The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-06-25
SLOW MINK
Can Run Down Rabbit Because Great.
ly Frightened.
From Outing.

From Outing.
The ways of life Of the weasel or
bloodsucker are not fully understood. and
the killing of these rabbits in particular
presented most interesting problems.
How did the minks manage to catch
them2 In every case the rabbit WAS
apparently run down in fair, open run
ming. 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 hindranoe there
was in the foot of snow would have hin
dered the mink more than the rabbit.
The mink is as slow a runner the rab-
bit is swift. I have seen minks run sew
eral times and their peculiar, measuring
worm gait takes them along about as fast
as n 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 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 II. In the
cases We Observed the jumps of the
| rabbit grew shorter and shorter until IL
| 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 latter for
| no apparent reason, had given up the
/ race. And yet a fox seldom catches
rabbit and probably never in open run
| ming.
Then II would seem as If these blood
/ suckers have some power Of which we
know nothing As it Is, only one expla-
nation can be offered why so slow-run-
| ming an animal as a mink or weasel can
| catch as swift an animal as a rabbit.
We know the mink does not tire out
the rabbit by following him leisurely,
maintaining his slower gait relentlesslY.
never giving his victim a chance to eat
and so by the slow, sure process of work
and worry wearing our 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 famiy-a fear so great
and bewiderng that once mink Is on
its trail the rabbit becomes paralYzed
with 1t. and instinctively knowing that
he cannot escape by running in hole,
gives up.
If this is so. then there Is a law in ma
ture that we do not fully understand.
law akin to that which makes rabbit a
coward and woodehuek brave TO his
dying gasp A ferret put into 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 well as a young
woodchuck Yet the latter will face I'M
| hinehingly two dogs and a man. After
| his back is broken and he Is helpless,
| will he hold up his head and whistle
| n fierce defiance. Yet a rabbit VIII 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. Ma
ture having given him great reproduet-
| i've 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.