24 THE LIFE STORY OF AN OTTER 



them was a very large one which, on being 

 gripped by the male cub, coiled itself round his 

 neck and threatened to strangle him. In this 

 predicament the otter, after a short struggle, 

 made for the bank and rolled amongst the fern 

 and bramble to free himself of his antagonist. 

 Finding this of no avail, he shifted his grip 

 to a point nearer the head and, using the 

 terrible force of his jaws, broke the back of the 

 eel, and so got rid of it. This fish had been 

 captured in the shallows, but for the most part 

 the eels were only to be had by turning over the 

 big stones under which they darted at sight of 

 their pursuers. The young otters eagerly joined 

 their mother in dislodging their prey and catch- 

 ing them when they bolted. The swiftness of 

 the animals in this pursuit was amazing, and 

 no less so the quick turning movements in 

 which rudder and fore-paw were both brought 

 into play. Indeed the long, lissom, tapering 

 creatures resembled huge eels, and might have 

 been mistaken for eels but for the bubbles 

 which rose to the surface and marked their 

 course. 



The otters kept to this part of the stream for 

 nearly a week — that is, until the freshet which 

 had caused the run of eels subsided, and rendered 



