The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1905-06-16
SLOW MINK
Can Run Down a Rabbit Because
the Latter Is Greatly
Frightened.


The ways of life of the weasel or
bIoodsucker are not fully under
stood, and their way of killing rab-
bits in particular presents most in
teresting problems. How did the
minks manage to catch them? In
every case the rabbit was apparent
ly 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 a
dance hall floor. Whatever him
drance 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 their peculiar,
measuring-wOrm gait takes them
along about as fast as 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; it
would look almost as if some un-
known law of nature made him the
prey of minks, as if he felt that was
his destiny and did not try to escape
from it. In the cases we observed,
the jumps of the rabbit grew short
er and shorter until it became little
more than a helpless hop. The
marks in the snow indicated that
the mink was not being dragged by
the rabbit, but that the mink did
not overtake his victim until the lat
ter, for no apparent reason, had
given up the race. And yet fox
seldom catches a rabbit and probab-
ly 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 explanation can be offered
Why so slow-running an animal as a
mink or weasel can catch as swift an
animal as rabbit.
We know the mink does not tire
out the rabbit by following him leis-
lrely, maintaining his slower gait
relentlessly, 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 rabbit
has, in common with other small
rodents, that terrible. demoralizing
Or panicky fear Of all Of the weasel
family "a fear so great and be-
wildering that once a mink is on its
trail the rabbit Becomes paralyzed
with it, and instinctively knowing
that he cannot escape by running in
a hole, gives up.
If this is so, there j. a law in ma
lure that we DO not fully under
stand. A law akin 90 tina; which
makes a rabbit coward and wood
chuck brave to his dying gasp. a
ferret put into a gray squirrels hole
was at once driven out by the indig-
nant squirrel. 4 rabbit has as sharp
teeth as a squire. and surely might
defend itself a. well as a younG
woodchuck. Yet the latter will face
unfinching two dogs and man.
After his back is br0aken and 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 it could
Just as well elude as not. l. seems
almost as if the rabbit were meant
for food for other animals. Nature
having given him great reproductive
powers and unlimited food and then
ssiddled him with some strange ia
taljty that makes him play his part,
in spite of himself. in the general
scheme of wild life