84 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 
“Whether females breed when a year old remains to be tested, 
but it seems probable that they do. 
“The fact that otters donot breed in zoological parks, where kept 
on exhibition and under constant excitement and nervous strain, is 
not surprising and probably does not mean that under more normal 
conditions they would fail to reproduce at their usual rate. 
“A large spring or section of a small stream, preferably in 
parc the woods, should be selected for an otter yard. A pool at 
least six feet deep and 20 or 30 feet across should be formed. 
Steep banks down which the otter can slide into the water are an ° 
advantage in furnishing exercise as are also a few old logs reaching into 
the water. If the banks are firm and stony the otter will be less in- 
clined to burrow, and clear, cold, running water tends to keep them 
in good health. A series of yards along a suitable stream could be 
separated economically into family enclosures with inexpensive partition 
fences. A yard 50 feet square is ample for a family of otters if plenty 
of food is provided. 
“Small houses, hollow logs, shallow caves or artificial burrows should 
be provided for sleeping quarters where a cool, dark retreat can be 
had at any time. 
“Otter yards should be inclosed with a fence four feet high, 
Fencing made of heavy woven wire of one-inch mesh and with a 16- 
inch curved tin overhang on the inside. The fence should 
be carried on iron uprights four feet apart, curved in at the top for 
the tin overhang. These ton uprights should be set in a stone o1 con- 
crete wall, laid one foot deep in the ground and carried acioss the stream 
as dams above and below the otter pool. In place of the wall an addi- 
tional foot of the woven wire can be bedded in the ground, but this 
will have to be renewed every few years as it rusts out. In the National 
Zoological Park a welded wire fence with rectangular mesh one inch 
wide and four inches high, of No. 11 wire is used. This is not easily 
climbed and is very strong and secure. The iron uprights are double 
straps one inch wide by } inch thick, one on each side of the netting 
and riveted together. 
“Otters do not dig extensively and are not inclined to burrow under 
a fence. They do not usually climb trees, but can climb up a rough 
barked or leaning tree to above the top of a fence. 
“Ttseems highly probable that, under favourable conditions 
Conclusions Otter can be raised for fur at a profit, and that, in course 
of time, a breed can be established combining in the same 
animals quiet and domestic dispositions with fur of great beauty and 
