The badger (Meles taxus or Meles vulgaris) or brock is an omnivorous mammal of the family Mustelidae, allied both to the bears and to the weasels, of a clumsy make, with short thick legs, and long claws on the fore-feet. found in England and Europe. It is a nocturnalanimal about 90 centimetres in length with a pointed nose and of a blackish-grey colour with white markings over its head. The badger has a very thick tough hide, and long coarse hair, it is indolent and sleepy, feeds by night on vegetables, small quadrupeds, etc. Its flesh may be eaten, and its hair is used for artists' brushes in painting and for quality shaving brushes. The American badger belongs to a separate genus. Research Badger
The mink is two species of carnivorous mammal of the family Mustelidae; the American Mink (Mustela vison) and the Siberian Mink (Mustela siberica). It is semi-aquatic, burrowing on the banks of rivers and ponds and eating frogs and fish. Research Mink
The skunk (Mephitis) is a north and central American carnivorous mammal of the family Mustelidae. The skunk is slightly smaller than a domestic cat, and has a handsome black coat with two white stripes running along the back. The tail is long and bushy, measuring about 45 cm when the body is 60 cm long. The skunk's fur was formerly much valued in the furtrade, and at the start of the 20th century skunks were bred at a farm in Northumberland, England to supply the British furtrade. The skunk can emit an offensive odour, when annoyed, from the secretion of a pair of glands near the tail. Research Skunk
The stoat (Mustela Erminea) is a carnivorous mammal of the weasel family Mustelidae found over temperate Europe, but common only in the north,. Stoats are quick, strong and adept hunters. In winter, the stoat's reddish-brown above coat turns a white colour. In both states the tip of the tail is black. A stoat with a white winter coat is called an ermine. The stoat has a body about 25 cm long, with a tail about 10 cm long. The female is smaller than the male, about 20 cm long in the body. Stoats live in hollow trees and in holes in banks, where they build a nest of grass and leaves for the young which are born around April. Stoats feed on mice, rats, voles, hares and rabbits. Like many other species of this genus the stoat has the faculty of ejecting a fluid of a musky odour. Its fur is short, soft, and silky; the best skins being brought from Russia, Sweden, and Norway. Stoat fur and particularly ermine were formerly in great demand; it was formerly one of the insignia of royalty, and is still used by judges. When used as linings of cloaks the black tuft from the tail is sewed to the skin at irregular distances. Research Stoat
The weasel (Mustela vulgaris) is a carnivorous mammal of the family Mustelidae. It feeds mainly on voles, rats and mice. The colour is a deep brown above and white below, and the body is snake-like allowing the animal to worm its way through dense undergrowth and into the holes of its prey. Research Weasel
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Badger
