62 MAMMALS. 



ural fashion, so that the impression that the visitor 

 carries away with him is that of a restless, cat-like, some- 

 what noisome creature, with even less claim to beauty 

 than a skunk. In reality, however, whether reclining on 

 its unsavoury lair with a half-devoured fish between its 

 forepaws, ever on the alert for danger, or hunting up 

 the fish beneath the surface, the air-bubbles imparting a 

 beautiful silvery appearance to its fur, not unlike their 

 effect on the plumage of diving-birds, the otter presents 

 In nature a most ^ asc i nat i n g picture. The lithe form, 

 smooth fur, rudder-like tail, short legs, and 

 large webbed feet, all have their part to play. Though 

 seen to greatest advantage in the water, the otter is by no 

 means an ungraceful animal on land, and the pace at which 

 it can run over the earth, be it hard or swampy, is marvel- 

 lous. It is not many years since a large otter was run 

 over by a passing train near Market Drayton. 



The worst habit of this creature, and one which has 

 doubtless gained more enemies for it than 

 any other, is its mischievous practice of kill- 

 ing more than it can eat, a wanton spirit of 

 destructiveness that recalls the Australian dingo in its 

 palmy days. The otter has not many natural enemies, 

 though a recent Continental writer 1 gives a graphic ac- 

 count of a combat between two otters and a sea-eagle. 



The " holt " of the otter is in some convenient hole in 

 the bank, and the young, four or five in number, are born in 

 Breedin *^ 6 summer j not > as frequently stated, in early 

 spring, at which season the dam has not even 

 thought about making ready the bed for the coming family. 

 The otter is a larger beast than would seem to be com- 

 monly supposed. In weight the dog, or male, 

 PP & a c ra " commonly turns the scale at from 20 to 25 

 lb.; 28 Ib. is scarcely an exceptional weight, 

 while one of 40 lb. has been recorded. The body of the 



1 Von Mosjvar, Das Thierleben der osterr-ungar Tiefebenen (1897), 

 p. 228. 



