The Haunts and Habits of the British Otter. 17 



maligned. Izaak Walton, albeit undoubtedly right 

 in saying that ''hunting the Otter ... is much 

 pleasanter than any other chase whatsoever," and 

 adding, not less correctly, that " all men that keep 

 Otter-dogs ought to have pensions from the King," 

 yet commenced the mischief in giving voice to his 

 erroneous belief that Otters eat nothing but fish. 

 So far from this being the case, it is demonstrable 

 that Otters prefer a great many articles of diet to 

 fish, and, moreover, that these are almost in- 

 variably inimical to the increase of fish in our 

 lakes and rivers. The fact that Otters caught 

 young have been weaned from a fish diet to one of 

 bread and milk, and subsequently utilised to catch 

 fish for their masters without attempting to eat 

 them, should in itself be a sufficient proof that fish 

 are not their only, and not even their favourite, 

 diet. 



A bitch Otter invariably feeds her young on 

 frogs, taking them into the water-meadows and 

 teaching them to catch their prey before ever she 

 teaches them to swim and catch fish. Their first 

 experience of a fish diet is small eels, which there 

 is no doubt Otters prefer to all else, and of which 

 a single pair of Otters must consume an enormous 

 quantity in a season. Frogs and eels are the 

 greatest enemies of fish spawn, and would, un- 

 checked, deplete the best-stocked trout river in a 



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