70 
JOURNAL OF MAMMALOGY 
1917, Mr. Dwigans and party “spotted” a fine specimen on Lake Elizabeth. 
Confused by the light, the lynx permitted the canoe to approach within ten feet. 
The animal was on the ground, and had evidently come to the lake to drink. 
4. Wild Cat. Lynx rufus rufus (Giildenstsedt). — The writer has, unfortu- 
nately, little information to offer regarding this species. It occurs sporadically 
throughout the county, but in no considerable numbers. 
5. Domestic Cat. Felis catus Linn. — Included in this list because there are 
a great many “house” cats that have taken to the woods, where they spend all 
their time. These animals are self-sufficient; they are essentially wild, as they 
can not be approached, and are dependent entirely upon their own wits and 
skill for their subsistence. 
6. Timber Wolf. Cams nubilus Say. — Still fairly common within the county, 
but greatly reduced in numbers over former years. Although it is heard occa- 
sionally, the timber wolf is rarely seen during the summer. During the winter, 
however, so Mr. Dwigans tells me, it is frequently seen in clearings and crossing 
the frozen lakes. As the species travels considerably in winter, it is altogether 
likely that there is an influx of wolves during the cold weather. 
7. Brush Wolf. Canis latrans Say. — This smaller wolf — never, by the way, 
called “coyote” in the north woods — is considerably more common than its 
larger relative, and is distributed throughout the county. Seldom seen in the 
summer, but heard by the writer during the night on many occasions. 
8. Red Fox. Vulpes fulva (Desmarest). — The red fox, once rather common 
in Itasca County, must now be considered rare. The writer found no evidence 
of its presence, but during the last few years Mr. Dwigans has taken several 
very fine specimens within the territory under discussion. Of the color phases 
of the red fox, two have been taken: the cross fox, and the silver fox. As these 
phases are considered by the natives to be distinct species, a word regarding them 
may not be out of place. The silver or black form is the dark phase of the red 
fox; the cross fox is intermediate between the red and the silver. Both are, then, 
merely individual color phases of the red fox. “In a litter of fox cubs born of 
red parents, perhaps there may be a silver. On the other hand, one or more of 
the cubs of a silver vixen are quite certain to be red. ”2 Under domestication 
this tendency of silvers to throw red cubs can be overcome by selective and 
careful breeding. 
9. Northern Black Bear. Ursus americanus americanus Pallas. — Very nearly 
extinct in Itasca County. Those individuals that remain are so wary that they 
are very seldom seen. However, tracks and signs are met with occasionally, 
and no doubt the forest preserves and the more inaccessible places still hold 
their occasional bear. Although the black bear is by all odds the most common, 
the cinnamon phase is not unknown. Doctor Kuh has a very beautiful pelt of 
a brown bear taken near his cabin a few years ago. The black bear is another 
of the mammals that will not long survive within the county unless rigidly 
protected. 
10. Racoon. Procyon lotor lotor (Linn.). — Somewhat more common in Itasca 
County than the following species, but still a rare animal in the county, being 
2 Dearborn, Ned, The Domesticated Silver Fox. Farmers Bull. no. 795, U. S. 
Dept, of Agr., p. 4, March, 1917. 
