THE PEKAN.[167]
The Pekan, or Pennant’s Marten, is a North American species. It is much larger than either of the preceding, the body attaining a length of thirty inches from snout to root of tail, while the tail itself is about sixteen inches long. The face is more Dog-like than that of the Common Marten; the skin is brown, becoming lighter in the front part of the back, and presenting white patches on the chest and belly.
Like the Pine Marten, it is a good climber, but, unlike it, shows a partiality, not for the driest parts of the wood, but for the neighbourhood of water. Its chief food seems to be Mice, but it is also fond of stealing the fish used to bait traps—whence it is often called the Fisher—and Sir J. Richardson states that its favourite meal is the Canadian Porcupine, which it kills by a bite on its unprotected belly, and eats, notwithstanding the quills. Sometimes it is forced, by want of better food, to eat beech-nuts.