The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1897-05-19
WAKE COUNTY'S WILD ANIMALS.
They Number Th;rty-two and Some of
Them Are Very Rare.

Them Are Very Rare.
The following list Of mammals found
| near Raleigh. is based on twelve years of
| mammal collecting in this vicinity, and
| observations made since 1880 on the
| mammals in this locality by Messrs. II
Ia. and G. s. Brimley, taxidermists and
collectors of skins, reptiles and histology
cal skins. They have preserved some
| loo or 1000 specimens as skins, or al
cOholics, besides catching in their trap
ping number of others which were not
preserved. a number of specimens have
been bought from the farm hands en-
ployed in ploughing. or cutting hay, thus
| adding considerably to our knowledge of
| several species. The country lying i'm
| mediately southeast of Raleigh. where
| most Of the collecting was done. is most
ly rolling country, except along Walnut
Creek, where there are considerable
tracts of wet meadow and some good
sized cat-tail swamps. The drier portion
of the country collected over is about
one-half cultivated and the other half
woodland.
The species observed here are as fol
lows:
l. Opossum. TOleraby common. Mr.
Brimley took a litter Of fourteen young
ones. August 4, 1891.
>. Cotton-tail Rabbit Common. The
young of this species are blind at birth
3. Roof Rat. The long-tailed, white
bellied Roof Rat is common here. around
houses and farm buildings, but is not
found away from such places.
T. House Mouse. Common in houses.
and irregufarly distributed throughout
all open fields
;. Cotton Rat. Abundant in the upland
fields, particularly in gardens and in
grain and clover fields. BY far the most
diurnal in its habits of any OF our mice.
6. Golden Mouse. Common in damp
thicketS Nests in reeds, bushes or vines.
Our only arboreal mouse.
{. White-footed Mouse. Abundant ev-
erywhere, except in the wet marshes
Nests in the rotten roots of old stumps
below ground, or in hollows of dead
stumps above ground. a.,..
s. Swamp Mouse. Tolerably common III
the wet marshes and cat-tail swamps
The nest is built in a bush or bulrush
tussock often fifty yeards from land.
Q. Harvest Mouse. Abundant in the
but is not found in woodlands. The few
nests found have been in bulrush tus-
socks in rather damp situations.
10. Pine Mouse Fairly common, found
in the drier parts of woods and fields, and
is more subterranean in its habits than
any of our mice, and ALSO more so than
any of our shrews.
II. Meadow Mouse. Found to great
er or less extent in all open fields but
reaches its greatest abundance in the wet
meadows. 1t is not found in the wood
lands.
II. Musk Rat. Common in marshes and
along the larger streams. A black color
phase or variety occurs which is black
above with lighter under-parts and
cheeks than the common form. The black
form is one-fourth or one-third as COM
mon as the ordinary brown phase.
IL. Southern Gray Squirrel. Tolerably
common in all woodlands. (The Fox
Squirrel is not found here)
H. Flying Squirrel. Common. Strictly
nocturnal.
15.Chipmunk. They are fairly common
about six miles west of Raleigh. but are
totally absent from this immediate neigh
borhood.
16. Jumping Mouse Rare. The one or
two dozen specimens secured here have
come from upland. lowland, woods
and open fields. An adult and eight young
were caught in a net by some field hands,
and broubht here, June Is, 1895
II. Sorex longirostris Rare Only |
seven specimens obtained so far. This
species is found on comparatively high |
of them: it has not so far been taken in
woods. This is the smallest of our mam-
malta.
IS. Little Blarina. Tolerably common.
Is either only abundant in particular Sit |
uations, or else it has become much |
scarcer in the last few years. Is found in
open fields land the edges of the more
upland marshes to some extent.
10. Carolina Blarina. Abundant. This |
species seems to have become more
abundant of late years; its distribution |
here is everywhere, except in the wetter |
20. Common Mole Abundant every
where.
81. Little Brown Bat. Rare. Only two
specimens so far.
%. The Silver Black Bat is rather rare
here. Several times specimens have been |
in hollow trees during winter.
%. Carolina Bat. This and the Red
Bat are our two most abundant bats.
Very common.