THE SKUNKS 663 



In regard to food, it appears that the glutton will devour any animal that it 

 can catch and overmaster, and that it is by no means averse to carrion. The activ- 

 ity of the animal is such that it can at times, according to Dr. Coues, capture such 

 nimble prey as hares and grouse, while disabled or weakly deer are always success- 

 fully attacked. The stories of its attacking healthy full-grown reindeer are, how- 

 ever, improbable. Foxes, rabbits, marmots, etc., are dug out from their burrows 

 and eaten. 



Although much exaggerated by the older writers, the voracity of the glutton 

 is extreme. It is stated by North- American hunters that a freshly-killed animal 

 may be safely left out in the woods for the first night, as the glutton will not 

 touch it; but the second night the animal will return and gorge itself on the flesh, 

 burying such portions as it is unable to consume. So pertinacious, indeed, are 

 these animals in quest of slaughtered carcasses, that they have even been known to 

 gnaw through a thick log of wood and to dig a hole several feet deep in frozen 

 ground, in order to gain access to the body of a deer concealed by hunters. 



Gluttons are in the habit of robbing the traps set for other animals, and when 

 one of them has discovered a line of marten traps the trapper may as well relinquish 

 his trade until he has destroyed the marauder. Every trap along the line will be 

 pulled to pieces and the bait or captured marten removed; and after the hunger of 

 the glutton is satisfied the remainder of the booty will be buried. Another curious 

 propensity of the glutton is its habit of stealing and hiding articles which can be of 

 no possible use to it; and one instance is recorded where these animals removed and 

 concealed the whole paraphernalia of an unoccupied hunter's lodge, including such 

 articles as guns, axes, knives, cooking vessels, and blankets. 



Dr. Coues states that the glutton ' ' may be captured in wooden 

 traps similar to those used for martens, but of course made on a much 

 larger scale, as the animal's strength is enormous, even for its size. The traps are 

 sometimes built with two doors; but so great is the cunning and sagacity of the 

 beast, that the contrivance for its destruction must be very perfect. The traps 

 should be covered up with pine brush, and made to resemble a cache as much as 

 possible, as the wolverene is then likely to break in and get caught. The bait, 

 ordinarily the conspicuous feature of a trap, must in this instance be concealed, or 

 the animal will either break in from behind or, failing in this, will pass on his way. 

 It is sometimes also taken in steel traps, or by means of a set gun, but both these 

 methods are uncertain. ' ' 



THE SKUNKS 

 Genera Mephitis and Conepatus 



The handsome but ill-savored skunks introduce us to the second great group of 

 the present family, which includes the skunks, badgers, and their allies, and is 

 characterized as follows. The feet are long, with straight toes, and the claws are 

 blunt, but slightly curved and compressed, and quite incapable of retraction; those 

 of the fore-feet being remarkable for their large size. The form of the molar tooth 



