CHAPTER VII.

_THE SMALLER CARNIVORA._

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THE RACCOON FAMILY.

A link between the Bears and the Weasel Tribe is made by the RACCOONS and their allies. They are bear-like in having a short, thick body, and in their flat-footed manner of walking; also in their habit of sitting up on end, and using their paws as hands, to some extent, in aiding them to climb. But they are also much like the Civets; and the pretty little CACOMIXLE, or RING-TAILED CAT of Mexico, was formerly classed with the civets. They are all very active, enterprising, and quick-witted creatures of no great size, very different in temperament from the bears.

THE RACCOON.

The type of the family is the AMERICAN RACCOON itself. Its scientific name of "Letor," the "Washer," was given to it from an odd habit these creatures have of wetting and washing their food in any water which is near. One kept at the Zoo washed her kittens so much when they were born that they all died.

The 'coon inhabits America from Canada to the south as far down as Paraguay. In size it is equal to a common fox, but is short and stout. Restless, inquisitive, and prying, it is a most mischievous beast where farmyards and poultry are within reach. It kills the fowls, eats the eggs, samples the fruit, and if caught shams dead with all the doggedness of an opossum. It is very fond of fish and shell-fish. Oysters are a special dainty, as are mussels and clams. A gentleman who kept one says: "It opens oysters with wonderful skill. It is sufficient for it to break the hinge with its teeth; its paws complete the work of getting out the oyster. It must have a delicate sense of touch. In this operation it rarely avails itself of sight or smell. It passes the oyster under its hind paws; then, without looking, it seeks with its hands the weakest place. It there digs in its claws, forces asunder the valves, and tears out the flesh in fragments, leaving nothing behind." Its favourite haunt is in the cane-brakes of the south. There the planters follow it by night with dogs, and shoot it in the trees in which it takes refuge. The skins, with handsome alternations of yellow and brown, make fine carriage-rugs.

THE COATIS.

The COATIS are small arboreal creatures, with the habits of a raccoon and squirrel fairly proportioned. They are flesh-eaters, but active and playful. Their long pig-like snouts give them an unpleasant appearance. They inhabit Mexico and Central and South America as far as Paraguay. Several specimens are generally to be seen at the Zoological Gardens. Their habits are much the same as those of the small tree-climbing cats, but with something of the badger added. Insects and worms, as well as birds and small animals, form their food.

THE PANDAS AND KINKAJOU.

Among the small carnivorous mammals the BEAR-CAT, or PANDA, is a very interesting creature. Its colour is striking--a beautiful red-chestnut above, the lower surface jet-black, the tail long and ringed. The quality of the fur is fine also. It is found in the Eastern Himalaya, and is as large as a badger. The GREAT PANDA, from Eastern Tibet, is a much larger, short-tailed, black-and-white animal, once thought to be a bear. The KINKAJOU has a prehensile tail, and uses its paws as hands so readily that it was formerly placed among the lemurs. It is a native of Southern and intertropical America. Nocturnal, and living in the great forests, it is seldom seen by man. Its head is round and cat-like, its feet are the same, but with non-retractile claws, and it has a long, full tail. It has a long tongue, with which it can lick out insects from the crevices and holes of trees. Baron von Humboldt says that it attacks the nests of wild bees. It uses its tongue to draw objects of food towards it, even if they are not living. A pleasant description of this animal appeared in Charles Knight's "Museum of Animated Nature," published many years ago: "In its aspect there is something of gentleness and good-nature. In captivity it is extremely playful, familiar, and fond of being noticed. One lived in the gardens of the Zoological Society for seven years. During the greater part of the morning it was asleep, rolled up in a ball in its cage. In the afternoon it would come out, traverse its cage, take food, and play with those to whom it was accustomed. Clinging to the top wires of its cage with its tail and hind paws, it would thus swing itself backwards and forwards. When thus hanging, it would bring its fore paws to the bars, as well as the hind pair, and in this manner would travel up and down its cage with the utmost address, every now and then thrusting out its long tongue between the wires, as if in quest of food, which, when offered to it, it would endeavour to draw in between the wires with this organ. It was very fond of being gently stroked and scratched, and when at play with any one it knew it would pretend to bite, seizing the hand or fingers with its teeth, as a dog will do when playing with its master. As the evening came on, it was full of animation, and exhibited in every movement the most surprising energy."

THE OTTERS.

As the badgers and ratels seem specially adapted to an underground and cave-making existence, so the Otters all conform in structure to an aquatic life; yet, except the webbing of the space between the toes and the shortening and flattening of the head, there is very little obvious change in their structure to meet the very great difference in the conditions under which they live.

The SHORT-TOED OTTER is a small Indian species. It has nails on its hands in place of claws. One kept at the Zoo was a most amusing and friendly little pet, which let itself be nursed like a kitten.

The NORTH AMERICAN OTTER has the same habits as the English kind, but is somewhat larger, and has a far finer coat. It is trapped in thousands, and the fur sent over to this country to the Hudson Bay Company's and Sir Charles Lampson's fur-sales. These otters, like all their family, are very fond of playing. One of their regular games is to make a snow-slide or an ice-slide down a frozen waterfall. The alighting-place from this chute is, if possible, in the water. There the trapper sets his traps, and the poor otters are caught.

The COMMON OTTER is far the most attractive of the British carnivora. It is still fairly common all over Britain where fish exist. It is found on the Norfolk broads and rivers, all up the Thames, in Scotland, Devonshire, Wales, Cumberland, and Northumberland. It travels considerable distances from river to river, and sometimes gets into a preserved trout-pool or breeding-pond, and does much mischief. The beautiful young otters here figured are in Mr. Percy Leigh Pemberton's collection of British mammals at Ashford, Kent. Their owner made a large brick tank for them, where they were allowed to catch live fish. Once one of them seized a 4-lb. pike by the tail. The pike wriggled round and seized the otter's paw, but was soon placed _hors de combat_. The largest otter which the writer has seen was bolted by a ferret from a rabbit-warren on the edge of the Norfolk fen at Hockwold, and shot by the keeper, who was rabbiting.

English dog otters sometimes weigh as much as 26 lbs. They regularly hunt down the rivers by night, returning before morning to their holt, where they sleep by day. No fish stands a chance with them. They swim after the fish in the open river, chase it under the bank, and then corner it, or seize it with a rush, just as the penguins catch gudgeon at the Zoo. Captain Salvin owned a famous tame otter which used to go for walks with him, and amuse itself by catching fish in the roadside ponds.

THE SEA-OTTER.

Common otters killed on the coast are often confounded with the SEA-OTTER. This is a great mistake. The sea-otter is as much a marine animal as the seal or the sea-lion. It swims out in the open ocean, and is even more of a pelagic creature than the seal, for it either produces its young when in the water, or at any rate carries and suckles them on the open sea. The sea-otter is much larger than the common otter. Unfortunately the fish and other marine creatures which form the food of the sea-otters are found mainly near the coast. Following them, the otters come near the Aleutian Islands, where the hunters are ever on the watch for them. If a single otter is seen, five or six boats, with a rifleman in each, at once put out, and the otter stands little chance of escape. It never was a common animal, and the prices given for the fur, up to £200 for a first-class skin, have caused its destruction. The skin, when stretched and cured, is sometimes 5 feet long, and is of an exquisite natural rich brown, like long plush, sprinkled all over with whitish hairs like hoarfrost.

THE SKUNKS.

Of all the strange equipments given by nature to animals for their protection that possessed by the various species of SKUNK is the most effective. These animals are able to emit a fluid so vile in odour that it seems equally hateful to all animals. Dogs, pumas, men, alike shun them, and the animals seem to know this and to presume on their immunity. An ordinary skunk is about the size of a cat, black, with bright white stripes down the sides and back. The fur is thick and handsome, and, if the animal be killed before it discharges its fluid, is not too strongly odorous to make trimmings for jackets. Mr. Hudson, in his "Naturalist in La Plata," says: "In talking to strangers from abroad, I have never thought it necessary to speak of the dangers of sunstroke, jaguars, or the assassin's knife. But I have never omitted to warn them of the skunk, minutely describing its habits and personal appearance. I knew an Englishman who, on taking a first gallop across the Pampas, saw one, and, quickly dismounting, hurled himself bodily on to it to effect its capture. Poor man! He did not know that the animal is never unwilling to be caught. Men have been blinded by them for ever by a discharge of the fiery liquid in their faces. The smell pervades the whole system of any one subjected to it, like a pestilent ether, nauseating the victim till sea-sickness seems pleasant in comparison." Dogs can be taught to kill skunks; but they show the greatest disgust and horror when the fluid of the animal falls upon them, and sometimes roll in mud or dust in the endeavour to get rid of it.

THE BADGERS.

The BADGERS include several genera. The SAND-BADGERS of the East have a naked snout, small ears, and rough fur, with softer fur underneath. The INDIAN BADGER is larger than that of Europe, while that of Java, Sumatra, and Borneo is smaller, and has a very short tail.

The FERRET-BADGERS from the East have elongated bodies and short tails. They are tree-climbers, and as omnivorous as the badger itself. The CAPE ZORILLA, with another species found in Egypt, is more nearly allied to the polecats, but is striped like a skunk.

The EUROPEAN BADGER is still fairly numerous. There is not a county in England where it is not found. A large colony has been established in Epping Forest, some fifty yards square of hillside being honeycombed with badger-earths. The European badger is found all over temperate Northern Europe and Asia; but being shy, wary, and mainly nocturnal, is seldom seen. At night it wanders about, and in August gets into the corn-fields, whence it is chased and caught by dogs. A Somersetshire farmer had a pointer and sheep-dog which were adepts at this night-catching of badgers. They would accompany their master along the roads, and the pointer instantly winded any badger which had crossed. Both dogs then bounded off, and soon their loud barking showed that they had found and "held up" the badger. The dogs' owner then came up, picked the badger up by its tail, and dropped it in a sack. The badger's "earth" is wonderfully deep and winding; in it the badger sleeps during the winter, and gives birth to its young, three or four of which are produced at a time. The end of March is the period of birth, but the cubs do not come out until June. In October they are full-grown. The badger carries in a great quantity of fern and grass as a bed for its cubs. Mr. Trevor-Battye writes: "I had a pair which were probably about six weeks old. They were called Gripper and Nancy. They would rest on my lap when feeding, and sit up and beg like dogs. Their hearing and power of scent were remarkable. The badgers were in a closed yard; but if any of the dogs came near, even following a path which ran at a distance of six or seven yards, they would instantly jump off my lap and disappear into a corner. The animals could walk and trot _backwards_ with the greatest ease." I have never seen this noticed elsewhere, yet it is worth mentioning, because it is characteristic of the Weasel Family, not being shared, to my knowledge, by any other mammal--not, for instance, by the Bears.

Mr. A. E. Pease says of the badger: "It is easily domesticated, and if brought up by hand is found an interesting and charming companion. I had at one time two that I could do anything with, and which followed me so closely that they would bump against my boots each step I took, and come and snuggle in under my coat when I sat down."

THE RATELS.

As the mink is adapted for an aquatic diet, so the RATELS, a link between the Weasels and the Badgers, seem to have been specialised to live upon insects and honey as well as flesh. They are quaint creatures, with rounded iron-grey backs, and black bellies, noses, and feet. The African kind is found in Cape Colony and East Africa, and is believed to live largely on honey and bee-brood. The habits of the ratel are almost identical with those of the badger, except that it is less shy and very restless. A nearly similar species of ratel is found in Southern Asia from the Caspian to India.

The ratels are strictly nocturnal, and make their lair by day in hollow trees, though they are said not to climb. The skin is protected by thick, close hair, so that bees cannot sting through the fur. The skin is also very loose. If a dog bites it, the ratel can generally twist round and bite back. The African ratel is omnivorous. It eats snakes and birds. The body of a cobra has been found in the stomach of one.

THE WEASEL TRIBE.

No animals are more bloodthirsty and carnivorous than most of the Weasel Tribe. They are also well equipped both in actual weapons and in activity of body, and have powers quite out of proportion to their size. They are also gifted with magnificent coats, and constitute the most valuable source of choice furs. Sable, Marten, Mink, Wolverine, Ermine, Otters, and several others are among the most highly prized. Their claws are sharp, but not retractile. It is indeed fortunate that these creatures are so small in size, otherwise they would be among the greatest enemies of animal life. As things are, they are useful in keeping down the numbers of creatures which, like field-mice, moles, rabbits, and rats, might, and occasionally do, become a pest.

THE MARTENS.

There are two species of marten in Europe--the BEECH--and the PINE-MARTEN. The latter has a yellow throat, the former a white one. The fur is almost as fine as sable. All so-called Canadian sables are really martens. These animals are found throughout Northern Europe and Northern Asia, in Japan, and all over Northern America. In Scotland the pine-marten survives in the pine forests; also in Ireland, where it is occasionally killed on the Wicklow Mountains, near Dublin, and on the Mourne Mountains. It is believed to remain in Cumberland, Devonshire, and possibly in parts of Wales. It is a tree-loving animal, and feeds mainly on squirrels, which it pursues through the branches. It is also fond of fruit. Mr. Charles St. John discovered this in a curious way. He noticed that his raspberries were being stolen, so set a trap among the canes. Next day all he could see was a heap of newly gathered raspberry leaves where the trap was. Stooping down to move them, a marten sprang up and tried to defend itself. The poor beast had come to gather more raspberries, and had been caught. Unable to escape, it gathered the leaves near and concealed itself.

THE SABLE.

This is so little different from the marten that some have thought it only a northern variety. That is not the case, as both are found in the same area, and no one who knows anything of form and colour could mistake the true sable's fur. This fur is so fine and even that each single hair tapers gradually to a point: that is why sable brushes for painting are so valuable; they always form a point when wet. The price of these brushes, which are of genuine sable fur, though made up from fragments of the worst-coloured or damaged skins, varies yearly with the price of sable in the market.

THE MINK.

Ladies are very familiar with the fur of the MINK, which is one of the best of the less expensive varieties; it is not glossy as marten or sable, and of a lighter and more uniform brown. The mink is a water-haunting polecat, found in Siberia, North America, and Japan. Its main home is in North America, where the immense system of lakes and rivers gives scope for its aquatic habits. The under-fur is particularly warm and thick, to keep out the cold of the water, in which the animal spends more time than on land. It is not stated to catch fish, as does the otter, in the water; but it lives on frogs, crayfish, mussels, and dead or stranded fish. Minks have been kept in confinement and regularly bred in "minkeries," as is the blue fox, and in Manchuria the chow dog, for the sake of its fur.

THE POLECAT.

This is now probably the rarest of the British weasels. It is almost identically the same as the polecat-ferret, a cross-breed between it and the domesticated variety. It survives in a few of the great woodlands of the Midlands and of Oxfordshire, in Scotland, and Wales. It is found in Cumberland, near Bowness, and on Exmoor and Dartmoor where rabbits abound. It is an expert swimmer. Its habits are the same as those of the stoat, but it is slower in its movements. It catches fish, and can pick up food from the bottom of the water. Wild ones can be trained to work like ferrets. "They do not delay in the hole, but follow the rat out and catch it in a couple of bounds" (Trevor-Battye). The FERRET is a domesticated breed of polecat. It is identical in shape and habits, but unable to stand the cold of our climate in the open.

THE WEASEL.

The smallest, fiercest, and commonest of its race, the little WEASEL is by no means the least formidable to other animals of the carnivora of England. It is cinnamon-coloured, with a white throat and belly, and climbs as neatly as a cat, running up vertical boughs with almost greater facility. A weasel in a high hedge will run the whole length of the fence, from twig to twig, without descending; it threads the galleries of the field-mice, sucks the eggs of small birds in their nests, and attacks rats, mice, rabbits, and even such large birds as grouse without fear or hesitation. During a great plague of field-voles in the Lowlands of Scotland in the years 1890 and 1891 the weasels increased enormously. A shepherd took the trouble to follow a weasel down a hollow drain in the vole-infested hillside; he found the bodies of no less than thirteen field-mice, which the weasel had amused itself by killing. In winter weasels hunt the corn-stacks for mice, and often make a home among the sheaves. One was seen chasing a vole by Mr. Trevor-Battye, who picked up the vole, which the weasel was just about to jump up for, when he threw it into the hedge. There the weasel pounced on it and carried it off!

The main food of the weasel is the field-mouse and small voles. Weasels are very devoted to their young; they will pick them up and carry them off as a cat does a kitten, if the nest is in danger. Their hunting shows great marks of cunning. One was seen in a field in which a number of corn-buntings were flying about, alighting on thistles. The weasel went and hid under one of the tallest thistles, on which a bunting soon alighted; an instant after it sprang up and caught and killed the bird.

THE STOAT, OR ERMINE.

This is the commonest and most widely distributed of all the Weasel Tribe. In winter the fur turns to pure white in the northern countries, and occasionally in Southern England. It is then known as the ERMINE, and yields the ermine fur. In every country where it is found it is the deadly foe of all small animals, from the hare to the smallest field-mice. It has the same passion for killing for killing's sake shared by the ferret. If a stoat finds a rabbit's nest, for instance, it always murders all the young ones. These creatures sometimes contrive to hunt in packs, or to migrate in society. They are very fond of their young, which they lay up in old crows' nests, holes in banks, or straw-stacks. They have often been seen to carry them out of danger in their mouths. The length of the head and body is 10¾ inches, and of the tail 6½ inches. The young are usually from five to eight in number, and are born in April or May. They soon move into the long standing-grass, and remain there till it is cut. After that they move to the woods and covers, and great numbers are trapped. If not, they attack the young pheasants, and do great damage. They can climb well, and are known, as is the polecat, to ascend trees and kill birds on their nests. They also suck eggs. Forty-two pheasants' eggs were taken by Mr. de Winton from one stoat's hole.

THE GLUTTON, OR WOLVERINE.

This largest and most destructive of all the Weasel Tribe is found all round the northern edge of the Arctic Circle, from Norway to Hudson Bay. It is a large heavy animal, with a short head, sharp claws, long thick fur, and a clumsy gait. Its tusks are very long and sharp; and its appetite, if not so insatiable as the old travellers were told, is sharp enough to keep it always hunting. It follows the fur-trappers in the woods, and, being very cunning, breaks in at the back of their fall-traps, and robs the baits or the prey caught. When Lord Milton and Dr. Cheadle made the North-west Passage by land, they lost nearly all their furs in this way. Once, having trapped a valuable silver fox, the only one caught by them, they found nothing but shreds of fur left by the glutton. As the marten-hunters' line of traps is perhaps fifty or sixty miles long, the loss and damage caused by the glutton is most mortifying. This animal can only be caught in steel traps, and that with great difficulty.

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