124 PARTIAL WATER TRESPASSERS. 



careful aim before he can plant his bullet success- 

 fully. 



In order that the Otter should be enabled to retain 

 the slippery and active prey on which it feeds, its 

 canine teeth must of necessity be long and sharp, and 

 its jaws powerful. But many Otters live habitually on 

 the salmon, one of the most powerful and active fish of 

 our rivers. In course of time they become epicures, 

 only kill the finest fish, and are dainty enough to eat 

 only the shoulders, leaving the rest on the bank. 



Many a shepherd has kept himself well fed by 

 discovering the larder of one of these old Otters, and 

 taking the fish which the dainty creature had left on 

 the bank. Perhaps scarcely half a pound of the fish 

 would have been eaten by the Otter, the remainder 

 falling to the man, who of course took very good care 

 not to reveal the dwelling-place of so useful an ally, 

 and never to disturb the animal at its food. 



Any one who has caught a salmon can appreciate 

 its strength. Even when landed, it struggles so 

 fiercely, that only experienced fishers can hold it, and 

 its power in its own element is necessarily very much 

 greater. Yet the Otter can swim faster than the 

 salmon, turn more nimbly, and when it has once 

 grasped its prey is strong enough to bring it to land. 

 This fact shows that the neck must possess the double 

 qualities of flexibility and strength, and accordingly, 

 if the skin be removed, the neck is seen to be clothed 

 with muscles quite as strong, in proportion to the size 

 of the animal, as are those of the lion himself. 



Indeed, there are few creatures in which flexibility 

 and power are so wonderfully combined as in the Otter. 



