Lake Maxinkuckee, Physical and Biological Survey 459 



where it went under. After remaining at the surface a minute 

 or two, swimming and turning about in a narrow area, apparently 

 eating what it had brought up, it would dive again. Often the 

 entire length from nose to tip of tail could be seen just above the 

 water surface. When it dived it humped its back, going under 

 head first, the entire length of the tail (except the tip) which 

 seemed to be quite long, often coming entirely out of the water. 



After feeding for more than 20 minutes it swam to its burrow 

 on shore near the steamer slip. What it was feeding on was not 

 determined. 



In July, 1907, Dr. J. T. Scovell found a family of young minks 

 on the Tippecanoe River, below Belong. They were on a mass of 

 drift in the stream. They were moving about on the drift from 

 one part to another. As the boat approached, the two old minks 

 swam out toward it, and as the boat floated by they made a wheezy 

 noise which they continued until the boat was some distance below 

 them when they returned to the drift, into which the young had 

 disappeared. 



11. SKUNK 



MEPHITIS MESOMELAS AVIA (Bangs) 



The Skunk or Polecat is not common in this region, but it 

 is apparently becoming more frequent. We saw none in 1899 and 

 1900, but that the country was not wholly deprived of this inter- 

 esting animal was on several occasions made evident by the pres- 

 ence of the well-known diagnostic odor. 



On September 16, 1906, the mangled remains of one were found 

 on the railroad track near the Gravelpit; it had evidently been 

 run over by. a passing train. On September 20, 1907, a freshly 

 skinned skunk was seen in the possession of a hunter at Culver. 

 The skin was 22 inches long, and the tail 10 inches. The roots of 

 the hairs show through the skin so that the skin looks black under 

 the black parts and white under the white dorsal stripe. 



12. BADGER 



TAXIDEA TAXUS (Schreber) 



Never more than very rare in Indiana and now probably ex- 

 tinct in this part of the State. In 1893, Mr. S. D. Steininger, then 

 of La Grange County, reported that the Badger has been found 

 in Elkhart, La Grange, Steuben, De Kalb, Noble and Kosciusko 

 counties; that four had been caught in La Grange County within 

 the last 10 years, the last in 1887; that three were caught in the 



