1936] 



MAMMALS OF OEEGON 



295 



Breeding habits. Apparently the mink breeds but once a year, the 

 6 or 8 young being born in April or May and attaining maturity dur- 

 ing the following winter. The young are kept in some burrow or 

 hollow under rocks or logs until old enough to follow the mother, 

 who hunts and brings them food before they are old enough to travel. 

 The polygamous male apparently takes no interest in his family or is 

 kept away by fear of the keen teeth of the mother mink. 



Food habits. From the water minks obtain fish, frogs, and crusta- 

 ceans, the latter being apparently their favorite food, and where 

 abundant, as in western Oregon, their principal food for the year 

 around. Other small game such as muskrats, mice, ground squirrels, 

 chipmunks, and birds in varying numbers form a part of the bill of 

 fare. Undoubtedly some game birds are killed and some nests de- 

 stroyed, as poultry is occasionally attacked and on rare occasions 

 ruthlessly killed and left lying. In case of a raided poultry yard 

 or any unusual supply of such food, apparently the blood only is 

 taken, but normally the game is eaten bones, feathers, fur, scales, 

 shells, and all as shown by the traces left in the droppings near the 

 dens or along the shores. 



Economic status. On rare occasions there are complaints of ser- 

 ious destruction of poultry by mink, but these are of local and in- 

 frequent occurrence, and in most cases could be easily prevented. 

 Some game birds and nests and such small game as rabbits and 

 squirrels and some fish are undoubtedly destroyed by them, but a 

 constant check on the abundance of destructive rodents serves to 

 counterbalance in part these losses, while the value of the fur far 

 outweighs all losses through their depredations. During the trap- 

 ping season of November 1 to February 28, 1913-14, 2,466 mink were 

 taken in Oregon, according to the records of the State Game Com- 

 mission. These at an average price of $3.25 would bring into the 

 State more than $8,000. The mink is one of the most permanent 



id valuable fur bearers of the State, and the least likely to be ex- 

 >rminated. Still they require careful protection to keep the num- 



;rs up to the maximum, and to insure that they are taken only when 

 >rime, in the 3 winter months. 



MARTES CAURINA CAURINA (MEBBIAM) 

 PACIFIC MARTEN ; AMERICAN SABLE; PAP of the Klamath (C. H. M.) 



tustela* caurina Merriam, North Amer. Fauna No. 4, p. 27, 1890. 



Tyye. Collected near Grays Harbor, Wash., February 4, 1886, by L. C. 

 >ney. 



General characters. In size about the same as the mink, but apparently 

 *ger because of longer legs, tail, and ears, longer fur, and especially more 

 ishy tail ; upper teeth 18, lower 20, instead of 16 and 18, as in the mink and 

 teasels ; nails, slender, sharp, and well curved for climbing ; toes webbed only 

 it base ; males with elongated gland on belly ; summer pelage thin and harsh, 

 inter fur long, fine, and silky. Color about the same in summer and winter, 

 )per parts light or dark yellowish brown, near snuff brown or raw umber, 

 ightly paler on head and shoulders, darker or blackish on tail and feet; 

 iroat and breast and sometimes back of belly varying from yellow to rich 

 >range. 



Measurements. A large male : Total length, 600 mm ; tail, 203 ; foot, 92 ; ear, 

 [dry), 38. Female: 597; 206; 83; 35. Basal length of skull, 76; zygomatic 

 >readth, 72. Weight of one male, from Three Sisters, 2.5 pounds. 



