Some Notes on the Mammals of Mammoth Cave, Ky. 



55 



cliffs on the opposite shores of Green River, a half mile dis- 

 tant. There is no doubt that this Neotoma is likely to be 

 found in any of the larger caves and more mountainous rocky 

 elevations, which are so numerous in this and other parts of 

 Kentucky. I did not find it, however, in similar situations, 

 in Tennessee, west of the Great Smoky Mountains, but owing 

 to its extremely local and apparently erratic distribution, it 

 may have been overlooked. 



The rat from Mammoth Cave, which I kept alive, was so 

 precisely a duplicate, both in appearance and actions, of one 

 I had previously studied and which came from Clinton County, 

 Pennsylvania, that the thought of their being different species 

 or races could not be entertained, and the examination of 

 their anatomy confirms such a negative view. 



Any suspicion of blindness or deficient eyesight, such as is 

 exemplified in some of the lower orders of animal life in the 

 cave, can not attach to this mammal. As in all the more 

 strictly nocturnal rodents, the eyes of this species are greatly 

 developed ; nevertheless, they are able to make most intelli- 

 gent use of them in broad daylight, if need be. My pet cave 

 rat was very sleepy in the daytime, and if given the materials 

 would quickly make a globular nest in which to hide. The 

 favorite position of rest was on the side, coiled, with the nose 

 resting on the abdomen and tail curled around the body. It 

 frequently would " sit on its head," as it were, by leaning for- 

 ward and placing its nose near the root of the tail, that mem- 

 ber acting as a sort of prop to prevent the animal from turn- 

 ing a somersault in its sleep. Sometimes it would lie stretched 

 out at full length on its side, the tail straight and the hind 

 feet extended to their farthest limit. It invariably picked up 

 objects with its teeth, though its fore feet were quite capable 

 of the service, and the dexterity with which it would manip- 

 ulate a nut with one or both paws was astonishing. In eating 

 this kind of food it would quickly rasp a small hole, and, in- 

 serting the long lower incisors, clip off pieces of the kernel 

 and extract them with great adroitness through an opening 

 less than a quarter of an inch in diameter. All kinds of vege- 

 table and animal food were acceptable to it, but it seemed to 

 prefer nuts and grain to anything else, though cabbage and 

 apples were a favorite dessert, and it greatly enjoyed sharpen- 



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