BROWN BEAR— SABLE — SIBERIAN MINK 23 



to season, but generally speaking its colour is like that of a fox in summer and 



whitish in winter. 



Kamchatkan The brown bear is another mammal ranging all over Siberia, 



Brown Bear. anc j j s particularly large and numerous in Kamchatka, where it is 



represented by the race known as Ursus arctus piscator, but the Siberian race may 



be distinct. In Kamchatka bears make paths of about a couple of feet wide 



along the wooded banks of the rivers, at a distance of some two yards from the 



water, which sometimes follow the rivers all through the forests. These paths are 



partly made for the sake of reaching the salmon on which this bear feeds during 



certain seasons in Kamchatka. In places they are littered with half-devoured fish, 



the heads of which are crushed, but the tails and intestines left untouched. When 



fishing, the bears are said to wade slowly into the water, and in a depth of about 



18 inches wait motionless for their prey, as they swim upstream, probably killing 



them with their paws, and then carrying them ashore to feed on the best parts. 



The European pine-marten ranges into Siberia, which is the 



special home of the much more valuable sable {Mustela zibellma). 



Although a near relative of the pine-marten, the latter is distinguished by the more 



conical head, the larger ears, the longer and stouter legs, and the proportionately 



larger feet. Of a blackish colour above, with a dark grey nose, grey cheeks, a 



chestnut-brown neck and flanks, greyish white or light brown edges round the 



ears, and an orange-coloured throat, the sable sometimes shows a few white hairs 



among the dark fur of the back ; the nose, cheeks, and under-parts being white. 



Occasionally, however, it is yellowish brown above and nearly white below, with 



onlv the legs black. 



The sable originally ranged from the Urals to Bering Sea, and from 



68° N. latitude to the mountains bordering Siberia on the south, but it has been so 



much hunted that it has disappeared from many districts, and is now met with 



only in the forests of the northern mountains, especially those of eastern Siberia, 



and in Kamchatka. Dwelling in the most inaccessible and unfrequented localities, 



deep in the primeval forest, it avoids the proximity of man, and but very rarely 



appears near villages. Mainly nocturnal, and sleeping beneath the roots of trees, 



or in holes in their trunks by day, it is a dangerous enemy to hares and most other 



small mammals, as well as to birds of all kinds, and it also feeds on fishes and 



berries. Once a year in April the female gives birth to four or five young. 



The beech -marten does not belong to the fauna of Siberia, 

 Siberian Mink. , . , , ,1 • mi 



but the polecat occurs in the southern provinces. Ihe ermine is 



distributed throughout the area, as is also to a great extent the weasel, although 

 the latter is not found so far north. More noteworthy is the Siberian mink 

 (Mustela sibirica), which ranges east of the Yenesei, and also occurs in northern 

 and central Europe. This species resembles generally the polecat, or rather has 

 dark and light markings on the head and face similar to those of the latter. Both 

 above and below it is uniform tan-brown in colour. Of its habits scarcely anything 

 is known. 



Although by no means confined to the Old World, or even to 



venne. g iberia) the glutton or wolverine (Gulo luscus) may be regarded as 



a characteristic animal of the latter. So much has been written, both true and 



