164 WATCHED BY WILD ANIMALS 



a bob-cat came snarling out. The bear struck 

 at it. It backed off sputtering then ran away. 

 In tearing out a root the bear slipped and rolled 

 down the bank. He went off through the woods. 



Late one February I came upon a well-worn 

 bear trail between the sunny side of a cliff and 

 an open den. In this trail there were tracks 

 fresh and tracks two or more weeks old. Else- 

 where I have seen many evidences that bears 

 toward spring come out briefly to sun them- 

 selves and to have an airing. But never a sign 

 of their eating or drinking anything. 



Near my cabin I marked four ground-hog 

 holes after the fat fellows went in. On Septem- 

 ber tenth I stuffed a bundle of grass in the en- 

 trance of each den. Sometime during the 

 winter one of them had disturbed the grass and 

 thrust out his head. Whether this was on 

 Ground-hog Day or not, I cannot say. The 

 other ground-hogs remained below until be- 

 tween April seventh and twelfth, about seven 

 months. And these seven months were months 

 of fast, and possibly without water. 



The raccoon, who ever seems a bright, origi- 

 nal fellow, appears to have a hibernating sys- 

 tem of his own. Many a raccoon takes a series 

 of short hibernating sleeps each winter, and be- 

 tween these sleeps he is about hunting food, 

 eating and living as usual. But I believe these 



