THE BADGER. 



109 



of the short tail, which is a yellowish-white. The under surface of the 

 body is of a lighter hue. The fur is long and of a silken texture at 

 the base, and closely set together, so as to afford to the animal the warm 

 covering which is needed in the elevated spots where it dwells. The 

 hair is especially long on the sides of the neck, and curls slightly up- 

 ward and backward, and on the top of the head there is a small trans- 

 verse crest. The feet are large, and 'the claws of the fore-limbs are 

 nearly twice as long as those of the hinder paws. 



In the whole aspect of the Teledu there is a great resemblance to the 

 badger, and, indeed, the animal looks very like a miniature badger, of 

 rather eccentric colors. 



Although one of the most quiet and inoffensive of our indigenous 

 animals, the Badger has been subjected to such cruel persecutions as 

 could not be justified even if the creature were as destructive and noi- 

 some as it is harmless or innocu- 

 ous. For the purposes of so-called 

 "sport," the Badger was captured 

 and put into a cage, ready to be 

 tormented at the cruel will of 

 every ruffian who might choose to 

 risk his dog against the sharp teeth 

 of the captive animal. 



Being naturally as harmless an 

 animal as can be imagined, it is a 

 terrible antagonist when provoked 

 to use the means of defence with 

 which it is so well provided. Not 

 only are the teeth long and sharp, 

 but the jaws are so formed that when the animal closes its mouth the 

 jaws "lock" together by a peculiar structure of their junction with 

 the skull, and retain their hold without any need of any special effort 

 on the part of the animal. 



Unlike the generality of the weasel tribe, the Badger is slow and 

 clumsy in its actions, and rolls along so aw'kwardly in its gait that it 

 may easily be mistaken for a young pig in the dark of the evening, at 

 which time it first issues from its burrow. The digging capacities of 

 the Badger are very great, the animal being able to sink itself into the 

 ground with marvellous rapidity. For this power it is indebted to the 

 long curved claws with which the fore-feet are armed, and to the great 

 development of the muscles that work the fore-limbs. 



In its burrow the female Badger makes her nest and rears her young, 

 which are generally three or four in number. 



The food of the Badger is of a mixed character, being partly vegeta- 

 ble and partly animal. Snails and worms are greedily devoured by 



10 



The Badger {Meles Taxus). 



