THE BADGER. 
13 
greatly diminished ; for though the Fox is a much larger animal 
than the rabbit, and needs a rather larger tunnel, it finds that 
the task of enlarging a ready-made burrow is very much less 
than if it had to drive a passage through solid ground. Every 
one who has worked with carpenters’ tools knows that a large 
gimlet passes easily through wood, if it follows the track of 
a smaller one, and on the same principle, the Fox passes 
easily through the earth on the track of the rabbit. The 
burrow of the latter animal is moreover much larger than is 
absolutely required for its passage, while the former is quite 
satisfied if he can pass through the tunnel with tolerable rapidity. 
Sometimes, however, the animal is not fortunate enough to find 
any ready-made habitation, and in such cases sets determinately 
to work, and scoops out a burrow on its own account. Herein 
it lies asleep all day, as is the custom with most predaceous 
animals, and only sallies forth at night. Herein the mother 
produces and nurtures her young, and sometimes on a summer’s 
evening, the whole family, the father, mother, and cubs, come out 
to enjoy the fresh air. They never wander far from the mouth of 
the burrow, and as the young are gamesome little creatures, as 
playful as puppies, and much prettier, and the mother helps her 
young ones in their sports as a good mother ought to do, the 
group presents a very pretty sight. When young the cubs are 
certainly not prepossessing, and scarcely any one would take the 
sprawling grey-coated, broad-muzzled creatures, with their little 
short pointed tails and stumpy ears, for the young of the Fox, 
with its ruddy fur, its active limbs, its narrow muzzle, its full 
bushy tail, and its erect, intelligent-looking ears. 
The Weasels have been said to be great burrowers, but I am 
inclined to think that very few of them are in the habit of 
tunnelling below the ground. 
One of the Weasel tribe is, however, a most powerful and 
industrious excavator. This is the Badger (Me/es taxus ), an 
animal which was formerly considered as our only surviving 
British representative of the bear tribe, but is now found to 
belong to the weasels. 
