British Reptiles and Amphibians 



There is certainly a continual warfare in the fields, 

 the hedges, and woods, but the carnivorous activities 

 are as a rule confined within a given and well-defined 

 radius. Not so when it comes to water. Trout, for 

 instance, will jump at a live worm or an artificial fly, 

 a metal spoon or a tin minnow. 



Quite apart from the Seal, Otter, or Pike, or indeed 

 any other aquatic or semi-aquatic animal that is sup- 

 posed to prey upon their more feeble companions, there 

 is an element of cannibalism ever present beneath the 

 surface of the water, be it pond, stream, or sea. Such 

 a condition of things is quite unknown "above ground." 

 Aquatic animals continually prey upon one another. 

 An artificial lure under water dangled before the eye 

 of a Trout .means attack by that fish. A gilded cord 

 wound round a few feathers will place a Salmon on the 

 river edge, and even the slough cast off by a little 

 Newt upstream may prove the death-warrant for a Sea- 

 Trout fresh from the ocean. It is under such aquatic 

 conditions that Newts are cradled. 



The Great Warted Newt has a preference for clayey 

 soils, and where water has gathered and remained un- 

 disturbed for a lengthened period such ground is 

 generally a favourite haunt for the creature. Its 

 presence may be detected by the appearance of the 

 air bubbles on the placid water, which are caused by 

 the Newt rising to the surface for breathing purposes. 

 When thus observed it is quite easily caught by simply 

 tossing any live bait on the end of a cord into the 



56 



