328 REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



The attempt to establish beaver in the New York Zoological Park in New York 

 City resulted in the pond assigned to them being taken possession of by three large 

 individuals, who promptly destroy other beaver as fast as introduced. 



When cutting wood on the shore the beaver is almost helpless, and is captured 

 by many animals, the lynx being probably its most dangerous enemy. The otter 

 also is generally credited with killing it, but this can scarcely be true, since the 

 beaver could be easily exterminated by this powerful and agile animal, which 

 could enter its houses from below water. The wolverine is sometimes called by 

 the Indians the beaver-killer, and it is supposed to tear open and destroy beaver 

 houses, but beaver could not be caught in this way, as all the cabins have exits 

 under water and many beaver ponds have deep tunnels or holes in the bank, for 

 refuge in case the house is destroyed or the water lowered by the destruction of 

 the dam. 



The muskrat or musquash [Fiber zibetliicus) is of almost universal distribution 

 in North America, extending from the delta of the Mackenzie River as far south as 

 Louisiana. It thrives so well in civilization as to be a nuisance in the New York 

 Zoological Park. In Prospect Park Lake, Brooklyn, a trapper is specially employed 

 to keep these animals in check, and the catch in 1903 amounted to over 2,000, 

 and in 1904 to 1,230. The fur of the muskrat is becoming commercially impor- 

 tant, and the Hudson Bay Company sold in London in 1901 two million skins 

 of this animal. This is the largest sale on record. 



The muskrat is not exclusively a vegetable eater, but sometimes indulges in a 

 meal of flesh. It is suspected of occasionally feeding on turtles, and is known 

 to be fond of fresh-water mussels. It is, on the whole, an interesting animal, 

 harmless, except in parks, and in the Adirondacks well deserves toleration. 



Porcapine. 



The only remaining rodent that we need to consider is the Canadian porcupine 

 or quill pig {Erethizon dorsatum). Its distribution is from the northern limit of 

 timber south into Pennsylvania. The porcupines originated in South America 

 and worked north from that continent at an early date, geologically speaking, 

 and have become thoroughly adjusted to boreal conditions. 



This animal is numerous in the Adirondacks, but the natives there feel a bitter 

 antipathy toward this curious and harmless creature. This hatred is probably a 

 relic of the old days when dogs were used for hunting deer, and when many fine 

 hounds were destroyed or seriously injured by the quills of porcupines. In Nova 



