had. Their chute-the-chute wasn't tough enough. Then they 

 hurried back along the bank to make the run again! 



Nature equipped the otter well for an aquatic life. His stream- 

 lined form, terminating in a flat, tapered tail which serves as a 

 rudder, is driven through the water by fully webbed feet. One 

 would suppose that a creature so at home in water would be 

 born knowing how to swim but no, the parents must teach their 

 pups what those big webbed feet are for. 



Similarly, the pups must be taught that fish are good to eat, 

 and then how to catch them, which the otter accomplishes by 

 sheer swimming ability. While I was fishing a beaver pond one 

 day, my eye caught a splash beside a log. In a moment an otter 

 swam by under water, with the speed and grace of a seal. Trail- 

 ing bubbles, it executed an incredible turn to catch a dodging 

 trout. 



Normally, otters avoid man. Yet because of their amiable dis- 

 position, unlike that of their blood-thirsty cousin, the weasel, 

 they can be tamed, and become affectionate household pets. 

 Domesticated otters have even been used by hunters for retriev- 

 ing wildfowl. Certain diving ducks, when injured, swim to the 

 bottom and hang onto weeds, eluding the best dogs but not 

 an otter. 



Otters are adept at concealing their presence in winter. The 

 entrance to their cold-weather den is under water and leads 

 upward to a comfortable, dry living chamber, and to another 

 which is used as a toilet. Talk about privacy! An otter can catch 

 a fish in his river, swim home with it, and eat it there, without 

 leaving a sign to betray his existence! 



Mostly the animals travel and play in family units, going from 

 pond to river to lake in a circuit that often covers fifty miles. 

 And always there is time to devise a game of some sort. One day 

 I witnessed what appeared to be a sort of water polo. Approach- 

 ing a river cautiously, I came upon three otters splashing lustily 

 and chittering happily to themselves. They seemed to be passing 

 something around. Every now and then there'd be an extra 

 flurry of excitement and one would dive under briefly. I finally 

 discovered what the "ball" was: a piece of white clamshell. 



100 



