12 University of Michigan 



In this count) only about 75 per cent of the weasels change 

 to the white coat in winter. 



Miistela vison mink. Northeastern Mink. — In this county 

 the mink has been so closely trapped that it is almost, if not 

 quite, exterminated in some townships where it was formerly 

 common. The mink is not so perfectly aquatic as the otter, 

 but it also travels on land quite fast and far. I have found 

 them a half-mile from water hunting for mice, birds, and 

 even cottontails. I once shot one in Lodi Township that came 

 to the chicken house and killed a fully grown hen, which it 

 dragged a rod or so away, where it ate all it wanted. Another 

 time I followed on the snow one that had run five miles in a 

 night, and finally found it only a short distance from the place 

 it started from. The mink is generally nocturnal, but I have 

 often found it out on dark days. Once while fishing I saw 

 one catch and carry away a good-sized trout. It is a poor 

 climber, but once while hunting raccoons a dog chased one 

 up a tree, where it was shot from a limb 20 feet above the 

 ground. Albinos are rare, but we have in the Museum col- 

 lections a mounted specimen which was taken at Ann Arbor. 

 Melanistic specimens are rarer still, and I have seen but one, 

 which was caught in L,odi Township in 1875. 



Mephitis nigra. Eastern Skunk. — The skunk was common 

 when the first settlers arrived in this county. \\'ith the clear- 

 ing of the forests it became abundant. Altogether I have seen 

 hundreds about my old home in Lodi Township. Here in one 

 winter, about 1870, more than 30 were taken in one trap under 

 an old barn. 



Although it usually passes most of the winter months in a 

 state of hibernation, it occasionally comes out during warm 

 spells and wanders from one den to another. I have seen its 



