THE SMALL EUR-BEARERS 



27 



The five subspecies of the gray fox extend 

 throughout the southern United States from 

 Florida to California. 



Besides the foxes already mentioned, several 

 other species and races are recognized. 



Sanborn, Photo., N. Y. Zoological Park. 

 GRAY FOX. 



THE SMALL FUR-BEARERS. 



Mustelidae. 

 A majority of the valuable fur-bearing ani- 

 mals of North America are found in a group of 

 flesh-eaters known as the Marten Family. It 

 contains about fifty full species, and its con- 

 spicuous types are the following: 



/ These four types are 

 Otter ; I marked by long, slen- 

 Mink; J der bodies, very short 

 , Weasel ; \ legs, flattened heads, 

 THE 1 Marten ; I and general activity 

 MARTEN / \ on foot. 



FAMILY: \ Wolverine; the greatest glutton 

 Mustelidae. j and pest in this Family. 



Skunk ; aggressive and destructive 



pests; valuable fur-bearers. 

 Badger; a fat-bodied, inert and 

 practically harmless burrower. 



The great demand for fur, both for ornament 

 and use, has brought about the systematic de- 

 struction of all fur-bearing animals. Many spe- 

 cies that once were numerous have now become 

 very rare. Formerly the wearers of fur ac- 



cepted nothing less desirable than beaver, otter, 

 mink and marten. To-day, the fur of the skunk, 

 raccoon, fox, lynx, black bear and even the de- 

 spised rabbit are in active demand, for garments 

 and for trimmings. 



The Otter 1 is as fond of water as a seal, and 

 quite as much at home in fresh water as on land. 

 Its regular food consists of fish, in the capture 

 of which it is very expert. It has webbed feet, 

 a thick, pointed tail distinctly flattened for use 

 in swimming, and it is clothed with a thick 

 coat of very fine, dark brown fur. Strange to 

 say, when fairly treated, the Otter is a good- 

 tempered animal, tames easily when caught 

 young, and makes an interesting pet. In a 

 public park, one Otter is worth more to the 

 public than twenty beavers. 



In the days when they were numerous, and 

 less persecuted than now, it was no uncommon 

 thing for a party of Otters to select a steep and 

 slippery river-bank, and slide down it repeatedly, 

 as small boys slide down hill on sleds, except 

 that each slide of the Otter always ended in a 

 plunge into the water. 



The Otter of North America still is found oc- 

 casionally in Florida and the Carolinas, the Ca- 

 nadian provinces, in a few localities in the Rocky 

 Mountain region, and from British Columbia to 

 central Alaska. Outside of Alaska, its fur is 

 taken so rarely that it has ceased to be regarded 

 as an article of commerce. Its value alive for 

 exhibition purposes is from S10 to S30. The 

 length of a large northern Otter, head and body, 

 is 27 inches and tail 16 inches. 



The Otter builds no house, but fives in a bank 

 burrow, usually under the spreading roots of 

 some large tree growing near the water. The 

 young are usually two in number. 



The Sea Otter, 2 one of the most valuable of 

 all fur-bearing animals, is literally a child of 

 the ocean surges and the surf-beaten rocks of the 

 rugged north Pacific coast. It is born at sea, 

 on a bed of kelp, and literally "rocked in the 

 cradle of the deep." It was formerly found 

 from California to the Aleutian Islands, but is 

 now very rare except in certain parts of Alaska. 

 Here its pursuit is strictly limited by law to 

 the natives, to whom it is vitally important, and 

 a white man may not kill a Sea Otter except 

 under penalty of a fine of 1500. 



1 Lu'tra can-a-den'sis. 2 La'tax lu'tris. 



