred meat and 

 ate fish only in default of it. It astonishes me, that 

 my prisoner rather shuns water than yearns for it. 

 An Otter tries to profit by the friendly element even 

 within the most limited space, but my Mink never 

 thinks of it ; it uses the water only for drinking, 

 never to bathe or play in. 



THE GLUTTON. 



The Glutton, or Wolverine, is one of the clumsiest 

 members of the Marten or Weasel family and rep- 

 resents a distinct group, Gttlo, whose distinguishing 

 features are as follows : The body is stout and 

 strong, the tail short and very bushy, the neck thick 

 and short, the back arched, the head large, the snout 

 elongated and blunt, the legs are short and stout, the 

 clumsy paws have five toes, and are provided with 

 curved and compressed claws. 



Description of The Glutton ( Gulo boreedis) is a little 

 the Glutton over three feet long, six inches of 



or Wolverine. w hich go to the tail. The shoulder 

 height is from sixteen to seventeen inches. On the 

 snout the hair is short and thin ; on the feet it is 

 thick and lustrous ; on the body long and shaggy ; 

 on the legs, the light side-bands and the tail it is very 

 long and coarse. The top of the head and the back 

 are of a brownish black, with an admixture of gray 

 hairs ; the under part and the legs are black. There 

 is a light gray patch between eyes and ears and a 

 light gray band runs from the shoulders along the 

 sides. The woolly under-fur is gray, and beneath 

 the body is brownish. 



The Glutton inhabits the north of the globe. 

 From southern Norway and Finland it spreads all 



over northern Asia and North America to Green- 

 land. Formerly its southern boundaries in Europe 

 were formed by lower latitudes than now ; during 

 the Reindeer period it extended to the Alps. Bech- 

 stein tells us of a Glutton that was killed in Saxony, 

 Zimmerman of another caught in Brunswick. These 

 two are considered isolated animals, for it seems 

 very improbable that the Glutton is to be found so 

 far south in modern times. Its native range is Nor- 

 way, Sweden, Lapland, northern Russia, especially 

 the country surrounding the White Sea, Perm, Sibe- 

 ria, Kamchatka and North America. 



The Glutton's Older naturalists relate the most 

 Voracity marvelous tales of the Glutton, and 



Exaggerated. \ t ; s t i ie ir fault that the animal bears 

 a name signifying the same thing in all languages. 

 Michow, for instance, says: "In Lithuania and Mos- 

 covia there is an animal called Rosomacha (the Rus- 

 sian name for it), which is very gluttonous. It is as 

 large as a Dog, has eyes like a Cat, very strong claws, 

 a body clothed with long brown hair, and a tail like 

 a Fox, only shorter. When it finds a carcass it eats 

 until its stomach is distended and returns to its 

 repast as soon as it is able to eat more, repeating its 

 meals until it has devoured the carcass. It seems to 

 do nothing but eat and drink and eat again." Stel- 

 ler has long since refuted these silly stories, and Pal- 

 las gives a correct account of this strange animal. 



Range and The Glutton inhabits the mountainous 

 Habits of the parts of the north, preferring, for in- 

 Glutton. stance, the barren heights of the Scan- 

 dinavian Alps to the immense forests of the lower 

 mountains, although it is also found in these latter 

 situations. It has no permanent hiding-place, but 

 changes its lair according to circumstances and hides 

 at the approach of night in any place that is pro- 

 pitious, be it in a thicket, a cleft of rock, a forsaken 

 Fox burrow or a natural cavern. Like all of the 

 Weasel tribe, its habits are essentially nocturnal, still 

 it prowls around at will in its native country, so little 

 inhabited by human beings, and shows itself also in 

 the light of the sun. It would be compelled to do 

 this, anyway, as in the most northerly regions of its 

 native range the sun shines day and night during the 

 summer. 



It spends the winter like its nearest relatives among 

 the Weasels without falling into a deep sleep, and its 

 large paws enable it to walk on the snow with ease. 

 As it is not fastidious in its taste it leads a comforta- 

 ble, easy life, without ever being in great straits. Its 

 movements are peculiar, and its walk especially 

 distinguishes it from all other animals of which I 

 have any knowledge. It rolls itself along with large 

 bounds, limping and turning somersaults. Yet, de- 

 spite its peculiarities of gait, its walk is not slow, 

 and it can easily overtake small quadrupeds and 

 attack larger ones after a longer pursuit. In spite 

 of its clumsiness it can ascend small trees. It lies in 

 wait on the branches, close to the' trunk, till some 

 game passes beneath. Its smelling faculty ranks first 

 among its senses, and its sight and hearing are also 

 very efficient. 

 How the Glut- Its principal food consists of Mice, and 



ton Secures especially Lemmings, of which it exter- 



Its Food. minates astonishing numbers. As these 

 animals abound in certain seasons, it does not need 

 to look for other prey. It follows Wolves and Foxes 

 in the hope of obtaining a portion of their prey. 

 When Mice are scarce it is obliged to hunt nobler 

 game. It is an established fact that it attacks and 

 sometimes kills Reindeer, and even Elks. Thunberg 



