Animal life of the British Isles : $b a pocket guide to the mammals, reptiles and batrachians of wayside and woodland — John Shaqi
Animal life of the British Isles : $b a pocket guide to the mammals, reptiles and batrachians of wayside and woodlandStep, Edward
History
Animal life of the British Isles : $b a pocket guide to the mammals, reptiles and batrachians of wayside and woodland
Step, Edward
Animals -- Great Britain
The Fox is credited with resorting to a species of hypnotism to attain
his ends. Seeing a party of rabbits feeding, and knowing that they
will bolt to their holes on his approach, he starts rolling about at
a safe distance to attract their attention; then like a kitten he will
begin chasing his tail, whilst the silly rabbits gaze, spellbound, on
the performance. At it the Fox continues without a pause, as though
oblivious to the presence of spectators; but all the time he is
contriving to get nearer, until a sudden straightening of his body
enables him to grab the nearest rabbit in his jaws.
The Foxes of the northern hill country are a finer race than those of
the southern woodlands. This, of course, is due to the fact that every
man's hand is against them, and it is only the individuals of great
cunning and superior physique that survive to continue their kind.
Dental formula: _i 3/3, c 1/1, p 4/4, m 2/3 = 42_.
*Badger* (_Meles taxus_, Boddaert).
In the old forestal days of Britain the Badger, Brock, Bawsen or Grey
must have been a common beast. Like the Beaver--also a former British
beast--he has left indelible marks in place-names, such as Brockham,
Brockenhurst, Brockley, Brockholes, and many more. In the present day,
by the majority of people, the Badger would be regarded almost as one of
the extinct native fauna, only to be read of in books. But it is very
far from being extinct; and the London naturalist who is determined to
see it may have his wish gratified with a journey of no more than five
and twenty miles, possibly less. It must be remembered, however, that
the Badger is even more nocturnal in his habits than the Fox, retiring
at dawn to his "set" deep in the earth, where he sleeps until dusk.
This underground hollow may be ten feet or more below the surface,
and besides the entrance slope it may have several passages and upper
galleries, with probably a back door at some distance from the main
entrance. In front of this aperture, and partly hiding it, is a mound
of earth that was turned out when the excavation was made, and the size
of this mound may be taken as an indication of the depth and extent of
the habitation. It is no unusual thing for some of the upper passages
communicating with the entrance to be tenanted by Foxes and--Rabbits!
The proximity of the Badger's "set" may be ascertained sometimes, when
rambling through the woods, by coming across a beech or birch tree whose
smooth bark is scored vertically, and an idea of the size of the Badger
may be obtained by noting the length of these marks. They are caused
by the Badger "up-ending" and stretching his limbs to the full extent
whilst he cleans and sharpens his claws, as the domestic cat does hers
on a table leg. The scores of the Badger cubs may be found there also.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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