. The illustrated natural history [microform]. Mammals; Natural history; Mammifères; Sciences naturelles. THE RATET,. 373 coating of fur is now evident. The animal is necessarily exposed to the attacks of the iiiftiiiiited lioes wlicn it lays sicoc to tlieir fastnesses, and if it were not defended by a f'oatini; whicli is iin])en('lrai)le to their stings, it would soon fall a victim to the poisoned weapons of its myriad foes. In every way, th(; liatel is well adajited to the circumstances in wliich it is placed. Kdt being a swift animal, it cannot esi'ape from by its .?])eed ; but if it
. The illustrated natural history [microform]. Mammals; Natural history; Mammifères; Sciences naturelles. THE RATET,. 373 coating of fur is now evident. The animal is necessarily exposed to the attacks of the iiiftiiiiited lioes wlicn it lays sicoc to tlieir fastnesses, and if it were not defended by a f'oatini; whicli is iin])en('lrai)le to their stings, it would soon fall a victim to the poisoned weapons of its myriad foes. In every way, th(; liatel is well adajited to the circumstances in wliich it is placed. Kdt being a swift animal, it cannot esi'ape from by its .?])eed ; but if it can gain but a few minutes' respite, it can sink itself into tlu; ground by the vigorous action of its powerful paws, and thus can avoid the attacks of almost any antagonist. Should it be overtaken before it can reach its accustonu'd home, or dig a new one, it throws itself on its back, aiul uses its teeth and claws with sucji force that it will beat off any ordinary antagonist. The extreme looseness of its .skin renders it a very furmidable condjatant, for when it is seized by any ])art of its body, it can turn rcnind, as it were, in its skin, and fix its teeth most unexpectedly in tlie body of its foe. J'artly for this reason, and partly fiom the singular endurance of its nature, the â Ci. ;. Please note that these images are extracted from scanned page images that may have been digitally enhanced for readability - coloration and appearance of these illustrations may not perfectly resemble the original Wood, J. G. (John George), 1827-1889. London : Routledge, Warne, and Routledge
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, booksubjectmammals, booksubjectnaturalhistory
