236 WILD NEIGHBORS CHAP. 



like appendage is glaring white. Conspicuous ? 

 You can see it bobbing along above the grass 

 as far away as you can see anything of its size, 

 and know, that "one o' thim pesky skoonks" is 

 wandering through the meadow when his body 

 is entirely concealed. So strong an example as 

 this has been quickly seized upon, of course, by 

 the Darwinians as an example of the effect of 

 natural selection in automatically producing ser- 

 viceable colors ; but perhaps the display does 

 not prove as useful to the skunk's welfare as 

 some less striking pattern would be. In his 

 highly interesting little book on Nicaragua, for 

 example, Belt remarks that "at night the skunk 

 oes leisurely along, holding up his white tail 

 s a danger-flag for none to come within range 

 of his dangerous artillery " ; and adds : " The 

 animal is not likely to be pounced upon by any 

 of the carnivora mistaking it for other night- 

 roaming animals." 



As a matter of fact, however, is it not " pounced 

 upon " quite as often as are other night-rovers ? 

 I do not recall at the moment a record of a 

 puma having actually been known to have killed 

 a skunk, but there is no reason to suppose this 

 animal or the lynx or common wild-cat would hesi- 

 tate to strike one down if he were hungry, as 

 when is he not ? The stealthy approach, sudden 

 spring, and back-crushing bite of one of these or 

 any other big cat would be a method of attack 



