Skunk
(Mephitis mephitica)
The skunk is known at once by its black coat with white stripes, its immense bushy tail tipped with white, and its size, nearly that of a cat. It weighs three to seven pounds. It ranges from Virginia to Hudson Bay. In the Northwest is a larger kind weighing twice as much and with black tip to tail. Various kinds range over the continent south of latitude 55 degrees. It is harmless and beautiful. The smell gun for which it is famous is a liquid musk; this is never used except in the extreme of self-defence.
Badger
Badger
(Taxidea taxus)
The common badger is known by its general whitish-gray color, the black and white markings on the head, the black paws, and the strong claws for digging. It weighs from twelve to twenty-two pounds. That is, it is about the size of a 'coon. {141} It is found in all the prairie and plains country from the Saskatchewan Valley to Mexico and from Wisconsin to the Pacific.
Racoon
Raccoon
(Procyon lotor)
The 'coon looks like a small gray bear with a bushy ringed tail and a large black patch on each eye. Its paws look like hands, and it has the full number of five fingers or toes on each extremity. It is found in all wooded regions from Manitoba south to Mexico and from Atlantic to Pacific, except the desert and Rocky Mountain region.