Weasels.] 



MUSEUM OF ANIMATED NATURE. 



215 



an example, the dentition is as follows : — Incisors, - ; 



1—1 2- 



canines, y— r ; false molars, — 



small tubercular molar, - — -. 



carnassiere, 



1—1 



In the genus Martes, 



Ray (Mustela, Cuvier), of which the marten is an 



3 3 



example, the false molars are - — -. In the genus 

 "^ 4 — 4 



Gulo the dentition (as seen in Fig. 959) is as in the 

 genus Martes. 



In a commercial point of view the present family 

 is by no means unimportant. From several species 

 the most costly furs are procured, pre-eminent for 

 beauty : we need only mention the sable (Martes 

 Zibellina), and the ermine (Mustela erminea). The 

 true sable is a native of the dreary regions of Sibe- 

 Tia, where it haunts the gloomy pine-forests which 

 stretch over immense tracts of country remote from 

 human abodes. It is into the midst of these Vi'ilds 

 that the sable-hunter has to penetrate in the pursuit 

 of his game, and the chace is carried on in the 

 winter, for it is then that the fur is the finest. Great 

 are the hunter's penis and privations. He has to 

 traverse plains and mountains covered with snow, 

 and swept by the keen tempests of an arctic winter ; 

 — to spend daj's and nights in patient watching, 

 and in the solitudes of the dismal forest ; — he is ex- 

 posed to overwhelming snow-storms, of which, in 

 our climate, we can form but an imperfect idea. 

 He often loses his way ; his provisions fail, and he 

 finds himself exposed to all the horrors of cold and 

 famine. Who has not heard of the hardships of 

 the hunter of sables in the deserts of Siberia ? (See 

 Fig. 960.) 



961. — British Mustelid.e. 



We have arranged in our Pictorial Museum a most 

 interesting group of British Mustelidae, typical of 

 the family. Of these, a is the Polecat (Mustela 

 Putorius) ; b, the Stoat (Mustela erminea); c, the 

 Beech-.Marten (Martes fagorum) ; d, the Ferret 

 (Mustela furo) ; e, the Weasel (Mustela vulgaris). 

 Fig. 962 represents the Pine-Marten (Mustela abie- 

 tum) ; Fig. 963, the Beech-Marten (Mustela fago- 

 rum). 



The polecat, fitchet, or foumart is very common 

 in some parts of our island, where the farmer and 

 the sportsman make common cause against it. 

 Poultry, young and old, ducks, geese, and turkeys 

 fall a prey to its sanguinary disposition : it destroys 

 all within its reach. Mr. Bell instances one case in 

 which sixteen large turkeys were killed by a polecat 

 during the course of one night, and another in which 

 ten ducks were similarly destroyed, and the perpetra- 

 tor of the outrage, when in the morning the door of 

 the outhouse in which they were shut was opened, 

 marched out licking his bloody jaws, without the 

 slightest alarm. Many similar instances have come 

 under our own personal knowledge. The predilec 

 tion of the polecat for the brains and the blood of 

 poultry is well known : it seldom touches the rest 

 of the carcass ; and we may here observe that rats 

 display the same taste for the brains of birds. We 

 could adduce many instances, within our own know- 

 ledge, in which birds kept in aviaries have been 

 destroyed by rats, the brain of the victims being in 

 every case eaten out of the skull. 



It is generally in winter that the polecat haunts 

 the farm-yard. In summer it resorts to plantations, 

 woods, and preserves of game, where it makes havoc 

 among leverets, young partridges, and pheasants ; 

 nor are the nests of birds safe from its attacks, the 

 eggs or callow brood being equally acceptable. 

 No animal is more pernicious in the rabbit-warren. 

 It can follow its prey through their subterranean 

 galleries, which the fox cannot do ; besides which, its 

 love of slaughter seems insatiable. It would appear 

 that even the tenants of the water are not safe from 

 its attacks. Mr. Bewick, on his own testimony, 

 affirms that in one instance eleven fine eels were 

 discovered in the retreat of a polecat near a rivulet, 

 to which its nocturnal visits were rendered apparent 

 by tracks in the snow, both of its feet and of the 

 writhing eels. In Loudon's 'Magazine ' (vol. vi. 

 p. 206) an instance is related in which the nest of a 

 female polecat was opened containing five young 

 ones, while in a side hole were packed forty large 

 frogs and two toads, barely alive, each having been 

 paralyzed by a bite through the brain. When at- 

 tacked by dog or man, the polecat makes a vigorous 

 resistance, and will defend itself to the last. The 

 female breeds in the spring, making a nest of dry 

 grass in her burrow. The young are from three to 

 five in number. The adult polecat measures about 

 one foot four or five inches in length, exclusive of 

 the tail, which measures nearly six inches. The 

 body is covered with a woolly undercoat, and this, 

 with the ba.se of the long hairs, which form an outer 

 garment, is of a pale yellow ; the extremities of the 

 long hairs are of a deep glossy blackish-brown ; the 

 margins of the ears and part of the lips are white. 



Though by no means so valuable as that of the sable 

 or marten, the fur of this animal (known generally 

 by the name of Fitch) is imported very extensively 

 from the North of Europe, and is abundant in the 

 furriers' shops of our metropolis. 



The Ferret is closely allied to the polecat ; so 

 closely, indeed, that many naturalists regard them 

 as the same species, the more especially as a mixed 

 breed between them may be procured. We do not, 

 however, consider this opinion to be correct. The 

 polecat is a native of temperate and northern Eu- 

 rope ; the Ferret, of Africa, whence, as we are told 

 by Strabo, it was imported into Spain for the pur- 

 pose of destroying rabbits, with which, at one period, 

 that country was injuriously overrun. From Spain 

 it has spread through the rest of Europe, not as a 

 wild, but as a domesticated animal. 



From the earliest times it was used in the capture 

 of rabbits by being turned, muzzled, into their bur- 

 rows. Pliny alludes to this practice in his eighth 

 book. The ordinary colour of the ferret is yellow- 

 ish-white ; but we have frequently seen specimens 

 of a brown colour : these, indeed, were said to be 

 of the mixed breed between the polecat and the 

 ferret, and probably were so, as they were always 

 larger and stouter than the white. One of the 

 brown kind, in the possession of a relative of the 

 writer's, was so tame as to be allowed the liberty of 

 the house, and it slept in his chamber — a dangerous 

 experiment, as instances have been known of their 

 attacking persons and wounding them severely. 

 An instance in which an infant nearly fell a sacri- 

 fice to a ferret is related by Mr. Jesse, in his ' Glean- 

 ings,' and quoted by Mr. Bell. The child had the 

 jugular vein and the temporal artery opened ; the 

 face, neck, and arms lacerated ; and the sight of one 

 eye destroyed. The ferret is not only employed by 

 the warrener, but also by the ratcatcher, who prefers 

 the mixed breed. 



The ferret is very sensitive of cold, and requires 

 to be kept snug and warm, especially during winter, 

 as it perishes if exposed to the severity of the sea- 

 son. 



The Weasel (Mustela vulgaris) is so well known, 

 that any description of its form and colour is use- 

 less. Small as this animal is, it has all the courage 

 and ferocity of its race, and will prey upon leverets, 

 chickens, young pigeons, and ducklings ; its favour- 

 ite food, however, are mice, rats, water-rats, and 

 even moles. In the farmer's stack-yard and E;ranary 

 it is of the greatest utility, and well repays by valu- 

 able services the occasional abstraction of a chicken, 

 a pigeon, or a few eggs. Of this, indeed, many 

 farmers are well aware, and encourage it for the 

 sake of the incessant ■vvail'are it keeps up as^ainst 

 mice and rats, which, from their excessive numbers, 

 often occasion a serious loss in grain, besides under- 

 mining the barns and outhouses. 



The weasel climbs trees and runs up the side of 

 a wall with facility, its movements being singularly 

 graceful. When it attacks its prey, it fixes its teeth 

 on the back of the head, and pierces the brain, 

 which it then devours. It is said to prefer putrid 

 flesh to that just killed, but this is very doubtful, 

 and has arisen most pmbably from the circumstance 

 of dead birds in a putrid state having been found in 

 its hole or near its retreat, left by their destroyer. 

 The weasel hunts by the scent, like a dog ; and fol- 

 lows mice and moles with the utmost perseverance, 

 tracking them through all their runs or winding 

 galleries. It will even cross the water in the pur- 

 suit, if its prey be in sight, nor does swiftness avail, 

 for onwards will the weasel travel, fill its victim 

 fails from exhaustion. The wolverene of North 

 America (Gulo arcticus) pursues the beaver and 

 other prey in a similar manner. 



Instances are on record in which several weasels 

 have united in attacking men, who with difficulty 

 have prevented the fierce little animals from lacer- 

 ating their throats, and certainly twelve or fifteen 

 weasels would prove no mean adversaries. 



The weasel often falls a prey to hawks, owls, and 

 kites ; but sometimes succeeds in coming off vic- 

 torious. Many anecdotes are on record of weasels 

 and stoats bringing eagles or large hawks to the 

 ground — and Mr. Bell gives an instance, assuring 

 us of its truth, in which a kite that had seized a wea- 

 sel and mounted into the air, was observed to wheel 

 irregularly, and at length to fall to the ground dead ; 

 the determined little animal having torn open the 

 skin and large blood-vessels under its wing. 



The weasel breeds two or three times in a year, 

 having a litter of five at each birth. She makes her 

 nest of dry herbage ; a hole in the bank side, among 

 rambles, or in an aged tree, is the usual place of 

 her retreat ; and when molested, she defends her- 

 self and her progeny with indomitable courage. 



The Stoat (Mustela erminea) is allied very closely 

 to the weasel, but is considerable larger, being up- 

 j wards of nine inches long, excluding the tail. Its 

 habits are precisely those of the weasel, but it preys 

 habitually on larger game, as hares, leverets, &c., 

 not excluding the rat and water-rat. Of the latter. 



indeed, it destroys great numbers, following them 

 into their burrows. It hunts its prey by the scent. 

 Some idea of the extent of the depredation of this 

 animal may be conceived from the circumstance of 

 two leverets, two leverets' heads, two young par- 

 tridges, and a pheasant's egg having been found in 

 the retreat of one. In our climate the stoat becomes 

 partially white during the winter, hut in more 

 northern regions this change is complete, the tip of 

 the tail alone remaining black. In this state it is 

 called the Ermine. Large importations of ermine- 

 fur are made from Russia, Norway, and Siberia to 

 our country. In 1833 the importation amounted 

 to 105,139 skins. 



The Beech-Marten (Martes fagorum) and the 

 Pine-Marten (Martes abietum) are both natives of 

 our island; but the former,"distinguished by a white 

 breast, is said to be the most common. The pine- 

 marten is distinguished by a yellow breast and 

 throat. It must be confessed, however, that the 

 specific distinction between these two animals is 

 by no means very apparent, nor indeed is it ad- 

 mitted by many. We have many times seen the 

 yellow-breasted or pine-marten in the fir-woods 

 which clothe the sides of some of the hills in Derby- 

 shire, and especially near Buxton. It prefers wild 

 and unfrequented places, deep wooded glens, and 

 the depths of forests ; and is common throughout 

 northern Europe. The Beech-marten also frequents 

 woods, but not so exclusively as the former, and 

 often lurks about farm-houses and destroys poultry. 

 Both are destructive to game. They take up their 

 retreats in hollow trees or holes in rocks, and the 

 female makes her nest of leaves and moss for her 

 brood. The asility and gracefulness of these ani- 

 mals are remarkable ; they climb trees with the ease 

 of the squirrel, and traverse their branches or leap 

 from bough to bough with admirable address and 

 celerity. Their fur, especially that of the pine- 

 marten, is full, deep, and soft, and of a beautiful 

 brown, and not far inferior to that of their imme- 

 diate ally the sable. The marten exceeds the pole- 

 cat in size, and the tail is long and bushy. The 

 ears are large and open, and the eyes bright and 

 lively. In general instincts they agree H'ith the 

 other Mustelae. 



Distinct from both of these, we regard the Ame- 

 rican pine-marten, characterized by a shorter tail 

 and fuller fur. Its skins are annually imported 

 into England from North America, where it is abun- 

 dant in the high latitudes. Dr. Richardson observes 

 that in America "particular races of martens, dis- 

 tinguished by the fineness and dark colour of their 

 fur, appear to inhabit certain rocky districts. The 

 rocky, mountainous, but wooded region of the 

 Nipogon, on the north side of Lake Superior, has 

 been long noted for its black and valuable martens, 

 skins.'' The animal is usually taken in traps baited 

 with the head of a bird. It is very bold, and when 

 attacked shows its teeth, hisses like a cat, and bites 

 with great severity. " Upwards of one hundred 

 thousand skins have been collected annually in the 

 fur countries." Another and larger species, the Pe- 

 kan, or Fisher (Martes Canadensis), is common in the 

 northern parts of America, ranging from Penn- 

 sylvania to the Great Slave Lake, and from shore 

 to shore across the country. Its fur is Jess valuable 

 than that of the former. It gives preference to 

 damp spots and humid forests bordering water. 



964, 965.— The Glutton 

 (Gulo arcticus, Desm.). Pallas and Gmelin referred 

 the Glutton to the genus Ursus ; it belongs, however, 

 to the present family : see its dentition" (Fig. 959). 

 Linnajus rightly regarded it as a Mustela.* In 

 their general port and figure the gluttons are inter- 

 mediate between the polecats and the badgers. 

 They have no decided scent-pouch, but a glandular 

 fold of the skin. 



Two varieties, perhaps species, of Glutton are 

 known : one, a native of the nigh northern latitudes 

 of the Old World ; the other, of the cold regions of 

 America. The Old World species (Gulo arcticus), 

 the Rossomak of the Russians, is of a deep chestnut 

 passing into black on the limbs, with a brown disk 

 on the back. The American animal (Gulo luscus, 

 Sabine), termed Wolverene, Carcajou, and Quick- 

 hatch, is paler. The glutton is nocturnal in its 

 habits : the limbs are strong and short ; the feet 

 subplantigrade, with five toes, armed with sharp 

 claws ; the head broad, ending in a narrow muzzle ; 

 the ears are short and rounded ; the tail moderate. 

 As we are inclined to regard the Old Worid and 

 American gluttons as mere varieties, we shall 

 not disjoin their history. The first writer who 

 has described this animal is Olaus Magnus. 

 "Among all animals," he says, "which are re- 

 garded as insatiably voracious, the glutton in the 

 northern parts of Sweden has received an express 

 appellation, being called, in the language of the 

 country, Jei-ft' ; and in German, 'Vielfrass. In 



* ',?y''- ^'"'■.' ' 2th edit. He retains, however, the term Ursus for 

 the Wolverf ne, naming it Urtus ftucus. 



