Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1905-07-15
MINK Alo KA3z1-.
cottoBtail Has a Panicky Fear Of His
Enemy.

The ways of life of the weasel. or
blood-sucker, are not fully understood.
and the killing of these rabbits, in par
ticular, presented most interesting prob
lens. How did the minks manage TO
catch them? In every case the rabbit
was apparently run down in fair. open
running. In one case in particular the
mink had chased the RABBIT across a
celery swamp, as smooth and level as
dance hall floor. Whatever hindrance
there was in the foot of snow would
have hindered the mink more than the
rabbit. The mink is as slow q runner as
the rabbit is swift. | have seen minks
run several times. and there peculiar.
measuring worm gait takes them along
about as fast as man can run. The
rabbit cannot olly so with incredible
speed, but can course for hours. And
vet the mink Is able to run down the
swift rabbit! The rabbit seems to give
up the race! 1t would look almost as if
some unknown law of nature made him
the prey of minks, as if he felt that was
his destiny, and did not try to escape
from if. In the case we observed. the
jump of the rabbit grew shorter and
shorter until it became little more than
helpless hop. The marks in the snow
indicated that the mink was not being
dragged 10y the rabbit, but that the mink
did not oyertake his victim until the lat
ter, for no apparent reason. had given
up the race. And yet a fox seldom
catches rabbit, and probably never in
open running.
Then it would seem as if these blood
suckers have some power of which we
know nothing. AS it is, only one ex-
PLANTATION can be offered why SO slow
rUnning an animal as a mink or weasel
can catch as swift an animal as rab-
bit.
2 ,o+ =
out the rabbit by following him leisure
ly, maintaining his slower gait reent-
lessly, never giving his victim chance
to eat, and so by the slow, sure process
of work and worry wearing out poor
bunny.
Hence it must be that the habbit has.
in common with other small rodents.
that terrible, demoralizing or panicky
fear of all of the weasel family-a fear
so great and bewildering that once a
mink is on its trail the rabbit becomes
paralyZed with it, and instinctiveiy
knowing that he cannot escape by run
ming in Il 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 Il rab-
hit a coward and a woOdchuck brave TO
his dying gasp. A ferret put into a
gray squirrels hole was at once driven
out by the indignant squirrel a rabbit
has as sharp teeth as squirrel. and
surely might defend itself as we'll as a
young woodchuck. Yet the latter will
face unfinching two dogs and a man.
After his back is broken and he is help
less. will he hold up his head and whistle
fierce defiance, Yet a rabbit will not
even try to escape, apparently, from an
animal it could just as we'll elude as
not. 1t seems almost as if the rabbit
were meant for food for other animals.
Nature having given him great repro
ductive powers and unlimited food and
then sadded him with some strange ia
tally that makes him play his part. in
spite of himself. in the general scheme
of wild life.-John Burroughs in Outing.