12 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



than the posterior. The head was not so much elongated pro- 

 portionately as in the adult, and altogether there was a striking 

 resemblance between these young animals and the newly-born 

 Polar Bears except in size — the Bears being just double the 

 length of the Badgers. There was no diminution in the appe- 

 tite of the female Badger about the time of littering, as is the 

 case with the Black, Brown, and Polar Bears, and the young did 

 not resemble those of the Ursidee in being abnormally small." 



In the case of an animal so shy and retiring as the Badger, 

 and withal so nocturnal in its habits, it is extremely difficult to 

 ascertain the precise period of gestation. The subject has been 

 frequently discussed, and various opinions have been expressed, 

 but a good deal of the evidence adduced has been of a negative 

 character, or at least inconclusive.* 



In ' The Field,' of December 20th, 1856, a correspondent 

 states that, while he was staying at a friend's house, a Badger 

 which had been shut up forty-six weeks and five days gave birth 

 to a young one, much to the astonishment of the owner. In 

 ' The Field,' of April 6th, 1861, Mr. H. Shaw, of Shrewsbury, 

 states that a Badger which had been kept in confinement at 

 Haughton Hall, Salop, from April 3rd, I860, brought forth two 

 young on March 12th, 1861, more than eleven months after she 

 commenced her solitary life. In ' The Field,' of June 25th, 1864, 

 Mr. F. Heycock, of Bedford, says that he caught a Badger, and 

 had kept her thirteen months when she brought forth a young 

 one. A correspondent in ' The Field,' of July 9th, 1864, says 

 that he had dug out a female in April and kept her till June, 

 when she died, and on opening her she was found to contain 

 three young. This fact is, of course, antagonistic to the belief 

 which is held by many that the pairing takes place in autumn, 

 and that the young are brought forth in the ensuing spring after 

 an interval of only about three months. In ' The Field,' of 

 July 23rd, 1864, Mr. F. Allies, of Worcester, mentions two 

 instances — one in which a Badger that had been kept by the 

 ostler at the ' Bell Hotel,' in that city, brought forth three young 

 ones ten months after he bought her ;t and the other, in which a 

 gentleman of his acquaintance possessed a Badger which pro- 



* See ' The Zoologist,' 1864, pp. 9217—23. 



\ Confirmed by Mr. D. A. Neilson, of Hundshill, Pontefract, who saw 

 them.—' The Field,' January 31st, 1880. 



