44 



THE MAMMALS OF THE WOODS 



ward of the Caucasus. It is found rather frequently in the Hartz Mountains, 

 as well as in the Alps, but is most numerous in the wild forests of the Car- 

 pathians. It prefers mountain forests, especially those where pines predominate, 

 and does not mind crossing extensive plains to reach a larger forest than the 

 one it has left, even if it takes it several days to do so. It hides in hollow 

 trees, crevices of rocks, abandoned fox and badger holes, or in thickets near 

 marshes. Climbing the highest trees, it leaps from bough to bough, or even 

 down to the ground from a great height. It attacks man only when it is wounded, 

 or in self-defence, but preys on all warm-blooded animals it can kill, especially 

 young roe-deer, young chamois, hares, rabbits, mice and other small rodents, and 

 game of all kinds, as well as small birds. When seeking its prey, it follows it 

 more by sight and hearing than by scent. In May or April the female brings 

 forth six or more blind kittens, which she hides in hollow trees, rock-clefts, or 

 such-like hiding-places, or, when afraid of any danger, carries in her mouth to 

 some other spot. In its ways it resembles the domestic cat; it purrs when 

 pleased, opens its mouth and hisses when in a passion, walks with arched 

 back, and expresses its feelings by various movements with the tip of its tail. 

 In many countries it seems to have interbred with domestic cats which have 

 run wild, so that in some districts it is doubtful whether it is to be found in 

 its original purity. 



If we except the wolf, the dog family (Canidce) has also but 

 one representative in the woodlands of western and central Europe, 

 namel}-, the much more familiar fox. Apart from several extinct species, the family 

 includes a rather large assemblage of animals, distinguished by the formation of the 

 teeth, the long and pointed head, pointed ears, and the fairly long tail ; and also, as in 

 the case of most animals of a thoroughly carnivorous nature, by the blunt, almost 

 straight, non-retractile claws. All the representatives of the family, with the excep- 

 tion of the African hunting-dog, have only four toes behind and five in front. Foxes, 

 although associated by many naturalists with the dog in one genus, are in certain 

 respects distinct. Their bodies are of lighter build than that of the dog— the tail 

 is longer, the nose more pointed, the body proportionally longer, and the limbs 

 shorter. The tail, which is always covered with long hair, is a little longer than the 

 half of the body; the ears are large; and the pupil of the eyes, when exposed 

 to a great glare of light, forms a perpendicular ellipse. Foxes are generally 

 nocturnal, and live a solitary life, seldom or never associating in packs, like wolves 

 and jackals, and feeding, like all their kind, not only on flesh, but more or less 

 on insects and fruit. 



The fox (Cams vulpes) lives in the daytime by preference in dense woods, 

 on steep river-banks among shrubs, but also in thickets near water, or in un- 

 disturbed cornfields. The head is pointed, the ears are triangular and a little 

 longer than the head, and the legs rather short. The long, bushy tail touches 

 the ground with its tip as the fox sneaks along; when trotting, it is lowered, 

 but when in full flight is stretched out horizontally, and when excited is carried 

 vertically. The close hair of the soft fur is mostly of a light rust-colour; the 

 forehead, shoulders, and back being of a whitish hue, the cheeks and throat 



