Omaha daily bee., 1922-02-26
Woods. and
|WatersE BseSER R6a
RingtaiI Is Valuable
Fur Bearer.

TOT many American ANIMALS
M are as we'll known and as III
~ tcresting in their habits as
the common raccoon. Found in
most all the wooded areas OF the
United States, the coon furnishes
heap of sport for the follow who
likes to sally forth at night with q
pack of dogs in search of this scrap
per. and his pelt also means nice
little sum TO the trapper, as coon
fur is one of the most staple.
Old ringtaii is a night prowlcr and
only occasionally do you run onto
him during the day. Daylight usu-
ally finds him curled up asleep in
some hollow tree, as the coon is an
expert climber and commonly has
his den in some hole in a tree. But
these animals spend great deal OF
their time foraging and hunting on
the ground and they usually seek
the shores of lake or wooded
stream as the coon sure does love
the water.
Ringtail's likes and dislikes in the
way of food show a wide variety
and at times excellent taste. For ex-
ample, when green corn is ripe, he
scorns the crawfish and clans of the
stream, and makes raid on a near
by field to enjoy succulent corn. Oc-
casionally he will visit the farmers
poultry yard by way of varying his
menu of nuts, fruits, frogs and
clans.
But no matter what the food, if
he is near water, the raccoon pulls
a most peculiar and unique stunt.
He washes that food very thorough
ly before eating it. .
No wonder they call ringtail in
teresting and intelligent. He is even
more than that. He is one OF the
most curious and inquisitive ami
mails imaginable. Every strange OBJ
ject fascinates him, and he must in
vestigate-often to his sorrow. This
curiosity is taken advantage of by
the trapper and results in many a
coon being caught.
A common layout to bag Mr.. Coon
is to set trap under water. The
trapper makes his set in shallow
water, as a coon follows stream
persistently. In fact, in some local
tiles where coons are common, these
animals make regular trails along
stream. If the stream is shallow,
the trap is placed in three or four
inches of water, and attached to
a stake under water.
No bait is necessary, but here is
how the coon falls for this set. A
piece of shiny tin is fastened to
the pan Of the trap, or better yet,
a bright, shiny tin fish-and the
set is complete. Once the animal
sees this attractive, shiny, strange
object in the water, its goodby
coon, as he can't nelp investigating,
and before he gets through snoop-
ing around, he is caught.
1t seems queer that you can catch
raccoons with looking glass, but
it can be done my making an un-
derwater set and then instead Of put
ting pan on the trap, place around
the trap broken. bits of a looking
glass. These shiny pieces seldom
fail to draw curious, investigating
raccoon.
With good raccoon pelt worth
as high at $40, the value of these
animals from an economic stand
point can easily be figured, as thous- |
ands are trapped each season. One |
can compute the value of coon
oelt, but it is difficult to estimate
he value in dollars of the sport ring |
all furnishes each year TO hunters.
QUILL have to ask a dyed-inthe-
WOOL coon hunter low much coon
lunt is worth. And he'll probably
ay sl.000.000