131 



AMEEICAN BADGEE. 



Taxidea americana, 



French : Blaireau d'Amerique. German : Ameri- 

 kanischer Dachs. 



The American Badger differs from the European 

 species in the extreme fineness of its coat, and in colour. 

 Its general colour is light yellowish-grey ; the under fur 

 is soft, and of a light brown colour, and drab near the 

 roots ; the fur is covered with longer black and white hairs, 

 and white at the extreme tip ; the under part is white or 

 light brown ; the tail is short, and covered with rather 

 harsh hair of the same colour as the body ; the legs are 

 dark, and sometimes almost black ; its feet are furnished 

 with five strong claws, slightly curved inwards, about 2^ 

 inches in length, half an inch of which is embedded in 

 the socket ; there is a white mark or line on the head, 

 commencing between the ends, running down between 

 the ears, along the back, and sometimes extending even 

 to the tail ; this white line is more or less developed in 

 different animals ; there is a characteristic white line on 

 each side of the head ; the head is small, and the few 

 whiskers are black. The fur is very long at the sides 

 (about 2 inches), and shorter on the back, and is con- 

 sequently well adapted to the manufacture of muffs. 

 This peculiarity is also noticeable in the Asiatic Soushk. 



It is not a particularly abundant animal. Two thou- 

 sand four hundred and forty-five skins were sold by the 

 Hudson's Bay Company in 1891, and 5,307 skins by 

 United States traders, and others. 



The fur is rather valuable, a good seasoned skin 



K 2 



