Science of Trapping Part 10

The young animals are born in early spring, there being from two to four at a birth, but as a rule, only two. The mother animal displays considerable anxiety for the safety and comfort of her kittens.

There is no method known by which the cougar may be successfully trapped. Owing to their rambling habits one never knows where to place a trap for them, and as they prefer to kill their own game, they will seldom touch bait. As a rule they do not return to the carca.s.s of their victim, but if one can find an animal freshly killed, it is a good plan to set a trap by the side of the remains, and in case the animal should return for a second meal, its capture is likely. Practically all of those which are trapped are taken in this way. The No. 4 Newhouse trap is used but the No. 4 1/2 is better, for being a larger and stronger trap it is more certain to hold the animal. The trap should be fastened to a heavy clog, and the trap and clog carefully concealed, for the cougar is wary and suspicious.

On rare instances when the trapper has been certain that there were cougars in the near vicinity, they have been captured by setting a trap in a natural enclosure, placing a fresh, b.l.o.o.d.y bait behind the trap, also by hanging the bait about five feet above a carefully concealed trap.

They are most commonly hunted by the aid of dogs, and in this way the capture is a comparatively easy matter. When pursued they usually take to a tree and remain there until the arrival of the hunter when a rifle bullet ends the game. The animal will take to a tree readily for any dog which has the courage to follow it.

The skin of the mountain lion is not valuable as a fur, and is used princ.i.p.ally for rugs, but as before mentioned many of the states pay bounties on the animals, so that hunting them may be made a profitable business in certain localities.

The tracks of this animal resemble those of the wild cat but are much larger. The footprints will measure about four inches in diameter.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Wolverine.]

CHAPTER XIX.

THE WOLVERINE.

Perhaps the most rare of all fur bearing animals, as well as the least known, is the wolverine. This animal belongs to the marten family and is the largest, strongest and most cunning of the genus; in fact, is claimed to be the most cunning and wary of all the furbearing animals, and among the trappers has an unenviable reputation.

It is strictly a northern animal and is found scattered over the greater portion of Canada and Alaska, ranging southward into the most northern portion of the United States. In the Rocky mountain region it is found as far south as Wyoming. They are not plentiful anywhere and are probably found in the greatest numbers in the Alaskan interior, Yukon, Mackenzie and northern British Columbia.

While the wolverine is cla.s.sed among the martens it appears to be the connecting link between the martens and the bears for it is stoutly built and very bear-like in general appearance, also is a plantigrade animal, walking on the entire sole of the foot. An average specimen will measure about thirty inches from the end of the nose to the base of the tail. The tail is about ten inches in length, exclusive of the long hair and is very stumpy and bushy. The fur is long and flowing and is fairly fine. The general color is a dull brown with black legs and feet and a black patch about the eyes. A spot or stripe of lighter color sweeps along the sides. The teeth are large and strong and the curved claws are white, contrasting sharply with the black fur of the feet and legs.

The wolverine makes its home in a burrow. As to the breeding habits of the animal, my observations have been limited and I can give no authentic information. Naturalists disagree as to the number of young and the time of birth. Some claim that the young animals are born in May, others put the time as late as December. As the other members of the marten family give birth to their young in April and May, I think it safe to a.s.sume that the young of the wolverine are born about the same time, and that the number would be from three to five in a litter.

The animal is a great traveler, straying sometimes thirty miles in each direction from its home. It is not a rapid traveler, however, and it is claimed that a man can easily outrun it.

The wolverine is also known under other fancy names, the most common of which is "carcajou". In Europe it is called the "glutton" from its supposed gluttonous appet.i.te. Among the Indians of the northwest it is known as the "mountain devil" and in British Columbia is sometimes called the "skunk bear."

The animal really does bear some resemblance to the skunk in its appearance and actions, the most noticeable of which is its habits of raising its tail when disturbed or when it stops to listen to some noise. Sometimes it will stand on its hind legs in order to get a better view of some object which has aroused its interest.

The wolverine is not as active as the other members of the genus, but its strength and cunning fully compensate for all that it lacks in activity. It can seldom capture enough of game to satisfy its hunger, therefore it seeks out and robs the caches of other animals, also robs the traps of their bait and the captured animals. For this reason the animal is despised and dreaded by the trapper. Once one has found the trap line it will follow the trail to the end, destroying the sets and eating the baits and catch. What it cannot eat, it will carry away and conceal presumably for future use. It will also sometimes enter the trapper's cabin and destroy or defile all that it cannot eat.

Many strange stories are told of the animals cunning and of its evil ways. While some of these tales are no doubt true, I feel safe in saying that the majority have no foundation whatever. There is no doubt that the wolverine is exceedingly wary and that it is a great mischief maker, but the fact that the animal is not well known, has led the nature writers to draw on their imaginations and these wonderful stories are the result. We hear of the animal decoying deer to its hiding place by dropping a bunch of moss for them to feed on, and then springing upon the unsuspecting animal from a nearby limb.

We also read of the wolverine biting off the string of a set gun without discharging the arm, so that it could eat the bait without danger. That such stories are false goes without saying.

Not being plentiful in any one locality the animals are seldom trapped and what few are caught are taken when they are visiting camps or while robbing the traps of the bait and catch Trapping them at all times is difficult work, owing to the natural wariness of the animal. That the trap must be well concealed and that the animal must be taken when off its guard will be evident to all. The No. 4 trap should be used and only those which have strong springs, as the wolverine possesses great strength.

The animals are not sought by the trapper and he may consider himself lucky if there are none of them on his trapping ground. When they are found, the trapper's aim is to get rid of them and the most certain way appears to be by means of poison. When they visit the traps a fair portion of strychnine placed in the bait will usually bring the desired result.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Pocket Gopher.]

CHAPTER XX.

THE POCKET-GOPHER.

The pocket-gopher is found throughout the Mississippi Valley, ranging westward into Colorado and Wyoming, southward into Mexico, and northward into the prairie region of Canada. They are also found in Alabama, Georgia and Florida. They appear to be most abundant in those states bordering on the Mississippi River. There are a number of different varieties, but as their habits are the same, a description of the Prairie pocket-gopher, will be sufficient.

This animal measures, when full grown, about eight inches from the end of the nose to the base of the tail. The tail is about two and a half inches long, and thinly covered with hair. The color is a liver brown, somewhat lighter on the under parts; the feet white. The legs are very short; the feet armed with large claws, adapted to digging.

The head is large, no neck being visible. The eyes and ears are very small. The incisors are large and chisel shaped, for cutting roots.

On each side of the face and neck are large pouches, having no opening into the mouth. These pouches are not used for carrying dirt, as is commonly supposed, but are only used for carrying food. The animals known as the "grey-gopher" and the "striped-gopher" are no gophers at all, but species of ground squirrels.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Burrow of Pocket Gopher.]

The gopher is a burrowing animal and is seldom seen above ground.

They are working almost all of the time, during the spring, summer and fall, extending the burrows in search of food. They also work in winter, when the ground is not frozen, and it is supposed that they also work under the frozen ground, when it is not frozen too deep.

They are most active in the fall when they are storing up food for winter.

The burrows will be found from six to twelve inches beneath the surface of the ground, the usual depth being about eight inches. At irregular distances along the burrow, the animal makes a short branch pa.s.sage leading up to the surface, where it deposits the dirt dug from the main pa.s.sage, in the form of a mound. After the dirt is all thrown out, it closes the branch pa.s.sage, packing the ground in solidly, so that the only visible signs of the burrow are the mounds of ground. There is a good reason why the animal should be so careful to keep the pa.s.sage closed, for they have a number of enemies besides man. Its most dangerous enemies are, perhaps, the little spotted skunk or civet cat and the bull snake, as both of these creatures, once they get inside of the burrow, follow its course until they find their victim.

The food of the gopher consists mostly of roots of plants but they often cut the roots of fruit trees. They are particularly destructive to alfalfa, and the loss to farmers, caused by these animals, is considerable, not only from the plants destroyed by having the roots cut, but also from the plants buried under the mounds, and from the fact that the mounds interfere with the cutting of the crop. The fur is of no value, but owing to the destructiveness of the animals, land owners are very anxious to be rid of them. In many places a bounty is paid on the gopher, so that they may be profitably trapped when fur-bearing animals are of no value.

The traps recommended for the gopher are the No. 0 steel trap and some of the various choker traps made especially for this use. In setting steel traps, select the freshest mound, and by examining closely, one can usually tell which way the dirt was thrown out, and will know on which side to look for the burrow. A handy tool is a slender, pointed iron rod to use as a probe in searching for the burrow. Having located the pa.s.sage, open it up and set the trap on the bottom, sinking it down until level. Cover it lightly with dirt, and close the hole by laying a small piece of board, or a s.h.i.+ngle over the opening, covering with ground.

The trap should be fastened with a stick, and the same stick will serve as a marker, so that one can easily find the trap. A small spade or a heavy garden trowel will be needed for digging and for convenience, the traps, stakes, etc., may be carried in a large basket. The regular gopher traps, mentioned above, are more easily set than steel traps and printed directions for setting usually accompany the traps. They should be set at one side of the burrow, on a level with the bottom and with the mouth of the trap just even with the side of the pa.s.sage. Just a little light should be allowed to penetrate from behind, and all other parts should be closed, so as to exclude light.

The gopher, in coming along the pa.s.sage, sees the light and goes to investigate, when it will be caught in the trap. If too much light shows up, he does not go close to look at it, but immediately brings a load of dirt and proceeds to close the hole, thus burying the trap.

All loose dirt should be removed from the burrow before setting the trap, as otherwise the gopher will gather up the dirt as it approaches the light, and shove it into the trap.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Cottontail Rabbit.]

CHAPTER XXI.

THE RABBIT.

While the rabbit is cla.s.sed among the fur-bearing animals, the skin having a slight market value, very few of the trappers ever market the skins as the price is so little that trapping the animals for their fur would not be a lucrative business.

The flesh is much used as food by the northern hunters and trappers, and also as bait for traps, and it is well for the trapper to know something about the animal and how to capture it.

Properly speaking there are no rabbits in North America, the animals known by that name being cla.s.sed by naturalists as hares, but the name is so universally used that it would be useless now to try to bring the true name into general use.

There are many species, one or more of which will be found in almost every locality of North America, but the most important species are the common cottontail, the jack rabbit and the snowshoe rabbit, or varying hare. Of these there are many varieties, but they are so similar in appearance and habits that I do not consider it necessary or advisable to go into detail in describing them in a work of this kind.

Rabbits belong to the cla.s.s known as rodents or gnawing animals, and are distinctly different in structure from all other animals of the cla.s.s. The long hind legs, long ears, small tail and soft fur is characteristic of the genus.

The common cottontail is found in almost all parts of the United States, in certain parts of the north only, being replaced by the snowshoe rabbit. They are smaller than the snowshoe and jack rabbits and are of a grayish brown on the back and sides shading to white on the under parts. The fur is a reddish brown in summer.

Their food consists of gra.s.ses, fruits and vegetables, bark, and the leaves of evergreen shrubs such as the laurel. They are especially fond of fruits, sweet apples being a favorite food, and are also partial to cabbage.

Their favorite haunts are the brushy, wooded bottom lands but they are also found on the hills and mountains; in fact, in almost any place where they can find food and shelter.

The snowshoe rabbit replaces the cottontail in Canada and the most northern portions of the United States. As before mentioned they are larger than the common rabbits and like the northern weasel the color of their fur varies with the seasons. The summer coat is a reddish brown, but when the cold weather comes on in the fall they commence to take on a white color, the fur of the ears and legs being the first to change and in a few weeks the animal will be perfectly white. This is nature's provision for the animal's protection, and their color in winter is so nearly like that of the snow that when sitting under some log or clump of brush they are almost invisible.