NATURAL HISTORY OF THE OTTER 



for experimental purposes. Which reminds us of 

 the yarn concerning the old trapper, who when 

 asked if he had ever eaten turkey-buzzard, replied 

 ' Yes, siree, I have eaten turkey-buzzard, but 

 I don't hanker after it." On one occasion we 

 became possessed of a dead otter, whose carcass, 

 after skinning, we presented to two dogs. The 

 latter promptly turned up their noses at it, whereas 

 several cats to which it was afterwards given set 

 about devouring it quite keenly. In the case of 

 hounds, unless the carcass of their quarry is still 

 warm and they are excited by the free use of horn 

 and voice, they will show no great desire to do 

 more than tear the body of an otter. 



The otter's hide covering a sinuous body, with 

 loosely articulated limbs is tough, and offers more 

 resistance to hounds' teeth than the skin of a fox, 

 which soon disintegrates when worried by the 

 pack. As far as hounds are concerned, the scent 

 of an otter must at times be to them exceedingly 

 strong, yet to the human nose even if the latter 



is held close to the animal's body there is only a 



33 c 



