MAMMALIA WOLVERENE. 121 
has little chance of digging them out at a time when the ground is frozen 
into a solid rock. Like the bears, the badgers do not lose much flesh dur- 
ing their long hibernation; for on coming abroad in the spring, they are 
observed to be very fat. As they pair, however, at that season, they soon 
become lean. 
This badger is a slow and timid animal, taking to the first earth it comes 
to, when pursued; and as it makes its way through the sandy soil with the 
rapidity of a mole, it soon places itself out of the reach of danger. The 
strength of its fore feet and claws is so great, that one which had insinuated 
only its head and shoulders into a hole, resisted the utmost efforts of two 
stout young men, who endeavored to drag it out by the hind legs and tail, 
until one of them fired the contents of his fowling piece into its body. 
Early in the spring, however, when they first begin to stir abroad, they may 
be easily caught by pouring water into their holes; for the ground being 
frozen at that period, the water does not escape through the sand, but soon 
fills the hole, and its tenant is obliged to come out. 
The American badger appears to be a more carnivorous animal than the 
European one. <A female which I killed, had a small marmot, nearly 
entire, together with some field mice, in its stomach. It had also been eat- 
ing some vegetable matters. — Richardson. 

THE WOLVERENE. 












Tuts animal has a broad, compact head, which is suddenly rounded off on 
every side, to form the nose. In the shape of its jaws it resembles a dog. 
Its ears are low, rounded, and much hid by the surrounding fur. The back 

1 Gulo arcticus. The genus Gulo has six upper and six lower incisors; two upper 
and two lower canines; ten or eight upper and twelve lower molars. The three first 
molars in the upper and the four im the lower jaw small, succeeded by a large carnivorous 
tooth, and a small tuberculous one at the back; body low; head moderately elongated ; 
ears short and round ; tail short ; feet pentadactyle ; toes with crooked nails ; no anal pouch. 
16 
