74 UusiD^. MAMMALIA. UksidjE. 
industrious animals are at work on land, that it can sur- 
prise them. An attempt to break open their house in 
the winter, even suj)posing it possible for the claws of 
a wolverene to penetrate the thick mud walls when 
frozen as hard as stone, would only have the effect of 
driving the beavers into the water to seek for shelter 
in their vaults on the borders of the dam. The wolve- 
rene, although it is reported to defend itself with bold- 
ness and success against the attack of other quadrupeds, 
flies from the face of man, and makes hut a poor fight 
with a hunter, who requires no other arms than a stick 
to kill it.” The geographical distribution of the wolve- 
rene is co-extensive witli the length and breadth of the 
colder regions of the great North American continent, 
indications of its presence having been found as far 
north as Melville Island. The female produces from 
two to four young ones at a birth, which are clothed 
with a soft light cream-coloured fur. 
THE AMERICAN BADGER {Meles lahradaria ). — 
This animal is also recognized by the names of the 
Brairo and Taxel. Mr. Waterhouse and others sepa- 
rate it from the badgers, properly so called ; but, as it 
is closely allied to them in all essential particulars, we 
prefer to retain the above title. The dental elements 
correspond numerically with those of the common 
badger, but their carnivorous character is more 
marked, although the grinding surfaces of the molars 
are remarkabiy flat and even. The length and bulk 
of the body is similar to that of the glutton. The 
head is broad, and truncated posteriorly. The ears 
are short and round, the internal auditory bullae being 
largely developed. The fur is coarse and short on the 
head and limbs, but everywhere else it is beautifully 
tine and silky, the individual hairs measuring several 
inches in length. Near the skin, the hair exhibits a 
purplish-brown colour; the free ends, however, are 
white, producing a pretty mottled grey appearance. 
A white band extends from the muzzle over the head 
along the middle line, gradually disappearing toward 
the shoulders. The limbs are stoutish, the fore-feet 
being furnished with strong light-coloured claws, which 
are longer than those of the common badger. In 
regard to its habits and geographical distribution, Sir 
John Kichardson states that it “ frequents the sandy 
plains or prairies which skirt the Eocky Mountains as 
far north as the banks of the Peace river, and sources 
of the River of the Mountains in latitude 58°. It 
abounds on the plains watered by the Missouri, but its 
exact southern range has not, as far as I know, been 
defined by any traveller. The sandy prairies in the 
neighbourhood of Carlton House, on the banks of the 
Sasketchewan, and also on the Red river that flows 
into Lake Winipeg, are perforated by innumerable 
badger-holes, which are a great annoyance to horse- 
men, particularly when the ground is covered with 
snow. These holes are partly dug by the badgers for 
habitations, but the greater number of them are merely 
enlargements of the burrows of the Arctomys Hood'd 
and Richardsonii, which the badgers dig up and pi ey 
upon. Whilst the ground is covered with snow, the 
badger rarely or never comes from its hole, and I sup- 
pose that in that climate it passes the winter from the 
beginning of November to April in a torpid state. 
Indeed, as it obtains the small animals on which it 
feeds by surprising them in their burrows, it has little 
chance of digging them out at a time when the ground 
is frozen into a solid rock. Like the bears, the badgers 
do not lose much flesh during their long hybernation ; 
for, on coming abroad in the spring, they are observed 
to be very fat. As they pair, however, at that season, 
they soon become lean. This badger is a slow and 
timid animal, taking to the first earth it comes to when 
pursued ; and as it makes its way through the sandy 
soil with the rapidity of a mole, it soon places itself 
out of the reach of danger. The strength of its fore- 
feet and claws is so great, that one which had insinu- 
ated only its head and shoulders into a hole, resisted 
the utmost efforts of two stout young men who endea- 
voured to drag it out by the hind legs and tail, until 
one of them fired the contents of his fowling-piece into 
its body. Early in the spring, however, when they 
first begin to stir abroad, they may be easily caught by 
pouring water into their holes ; for, the ground being 
frozen at that period, the water does not escape 
through the sand, but soon fills the hole, and its tenant 
is obliged to come out. The American badger appears 
to be a more carnivorous animal than the European 
one. A female which I killed had a small marmot, 
nearly entire, together with some field-mice, in its 
stomach. It had also been eating some vegetable 
matters.” 
THE INDIAN BADGER {Meles collaris).— Some 
naturalists also regard this species as an aberrant form 
of badger, and they go so far as to place it with the 
digitigrade teledus ! It is an inhabitant of Hindostan, 
and is commonly called by the natives the Bhalloo-soor, 
or Bear-pig. This title is by no means inappropriate, 
for, if we are to accept the description of Frederick 
Cuvier, the combination of swinish and ursine charac- 
ters is very evident. It is similar to the European 
form in respect of bulk, but the tail is considerably 
longer, measuring nine inches. Mr. Johnson, in his 
“ Indian Field Sports,” says they “ are marked exactly 
like those in England, but they are larger and taller, 
are exceedingly fierce, and will attack a number of 
dogs.” The tame specimens kept in the menagerie of 
the governor-general at Barrackpoor, when iriitated, 
gave out a peculiar kind of grunt, and stood up on 
their hind limbs to show fight precisely in the same 
manner as ordinary bears. The female appeared more 
docile than the male. Their movements were sluggish, 
and they always preferred vegetable to animal food, 
being particularly fond of bread and fruits. In the 
wild state, the Indian badger appears to be exceedingly 
savage. It occurs chiefly in the hilly districts, but is 
not very abundant anywhere. 
THE EUROPEAN BADGER (Meles taxus), fig. 21.— 
Before noticing this creature’s habits, we offer a few 
remarks on the principal characters which distinguish it, 
especially as we have designedly omitted entering upon 
minute details in our description of the two preceding 
aberrant forms. The body is broad and depressed, 
and is furnished with short powerful limbs, termi- 
nating in plantigrade, pentadactylous feet, whose digits 
are armed with long, powerful, fossorial claws. The 
fur consists of shaggy, coarse, bristly hairs, those on 
