76 TRAPPING. 



good. This is an oil taken from two small glands called oil stones 

 situated next the skin on the belly of both sexes. The otter's sense 

 of smell is very acute, hence great care must be taken to remove 

 any trace of the trapper. While the trap is unsprung, keep as far 

 as possible from it. 



The otter resembles the weasel in form and motion, but is very 

 different in many other respects. The otter, unlike the weasel, lives 

 almost exclusively m the water and never allows its curiosity to 

 overcome its discretion. A full grown otter is from three and one 

 half to five feet, in length from the end of its nose to the tip of its 

 tail, and weighs from twelve to thirty pounds, is of a dark brown 

 color about the head and shoulders, and nearly black further back, 

 with occasionally an individual that is jet black all over; but a per- 

 fectly black otter is very rare. The fur is short, thick and very 

 fine, and will wear longer than any other fur. An otter can not run 

 very rapidly (it never walks); it jumps like a weasel, except that in 

 traveling on the snow, where it is level or a trifle descending, it 

 drops its fore feet back by its side, and slides along on its breast, 

 propelling itself by its hind feet; and I have seen where it has slid 

 ten rods at a time without moving its feet at all, and the track looks 

 as if you had drawn along a six inch log. They sometimes travel 

 long distances overland, but this is not common; their home is in 

 the water. They live exclusively on fish; which they can catch 

 with perfect ease, by outswimming them. If an otter takes after a 

 fish there is no escape unless it can get into so small a i)lace that 

 the otter cannot follow It can outswim even a trout. It does not 

 use its fore feet in swimming, but drops them back the same as it 

 does when sliding on the snow, and propels itself with its hind feet, 

 which are webbed. It is a very strong, sharp bitten animal and will 

 whip two ordinary dogs. It is a very hardy, long-lived animal, 

 often attaining the age of 20 years. It breeds once a year, dropping 

 its young, three or four, about the first of May, and generally se- 

 lects some small stream that is very secluded and well stocked with 

 trout. Of all wild animals, the otter is the wildest. It is very hard to 

 trap, not only on account of its natural shyness, but also from a 

 penchant that it has for catching its own food, and consequently 

 can not be baited. The otter is sometimes domesticated by the 

 trapper, and taught to catch fish for his master. In India and in 

 China it has long been customary to so train the otter. 



THE FISHE R.— These are caught with the same methods used 



