Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-21
MINK AND RABBIT.
CottontaiI Has a Panicky Fear Of His
Enemy.

Joha Burroughs. In Outing.
The ways of life of the weasel or blood
sucker. not fully understood. and the
killing OF these rabbits. In particular, pre-
scented most interesting problems. How did
the minks manage to catch them7 In every
case the rabbit was apparently run down In
fair, open running. In one case in particu-
lar the mink had chased the rabbit across
a celery swamp, as smooth and level as a
dance hall floor. Whatever hindrance there
was In the foot of snow would have him
dered the mink more than the rabbit The
mink Is as slow a runner the rabbit Is
swift have seen minks run several times,
and there peculiar. measurng-worm gait
takes them along about as fast as a man
can run. The rabbit cannot only go with
incredible speed. but can course for hours
And yet the mink is able to run down the
swift rabbit The rabbit seems to give UP
the race! 1t would look almost as IL some
unknown law of nature made him the prey
OF minks, as IL he felt that was his destiny,
and did not try to escape from 1t. In the
case We observed. the jump of the rabbit
grew shorter and shorter until Ii became
little more than helpless hop. The marks
in the snow indicated that the mink
not being dragged by the rabbit. but that
the mink did not overtake his victim until
the latter. for no apparent reason. had given
up the race. And yet a fox seldom catches
a rabbit, and probably never in open run
ming.
HIGH IL WouiU SeeTl as IL THESE DloOu-
suckers have some power of which we know
nothing. AS it is. only one explanation can
be offered why so slowrunning animal
as a mink. or weasel. can catch as swift an
animal as rabbit.
We know that the mink does not tire out
the rabbit by following him lesurely, MAIN
tanning his slower gait relentlessly. never
giving his victim a chance to eat, and so
by the slow, sure process of work and worry
wearing out poor bunny.
Hence II must be that the rabbit has, in
common with other small rodents, that ter
rible, demoraliZing panicky fear of all
OF the weazel family-a fear so great and
bewldering that once a mink is on its trail
the rabbit becomes paralyZed with Ii, and
instinctively knowing that he cannot es-
cape by running in hole. gives up.
If this is so, then there is a law In nature
that we do not fully understand. A law
akin to that which makes a rabbit a cow
ard and woodchuck brave to his dying
gasp. A ferret put into a gray squirrels
hole was at once driven out by the indig-
nant squirrel. A rabbit has sharp teeth
as squirrel and surely might defend it
self as we'll as young woodchuck. Yet
the latter will face unfiinching two logs
and a man. After his back is broken, ard
he is helpless, will he hold up his head and
whistle a fierce defiance. Yet a rabbit Will
not even try to escape. apparently, from an
animal 1t could Just well elude as notl
1t seems almost as IL the rabbit were meant
for food for other animals. Nature having
given him great reproductive powers and
unlimited food and then saddled him with
some strange fatality that makes him play
his part in spite of himself. In the general
scheme of wild life.