MAMMALS. 65 



driven into a corner, when a woman coming out of the 

 house caused it to retreat. The Otter occasionally gives 

 utterance to a loud whistle, probably as a signal or call 

 to its mate. It generally hunts by night, but in districts 

 where it is not molested it will often remain abroad far 

 on into the daytime. The young three to five in 

 number are produced early in the summer, and remain 

 with the parents a long time. General colour, dark 

 brown. Length, about 3^ feet. Ears small ; eyes 

 bright ; the nostrils close when under water. 

 SQUIRREL. Unlike our other native Mammals the Squirrel 

 Sciurus vulgaris. comes abroad in the daytime, and for 



this reason it is more familiarly known 

 than any of the others, while its beauty of form and 

 colour, and its sprightly habits, make it a general 

 favourite. It is found all over the County wherever there 

 are woods, especially those that contain beech and 

 hazel trees, on the mast and nuts of which it feeds. It 

 also eats acorns, leaf buds, and the bark of young 

 branches. When eating it has a pretty habit of sitting 

 up on its haunches, with the tail elevated, and holding 

 the food between its fore-paws. When alarmed it 

 scampers away with marvellous agility, running along 

 the branches even on to their slender extremities, and 

 taking long leaps from one to another. It can also run 

 rapidly on the ground by a succession of leaps, and if 

 pursued always makes for the nearest tree and climbs 

 the trunk. When it has reached a safe position on the 

 far side of the tree it pauses and peeps round to survey 

 the enemy. It is rare indeed to see a Squirrel miss its 

 footing, as the feet are provided with long but strong 

 and widely-separable toes and sharp curved claws, giving 



