MAMMALS OF MINNESOTA. 103 



Mustela pennant! ERXL. 



PEKAN OR FISHER. 



Mustela canadensis SCHBEBER, etc. 



Maries canadensis GRAY. 



Viverra canadensis SHAW. 



Viverra piscator SHAW. 



Mustela melanorhyncfia BODDAERT, etc. 



Mustela nigra TURT. 



Mustela godmani FISCHER. 



The general aspect of the fisher is much like that of the fox, 

 hence it is often popularly called "black fox." A full grown 

 animal measures about 46 inches, the tail being 16 inches long. 

 It is thus much larger than our other Mustelidce, and is rela- 

 tively much stouter and more compactly framed. The head is 

 six inches long, the eye being two inches from the end of the 

 muzzle. The ear is twice as broad as long, and is one inch high. 

 The feet are broad and flat, furred on both sides, and armed 

 with curved, compressed claws. The hind foot is 4-5 inches 

 long. The tail is bushy and conical, and the fur is coarser 

 tfian in the martens. The color is exceedingly variable, con- 

 sisting of black and dark brown below, and greyish brown or 

 reddish above. The belly, legs and tail are often black, though 

 the breast is sometimes white spotted. 



The name fisher is quite inappropriate, as the animal is not 

 aquatic, but is said to have a feline repugnance to that element. 

 Neither does it feed on fish, but pursues squirrels and other 

 small quadrupeds. 



Richardson says: " The Pekan is a larger and stronger ani- 

 mal than any variety of the Pine Marten, but has similar man- 

 ners, climbing trees with facility, and preying principally 

 upon mice. It lives in the woods, preferring damp places in 

 the vicinity of water, in which respects it differs from the Mar- 

 ten, which is generally found in the dryest spots of pine forests. 

 The fisher is said to prey on frogs in the summer season, but I 

 have been informed that its favorite food is the Canada porcu- 

 pine, which it kills by biting on the belly. It brings forth once 

 a year, from two to four young. " 



The pekan is distributed from ocean to ocean, in wooded 

 regions north of 35, but its southern limit has been greatly 

 altered by the inroads of the trapper. It is still reasonably 

 abundant in the northern parts of our state. 



This animal is stated to attack and destroy so large and 

 powerful a creature as the raccoon . Sir John Richardson 



