46 



So it is, in the sense that it avoids, rather than confronts, impending 

 danger ; but this is simply the instinctive prudence and discretion of a 

 creature which prefers the absolute immunity of its subterranean resorts 

 to the chances of unequal combat in which it is at disadvantage. Cer- 

 tainly no lack of courage, determination, and physical endurance is seen 

 when the creature, captured or cut off from its retreat, is brought to bay. 

 Its pluck then is as conspicuous as its really formidable strength. The 

 cruel sport of ' Badger baiting " is sometimes indulged in the West ; and 

 if the animal be given a barrel or similar retreat, in which it is secure 

 from attack in the rear, it may prove more than a match for a strong 

 dog. Indeed, the fighting qualities of the Badger, and stubborn resist- 

 ance it offers at whatever unfair odds, have supplied our language with 

 a verb of peculiar significance : ' to badger " is to beset on all sides, and 

 harrass and worry. The stout, thick-set and depressed shape of the ani- 

 mal is greatly in its favor, combining, with its long, loose hair, to pre- 

 vent a dog from reaching vulnerable parts, and to embarrass it in at- 

 tempting to take hold; the snap oi the jaws inflicts a serious wound; 

 and finally the tenacity of life is at a high rate." 



The Badger is not readily trapped ; he will sometimes turn a trap over 

 and spring it from the under side before attempting to remove the bait. 

 With an earth-covered trap, dead fall or garrote, he may be taken ; in 

 early spring, while the ground is still hard, they may be easily captured 

 by flooding their retreats. 



The habits of the animal in confinement have been carefully studied 

 by Audubon and Bachman. They observed that in running, the fore- 

 feet cross each other, and the body nearly touches the ground ; the heel 

 does not press the ground as in the bear, but is slightly elevated above 

 it. In digging, the fore-feet are used for excavating, and the hind- 

 feet, like paddJes, to expel the earth from the hole; the animal buries 

 itself in the ground in a minute, and very soon advances to the end of a 

 ten-foot chain, then returns and excavates a fresh gallery, and so amuses 

 itself until dragged away by main force. Their specimen was active and 

 playful at night, but was dull through the day, lying rolled up like a ball 

 with its head under the body for hours at a time. The animal did not 

 refuse bread, but preferred meat, eating a half pound each day. The 

 animal did not seem at all sluggish or inclined to hibernate, even when 

 the weather was so cold as to freeze, continually, the water given bim 

 to drink. 



The reproduction of the species is not fully known. Dr. Coues has 

 seen a still ungrown specimen in Colorado during the latter part of 

 August. The periods of gestation and lactation are probably unknown. 



