1936] 



MAMMALS OF OREGON 



299 



FIGURE 71 



pennanti 



logs. They cover much country in tireless pursuit of small game 

 but keep well concealed and are rarely seen except when caught 

 in traps. 



Breeding habits. Seton records one litter of 3 young fishers that 

 were taken from a hollow tree about 40 feet from the ground, and 

 says that the number varies from 1 to 5, born about the first of 

 May. 



Food habits. In food habits they are similar to the martens, 

 capturing a great variety of small game up to the size of rabbits 

 and grouse, but depending 

 largely on squirrels and 

 smaller animals. They 

 are said to be especially 

 fond of porcupines. 



Economic status. Dur- 

 ing the trapping season of 

 1913-14, 9 fishers were re- 

 ported to the State Game 

 Commission by the regis- 

 tered trappers of the 

 State; 3 from Lane 

 County; 2 from Curry 

 County; and 1 each from 

 Douglas, Josephine, Ma- 

 rion, and Umatilla Coun- 

 ties. At that time prime 

 fisher skins were quoted at $25 each, but in 1920 to 1925 they went 

 up to $100 and $150 for prime skins. They form beautiful and 

 durable garments and are sufficiently rare to be highly desirable furs. 



GULO LUSCUS LUSCUS (LINNAEUS) 

 WOLVERINE; GLUTTON; CAKCAJOU; MOUNTAIN DEVIL; SKUNK BEAB; MANEATEB 



[Ursus] luscus Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. ed. 12, v. 1, p. 71, 1766. (Subspecies uncer- 

 tain no specimens from Oregon available for study.) 



Type locality. Hudson Bay. 



General characters. Form robust; body short and wide with powerful head, 

 neck, and legs ; ears low ; legs short ; tail short and bushy ; toes short and webbed 

 at base only ; nails sharp and curved for climbing ; skull massive and power- 

 ful ; pelage long and coarse with wholly concealed short dense underfur. Pelage 

 long and dense in winter, thin and stringy in summer. Color approximately 

 the same at all seasons ; back dark brown or blackish, almost encircled by a 

 broad yellowish band along sides and across hips; shoulders yellowish brown 

 or gray ; crown gray back of eyes ; face, nose, feet, and tail black ; lower parts 

 dark brown or blackish except throat and breast, which are usually heavily 

 mottled with white or salmon. 



Measurements. A large male from Alaska, collected by Charles Sheldon, 

 measured 1,070 mm; 218; 190, and weighed 36 pounds. One brought to the 

 National Zoological Park from Cordova, Alaska, in March 1928, weighed 28 

 pounds. One recorded from Labrador by George Cartwright weighed 26 

 pounds. A large male from the Sierra Nevadas, of California, recorded by 

 Joseph Grinnell and Storer (1924, P- 85), weighed 25 pounds. 



Distribution and habitat. Wolverines once occupied the boreal 

 zone across the northern part of the continent and southward in 

 the mountains to Colorado and California (fig. 72). At present they 

 are rare in the United States, but probably are not yet extinct in the 



