THE SMALL K R C A R X 1 V ( ) R A 



I I 



they wore allowed to catch live fish. 

 ( )nce one <>! them seized a 4 lb. pike 

 by the tail. The pike wriggled round 



and seized the otur's paw. but was 

 soon placed hors de combat. The 

 largest otter which the writer has seen 

 was bolted by a ferret from a rabbit- 

 warren on the edge of tile Norfolk 

 feu at I lockwold, and shot by the 

 keeper, who was rabbiting. 



English dog otters sometime; 

 weigh as much as 26 lbs. 'They 

 regularly hunt down the rivers by 

 night, returning before morning to 

 their holt, where they sleep by day. 

 \d iisli stands a chance with them. 

 I hey swim after the fish in the open 

 river, chase it under tin- bank, and 

 then corner it. or seize it witli a rush, 

 just as the penguins catch gudgeon at 

 the Zoo. Captain Salvin owned a 

 famous tame otter which used to go 

 for walks with him. and amuse itself 

 by catching fish in the roadside ponds. 



Tin'. BADGERS. 



T W O TAME OTTERS 

 These two little otters were photographed by the Dm hesi t Bedf rd. Alluding 

 to the old signs of the zodiac and their fondness for the watering-pat, their portrait 

 was called " Aquarius" and " The Twins." 



Tin-: Badgers include several 



genera. The Sand-badgers of the 



East have a naked snout, small ears, 



and rough fur. with softer fur underneath. The Indian Badgkr is larger than that of Europe, 



while that of Java, Sumatra, and Borneo is smaller, and lias a very short tail. 



The Ferret-badgers from the East 

 have elongated bodies and short tails. 

 They are tree-climbers, and as omniv- 

 orous as the badger itself. The Cape 

 Zorilla, with another species found in 

 Egypt, is more nearly allied to the 

 polecats, hut is striped like a skunk. 



The European Badger is still fairly 

 numerous. There is not a county in 

 England where it is not found. A large 

 colony has keen established in Epping 

 Forest, some fifty yards square of hill- 

 side being honeycombed with badger 

 earths. The European hadger is found 

 all over temperate Northern Europe 

 and Asia; but being shy, wary, and 

 mainlv nocturnal, is seldom seen. At 



Phtf tf Schttasllt Phcf. Co.] [Parian, C.r„n . , . ... 



EUROPEAN BADGER m ^ X " Wa " derS ^ and , '" Au ? U ? t 



gets into tlie corn-fields, whence it is 



Badgers can be readih kept in confinement, and are not difficult to tame 



.,/./,. chasei1 ;i " (1 caught by dogs. A Somer- 



