84 COMMISSION OF CONSERVATION 



" Whether females breed when a 3'ear old remains to be tested, 

 but it seems probable that they do. 



" The fact that otters do not breed in zoological parks, where kept 

 on exhibition and under constant excitement and nervous strain, is 

 not surprising and probably does not mean that under more normal 

 conditions they would fail to reproduce at their usual rate. 



" A large spring or section of a small stream, preferably in 

 Location the woods, should be selected for an otter yard. A pool at 



least six feet deep and 20 or 30 feet across should be fonned. 

 Steep banks down which the otter can slide into the water are an 

 advantage in furnishing exercise as are also a few old logs reaching into 

 the water. If the banks are firm and stony the otter will be less in- 

 clined to burrow, and clear, cold, running water tends to keep them 

 in good health. A series of yards along a suitable stream could be 

 separated economically into family enclosures with inexpensive partition 

 fences. A yard 50 feet square is ample for a family of otters if plenty 

 of food is provided. 



" Small houses, hollow logs, shallow caves or artificial burrows should 

 be provided for sleeping quarters where a cool, dark retreat can be 

 had at any time. 



" Otter yards should be inclosed with a fence four feet high. 

 Fencing made of heavy woven wire of one-inch mesh and with a 16- 

 inch curved tin overhang on the inside. The fence should 

 be cai'ried on iron uprights four feet apart, curved in at the top for 

 the tin overhang. These iron uprights should be set in a stone or con- 

 crete wall, laid one foot deep in the ground and carried across the stream 

 as dams above and below the otter pool. In place of the wall an addi- 

 tional foot of the woven wire can be bedded in the ground, but this 

 will have to be renewed every few years as it rusts out. In the National 

 Zoological Park a welded wire fence with rectangular mesh one inch 

 wide and four inches high, of No. 11 wire is used. This is not easily 

 climbed and is very strong and secure. The iron uprights are double 

 straps one inch wide by % inch thick, one on each side of the netting 

 and riveted together. 



" Otters do not dig extensively and are not inclined to burrow under 

 a fence. They do not usually climb trees, but can climb up a rough 

 barked or leaning tree to above the top of a fence. 



" It seems highly probable that, under favourable conditions. 

 Conclusions otter can be raised for fur at a profit, and that, in course 



of time, a breed can be established combining in the same 

 animals quiet and domestic dispositions with fur of great beauty and 



