Trapped civet cats rarely dig holes near the traps, as striped skunks often do. One caught near Ocean Park, Pacific County, did dig a hole beneath a log and forced earth and leaves over the entrance. I walked within a few feet of the animal in searching for the trap. Not until the trap chain was seen did I find the civet cat. None was taken in traps set in mountain beaver burrows, although I have caught both striped skunks and weasels in such burrows. Some trappers state that the musk of the civet cat smells different from that of the striped skunk. I think the odor is slightly more acrid and that it does not carry so far as the skunk musk. The civet cat is far more active and nervous than the striped skunk. Whereas the striped skunk almost never throws its scent when trapped, the civet cat almost invariably does so, apparently when the trap closes about its legs. Striped skunks in traps move slowly and steadily but civet cats jump, roll and squirm erratically. [Illustration: FIG. 64. Distribution of the civet cat in Washington. A. _Spilogale gracilis latifrons._ B. _Spilogale gracilis saxatilis._] In the winter of 1934 a large male civet cat was taken near Cottage Lake, King County. It had been killed and partially eaten in the trap. The ground about the set was torn up, indicating that the civet cat had put up a fight. The area for many feet about smelled of skunk musk. The body of the civet cat was used for bait and the trap reset. The following morning a large male striped skunk was in the trap. Its skin bore superficial cuts in several places about its neck and rump, and it was doubtless the animal that had killed the civet cat. Under ordinary circumstances a striped skunk could scarcely catch the far swifter and more agile civet cat. One civet cat in a trap was killed and partly eaten by a horned owl. Save for dislodging a few feathers, the civet cat seemed to have done little damage to the owl. The thick cover inhabited by the civet cat ordinarily protects it from owls. Dead civet cats run over by cars on the highway are rarely seen. The stomach of a specimen from Ocean Park, Pacific County, contained the remains of three red-backed mice (_Clethrionomys_ _californicus_). The stomachs of most specimens trapped were empty. Mice, birds and insects probably constitute the bulk of the food. Notes on the early life of _Spilogale interrupta_, a species related to the one occurring in Washington, have been published by Crabb (1944: 213-221). The fur of the civet cat is of little value; in recent years trappers have received from fifteen cents to a dollar for large pelts. Because of its habit of throwing scent when in the traps, most trappers discard the animals without skinning them. =Spilogale gracilis saxatilis= Merriam _Spilogale saxatilis_ Merriam, N. Amer. Fauna, 4:13, October 8, 1890. _Spilogale gracilis saxatilis_ Howell, N. Amer. Fauna, 26:23, November 24, 1906.