The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-03-27

mammals.
OTHER FLYING ANIMALS.
In the darker shades of the forest are
other flying mammals. Bats not only spend
the day beneath loose bark, and in the cav
tiles of trees but often one is found in the
underground hanging head downward from
limb few feet above the ground These
are generally the little brown bat and the
red bat. The young are born in May or
June. During the latter month the old ones
are sometimes found flying and carrying
their offspring. On one occasion a red bat
was found carrying three young. In winter
many caves of southern Indiana and Ken
lucky are winter homes for great numbers
of them.
growth one often finds screech OWL In
spring they seem to occupy the same perch
Tor weeks throughout the daytime. When
ever l find such q spot, / recall the ole
query What is the difference in the way
a hawk or an owl eats its poultry?" The
reply is: "A hawk picks it's poultry before
IL eats. and an owl eats its poultry before it
picks it." The indigestible material, feathers,
bones bones, teeth and and Fl fur, accumulates in the
elected from its mouth. Therefore there is
preserved in the pellets found beneath its
perch more or less permanent record of it's
bill of fare. Much of their food is shown to
be small mammals, particularly mice. Not
only are the large, short-tailed meadow mice,
OF which there are four kinds in Indiana,
their victims but also the white-footed
mouse-the long-tailed form that is reddish
above and white below. All of these are
last mentioned is more numerous. 1 have
found it's nests beneath logs and brush piles,
and twenty feet up in a snag, and they have
been found In tree seVenty-fve feet up.
When the mother moves her family of five
or six, each young mouse seizes teat or
tuft Of hair in its mouth, and the old one
goes rapidly as she can, dragging them
over the rough ground sometimes to quite a
distance.
The runways of all the mice are beneath
the leafy carpet of the forest and under the
Sod of the more open woodland. In similar
mails clad in soft fur and having very small
eyes. They look somewhat like miniature
smallest mammals in the world.
The strangest of our mammals is the
opossum. 1t is the only American repre-
sentative of the interesting family of mar
of the mammals of Australia. It's piglike
head, and smooth tail, by which it grasps
an object and frequently hangs suspended
head downward, at once attract ones at
tention. Sometimes several young will be
found with, their tails coiled about that of
the suspended mother, sitting on her back.
At stroke from a stick the group falls 10
the ground, the old one apparently dead.
Upon turning her over, a peculiar opening
may be observed upon the stomach. This
will be found to be pocket or pouch, in
which, If one will insert his finger, he may
the size of raspberry. Leave the animal
for a little while, and, upon returning, it
will have disappeared. 1t was only feign-
ing death-'"playing. 'possum' They usu-
ally rear two or. three. .broods of young,
numbering from six to thirteen each. They
live chiefly in burrows underground.
1t is common to think of the opossum
as exclusively a Southern mammal-to
think as Irwin Russell expressed it in his
finds de niger, dar's de banjo an de pos
sum-. 1t is common, however, as far
north as southern Indiana, and Occasionally
reaches the northern limits OF that State
and southern New York.
THE RACCOONS HABITS.
The raccoon is a long-tailed bear. It is
the last representative of the bear family
left in the older more thicl1ly-settled por-
tions of our country. 1t is a grayish color,
with a black stripe up it's nose and mark
ings OF the same color around its eyes that
suggests spectacles. The tail is thiclSly COW
cred with hair that stands out all around it.
This makes it look like rounded, club with
four to six bands of black around It. Occa-
sionally individuals are found that are
white, and more rarely a black one is seen
The soles of the raccoon are naked as Tar
back as the heel as wrist. When standing,
the entire foot is on the ground, but in
walking, all the sole does not touch.
Usually the raccoon makes its home IN
localities, occasionally to nest in burrows in
the earth. Its life Is mostly spent above
ground The mating season IN Is IN February ;6t1a
peculiar noise that is often described as
whistle. 1t may be heard by day as well as
at night. Both the raccoon and the opossum
are largely nocturnal in their habits, and
both hibernate in the severest weather.
Four is the usual number of young rae
coons, but sometimes there are six. They
are about one-third grown in June, but are
of good size in the fall. There is a. tradi-
tion in our family that a relative had a cat
with family of kittens which adopted a
small raccoon and nursed it until 1t became
quite large.
most everything that can be eaten. 1t is
very fond of grains Of all kinds, but corn,
particularly when in the roas ting ear
stage, is its favorite food. They also like
birds, poultry, eggs, worms larvae of in
sects, mussels, craytish and hsh. 80 ~
coon and four young were chopped out OF
q hollow beech tree and all We're captured.
One of the young fell to my lot. Kept IL
as a pet most of the summer. 1t soon
to come when called, and to climb to my
pockets and search for cakes and nuts.
which often rewarded its efforts. Finally 1t
escaped. A few days afterward 1T was found
Late in the fall, before the cold winter
days have come, and in February, when
thawing weather often occurs, in some 10
calties in the country coon hunts are Ia
vorite pastimes. A warm, cloudy nght Is
selected. The pleasures of such hunt to
the experienced hunter are great, but the
trials of such an expedition to the inexper1-
enced companion are much greater.
woods. There are the red fox, the gray fox,
the rabbit the woodchuck (also known as
the groundhog), the skunk (Which the hrSt
English colonists wrongly called the pole
cat), and the weasels. Occasionally pad
ger or wolf or wildcat is found These are
chiefly burroWing animals, and are therefore
members of the lowest stratum Of forest
society,"