PORCUPINES AND RABBITS 



95 



a "Hedgehog," because the latter is not a gnaw- 

 ing animal, but a small, weak, insect-eater, 

 which does not inhabit America. A full-grown 

 Porcupine is about twenty times as large as the 

 common European hedgehog. 



Porcupines can not shoot their quills, not 

 even for one inch; and the idea that they can — 

 ■or ever have — is entirely erroneous. When 

 attacked, their defence consists in erecting their 

 quills, and striking quickly a strong sidewise 

 blow with the tail, which often drives many 

 quills into its enemy. Strange to say, wild 

 animals are about as lacking in original infor- 

 mation, or "instinct," regarding this creature 

 as dogs are. Several pumas and lynxes have been 

 killed in a starving condition, with their mouths 

 and throats so filled with porcupine quills that 

 eating had become almost impossible. 



THE PIKA FAMILY. 



Ochotonidae. 

 The Pika, commonly called the Little Chief 

 "Hare," or Crying "Hare," 1 looks very much 

 like a small, gray-brown rabbit, 7 inches long; 

 but it is neither a rabbit nor a hare, and repre- 

 sents an independent Family. It lives high up on 

 the great mountain ranges of the West, from just 

 below timber line up to the line of perpetual 

 snow. It finds shelter in the crevices of rugged 

 masses of rock, and its sharp little cries often 

 seem to come from so many different points that 

 the hunter is completely confused. In form 

 this strange little creature is about half way be- 

 tween a gray rabbit and a guinea-pig; and it 

 has neither speed nor activity. 



THE HARE AND RABBIT FAMILY. 



Leporidae. 



This group is very clearly subdivided and 

 there need be no confusion of ideas regarding 

 its North American members. Nevertheless, 

 early writers have made a confusing error in the 

 improper adoption, for one important group, of 

 the misleading name Jack "Rabbit." It should 

 be Jack Hare. 



All the American members of this Family are 

 separated into two general groups, the Hares and 

 the Rabbits. The accompanying diagram shows 

 these subdivisions, and their relations to each 

 other. 



1 O-cho-to'na prin'ceps. 



A typical Hare is trig, long-eared, long-legged, 

 and a swift runner. Very often its color changes 

 according to the season. It does not burrow, 

 but rears its young in a nest or " form." 



The Rabbit is small, short-eared, short-legged, 

 a weak runner for a long distance, its color is 

 fairly constant, and it lives in a burrow. 



The Varying Hare Group is the key to the 

 entire Family; or, in other words, it stands on 

 middle ground between the Rabbits, the Polar 

 Hare, and the Jack Hare, and is related to all 

 three. Naturally this group should be studied 



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



CANADA PORCUPINE. 



first. Its type species is the Northern Varying 

 Hare, 2 of northern New York, New England, 

 Canada and the Northwest Territories. Its 

 name is due to the fact that its color varies ac- 

 cording to the season, being pale cinnamon brown 

 in summer, and white in winter, with only a nar- 

 row back line of brown. 



It is nearly twice as large as the cotton-tail 

 rabbit, but its ears and legs are about half way 

 in proportionate length between those of the 

 2 Le' 'pus a-mer-i-can'us. 



