204 ECONOMIC MAMMALOGY 



FAMILY PROCYONIDAE RACCOONS 



The common American raccoons (Procyon lot or and various subspe- 

 cies) are omnivorous, feeding upon fish, frogs, small mammals, birds 

 and their eggs, mollusks, crustaceans, fruits, nuts, and sometimes kill- 

 ing poultry. 1 Their flesh is wholesome and highly esteemed by many 

 people, and their fat furnished early American settlers with oil for do- 

 mestic purposes. Their fur is also in great demand. In 1913 it was esti- 

 mated that 600,000 raccoon skins were marketed annually at about 

 $4.50 each. 2 The reported sales in 1919-1921 totalled 1,713,700 skins. 3 

 Raccoons are protected by law in 37 states, with open seasons of from 

 one to five months. According to Bailey, they seem to be capable of 

 opening the shells of such heavy-shelled Unionidae as Qiiadrula and 

 Lampsilis, and one stomach contained a meadowlark. 4 



The coati or coatimundi (Nasua) is said to feed chiefly upon fruit 

 and insects, but is omnivorous, taking also small mammals, birds, liz- 

 ards, etc., and playing "havoc among the poultry." Stomachs examined 

 by Goldman contained fruit pulp only. 5 The kinkajou (Cercolcptes) 

 of the same region eats birds, mammals, and fruit, and its fondness for 

 sweet fruits is said to be responsible for the name given it by the na- 

 tives, meaning honey bear. 6 



FAMILY BASSARISCIDAE BASSARISKS 



The bassarisks, cacomistles or ring-tailed cats (Bassariscus), of 

 which several subspecies are found in the southwestern United States, 

 have a variable diet, including "any small animal life, mammals, birds, 

 insects, centipedes and fruit." 7 "Most of the stomachs of Bassariscus 

 examined have been found to contain the bones and hair of small ro- 

 dents, which make up also most of the excrement found along ledges 

 and in caves where the animals live." They have been reported as eating 



1 Bailey, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 49, p. 187, 1926. Howell, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 45, 

 p. 35, 1921. Seton, Lives of game animals, u, Part I, pp. 242-245, 1929. 



2 Jones, Fur farming in Canada, p. 70, 1913. Laut, The fur trade of America, p. 

 84, 1921. Innis, The fur trade of Canada, table opp. p. 76, 1927. Seton, Lives of game 

 animals, n, Part i, pp. 230-256, 1929, places the average annual catch from 1821 to 

 1891 at 385,000. 



3 Osborn and Anthony, Natural History, xxn, p. 393, 1922 



4 Bailey, N. Amer. Fauna, No. 25, pp. 192-195, 1905. 



5 Seton, Lives of game animals, u, Part I, pp. 258-269, 1929, citing Azara, 

 Quadrupeds of Paraguay, pp. 318-319, 1801. Belt, The naturalist in Nicaragua, 

 edition of 1888, pp. 120-121. Goldman, Mammals of Panama, Smithsonian Miscell. 

 Coll., LXIX, No. 5, p. 154, 1920. 



fl jennison, Natural history animals, pp. 119, 120, 1927. 



7 Bailey, Animal life of Carlsbad Cavern, p. 105, 1928. Anthony, Field Book of 

 North American mammals, p. 91, 1928. 



