BEASTS OF PREY 43 



Occasionally, too, when it has an opportunity, it seizes a young fawn, 

 or a hare or partridge, plunders birds' nests, or captures a goose or two. 

 It is also very fond of sweet fruits, especially grapes. Its usefulness in 

 destroying mice, however, provided it does not become too numerous, 

 far exceeds the damage it inflicts, and it should therefore enjoy the 

 protection of the farmer. The sportsman, however, pursues it incessantly, 

 and regards its winter fur as a small repayment for the many depreda- 

 tions it commits among the game. 



Family 4 : Martens (Mustelidae). 



i. The Pine Marten (Mustela martes). 



(Length about 20 inches.) 



The marten inhabits the whole of Europe and Western Asia, and is 

 the nimblest and cleverest of all predatory animals which lead an arboreal 

 existence. 



1. The fur is thick, and consists of long brown bristles and short 

 gray or yellowish woolly hairs. Its colour, as a whole, resembles that of 

 the bark of the trees in which it lives and hunts its prey. Nor do the 

 beautiful golden-yellow markings on the throat and neck betray its 

 presence, as in creeping about after its prey it presses its body so close 

 to the stems and branches that they cannot be distinguished. The thick 

 warm fur, moreover, is an excellent protection against the coldness and 

 dampness of the night. 



2. The senses are acute. The broad ears point to an excellent 

 hearing, and the tactile hairs on the upper lip are a sure indication of 

 its stealthy murderous habits (see under Cat). The sight is sure even 

 in the dark. 



3. Structure of Body. — Compare with cat. 



(a) The body is elongated and extremely flexible and pliant. There 

 are no clavicles. These features are specially adapted to its method of 

 locomotion, enabling it to creep with ease through the densest thicket and 

 the most entangled branches. It can effect a passage through any 

 opening through which it can just manage to force its head. 



(b) The pliant, eel-like body and short, elastic legs further indicate 

 its stealthiness. The under side of the toes being covered with hair, 

 its walk is rendered inaudible even to the most sharp-eared animals. 



(c) It is also an excellent jumper, clearing large distances as if by 

 flight ; the springy pliancy of the body and the great length of the hind- 

 limbs render it an adept in this mode of progression, in which it is 



