294 THE ZOOLOGIST. 



COLLECTING SMALL MAMMALS IN N.W.T. CANADA. 

 By Edwin Hollis. 



Whilst staying in the neighbourhood of the Touchwood 

 Hills, Assa, N.W.T. Canada, from July, 1901, to April, 1902, 

 I occupied my spare time collecting small mammals for the 

 British Museum. This district is situated about 51"5° N. lati- 

 tude, 104° W. longitude, and is about 3000 ft. above sea-level. 

 The country is slightly undulating, open prairie and bush being 

 fairly evenly distributed, interspersed every few miles with lakes. 

 These are all more or less alkaline, some of them so strongly 

 as to kill cattle if they drink any quantity of the water ; they 

 naturally contain no fish. There is no fresh running water, 

 but many sloughs (shallow ponds), caused by melting of the snow. 

 The temperature varies from great heat in summer to 40° below 

 zero in winter. 



I obtained one or more specimens of twenty-three different 

 species of mammals, which I think are nearly all the wild animals 

 to be found in this district at the present time, although Lynx, 

 Bear, Deer, and Jack-Babbit are occasionally to be met with. 

 I saw one of each of the two last-named, and these were the only 

 animals I saw of which I did not get at least one specimen. 



The following is a list of animals obtained, with remarks 

 on same. 



Canis latrans (Coyote ; locally called Wolf). — Not at all un- 

 common, several often being seen during the course of a day's 

 drive. They are practically never dangerous to human beings 

 unless driven into a corner, but are a great nuisance to ranchers, 

 as if they once take to killing sheep or calves they seem to 

 prefer them to other food. Those I got were all caught with 

 hounds, except one suffocated in his earth, for they are too wary 

 to be trapped. Although I set traps round an earth which I 

 knew contained young ones about the size of a small Fox- 

 Terrier, I never had one struck. 



