Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1890-08-01
A PAIR OF WOLVERINES.
THE STRANGE BEAsrs IN THE
PHILADELPHIA Zoo

PHILADELPHIA Zoo
rnx ferror 81 Tr.ppsrs sons Natural
Hissery Fight Worse Than : Grizzly
Bear How This Pair 81 Rare Animals
was Obtained and How They Live.
superintendent Brown, Of the zoologi-
cal garden.i is happy; Head Keeper Byrnes
Il radiant and every under keeper rejects
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 wen regulated wolverines should.
| a visit to the garden brought forth a
most interesting talk from Head Keeper
Byrnes, which was supplemented by .
/ long and accurate scientific description /,
of the gulo luscus, as this animal Is called. /
What is particularly gratifying is the |
l fact that this pair, now in possession Of /
the Philadelphia Geological garden, II |
\ the only pair known to be IN captivity, |
and for that matter no other garden has
i even single specimen
SOME NATURAL HISTORY.
The animal belongs to the badger
4 family and Is extremely shy and retiring
i In disposition It is habitant of the
entire northern hemisphere and Is not
very plentiful in any locality. It 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
ALI Ill. 1<a r.
ferocity and voracity. As far back as 1862
Olaf Maginus, Scandinavian writer,
} mentions the wolverine and tells how,
; after gorging itself with food, it viii try
to squeeze itself between two closely
growing trees to enable it to digest its
meals, after which it viii again return
to devour more.
! Every district nearly gives it a name
and it is indiscriminately called the In
dian devil, the glutton. the quick hatch,
the carcajou-
Linneus 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
r blind in one eye.
3 The western trappers give the vol
Q VERNE reputation for craftiness, cum
r ming and general devi1ishness equaled by
i no other animal They claim that it
!, win fight worse than grizzly bear. In
:. :. fact, a scout Of Superintendent Browns
described to him a fgh. between a VOL
VERNE and she grizzly with two half
grown cubs. in which the wolverine
conquered its opponents, and declared
H., f1,, hoffI<, from
q q tree.
n OF course the shyness and suspicious
l. ness of the animal has much to do with
e these tales, but there is no doubt that il
IS is far more powerful than one would
IS suspect from its size, which is about that
? of half grown setter dog. 1t is terror
. to trappers from the way it viii steal the
a bait from their traps. and If caught vii
= 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
l prudently handled them
HOW THE GARDEN GOT THEM
20 How the Zoo obtained the specimen
III It now has is a most interesting story
e A specimen was sent to the garden SOM
d ten years ago which had been caught ii
r. a trap in Idaho, and had its foot badl.
es torn.
ne This was never put on exhibition, a
it died about half an hour after its arri
81 val, but it was stuffed and is now on ex
n hibition in the superintendent priyat
room Some six years ago as superin
tendent Brown was returning from
~ hunting trip in the west, he stopped il
]. furrier's in Chicago, where he saw
81 wolverines skin. One word led to an
or other, and he made arrangements wit
tie the firm that if they heard of any iv
I'D ones being captured to notify him.
ed The other day he received a Telegram
stating that the father and mother hay
n ing both been shot he could obtain pal
10 of young wolverines if he desired then
Of To receive such news was to a man {
re his energy and decision equivalent
Iy having them, SO in answer TO his PROM
90 reply expressing an earnest desire to g
- them the young animals were sent 0,
~ They arrived in excellent condition an
IT. are now occupying comfortable quartel
hs near the aviary.
I'd Their appetite for small birds, the foe
ny that is given them, has not as yet bee
mt anywhere near satisfied. and they see
gn to well deserve their popular name I
to glutton. In appearance at the presel
Its time they resemble large skunk, ha
- ing the same long body, long hair ar
short legs.
They have a habit of sitting up {
their launches and shading their ey
ais with one paw whenever anything q
itb tracts their attention.
be Head Keeper Byrnes says that thoue
-, they haven't been with him long enoue
~ to notice their habits correctly, yet
- don't believe they are half as bad as tn
- are said to be. Though" he adde
III. '.they did nearly chew up the hand OF
,a1 careless keeper"
~ He is confident that he will be able
- raise them successfully, and even nc
he trots around to their cage and gaz
u affectionately at the pets every t
,ca minutes or so.
- Superintendent Brown explained th'
~ habits and told many tales he had hea
about these beasts and seemed delight
-. at having found specimens of an amin
m, no other geological garden has, or pre-
80 ably will be able to get for some time
80 come Philadelphia Times.