THE WOLVERENE. 



375 



Northern Europe. It was once thought that the Glutton and the Wolverene were distinct 

 animals, but it is now ascertained that they both belong to the same species. 



The general aspect of this animal is not unlike that of a young bear, and probably 

 on that account it was placed by Linnaeus among the bears under the title of Ursus 

 Luscus. The general color of the Wolverene is a brownish-black ; the muzzle is black 

 as far as the eyebrows, and the space between the eyes of a browner hue. In some 

 specimens, a few white spots are scattered upon the under jaw. The sides of the body 

 are washed with a tint of a warmer hue. The paws are quite black, and the contrast 

 between the jetty fur of the feet and the almost ivory whiteness of the claws is 

 extremely curious. These white claws are much esteemed among the natives for the 

 purpose of being manufactured into certain feminine adornments. 



WOLVERENE.- 



The paws are very large in proportion to the size of the animal, and it is supposed 

 that the modification of structure is intended to enable the Wolverene to pass in safety 

 over the surface of the snow. Indeed, the feet are so large, that the marks which they 

 leave on the snow are often mistaken for the footprints of a bear. As the tracks of the 

 Wolverene are often mixed with those of the bear, it is evident that the latter animal 

 must often fall a prey to the former during the winter months. When the animal which 

 it kills is too large to form a single meal, the Wolverene is in the habit of carrying 

 away the remains, and of concealing them in some secure hiding-place, in readiness 

 for a second repast. 



