74 



MAMMALIA. UBSII..K. 



industrious animals are at work on laud, that it can sur- 

 prise them. An attempt to break open their house in 

 the winter, even supposing it possible for the claws of 

 a wolverene to penetrate the thick mud walls when 

 frozen as hard as stone, would only have the effect of 

 driving the beavers into the water to seek for shelter 

 in their vaults on the borders of the dam. The wolve- 

 rene, although it is reported to defend itself with bold- 

 ness and success against the attack of other quadrupeds, 

 Hies from the face of man, and makes but a poor fight 

 with a hunter, who requires no other arms than a stick 

 to kill it" The geographical distribution of the wolve- 

 rene is co-extensive with the length and breadth of the 

 colder regions of the great North American continent, 

 indications of its presence having been found as far 

 north as Melville Island. The female produces from 

 two to four young ones at a birth, which are clothed 

 with a soft light cream-coloured fur. 



THE AMERICAN BADGER (Mdes labradoria). 

 This animal is also recognized by the names of the 

 Brairo and Taxel. Mr. Waterhouse and others sepa- 

 rate it from the badgers, properly so called ; but, as it 

 is closely allied to them in all essential particulars, we 

 prefer to retain the above title. The dental elements 

 correspond numerically with those of the common 

 badger, but their carnivorous character is more 

 marked, although the grinding surfaces of the molars 

 are remarkably flat and even. The length and bulk 

 of the body is similar to that of the glutton. The 

 head is broad, and truncated posteriorly. The ears 

 are short and round, the internal auditory bullte being 

 largely developed. The fur is coarse and short on the 

 head and limbs, but everywhere else it is beautifully 

 tine and silky, the individual hairs measuring several 

 inches in length. Near the skin, the hair exhibits a 

 purplish-brown colour; the free ends, however, are 

 white, producing a pretty mottled grey appearance. 

 A white band extends from the muzzle over the head 

 along the middle line, gradually disappearing toward 

 the shoulders. The limbs are stoutish, the fore-feet 

 being furnished with strong light-coloured claws, which 

 are longer than those of the common badger. In 

 regard to its habits and geographical distribution, Sir 

 John Richardson states that it "frequents the sandy 

 plains or prairies which skirt the Rocky Mountains as 

 far north as the banks of the Peace river, and sources 

 of the River of the Mountains in latitude 58. It 

 abounds on the plains watered by the Missouri, but its 

 exact southern range has not, as far as I know, been 

 defined by any traveller. The sandy prairies in the 

 neighbourhood of Carlton House, on the banks of the 

 Sasketchewan, and also on the Red river that flows 

 into Lake Winipeg, are perforated by innumerable 

 badger-holes, which are a great annoyance to horse- 

 men, particularly when the ground is covered with 

 snow. These holes are partly dug by the badgers for 

 habitations, but the greater number of them are merely 

 enlargements of the burrows of the Arctomys Hoodii 

 and Richardsonii, which the badgers dig up and prey 

 upon. Whilst the ground is covered with snow, the 

 badger rarely or never comes from its hole, and I sup- 

 pose that in that climate it passes the winter from the 

 beginning of November to April in a torpid state. 



Indeed, as it obtains the small animals on which it 

 feeds by surprising them in their burrows, it has little 

 chance of digging them out at a time when the ground 

 is frozen into a solid rock. Like the bears, the badgers 

 do not lose much flesh during their long hybernation ; 

 for, on coming abroad in the spring, they are observed 

 to be very fat. As they pair, however, at that season, 

 they soon become lean. This badger is a slow and 

 timid animal, taking to the first earth it comes to when 

 pursued ; and as it makes its way through the sandy 

 soil with the rapidity of a mole, it soon places itseli 

 out of the reach of danger. The strength of its fore- 

 feet and claws is so great, that one which had insinu- 

 ated only its head and shoulders into a hole, resisted 

 the utmost efforts of two stout young men who endea- 

 voured to drag it out by the hind legs and tail, until 

 one of them fired the contents of his fowling-piece into 

 its body. Early in the spring, however, when they 

 first begin to stir abroad, they may be easily caught by 

 pouring water into their holes ; for, the ground being 

 frozen at that period, the water does not escape 

 through the sand, but soon fills the hole, and its tenant 

 is obliged to come out. The American badger appears 

 to be a more carnivorous animal than the European 

 one. A .female which I killed had a small marmot, 

 nearly entire, together with some field-mice, in its 

 stomach. It had also been eating some vegetable 

 matters." 



THE INDIAN BADGEE (Meles collaris}. Some 

 naturalists also regard this species as an aberrant form 

 of badger, and they go so far as to place it with the 

 digitigrade teledus ! It is an inhabitant of Hiudostan, 

 and is commonly called by the natives the Bhalloo-soor, 

 or Bear-pig. This title is by no means inappropriate, 

 for, if we are to accept the description of Frederick 

 Cuvier, the combination of swinish and ursine charac- 

 ters is very evident. It is similar to the European 

 form in respect of bulk, but the tail is considerably 

 longer, measuring nine inches. Mr. Johnson, in his 

 " Indian Field Sports," says they " are marked exactly 

 like those in England, but they are larger and taller, 

 are exceedingly fierce, and will attack a number of 

 dogs." The tame specimens kept in the menagerie of 

 the governor-general at Barrackpoor, when irritated, 

 | gave out a peculiar kind of grunt, and stood up on 

 their hind limbs to show fight precisely in the same 

 manner as ordinary bears. The female appeared more 

 docile than the male. Their movements were sluggish, 

 and they always preferred vegetable to animal food, 

 being particularly fond of bread and fruits. In the 

 wild state, the Indian badger appears to be exceedingly 

 savage. It occurs chiefly in the hilly districts, but is 

 not very abundant anywhere. 



THE EUROPEAN BADGER (Meles taxus), fig. 21. 

 Before noticing this creature's habits, we offer a few 

 remarks on the principal characters w T hich distinguish it, 

 especially as we have designedly omitted entering upon 

 minute details in our description of the two preceding 

 aberrant forms. The body is broad and depressed, 

 and is furnished with short powerful limbs, termi- 

 nating in plantigrade, pentadactylous feet, whose digits 

 are armed with long, powerful, fossorial claws. The 

 fur consists of shaggy, coarse, bristly hairs, those on 



