Title: Brehm's Life of animals : a complete natural history for popular home instruction and for the use of schools. Mammalia
Identifier: brehmslifeofanim1896breh (find matches)
Year: 1896 (1890s)
Authors: Brehm, Alfred Edmund, 1829-1884; Pechuel-Loesche, Edward, 1840-1913; Haacke, Wilhelm, 1855-1912; Schmidtlein, Richard
Subjects: Mammals; Animal behavior
Publisher: Chicago : Marquis
Contributing Library: Internet Archive
Digitizing Sponsor: Internet Archive

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THE BEAI ER. 323 Long Hiberna- tion of Dor- mice. imitv to them. Being genuine arboreal animals they arc marvelous climbers, even among the thinnest twigs. In August from three to four naked, blind young make their appearance in the ball-shaped summer nest, which is always built in the thickest of bushes and about three feet from the ground. About the middle of October the Dormice retire into the hiding-place where they have stored their win- ter provisions, and prepare a ball-shaped covering made of twigs, foliage, fir-needles, moss and grass; this thev wrap around themselves, curl up into a ball and fall into a still deeper torpidity than do their rela- tives; for one can take them up and roll them around without their giving a sign of life. According to whether the winter be mild or severe, they sleep through six or seven months in a more or less un- broken repose, until the beautiful, warm spring sun awakes them to new life. Zfoc Beaver. THIRD FAMILY: Ca-toride. Though corresponding with the preceding Rodents in many respects, the Beaver differs from them and its other relatives in such marked degree that it must be considered as the representative of an entirely distinct family i Castondic i. The Beaver has at- tracted attention since the earliest times and is frequently mentioned by ancient authors under the name of "Castor" and " Fiber." Vet the old observers of nature impart little knowledge in respect to its habits. The Beaver is now dis- tributed over three con- tinents in regions be- tween the thirty-third and sixty - eighth par- allels of north latitude. The European countries in which it is most fre- quently found are Bos- nia, Russia, particularly in the northern tributa- ries of the Pripet in the Government of Minsk, and Scandinavia, espe- cially Norway. It is much more numerous in Asia than in Europe. It is quite plentiful along the great streams of cen- tral and northern Siberia, and is also said to exist along the rivers flowing into the Caspian Sea. It is certainly found along the tributaries of the Kooban on the northern slope of the Caucasus and in Meso- potamia. In America it was formerly common, bvit its numbers have been greatly diminished by relentless pursuit. Audubon in 1849 mentions only Labrador, Newfoundland, Canada and a few localities in Maine and Massachusetts, as still harboring Beavers, but adds that isolated specimens were still found in vari- ous thinly populated parts of the United States (Since Audubon's time the fauna of the Rocky Mountain regions has become better known, and Beavers have been plentifully found in the western rivers. They still exist in wooded regions on the banks of the Platte and also in other like localities from the Canadian line to Arizona.) Physical Char- The Beaver (Castor fiber) is one of acteristics of the largest Rodents. The body of Beavers. an adult male is from thirty to thirty- eight inches long; the tail measures twelve inches, and the height at the shoulders is about twelve inches. The weight is from forty to sixty pounds. The body is clumsy and strong, the hinder part be- ing considerably thicker than the fore part; the back- is arched, the abdomen pendulous, the neck short and thick, the head broad at the skull and narrow in front, and having a flat top and a short, blunt snout. The legs are short and very sturdy, the hind pair being slightly the longest; the feet are five-toed and the hind ones are furnished with broad webs to the very claws. The tail is round at its root, flat- tened above and below, and about eight inches wide in the middle, rounded above, and nearly sharp edged at the tip. The ears are small and short, fur- clad on both sides and can be folded against the head so as to close the auditory passage almost com-
Text Appearing After Image:
THE COMMON DORMOUSE. —A pretty Rodent famous for its torpidity in tlie winter and its liveliness in the summer months. Tlie animals shown in the picture are appiopriately placed amid arboreal surroundings, and the Dormouse to the right is shown in a Squirrel-like, sitting posture whicn is often assumed by these animals. (Mus- cardinus a: ellanarius. pletely. The small eyes are furnished with lids; the pupil has a vertical position. The nostrils are fleshy and may also be closed like the ears. The fur con- sists of an exceedingly thick, flaky, woolly coat of silky softness and a thin, long outer coat composed of strong, stiff, shining hair, short on the head and rear part of the back, and over two inches long on the rest of the body. The coloring of the upper part is a dark maroon, with more or less of a grayish tint; the lower surface is lighter; the woolly under fur is silvery gray at the root, yellowish brown at

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