POLECAT. 



HOW TO KNOW THE WILD ANIMALS 



By DOUGLAS ENGLISH, B.A., F.R.P.S. 

 Author of "Wee Tim'rous Beasties," " Beasties Courageous," etc. 



THE POLECAT AND THE MARTEN 



With Photographs by the Author 



" And if I may descend to lower game, what pleasure is it sometimes with gins to betray the 

 very vermin of the earth, as namely, the fitchet, the fulimart, the ferret, the polecat, the molde- 

 warp." — Venator, in "The Compleat Angler." 



OUR two remaining British Weasels, 

 the Polecat and the Marten, are 

 most difficult animals to study 

 worthily. The difficulty is in part due to 

 their shyness, and in part to their in- 

 creasing scarcity. Though the Polecat is 

 still common enough in certain localities, 

 his range tends yearly to become more re- 

 stricted, while the Marten presents us with 

 the mournful spectacle of a native British 

 animal on the verge of extermination. 



In the course of my field experience 

 I have only once seen a Polecat at large, 

 and I have never yet been fortunate 



enough to encounter a Marten. I have, 

 however, kept both species in captivity ; 

 and one Marten, whom I released by reason 

 of his savage and untamable character, 

 repaid this kindness by remaining in the 

 grounds of my home for nearly six months. 

 I was thus provided with an opportunity, 

 probably a unique opportunity, of observ- 

 ing certain of the habits of this exquisitely 

 graceful and beautiful creature within 

 a restricted area, and under conditions 

 which, so far as the animal itself was 

 concerned, were completely natural. To 

 these observations I will recur later. 



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