THE OTTER 



(Lutra vulgaris) 



ALTHOUGH very seldom seen, owing to its caution and nocturnal habits, 

 the Otter is the most widely diffused of our larger animals, and there 

 are few streams which it does not occasionally visit, while on the High- 

 land coast it frequents the sea-coasts. In size the Otter may be com- 

 pared to a medium-sized Dog, although very low on the legs, which are 

 furnished with webbed five-toed paws. The general structure of the 

 beast is that of a large Weasel, and the existence of the Mink shows 

 how the Otters may have evolved from a land-animal of the Weasel 

 kind. The coat of the Otter is composed of two sorts of hair, long 

 piles which form the external surface, and a short thick fur which is 

 not seen till the long hairs are removed. There is little variation in 

 colour, but albinos have been recorded. The male Otter is rather more 

 than a yard long, and weighs about twenty pounds, the female averaging 

 about five pounds less ; but much heavier individuals occur, dog-Otters 

 of over thirty pounds being on record, and one, taken more than a century 

 ago, weighed over forty. 



The Otter is beautifully adapted for an aquatic life, and spends a 

 great deal of its time in the water in pursuit of the fish on which it 

 preys to a great extent ; its motions are beautifully easy and rapid, and 

 it readily captures small fish, though it is not a match in speed for 

 those approaching its own size. Among fish, eels are its favourite 

 food, and it is by no means especially destructive to game fish such 

 as trout and salmon. Like most of the Weasel family, however, it is 

 apt to be wantonly destructive; and when food is abundant is very 

 dainty, often only eating a small piece from the back of the neck of a 

 big fish, and then catching another. Indeed, St. John tells a story 

 of an old Highland woman who, living near a salmon river, looked on 

 the neighbouring Otters as very useful providers, since on most days 







