/ 
THE: OREGON 
pe 
pee ee 
“SOME OREGON MAMMALS” 
THE LAND OTTER. 
(Lutra Canadensts.) 
The Otter is an animal so well known 
that a description may seem superfluous, 
yet for the benefit of those’who’ have not 
seen it in life, the writer will endeavor to 
describe it. “A full grown western Otter 
‘ will measure less than fifty inches: from 
tip to tip, of this eighteen inches will com-- 
The head is broad and: 
prise the ‘tail. 
short with a ‘conspicuous naked Bad on 
the nose. 
The neck is very thick and muscular. 
‘The fore limbs are ‘short and strong 
while the hind limbs appear longer ‘and 
~ the toes are connected with a broad web. 
' The sole and under side of each toe’ are 
protected by a round fleshy pad which 
‘leaves an unmistakable ‘‘sign”’’ wherever 
‘the animal travels by land. 
The fur is a beautiful, soft, dark-brown 
overlaid by a coat of long coarse hairs ofa 
lighter color, the throat and belly being 
iighter colored. 
Otter are a great deal more plentiful in 
Oregon today than is generally supposed 
but owing to their shyness they are seldom 
seen. Itis by far the worst enemy that 
our brook trout has for not only will it 
kill fish to eat but having had sufflcient 
_ and there being more in sight it will kill 
_ them for sport. Nearly every river and 
1 large stream in. Oregon contains one or 
Geecom 
May, “1895, 
more pair of otter which annually do a 
vast amount of damage. Otters live in 
pairs and the den or nest is ina hole some- 
times dug into the river bank but gener- 
ally under the roots of a tree. It is seldom 
more than four feet from the water’s edge 
and always over a deep pool. Frequently 
the entrance is under water; particularly 
when the country is settled up in the 
neighborhood. 
When the mouth of the den is above 
water a smooth incline or slide extends 
from the den to the water. In the early 
spring the female gives birth to from three 
to five young which are soon strong enough 
to follow her, when she takes them to the 
water and teaches them to swim and dive. 
The young remain with the parents until 
the following spring. The food of the otter 
consists chiefly of fish which it obtains by 
rapid dashes under water, but they are 
very partial to birds such as young wild 
ducks which they catch by diving under 
them and dragging them under the water. 
A peculiarity of the otter that has often 
been written about is its love of sliding in 
which it indulges whenever a_ suitable 
piace can be found which may be either, a 
steep clay bank, a slanting, smooth rock; 
or in winter a bank of snow. On such a 
place a pair of otters will play for hours 
climbing to the highest point and sliding 
down to again ascend and so on. 
MODES OF CAPTURE 
Otter are often shot but their shy nature 
makes the hunting of theminthis manner 
unprofitable, but should any one wish to 
