CAEMVOKOUS QUADRUPEDS. 



61 



dexteroiis in opening oysters. It bites off the hinge, and 



scrapes out the oyster with its paw. 



Y~Q1. The Badger, Fig. 42, is found throughout Europe 



and -Asia. It has 

 often been made the 

 subject of a cruel 

 sport, teasing with 

 dogs, and hence the 

 common term "bad- 

 gering." Its food is 

 various. It is very 

 fond of honey, and 

 attacks the nests of 

 wild bees, which it 

 does with impuni- 

 ty; for its skin is 



Fig. 42 — Badger. 



60 tough and its hair is so thick that the bees " might as 

 well sting a barber's block." Its hair is extensively used 

 in making brushes, and the skin is used for holsters and 

 the coverings of traveUng trunks. There is an American 

 Badger somewhat like that of the Old World.. 

 y 98. The Wolverine, or Glutton, Fig. 43, is a native of 



the Arctic regions of 

 both continents. It 

 has been called the 

 Quadruped Vulture, 

 because it sometimes 

 preys on the dead 

 bodies of animals. It 

 does great damage 

 to the fur trade. When it finds the hunter's traps set 

 for the martens, it takes the bait, which is a bit of veni- 

 son or a partridge's head, or, if there be martens in the 

 traps, it tears them in pieces, and buries them here and 

 there in the snow. It is said that the Wolverines do not 

 eat the martens, but the cunning foxes on the watch read- 

 ily scent them out and devour them. 



^ig. 43. — Wolverine. 



