HARDWICKE'S SCIEN CE-GOSSIP. 



133 



and out, until they broke upon the tangled roots 

 and weedy margin of the other shore. It was an 

 otter that I had heard. Tortunately, I had escaped 

 notice, and remaining very quiet, soon saw him, as 

 he slowly emerged from the water, with a large fish 

 held grimly in his mouth. With seemingly awkward 

 steps he crawled up the sloping bank, and in a 

 marvellously short time devoured the fish that hehad 

 captured ; then walking to a point near by, where 

 the bank was free of projecting tree-roots, he 

 squatted down on his haunches, but held his head 

 aloft, and with a ludicrous expression of extreme 

 satisfaction slowly slid down the smooth bank and 

 disappeared beneath the surface of the water. I 

 waited a long time, but saw nothing more of 

 him. 



It need scarcely be remarked that in New Jersey 

 the Otter is nearly extinct; but not so in many 

 sections of our enormous territory. Professor 



either by the wary fur-huuter or less careful in- 

 truders. That the Otter is as strictly nocturnal as 

 asserted by some, does not accord with the few 

 opportunities I have had of observing his habits. 



An experienced hunter* gives an excellent re- 

 sume of the Otter's habits, as follows : " They live 

 on fish and musk-rat. They dive down, and then 

 rise into the passage-way of the musk-rat house, so 

 as to push their jaws into the house and catch the 

 musk-rat, unless, as is sometimes the case, the 

 musk-rat has a second passage to escape through. 

 The Otter has no house, but lives in holes in the 

 banks of streams, and in hollow logs, and under 

 roots. He dives and chases fish under water; I 

 saw one do this, and then shot him. He seems to 

 like to slide instead of walking down a slope. He 

 seems to have certain places for voiding his excre- 

 ment." 



Audubon t describes the nest as formed of 



jpi/^r-A e. 



Fig. 91 Tlie American Otter (Lutra canadensis, Sab.j. 



Baird gives as its range the " northern parts of the 

 United States to Florida, and west to the Rocky 

 Mountains." An extensive range this, but of 

 course, as localities, however suited to its tastes 

 become encroached upon by the steady "settling 

 up " of the country, it is forced to seek out " fresh 

 scenes and pastures new," where it will be found 

 frequenting running streams, large ponds, and occa- 

 sionally away from water, as though in search of 

 better things tlian the last creek or brook-side 

 offered. It prefers clear waters, that it may see the 

 fish therein more readily, and has a burrow in the 

 bank, which opens below the surface of the water ; 

 but if not swimming about the stream, it seems to 

 like to be above rather than in the ground, and to 

 quietly sleep and sun itself on a mat of grass ; but 

 never so soundly that it can be caught napping^ 



" sticks, grasses, and leaves ; large, and in all cases 

 protected from the rains, and above and beyond the 

 influence of high water and freshets." 



"With our annual "January thaw," and its ac- 

 companying freshet (this year delayed until Feb- 

 ruary), came to us a recollection of the lone otter 

 we had seen in the summer; and so through the 

 soft snow and over thin ice we wended our way to 

 the quiet nook on Watson's Creek, to see if he yet 

 lingered about the spot. We found recent traces 

 of him, but not the animal himself ; and wondering 

 if he had left of his own accord, or been captured 

 by musk-rat hunters, we wandered down the creek 



* " American Naturalist," vol. 1. p. 656. 

 t "Quadrupeds of North America," Audubon and Bach- 

 man, vol. ii. p. 7- 



