The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1905-09-09
MINK. AND RABBIT ENEMIES
WHY the Cottontail Has a Panicky
Fear CT His Less Swift
Pursuer.

The ways Of life If the weasel, or
bIoodsucker. a.e not fully understood,
and the killing OF these rabbits, in par
~ticular. presented most interesting
problems, writes John Burroughs, II
Outing. How did the minks manage tc
catch them? In every case the rabbit
was apparently u down IN ar, open
running. In enc case in particular the
mink had chased the rabbit across a
celery swamp, as smooth and level as
a dance hall floor. Whatever hlndranCe
there was in the foot OF snow WouId
have hindered the mink more thar the
rabbit. The mink IS as slow a runner
as the rabbit is swift. | have seer
minks run several times, n their Pc
culiar, measuring-worm gait takes
them along about as fast as a man Can
run. The rabbit cannot only go with
incredible speed, but can course lor
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 it. III the
case we observed, the jump OF the
rabbit grew shorter and shorter until
it became little more than a helpless
hop. The marks in the snow indicat-
ed that the mink was not being
dragged by the rabbit, but hat the
mink did not Overtake his victim until
the latter, for no apparent reason, had
given up the race. And yet a fox sell
dom catches a 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 n ex-
PLANTATION can be offered why SO slow
running an animal as a mink, or
weasel, can catch as swift an animal
as a rabbit.
We know that 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 Ike slow, sure
process of work and worry wearing
out poor bunny.
11CACC II 1luoL NC INA Ian oDOA
mas. in common with other small ro-
dents, that terrible. demoralizing or
panicky fear of all of the weaZel fam
ily-a fear so great and bewildeTlng
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
it UP.
If this is so. then there is a law in
nature that we do not fully under
stand. A law akin to that which
makes a rabbit a coward and a wood
chuck brave to his dying gasp. A fer
ret put into a gray squirrels hole was
at once driven out by the indignant
squirrel. A rabbit mas as sharp teeth
as a squirrel, and surely might defend
itself as we'll as a young wOodcnuck.
Yet the latter will face unfiinching two
dogs and a man. After his back is
broken. and he is helpless, will he hold
I'D his head and whistle a fierce de-
fance. Yet a rabbi will not even try
TO escape. apparently, from an animal
it could lust as well elude as not. 1t
seems almost as if the rabbit were
meant for food for other animals. Ma
ture having given him great reproduc-
tive 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.