FOOD 



836 Life-histories of Northern Animals 



robbed our nets, which were set under the ice, at a distance 

 of a few yards from open water. They generally carried off 

 the heads of the fish and left the bodies sticking in the nets." 

 FISH ITS It is known to eat wild fowl, and doubtless, when pinched, 



will relish any kind of animal food. All of these, however, 

 must be considered mere accidental variations, or emergency 

 rations, on its real bill of fare, for nine-tenths at least of its 

 food the year round is undoubtedly fish, the finest and freshest 

 at that; not mud-cats, swinish carp, or logy suckers, but the 

 sweetest and swiftest of all — the superb trout and the regal 

 salmon. 



The Otter IS the fisherman par excellence; it is the success- 

 ful fisherman, and therefore it is the hated of all other fishermen. 



MENTAL- Mentally this animal is at the head of its group. 'The 



ITY 



most intelligent of the Family,' is the verdict of all who have 

 studied all the Weasels, for the Otter is nothing but a big 

 water Weasel. "From the nature of its habits and its sagac- 

 ity," says Merriam,^^ "it is likely to remain after most of the 

 other representatives of the Mustelidae have been exterminated." 

 I wish it were so, and yet experience in Manitoba leads one 

 to believe otherwise. The Skunk, the Mink, and the Ermine 

 seem as abundant as ever, but the Otter is becoming a rarity. 



PLAYFUL- At all ages Otters are playful animals. They chase each 



other in tireless games of tag, and sport and roll in the water 

 like porpoises. If caught young they are readily reared and 

 become the most fascinating of pets. It has been my luck to 

 meet with two or three tame Otters, and in each case I was 

 left with a profound admiration for the grace and playfulness 

 of this exquisitely beautiful creature. On watching a gambol- 

 ling Fox cub, a Fawn, an ocelot, a Marten, or even a well- 

 furred pet Skunk, one is apt to be carried away and declare 

 each in turn the most beautiful and graceful creature ever seen. 

 But when all are gone from view, when nothing but the dim 

 impression remains, it is the Otter that stands out pre-eminently 



■^ Loc. cil. 



