THE WOLVERENE. 299 



taken young, it is easily tamed, and becomes a very amusing animal, diverting the spectators 

 by the singular antics which it plays. But if an adult specimen should be captured, it cannot 

 reconcile itself to the loss of its liberty, and struggles vainly to make its escape, until it dies 

 from the mingled effects of hunger and excitement. 



Flesh of all kind is acceptable to the Indian Ratel, and it seems to have a great predilec- 

 tion for rats, mice, and birds in a living state. It is generally drowsy by day, and only rouses 

 itself from its slumbers at the approach of evening. The natives speak of it under the name 

 of "Beejoo." 



The Wolverene, more popularly known by the name of the Glutton, has earned for 

 itself a world-wide reputation for ferocity, and has given occasion to some of the older writers 

 on natural history to indulge in the most unshackled liberty of description. 



Voracious it certainly is, having been known to consume thirteen pounds of meat in a 

 single day, and it is probable that if the animal had been living in a wild state it could have 

 eaten even a larger amount of food. It was said by the older naturalists to prey upon deer, 

 which it killed by cunningly dropping on the ground a heap of the moss on which the deer 

 feeds, and then climbing upon a branch which overhung the spot. As soon as the deer passed 

 beneath the tree, the Glutton was said to leap upon its shoulders, and to cling there until 

 it had brought the deer to the ground. This and similar tales, however, rest on no good 

 foundation. 



It is known that the Glutton feeds largely on the smaller quadrupeds, and that it is a 

 most determined foe to the beaver in the summer months. During the winter it has little 

 chance of catching a beaver, for the animals are quietly ensconced in their home, and their 

 houses are rendered so strong by the intense cold that the Glutton is unable to break through 

 their ice-hardened walls. 



The Wolverene is an inhabitant of Northern America, Siberia, and of a great part of 

 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 Linnseus 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. 



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

 this 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 tills 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. 



The eyes of the Wolverene are small, and of a dark brown, and are not remarkable for 

 their brilliancy. 



In its native country, the animal is detested by the hunters, whether they belong to 

 Europe or America. For the Wolverene is in the habit of following the sable-hunters on their 

 rounds, and of detaching the baits from the traps, thereby rendering the whole circuit useless. 

 If a sable or marten should happen to be entrapped, the Wolverene does not eat the dead 

 animal, but tears it out of the trap and carries it away. In America, it is specially obnoxious 

 to the hunters, becairse its fine sense of smell enables it to discover the storehouses of provi- 

 sions — "caches," as they are technically termed — which the provident hunters lay by in order 

 to fall back upon in case of bad success. If it should unfortunately discover one of these 



