230 THE FOOD OF ANIMALS 



dip his food into it and wash it quite clean before beginning 

 his meal." It has often been observed that animals with marked 

 powers of manipulation as regards the organs of prehension by 

 which food is seized and carried to the mouth, are intelligent 

 above the average. Monkeys, raccoons, elephants, and parrots 

 are all illustrations of this. 



Similar to the raccoons as regards diet are the related Coatis 

 or Proboscis- Bears {Nasua) (fig. 452) of South America, distin- 

 guished by long tails, broad at the base, and narrow, inquisitive 

 snouts. The latter organs, to which they owe their name, are 

 used for grubbing in the ground and prying into holes and corners 

 likely to contain available food-supplies. 



Weasels. — Even the family of Weasels {Musielidcs), the 

 last to be considered here of the Carnivora, though including 

 some of the most bloodthirsty and predaceous members of 

 the order, also embraces thorough-going omnivores in the ill- 

 savoured Badgers. Our native species, the Common Badger 

 {Meles taxus) (see vol. i, p. 96), unfortunately a creature ap- 

 proaching extinction, except, perhaps, in very wild and remote 

 districts, is a good example. Vogt's admirable summary (in The 

 Natural History of Mammals) of his feeding-habits may well 

 be quoted here: — " He takes what nature can offer him. In 

 Siberia he is so entirely carnivorous that he attacks even the 

 herds of cattle in order to slay calves. In Germany he hunts 

 in spring for mice, rats, moles, nests of ants and humble-bees, 

 going about grunting like a pig and turning up the earth with 

 his snout. He thereby makes himself useful in destroying a 

 number of subterranean insect larvae, caterpillars, worms, and 

 snails. Eggs and small birds which make their nests on the 

 ground are devoured by him just as readily as lizards, serpents, 

 toads, and underground fungi. Truffles and other fungi, as well 

 as a few juicy roots, are eaten as accompaniments to the staple 

 of his meal. To the stings of ants and humble-bees he pays 

 little heed, shaking these assailants off with a grunt. On the 

 approach of autumn the Badger becomes more herbivorous, and 

 grows fatter and fatter every day. Fruits of all kinds, starchy 

 tubers, sweet bunches of grapes and currants, and the like, are 

 then more sought after than mice; but if these, or young hares 

 or partridges, fall in his way, then he eats up with pleasure the 

 dainty with which fortune has provided him." Related species 



