CAPTURE OF ANIMALS. 53 



and legs are covered with shorter hair of a uniform deep- 

 black. 



The female Badger brings forth from three to five young 

 in the early spring, suckles them for five or six weeks, and 

 then turns them off to shift for themselves. 



The American Badger differs considerably from the Euro- 

 pean species, to which the foregoing description applies. Its 

 snout is less attenuated, though its head is equally long. The 

 claws of its fore-feet are much longer in proportion, and its 

 tail shorter. Its fur, both in color and quality, is different. 

 It is also more carnivorous. Audubon describes its color and 

 fur as follows : u Hair on the back, at the roots dark-gray, 

 then light-yellow for two thirds its length, then black and 

 broadly tipped with white, giving it in winter a hoary-gray 

 appearance ; but in summer it makes a near approach to 

 yellowish-brown. The eyes are bright, and piercing black. 

 .... There is a white stripe running from the nose over 

 the forehead and along the middle of the neck to the shoul- 

 der. Legs, blackish-brown ; chin and throat, dull-white ; the 

 remainder of the under surface, yellowish-white ; tail, yellow- 

 ish-brown." The fur on the back in winter is three inches 

 long, dense and handsome. The body is broad, low, and flat. 



The American Badger is abundant on the plains of the buf- 

 falo region of Dakotah and Nebraska, and in the timberless 

 regions in the neighborhood of the Yakima River, Washing- 

 ton Territory. It is not found east of the Mississippi. It 

 has been traced as far north as latitude fifty-eight degrees, 

 and south into Mexico, where a distinct variety is found. 



Badgers can be taken by setting traps at the mouths of 

 their holes, or by the method prescribed on a preceding page 

 for taking the raccoon. The trap should be carefully con- 

 cealed, as the Badger is somewhat cunning, and disposed to 

 be suspicious of such apparatus near his haunts. 



THE WILD CAT OR BAY LYNX. 



The American Wild Cat is a species of lynx. It is about 

 thirty inches long, with a tail of five or six inches, and weighs 

 from seventeen to twenty pounds. Its general color above 



