CHAPTER XXII. 

 THE TAME OTTER. 



" Oh ! the gallant fisher's life, 



It is the best of any ; 

 'Tis full of pleasure, void of strife, 

 And 'tis beloved by many." 



J. CHALKHILL. 



ONE can imagine the above song being jovially rolled out by a rollicking 

 otter, after a good day's hunting, just as well as by Isaak Walton's old 

 friend John Chalkhill ; for the otter is as fond of hunting in the water 

 as any hound is on land. He evidently hunts from the love of it, and 

 not for the pot, for he eats a mere snack out of each fish he catches, 

 leaves it, and hunts for another. Any one who has been much on the 

 banks of rivers where otters abound, will have seen many a fine fish 

 little more than tasted and left on the bank. Having watched five full- 

 sized wild otters hunting together, calling cheerily to each other in 

 the water, gambolling on the sand together for a minute or so, and 

 then in again at a call, and going on calling cheerily again, shall I say 

 laughing, charring, and singing " jolly dogs are we," as they went hunting 

 down the river together, I could not doubt they were thoroughly 

 enjoying themselves, and following a propensity, a sport, rather than 

 working for their living. 



The otter picks up and follows the scent of a fish under water, just 

 as a dog does that of game on land. You may think a fresh live fish 

 has little or no odour. Perhaps not to man, and you may be surprised 

 at a scent being left in water. But water retains a scent well, as may 

 be seen from dogs readily recognizing the scent of deer, and following 

 it across a stream. And as to the powerfulness of different smells, it 

 evidently depends on the capacity of differently formed olfactory nerves 

 for appreciating them. It is astonishing how a dog will follow at speed 



