. American animal life . enMr. Coon must be careful or some other prowling forest-dweller will give him a scare. When cold weather comes on, the raccoons curl themselves up and go to sleep; but theydo not sleep all winter as the bears do. I hey sleep a week or so at a time. When a warmspell comes on some of them will venture out, only to go to sleep again with the next coldspell. At the first sign of spring, the raccoon is out in the bogs ami swamps, hunting snakesand frogs. The raccoon is not the only night prowler the tree-dwellers have to fear, for the opossumalso sleeps all day and hunts a
. American animal life . enMr. Coon must be careful or some other prowling forest-dweller will give him a scare. When cold weather comes on, the raccoons curl themselves up and go to sleep; but theydo not sleep all winter as the bears do. I hey sleep a week or so at a time. When a warmspell comes on some of them will venture out, only to go to sleep again with the next coldspell. At the first sign of spring, the raccoon is out in the bogs ami swamps, hunting snakesand frogs. The raccoon is not the only night prowler the tree-dwellers have to fear, for the opossumalso sleeps all day and hunts at night. Yet the two are entirely different. The opossum hasa tail which he can twist around the limb of a tree, while he hangs down to rob nests orgather fruits. He lives principally upon insects, fruits, nuts, berries, mice and bugs; but heloves sweet potatoes and other things that he can steal from the farmyard. No wonderfarmers eet discouraged when the wild folk make their homes on his farm! CANADA LYNX AND PORCUPINE. I IK flat-faced, savage Canadian lynx, with its great muscular legs, travels with silent leaps over the snow in winter or amid dry leaves, without making the slight-est noise, in summer and fall. His soft, gray fur hides him so well that it is hardto see him, even at short distances; but the wood folk know they have him tofear, and as they love their wild lite as well as their enemy, the lynx, loves his,they keep a sharp lookout for this silent shadow oi all the cat family, he can climb any tree, and he feasts upon squirrels and birds; orhe stretches himself upon the limb, among the lower branches, and pounces upon anyunwary creature that passes his way. During the long, cold winters he almost starves; for days he can find nothing butscraps that have, perhaps, been cast aside by some hunter during a more plentiful lynx wanders through the dense, dark northern forests, through the long, cold nightsand the short clays, starving, sometimes f
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, booksubjecta, booksubjectzoology
