PORCUPINES AND RABBITS 
95 
a “Hedgehog,” because the latter is not a gnaw- 
ing animal, but a small, weak, insect-eater, 
which does not inhabit America. A full-grown 
Porcupine is about twenty times as large as the 
common European hedgehog. 
Porcupines can not shoot their quills, not 
even for one inch ; and the idea that they can — 
or ever have — is entirely erroneous. When 
attacked, their defence consists in erecting their 
quills, and striking quickly a strong sidewise 
blow with the tail, which often drives many 
quills into its enemy. Strange to say, wild 
animals are about as lacking in original infor- 
mation, or “instinct,” regarding this creature 
as dogs are. Several pumas and lynxes have been 
killed in a starving condition, with their mouths 
and throats so filled with porcupine quills that 
eating had become almost impossible. 
THE PIKA FAMILY. 
Ochotonidae. 
The Pika, commonly called the Little Chief 
“Hare,” or Crying “Hare ,” 1 looks very much 
like a small, gray-brown rabbit, 7 inches long; 
but it is neither a rabbit nor a hare, and repre- 
sents an independent Family. It lives high up on 
the great mountain ranges of the West, from just 
below timber line up to the line of perpetual 
snow. It finds shelter in the crevices of rugged 
masses of rock, and its sharp little cries often 
seem to come from so many different points that 
the hunter is completely confused. In form 
this strange little creature is about half way be- 
tween a gray rabbit and a guinea-pig; and it 
has neither speed nor activity. 
THE HARE AND RABBIT FAMILY. 
Leporidae. 
This group is very clearly subdivided and 
there need be no confusion of ideas regarding 
its North American members. Nevertheless, 
early writers have made a confusing error in the 
improper adoption, for one important group, of 
the misleading name Jack “Rabbit.” It should 
be Jack Hare. 
All the American members of this Family are 
separated into two general groups, the Hares and 
the Rabbits. The accompanying diagram shows 
these subdivisions, and their relations to each 
other. 
1 O-cho-to'na prin'ceps. 
A typical Hare is big, long-eared, long-legged, 
and a swift runner. Very often its color changes 
according to the season. It does not burrow, 
but rears its young in a nest or “form.” 
The Rabbit is small, short-eared, short-legged, 
a weak runner for a long distance, its color is 
fairly constant, and it lives in a burrow. 
The Varying Hare Group is the key to the 
entire Family; or, in other words, it stands on 
middle ground between the Rabbits, the Polar 
Hare, and the Jack Hare, and is related to all 
three. Naturally this group should be studied 
Sanborn, Photo., N. Y. Zoological Park. 
CANADA PORCUPINE. 
first. Its type species is the Northern Varying 
Hare , 2 of northern New York, New England, 
Canada and the Northwest Territories. Its 
name is due to the fact that its color varies ac- 
cording to the season, being pale cinnamon brown 
in summer, and white in winter, with only a nar- 
row back line of brown. 
It is nearly twice as large as the cotton-tail 
rabbit, but its ears and legs are about half way 
in proportionate length between those of the 
2 Le' pus a-mer-i-can'us. 
