THE OTTER PLAYS ON 61 



its back a moment later and endeavoured in 

 passing to kick it off. 



Though I had frequented the woods for years 

 and had seen numerous otter slides, this was 

 the beginning of my acquaintance with this 

 audacious and capable animal whose play habit 

 and individuality so enliven the wilderness. 



Play probably is the distinguishing trait of 

 this peculiar animal. He plays regularly in 

 pairs, in families, or with numbers who appear 

 to meet for this special purpose. Evidently he 

 plays when this is not connected with food 

 getting or mating. He plays in Florida, in the 

 Rocky Mountains, and in Alaska; in every 

 month of the year; in the sunlight, the moon- 

 light, or darkness. The slippery, ever freshly 

 used appearance of bank slides indicates con- 

 stant play. 



The best otter play that I ever watched was 

 staged one still winter night by a stream in the 

 Medicine Bow Mountains. The snowy slide 

 lay in the moonlight, with the shadow of a soli- 

 tary fir tree across it. It extended about forty 

 feet down a steep slope to the river. The 

 slide had not been in use for two nights, but 

 coasters began to appear about nine o'clock. 

 A pair opened the coasting. They climbed 

 up the slope together and came down singly. 

 No others were as yet in sight. But in a few 



