THE OTTER. 223 



JVlunners, food, &c. 



manner that the animal can see every object that 

 is above it. The general colour of the body is a 

 deep brown. 



Otters ffencrallv inhabit the banks of rivers; 



O .' 



and though they occasionally seize on the poul- ' 

 try and the smaller quadrupeds, their principal 

 food is fish. " The otter/' says Mr. Pennant, 

 " shows great sagacity in forming its habitation. 

 It burrows under-ground in the bank of some 

 river or lake : and always makes the entrance of 

 its hole under water, working upwards to the sur- 

 face of the earth ; and, before it reaches the top, 

 it provides several lodges, that, in case of high 

 floods it may have a retreat (for no animal seems 

 desirous of lying drier), and then makes a minute 

 orifice for the admission of air." It is also ob- 

 served, that this animal, the more effectually to 

 conceal its retreat, contrives to make this little 

 air-hole in the midst of some thick bush. 



In very hard weather, when its natural sort of 

 food fails, the otter will kill lambs, sucking pigs, 

 and poultry, and one was caught in a warren, 

 where he had come to prey on the rabbits. In 

 the year 1793, as two gentlemen were shooting, 

 at Pilton, in Devonshire, the pointer stood at 

 some brakes, whence burst a large otter: the 

 dog seized, but being severely bitten, was soon 

 obliged to quit his hold; after driving him about 

 for some time in a turnip field, they killed him 

 by blows upon the head, and this otter was at a 



VOL. II. NO. XIII. F 



