120 Department of Conservation of Louisiana 



underparts and inner surfaces of the legs are brownish- 

 grey. 



Individual otters vary considerably in size, but the 

 average total length of the Louisiana otter — that is, the 

 measurement from tip of the nose to the tip of the tail — 

 is from 3*4 to 4 feet, with a tail measurement of approxi- 

 mately 1 foot 3 inches. The male otter is considerably 

 larger than the female both in length and in weight. 



The otter is a mammal having a low elongated body; 

 short legs, broad feet with five toes on each foot, connected 

 with webs, each toe having short, strong, curved, pointed 

 claws. The head, which is practically the only part of the 

 animal visible when it is swimming, is broad and flat and 

 rather small in relation to the size of the body. The broad 

 muzzle is adorned with thick prominent whiskers. The black 

 eyes are small, and the ears diminutive and rounded. It is 

 a shy animal of pronounced solitary habits and quite gen- 

 erally distributed over North America in localities adapted 

 to its mode of life. 



As might be expected of a mammal spending so much 

 of its time in the water, the otter lives almost exclusive 

 on fish, and is rarely met with far from streams, lakes or 

 ponds. Being an expert swimmer and diver, it has no 

 difficulty in pursuing and overtaking fish far beneath the 

 surface. When it has captured its prey, the otter returns 

 to land to devour its finny meal. Lying on the bank on 

 its belly, the otter holds the fish between its forepaws and 

 begins its meal by first devouring the head and then eating 

 its way down the body of the fish until nothing remains 

 but the tail which, according to some authorities, is never 

 eaten. When fish are plentiful, otters sometime catch more 

 than they care to eat; on these occasions they merely take 

 a mouthful of each fish, usually that section just back of 

 the head, leaving the remains on the bank, or the feeding 

 shelf that has been thus used as a dining room. It is in 

 the water leading to this banqueting place that a wise trap- 

 per usually places his trap — and catches his otter. 



Never abundant anywhere in their range in North 

 America, which is from the northern limit of trees on our 



