THE OTTERS 683 



Their habitations are usually made in or near the banks of the waters they frequent, 

 the hollows beneath the roots of trees growing on a river's margin being especial 

 favorites, while in hilly districts the clefts between rocks are selected, and where the 

 soil is of an alluvial nature deep burrows, with several entrances, one of which 

 usually opens beneath the water, are excavated in the banks. A large pile of loose 

 stones, forming one of the piers of a timber bridge over the Indus above the town of 

 Leh has long been the favorite resort of a colony of otters. The presence of numer- 

 ous bones and scales of fish, as well as the peculiar web-footed tracks of the animals 

 themselves, will always indicate whether or not an otter's den or "holt" is inhabited. 



Otters apparently never hibernate, and in consequence must be hard pressed 

 to supply themselves with food during the winter in the colder portions of their 

 habitat. At such times they are asserted in inhabited districts to make occasional 

 raids on the farmyard, where they have been known to kill poultry and, it is said, 

 even young lambs and pigs. Waterfowl are probably also attacked at such periods, 

 while it is stated that eggs are always acceptable to these animals. In addition to 

 fish, otters are in the habit of eating frogs and such fresh-water or marine crusta- 

 ceans as are found in the waters they frequent. 



Although chiefly nocturnal, more especially in districts where they are much 

 harassed, otters may not unfrequently be seen hunting in the morning and even- 

 ing, Mr. Blanford stating that he has frequently observed them in India at work 

 up to nine or ten o'clock in the morning. When fishing, it appears that all the 

 members of a party of otters are in the habit of combining their efforts to surround 

 or drive a shoal of fish. General M' Master had on one occasion the good fortune 

 to observe a party comprising at least six individuals thus engaged in the Chilka 

 lake of Orissa. " They worked," writes the narrator of the incident, " most sys- 

 tematically in a semicircle, with intervals of about fifty yards between each, having 

 I suppose, a large shoal of fish in the centre, for every now and then an otter would 

 disappear, and generally, when it was again seen, it was well within the semicircle, 

 with a fish in its jaws, caught more for pleasure than for profit, as the fish, so far 

 as I could see, were always left untouched beyond a single bite. ' ' 



The large size of the aperture in the skull below the socket of the eye for the 

 transmission of the nerves supplying the muzzle, indicates that the "whiskers" of 

 the otter must be extremely sensitive. With regard to their powers of hearing, 

 smell, and sight, Mr. Blanford believes that, while the two former are well developed, 

 otters are somewhat deficient in the latter. Their general intelligence is decidedly 

 high, and they likewise often display much cunning and forethought, more espe- 

 cially in avoiding the traps set for their capture. When excited they utter a kind 

 of yelping bark, and they are stated to give a sort of whistle as an alarm note to 

 their fellows. There is still a dearth of information as to the breeding habits of the 

 otter. It appears, however, that the young may be produced at any season of the 

 year, although the winter is the more usual time. The number of young in a litter 

 generally varies from two to five, the cubs themselves being born blind. 

 Tame Otters ^ e otter * s readily tamed if captured at a sufficiently early age, 

 and then becomes much attached to its owner, whom it will follow 

 about after the manner of a dog. The natural instincts of these animals are taken 



