Ermine.
A small, slender, short-legged
quadruped of the weasel family, found
throughout the northerly and cold
temperate parts of the northern
hemisphere. The term is specially applied
to the condition of the animal when it is
white, with a black tip to the tail, a
change from the ordinary reddish brown
color occurring in winter in most
latitudes inhabited by the animal. It is
a near relative of the weasel, the ferret
and the European pole-cat. The ermine fur
of commerce is chiefly obtained from
northern Europe, Siberia, and British
America, and is in great request. It is
prepared by having the black of the tail
inserted at regular intervals, so that it
contrasts with the pure white of the fur.
The fur, with or without the black spots,
is used for lining and facing certain
official and ceremonial garments,
especially in England, the robes of the
judges. On this account it stands for the
perfect rectitude essential to the
judge's office. The ermine is also called
a stoat. It is larger than the weasel,
being fourteen inches in total length,
including a tail of four inches. It eats
young rabbits, and hunts hares which,
although swifter, appear to lose their
usual powers of flight when followed by
this enemy. It plunders birds' nests,
kills rats and mice in quantities for its
young, and as many as five hares and four
rabbits have been found laid away in its
larder for use in time of need.
Reindeer.
A deer inhabiting arctic and
cold temperate regions. It has branched,
recurved, round antlers, found on both
sexes, those of the male being much
larger than those of the female, and
remarkable for the size and symmetry of
the brow antler. The body is of a thick
and square form, the legs shorter in
proportion than those of the red deer;
the size varying much according to
climate, the average height of the full
grown specimen being about four and a
half feet. It is keen of sight and swift
of foot, being capable of maintaining a
speed of nine or ten miles per hour for a
long time, and can easily carry a weight
of 200 pounds besides the sledge to which
it is usually attached when used as a
beast of draft. With the Laplanders it is
a substitute for a horse, a cow and
sheep, as it furnishes food, clothes and
means of conveyance. A herd of a thousand
makes a man wealthy in that country; a
few hundreds constitute respectability,
while servants have forty or fifty. In a
wild state it is migratory, made so by
its enemies, the mosquito and the
gad-fly, going from woods to hills to
escape them. Even in the domesticated
state it is obliged to continue its
migrations for the same cause, and the
owners have to follow. It lives on lichen
which instinct teaches it to find under
the snow, using head, hoofs and snout to
do so. When the snow is too firmly frozen
the poor thing dies of hunger.
Polar Bear.
This is the aquatic member of
the bear family, and is sometimes called
the white bear, on account of its
beautiful silvery fur. It is especially
adapted for traversing the water and
passing its existence among the ice
mountains of the northern regions. Its
food is altogether of an animal nature,
principally of seals and fish--vegetables
being rather a scarce diet in its home.
Its scent is wonderfully well developed.
It is extraordinaily active, and will
sometimes plunge into the water and catch
a salmon. It has been known to swim a
strait forty miles in width. In captivity
in warmer climates, it contents itself
with vegetable food, and has been fed for
a long time on bread alone. Sometimes it
will run at the sight of man, and at
others will attack him without apparent
reason. It is tenacious of life, and when
pierced with many wounds will still fight
desperately with teeth and claws. It
differs from other bears in its shape,
the neck being long in proportion to the
remainder of the body, and the head is
small and sharp. The foot is equivalent
to one sixth of the entire length of the
body; the sole being covered with warm
fur which not only keeps it warm, but
enables it to tread firmly upon the ice.
The female hibernates and in the
retirement of the winter brings forth her
young in the snow, generally two in
number, coming forth sadly reduced,
desperately hungry and very dangerous.
The male passes the winter in the
exercise of all his faculties.
Buansuah.
This is the native name of the
wild dog of Nepal and northern India, an
animal whose special interest to us lies
in the fact that it is supposed by
naturalists to be the original type of
the dog tribe, although the honor of such
a supposition is shared with the Dhole of
British India. The Nepal claimant is
certainly a dog in the rough, without the
refining influences of association with
the human race. It is of a reddish color,
pale underneath, with a bushy, pendulous
tail, and in size is between that of the
wolf and the jackal, but with very stout
limbs. It hunts in packs of eight or
twelve, and follows game mostly by the
nose instead of the eye, as it possesses
exquisite powers of scent. It is shy, and
never willingly permits itself to be
seen, but is capable of being tamed to a
certain degree, and when captured young,
can be trained to hunt. It is of the most
assistance in chasing the wild boar, as
its wolf-like attack of sudden snap is
more destructive to its prey than the
bite of an ordinary hound, but for other
game it is not at all trustworthy, and
will often give up the chase at the
critical moment, and turn its attention
to a tame sheep or goat which happens to
be grazing in its pathway. The difference
between the habits of this animal and
those of the faithful and trusted
"friend of man," is a
remarkable illustration of development.
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