176 FLESH-EATERS OF THE LAND 



of great assistance to their masters, driving the shoals of 

 fish into the nets, and then bringing out the largest in their 

 teeth. The good Bishop sensibly remarks that ' the simple 

 Hindoo shows here a better taste and judgment than 

 half the Otter-hunting and badger-baiting gentry of 

 England.' 



SEA OTTER (Enhydra marina). 



The Sea Otter is a larger animal than its fresh-water 

 cousin, attaining a length of four or five feet, including 

 the tail, and weighing as much as seventy or eighty pounds. 

 In its strong, blunt teeth the grinders do not present any 

 cutting edges, as in most animals of the Carnivora, but 

 the surface of each is raised into little eminences that prove 

 exceedingly useful in breaking up shell-fish, &c. There 

 is also a difference in the hind feet, which are long and 

 flipper-like, each with a surface of about twenty-four square 

 inches, similar to those of the seal. 



The fur is soft, thick, and velvety ; it is brownish-black 

 in colour, with long stiff hairs, grizzled at the tips, which 

 assist to give the whole coat a hoar-frosted appearance. 

 The Sea Otter is gregarious, often being found in bands 

 numbering hundreds of animals. When undisturbed they 

 spend a great deal of time floating or swimming on their 

 backs ; they frequently devour prey in this attitude ; and 

 the female thus supports her young one on her chest, even 

 while she is asleep. The flesh of the young Otter is 

 considered a delicacy, and is said to be not unlike lamb in 

 flavour. 



The Sea Otter never was a very common animal, not 

 even in its particular habitat, the eastern and western 

 shores of the North Pacific Ocean, from Alaska to 

 California, and from Kamschatka to the Yellow Sea. 

 As a good Otter skin is valued at -40, there is little wonder 

 that the creature is remorselessly hunted. 



Formerly the Otter was either speared or clubbed. In 

 the first case a number of boats, each manned by a 

 couple of men, would be engaged in the pursuit of an 

 animal. Whenever it came up to breathe it was forced 

 instantly to dive again, repeating the operation until the 



