Otters are geographically distributed over most of North America. The Pacific Otter is found from Oregon, Washington and British Columbia northward as far as the coast of Alaska.
Recent years have failed to produce any records from the park, and there is some doubt that the otter still exists in the area. However, it was reported by Dr. C. Hart Merriam as fairly common along the Nisqually Valley in 1897, while there were reports from the park in later years. Thus it may be that this animal is still present in some more remote sectors.
Although adapted for living either on land or in the water, the otter seems to prefer the water. It is a graceful, powerful swimmer, and delights in frolicking in pools deep enough to allow lots of freedom of action. Playful by nature, it often amuses itself by sliding down banks into the water, repeating the performance time and again until a well defined slide is made. Its food is made up of a wide variety of animal life, ranging from fish, crayfish, frogs, snakes and birds to small mammals.
In one way it is unfortunate that the otter has such a valuable pelt, because it has been relentlessly trapped wherever found; so much so, in fact, that only in areas protected against trapping is it likely to continue to hold its own or multiply.
This animal has a slender body about a foot in length, with short legs and a plumelike tail. The general coloration is black with a prominent white spot on the forehead, four white stripes running from the head onto the back, white patches and stripes along the sides, the rump spotted white, and the tail broadly white-tipped.
Specimens in park collection:None.
The spotted skunks, often erroneously called “civet cats,” are found over most of the United States.
The little spotted skunk occurs on the west side of the Cascade Mountains of Washington, and through the Olympic Peninsula to the westward. The northern limits of range are not clearly defined.
In Mount Rainier National Park it has been reported from near Longmire, Tahoma Creek and Carbon River. In 1897 records show that it was fairly common in the Nisqually River Valley, but in recent years observations have become extremely limited. Its present status must be considered as uncommon to rare.
This is without doubt the most interesting as well as the handsomest skunk in the Northwest. Unlike its larger cousin, the Puget Sound striped skunk, this little animal is graceful and rather agile. Seldom is it seen during the day time, preferring to roam about in search of food during the night. Its travels take it over a wide area, and it shows a fondness for man-made buildings. It has been known to occupy attics in dwellings, and one disconcerted wife of a National Park Service employee found one casually strolling through the hallway of her house one night! It is rather playful and even tempered, and seldom resorts to the strong perfume it carries.
Its food is varied, and may include almost anything from insects and reptiles to small rodents. As a mouser it rivals a cat in effectiveness. Sometimes referred to as the “hydrophobia skunk” or “phoby-cat” it has had a bad reputation in the past as a carrier of hydrophobia. However, the belief so prevalent among many people that its bite will always produce this dread malady has no foundation in fact. Many animals may carry hydrophobia, and there are few authentic records of the skunks as carriers.
Larger and stockier than the little spotted skunk, the Puget Sound striped skunk is black, with a narrow white stripe through the forehead, a broad white stripe starting on the head and dividing at the shoulders into two broad stripes that run back along the sides of the body. There are long white hairs on the tail; the tip of the tail is black.
Specimens in park collection:RNP-43, Longmire Museum, Park Headquarters.
The Puget Sound striped skunk is found from northwestern Oregon through the lowlands of western Washington and into the Puget Sound section of southern British Columbia.
In the park it has been recorded only once. This lone record was from near the Nisqually Entrance where one was killed on the highway by an automobile.
This type of skunk is well known throughout the United States. Its cousins through the Middle West, East and South are familiar to every farm boy. Its struggle for existence has been seriously threatened in many localities because of the value of its fur. Because it prefers open country to dense forests and mountains, it occupies the same regions as man.
The skunk is by nature a timid and gentle animal, and by moving slowly it is possible to approach one with no fear of disastrous results. However, practically anyone will agree that it is a safer course to simply let the skunk go its way unmolested. The powers of persuasion it possesses are not to be taken lightly!
The cougar is the largest of the cats found in the region, measuring up to more than eight feet in total length and weighing 150 pounds or more. The body is slender, with a small head and long tail. Its coloration above may range from reddish brown to gray brown, darkest along the back. The underparts are whitish with the light areas extending forward as far as the chin. The tail is brown with a prominent black tip. Young cougars are somewhat lighter in color, with large dark spots along the back and sides.
Specimens in park collection:Mounted specimen at the Forest House at Ohanapecosh.
Cougars, or mountain lions, were formerly found over practically all of the United States, but are now extinct over most of their original range.
The Northwestern cougar ranges from northern California through Oregon and Washington into British Columbia. It is fairly common in some parts of its range.
In the park it may be found from the lower elevations up to forest line. Most records have come from around the NisquallyRiver drainage and from the west side of the park. However, it is apparently well distributed throughout the region.
Probably no animal found within the park affects the visitor as does the cougar. To many people it is regarded as a highly dangerous, blood-thirsty creature awaiting only a chance to pounce upon some unsuspecting hiker. On the contrary, there are few animals in the woods that are as shy or that run faster from humans than does the cougar. The chances of actually observing one in the wilds are very remote, as the lion usually sees without being seen, and beats a hasty retreat.
Much has been said pro and con about the ability of the cougar to emit a “scream.” Much depends upon the person’s conception of what makes up a “scream.” For the most part the cougar is silent, but contrary to what is often claimed, it does have the ability to express itself vocally. At times it may utter a loud cry that reminds one somewhat of the caterwaul of a domesticated tomcat. One female lion in a zoo gave a long series of such squalls when her kitten was taken from her. The so-called “woman in agony” scream, so often attributed to the cougar, is more likely that of the grown young of the great horned owl.
The cougar is also well known because of its great liking for venison, and without doubt it accounts for several deer a year. To say that a lion kills large numbers of deer each year (some persons claim as high as 100 per year) is something that needs clarification. There is little doubt that when deer are abundant a lion will get a considerable number; conversely when deer are not common the number taken will be low. Under natural conditions the lion serves as an important “control” upon the numbers of deer in any given region, for the most part killing old animals that have passed their prime or young deer that aren’t sufficiently alert, so offering no real threat to the deer population as a whole, but definitely helping to preserve forest reproduction from destruction by preventing an excessive multiplication of deer.
The bobcat is a typical member of the cat tribe, and resembles the common domestic cat in many respects. It differs insize, being perhaps twice as large, has longer legs, a very short tail, and big feet. The Northwestern Wildcat is a rich rufous brown over the back, grizzled with black; paler on the sides; with white underparts splotched with black. The legs are barred with dark brown and black. The tail is dark brown above with black bars, the extreme tip and underside is white. The ears are slightly tufted, the side whiskers or throat ruff are conspicuous.
Specimens in park collection:Mounted specimen, Longmire Museum, Park Headquarters.
Bobcats are found in all of the United States, and northward into western Canada.
The Northwestern wildcat occurs in northwestern California, Oregon, Washington, and southwestern British Columbia. The cats are uncommon in Mount Rainier National Park, where their range is apparently confined mostly to the lower elevations near the southern and western boundaries.
Of all the wild creatures of the woods, the bobcat is perhaps the shyest. Many woodsmen of several years experience can count upon the fingers of one hand the cats they have seen, with the exception of those caught in traps or treed by dogs. Often it is only by observation of their tracks or sign that their presence is revealed. This is all the more remarkable when it is understood that like domestic cats, they hunt by day as well as by night.
Their habits are typically cat-like. They prey upon rodents and birds, and may occasionally kill deer, particularly fawns.
The lynx is like the bobcat in size and build, but is lighter in color, and may further be distinguished by the black tipped tail, longer ear tufts, more conspicuous side whiskers, and broad spreading feet.
Specimens in park collection:None.
The range of the lynx is principally in Canada, although it extends into northern Oregon in the Northwest, southward in the Rocky Mountains into Colorado, and as far south as Pennsylvania in the northeast.
Taylor and Shaw, inMammals and Birds of Mount Rainier National Park, 1927, observe that, “The shy and secretive habits of the members of the cat tribe make their study unusually difficult. At the outset one finds himself practically restricted to an examination of tracks and sign. These indicate the abundance of cats of the genusLynx(either lynx or bobcat) in suitable locations throughout the park. The Canada lynx is confined to higher portions of the park, the bobcat to lower altitudes. J. B. Flett reports the capture of a Canada lynx some years ago by C. A. Stoner in the Sawtooth Range just south of the park.
“Tracks and sign ... were most in evidence on the backbone ridges at or just above timberline.”
“Tracks and sign ... were most in evidence on the backbone ridges at or just above timberline.”
For the past several years there have been no authentic records of the Canada lynx in the park, and it is extremely doubtful that the animal now occurs within park boundaries.
Although not known to occur in Mount Rainier National Park prior to the date of this publication, the following mammals may be recorded:
The occurrence of the following mammals was listed by Taylor and Shaw,Mammals and Birds of Mount Rainier National Park, 1927, as follows:
It is believed that the three species above are not now found within the park.