MAMMALS. 39 



guthered. Fortunately for the squirrels tliej^ have neither incurred 

 the enmity of man nor are they in danger through their value for 

 fur or as game. Their natural enemies — hawks, owls, foxes, cats, and 

 martens — are not sufficiently nmnerous to keep their numbers down 

 below the normal, and they are likely to remain as permanent resi- 

 dents of the forests. They are easily tamed and make interesting and 

 attractive pets, whether in captivity or coming only for food to the 

 camps and hotels. 



Flying Squirrel : Glaucomys sabrinus latipes Howell. — This very 

 large, dark-colored flying squirrel is common throughout most of the 

 timbered area of the Glacier Park, but seems to be most abundant on 

 the west slope and at the lower levels. There are no specimens on 

 record from within the park boundaries, but one that I took in 1895 

 at Nyack, just across the river from the park, is referred by Howell 

 to Glaucomys sahnnus latipes. Another specimen taken at Paola 

 proves to be nearer the slightly ^smaller and paler G. s. hangsl, which 

 not improbably occupies the higher levels and possibly the eastern 

 slope of the park, as it is more closely related to the northern 

 Glaucomys sahiinus. 



Flying squirrels are so strictly nocturnal, so soft and owl-like in 

 their structure and habits, that they are not often seen except by the 

 naturalist-collector or the professional trapper. They may be com- 

 mon about camps in the deep woods every night, but with their furry 

 feet and softly furred monoplane membranes they glide from tree 

 to tree so noiselessly that they are rarely seen. The collector usually 

 gets his specimens in traps set on logs or stumps in the woods or 

 about some old camp ground or in deserted cabins, where the squir- 

 rels come to pick up scattered scraps of food. The trapper finds 

 them frequently in his marten traps set out through the heavy 

 forests and baited with meat, birds, rabbits, or squirrels. The flying 

 squirrels probably get into the traps through curiosity rather than 

 because of a carnivorous taste, and then serve their turn as an 

 attractive bait for the martens. Some traj)pers have reported dozens 

 and others hundreds of flying squirrels caught on their winter's 

 trap line through this region. The animals are unsuspicious and 

 easily caught in box traps set in the woods, and in this way could 

 be made available for examination and studj^, but otherwise the only 

 possibility of their being seen by tourists and the visiting public is 

 by awakening them in their nests during the daytime with blows of 

 ax or club on the hollow trees in which they sleep. 



Large woodpecker nest cavities in trees are favorite homes for 

 the flying squirrels, but any hollow trunk with a small opening 

 answers their purpose, and it is probable that, like other species, 

 they build the outside nests of grass, moss, and bark fibers on the 

 branches much as do the pine squirrels. In the soft-lined and well- 



