4 ( .)0 HIG GAME OF NORTH AMERICA. 



our poacher finds the carcass of a large animal, when for a 

 time he lives luxuriously. In summer he fares much 

 better; mice, moles, marmots, rabbits, and Foxes are then 

 dug from their burrows, while his keen nose directs him 

 to all the carrion in his neighborhood. He also preys upon 

 nesting birds, particularly water-fowl, and their eggs; and 

 some writers have added decaying fish to his warm weather 

 bill of fare. Judging from his ferocity and strength, it is 

 probable that he also preys upon both young and disabled 

 Deer. Buffon, I believe, is responsible for the statement 

 that it is a common practice of the animal to lie secreted 

 near Beaver-ponds, and pounce upon the unsuspecting 

 laborers when they come ashore. Of one he had caged, he 

 speaks as follows: " His voracity has been much exagger- 

 ated; he ate indeed a great deal, but when deprived of food 

 he was not importunate. He is rather wild, avoids water, 

 and moves with a kind of leap. After eating, he covers 

 himself in the cage with straw. In drinking, he laps like 

 a dog. If indulged, he would devour more than four 

 pounds of flesh in a day. He is almost perpetually in 

 motion/' 



Audubon thus describes one he saw in Denmark, which 

 had been exhibited two years: "We took him out of his 

 cage; he was very gentle, opened his mouth to enable us to 

 examine his teeth, and buried his head in our laps while 

 we admired his long claws and felt his woolly feet. He 

 seemed pleased to escape from the confinement of the cage, 

 ran around us in short circles, and made awkward attempts 

 to play with and caress us. He had been taught to sit on 

 his haunches and hold in his mouth a German pipe. We 

 observed he was somewhat averse to the light of the sun, 

 keeping his eyes half-closed when exposed to its rays. The 

 keeper informed us that he suffered a good deal from the 

 heat in warm weather. There was in the same cage a 

 marmot, from the Alps, to which the Wolverine seemed 

 much attached." 



It is customary with the Wolverine to pass the day, 

 especially the hours of sunshine, in some subterranean 



