630 
THE SAVAGE WORLD. 
it had been entirely gutted by a wolverine. When surprised it will sit up on 
its haunches and shade its eyes with one hand while looking directly at the 
intruder. 
The Tayra ( Galidis barbara ) has its habitat in tropical America, and is 
black, with white on the throat and upper chest. Its little brown eyes are very 
bright and promise the intelligence and alertness which the animal displays. 
It is a burrower, about the size of a cat, and when domesticated, makes a very 
amusing pet. It goes about clucking like a hen with a brood of chickens. 
The Grison, or South American Glutton ( Galidis vittata ), is weasel-like 
and resembles the tayra. 
The Ferret (. Putorius furo , or Mustela furo ,) is well known as a successful 
rat-catcher. Tame ferrets will often escape, but with the approach of cold 
weather they 
will return to a 
captivity which 
insures them a 
sufficiency of 
food and com¬ 
fortable quar¬ 
ters. The fer¬ 
ret though read¬ 
ily domesticated 
and very useful 
as the servant 
of man, has a 
very ugly and 
uncertain tem¬ 
per, so that its 
owner must 
always be on 
guard against 
sudden ebulli¬ 
tions of passion 
and of savage 
instincts. The 
ferret when 
glutton, or wolverine. used for hunt¬ 
ing rabbits is 
muzzled, brought into the proper vicinity, released and again muzzled as soon 
as it has struck its quarry. It shows the keenness of animal instinct, and a 
ferret which has been muzzled will never afterwards engage in rat-catching. 
The Weasel (. Putorius vulgaris , or Mustela vulgaris ) though but small 
and slight, is amply able to take care of itself and to worry its enemies. Its 
little body of about eight inches is covered with bright, red fur which becomes 
white on the belly. It seems to be absolutely fearless, and to welcome an 
enemy with the utmost disregard of relative size. A story is told of one which 
was met by a hunter and shot at, whereupon it coolly sat down on its haunches 
and observed him, while apparently deliberating whether or not to make an 
attack. Its persistence in its undertakings, and its ability to squeeze through 
