CLASS MAMMALIA 



655 



minated. It is omnivorous, being especially fond of fish, blue- 

 berries, and honey. The grizzly bear, Ursus horribilis, of the 

 Rocky Mountains is now rare except in the Yellowstone Park 

 and certain other limited localities. 



The martens (Mustelid^e) constitute a large family of small 

 fur-bearing animals. The best known of the forty-six or more 

 species inhabiting North America north of Mexico are the otter, 

 mink, weasel, marten, wolverine, skunk, and badger. The 

 otter, Lutra canadensis, is over three feet in length. It makes 

 its home in a burrow in the 

 bank of a lake or stream and 

 is very fond of water, being 

 adapted for swimming by 

 webbed feet and a flattened 

 tail. Fish constitute its 

 chief food. Otter fur is 

 very valuable, but cannct 

 be obtained now except in 

 certain parts of Alaska, 

 where the natives capture 

 the sea otter, Latax lutris, a 

 single skin of which is worth 

 in some cases one thousand 

 dollars. 



The mink, Putorius vison, is less than two feet in length, and 

 dark brown in color. Like the otter, it is fond of water. Its 

 food consists of birds, small mammals, and fish. The weasel, 

 Putorius noveboracensis, is one of the smallest of the Mustelid^:. 

 It is very bloodthirsty, often killing a great many more birds 

 and small mammals than it can eat. The skunks, Spilogalc and 

 Mephitis (Fig. 520), are notorious because of the powerful odor 

 of the secretion which they can eject from a pair of scent glands 

 at the base of the tail. They feed upon poultry, but pay for their 

 board by killing grubs and other noxious insects. The badger, 

 Taxidea taxus, is over two feet in length. It inhabits western 



Fig. 520. — The skunk, Mephitis me phitica. 

 (From Flower and Lydekker.) 



