OTTERS. 95 



the Adirondack region the number of fresh-water cray-fish consumed by these otters 

 is enormous, this crustacean apparently forming as important a portion of their food 

 as fish. The same writer also bears testimony as to the long journeys undertaken 

 by the North American otter from river to river across country ; these journeys 

 mostly taking place during the winter. On such occasions they " go so fast that a 

 man has great difficulty in overtaking them. On the ice they proceed by a series 

 of what boys call 'a run and a slide/ that is, they make several jumps and then 

 slide ahead flat on their bellies, as far as their impetus and the smoothness of the 

 ice permit, and then do the same thing over again, and so on." A curious habit of 

 this otter is its propensity for sliding down smooth and steep banks, either of snow 

 or of mud. Such gambols have been watched by several observers, from whose 

 accounts it appears that in winter the animals select the highest ridge of snow, on 

 to the top of which they scramble, whence, as Dr. J. D. Godrnan writes, they give 

 themselves an impulse with their hind-legs, and swiftly glide head-foremost down 

 the declivity, sometimes for a distance of twenty yards. This sport they continue 

 apparently with the greatest enjoyment until fatigue or hunger induces them to 

 desist. A pair on a mud-bank made upwards of twenty-two slides before they 

 were disturbed. The number of young in a litter is said to be usually two, although 

 there may occasionally be either one or three. They are born about the middle of 

 April, and during the summer and autumn the female is generally to be seen 

 accompanied by her two young. 



The fur of the otter is more valuable than that of any other 

 North American animal, and is in good condition from November till 

 the spring, but is at its best period during the latter season. It is stated by Dr. 

 Coues that the number of skins of the American otter exported by the Hudson's Bay 

 Company to London in the year 1873 exceeded 11,000, while in 1891 the same 

 company sold 8171 skins. The ordinary price varies from thirty to fifty shillings 

 per skin. 



These otters are usually caught in steel traps, which are set 

 beneath the water where one of the " slides " or tracks of the animals 

 leads to the margin. Sometimes the trap is, however, placed at the top of the slide 

 and covered with snow. In neither case is any bait used; but in all methods 

 the greatest care is necessary that no traces of the trapper's presence should 

 remain, as the otter has very acute smell and sight, and is exceedingly wary and 

 cunning. 



South America possesses at least three species of otters, of which the most 

 noteworthy are the Brazilian otter and the feline otter. The Brazilian otter (L. 

 Brazilian ott r ^ >ras ^ ens ^ s ) i g niuch the largest of all the living species, and is dis- 

 tinguished by the presence of a distinct ridge running along each 

 side of the tail, whence it is often termed the margined- tailed otter. It inhabits 

 the rivers of Brazil and Guiana, where it is known as the Ariranha. The length 

 of the head and body is over 40 inches, while that of the tail is about 23 inches. 

 The nose is completely covered with hair, and the general colour of the pelage is 

 chocolate-brown, becoming lighter on the under-parts. The chin, as well as a large 

 irregular patch on the throat, and some spots on the under-surface of the body are, 

 however, whitish or vellow. 



