OTTER. 



61 



unawares, a rat or a vole. When he goes down stream he 

 floats with the current his forelegs pressed against his sides and 

 only the upper part of his head with eyes, ears, and nostrils 

 exposed. 



In summer when the water is low in the streams, he travels 

 across country from pool to pool by night, seeking some estuary 

 or the open coast. Although so obviously adapted for an 

 aquatic life, the Otter can travel with speed on land, and it has 

 been estimated that in one night it will cover about fifteen 

 miles. On arrival at the coast it will seek some bat-haunted 

 cave that has been favoured by its kind for generations, and 



Skeleton of the Otter. 



will work the shallow waters for flat fish, bass, crabs, and 

 mussels. From here also it will make excursions over a con- 

 siderable area of neighbouring country by means of the creeks 

 and marshes. In autumn it will return to its favourite stream 

 and feed royally on migrating eels that are on their way to the 

 sea. It does not hibernate. In winter when fishing may be 

 poor, it may be constrained to dig out the mole and the vole 

 from their underground retreats to provide a meal, and is even 

 glad of hibernating insects, either in the larval or pupal condi- 

 tion. It also shows a fondness for the freshwater mussel 

 (A nodonta cygned] . 



In the rutting season there is a good deal of desperate fighting 



