22O 



THE BADGER AND WEASEL FAMILY. 



long bushy tail. The scent-glands are fairly 

 well developed. The teeth number 34 in 

 all; the canines are very large, the premolars 

 triangular, the carnassials sharp and powerful, 

 the tubercled teeth small. 



Of the two known species this work 

 furnishes an illustration of the larger, the 

 Tayra or Hyrare (Galictis barbara), fig. 113. 

 The body attains the length of 2 feet or 

 more, the tail about 6 inches. The colour of 



Fig. 113. The Tayra (Galictis barbara). 



the fur is a beautiful golden-brown, inclining 

 sometimes more to yellow, sometimes more to 

 brown. A yellow spot, which becomes white 

 on the dried skins, is seen beneath the throat. 

 The smaller species, the Grison (Galictis 

 vittata), attains the length of only 18 inches, 

 and has a yellow colour on the back of the 

 neck, the ears, and the tip of the tail, while 

 the under parts of the body are almost black. 

 The two species lead a similar life to that 

 of our martens and weasels. The tayra pre- 

 fers the forests, the grison open coppices and 

 the vicinity of human dwellings. The agile 

 creatures are capital climbers, and hunt game 

 suitable to their size. Both have a decided 

 preference for winged game, and often the 

 despairing cry of the parrots betrays to the 

 hunters the misdeeds of these fierce creatures, 



which are rather blood-suckers than flesh- 

 eaters. They run, leap, and climb with ex- 

 traordinary perseverance, and commit terrible 

 massacres in the poultry-yards. They are 

 hunted with dogs, which often surprise them 

 in their holes, which are always made in the 

 ground, or in other retreats; but they escape 

 when they can, like our martens, to the trees, 

 leap across the small branches from one tree- 

 top to another, clamber clown on the opposite 

 side of a stem to that on which their pursuers 

 are, scamper along the ground to another 

 tree, and in that way lead the best dogs 

 astray. Their fur is not highly valued. In 

 some places they are kept, like our cats, to 

 hunt rats and mice. 



The Martens (Mustela) are distinguished 

 from the polecats (Putorins) solely by their 



