Johnstown weekly Democrat. (Johnstown, Cambria County, Pa.) 1889-1916, 1890-06-13
A PAIR OF WOLVERINES.
THE STRANGE BEASTS IN THE
PHILADELPHIA zoo.

The Terror of Trappers-some Natural
History-Fight Morse Than q Grizzly
Bear-How This Pair of Rare Animals
Was Obtained and How They Live.
Superintendent Brown. of the Zoologi.
cal garden, is happy; Head Keeper Byrnes
is radiant and every under keeper reflects
the happiness and cheerfulness of their
superiors. A pair of wolverines has been
received at the garden and bid fair to live,
grow and otherwise conduct themselves
as well regulated wolverines should.
A visit to the garden brought forth
most interesting talk from Head Keeper
Byrnes, which was supplemented by
long and accurate scientific description
of the gulo luseus, as this animal is called.
What is particularly gratifying is the
fact that this pair, now in possession of
the Philadelphia Geological garden, is
the only pair known to be in captivity,
and for that matter no other garden has
even single specimen.
SOME NATURAL HISTORY.
The animal belongs to the badger
family and is extremely shy and retiring
in disposition. 1t is habitant of the
entire northern hemisphere and is not
very plentiful in any locality 1t has
been known to biologists for long time,
yet about it have been related more mar
velous tales than even of the salamander
or chameleon.
All over the world where it is found
native hunters tell incredible tales of its
ferocity and voracity. AS far back as 1862
Olaf Maginus, Scandinavian writer
mentions the wolverine and tells how,
after gorging itself with food, it will try
to squeeze itself between two closely
growing trees to enable it to digest its
meals, after which it will again return
to devour more
Every district nearly gives it name
and it is indiscriminately called the In
dian devil, the glutton, the quick hatch,
the carcajou.
Linnaus describes the animal under
the name of the one eyed glutton, and
the term one eyed is supposed to have
come from the fact that the only speci-
men he ever saw or heard described was
blind in one eye.
The western trappers give the vol
VERNE a reputation for craftiness, cum
ming and general devilishness equaled by
no other animal They claim that it
will fight worse than a grizzly bear In
fact. a scout of Superintendent Browns
described to him fight between a vol
VERNE and IA she grizzly with two half
grown cubs. in which the wolverine
conquered its opponents, and declared
that he witnessed the whole battle from
tree.
OF course the shyness and suspicious
ness of the animal has much to do with
these tales, but there is no doubt that it
is far more powerful than one would
suspect from its size, which is about that
Of half grown setter dog. 1t is a terror
to trappers from the way it will steal the
bait from their traps, and if caught will
fight desperately.
The little ones at the garden now have
already proved their ferocity by chewing
the hands of two of the keepers who i'm
prudently handled them.
HOW THE GARDEN GOT THEM.
it now has is a most interesting story
A specimen was sent to the garden some
ten years ago which had been caught in
a trap in Idaho, and had its foot badly
torn.
This was never put on exhibition, as
it died about half an hour after its arri-
val, but it was stuffed and is now on ex-
hibition in the superintendent private
room. Some six years ago as superin-
tendent Brown was returning from
hunting trip in the west, he stopped in
furriers in Chicago, where he saw
wolverines skin. One word led to an
other, and he made arrangements with
the firm that if they heard of any live
ones being captured to notify him.
The other day he received a telegram
stating that the father and mother hav-
ing both been shot he could obtain pair
of young wolverines if he desired them
To receive such news was to a man of
his energy and decision equivalent to
having them, so in answer to his prompt
reply expressing an earnest desire to get
them the young animals were sent on.
They arrived in excellent condition and
are now occupying comfortable quarters
near the aviary.
Their appetite for small birds, the food
that is given them, has not as yet been
anywhere near satisfied, and they seem
to well deserve their popular name of
glutton. IN appearance at the present
time they resemble a large skunk, hav-
ing the same long body, long hair and
short legs.
They have a habit of sitting up on
their launches and shading their eyes
with one paw whenever anything at
tracts their attention.
Head Keeper Byrnes says that though
they haven't been with him long enough
to notice their habits correctly, vet he
don't believe they are half as bad as they
are said to be. Though" he added,
"they did nearly chew up the hand of
careless keeper"
He is confident that he will be able to
raise them successfully, and even now
trots around to their cage and gazes
affectionately at the pets every ten
minutes or so.
Superintendent Brown explained their