OTTER 



and more than one picnic party has, all unconsciously, 

 assembled on the inviting mound under the shadow of 

 the trees ! If an " earth " is opened, it is found to 

 consist of various apartments, all scrupulously clean and 

 well-apportioned. Maybe a Fox has secured lodgings 

 there, too, and if this happy state of affairs is existent, 

 then one can tell at a glance which is the better house- 

 keeper of the two animals, the Badger's tidiness being 

 in strange contrast with that of its crafty lodger. The 

 grassy nest is secreted within the burrow, and here 

 three or four young are produced in early Spring. They 

 are blind at first, and do not leave the security of their 

 underground home until they are well able to fend for 

 themselves. 



The diet is of a varied nature, consisting of roots, 

 fruit, birds' eggs, small mammals^ frogs, reptiles and 

 insects. One further point of interest is that, like the 

 dandy Dragon Fly, the Badger can travel equally well 

 backwards or forwards ; the insect, of course, careering 

 through the air, the mammal over the ground. 



Otter. — This, the last member of the carnivorous 



land mammals with which we have to deal, is one of the 



most elegant of them all, and although rarely seen except 



by river-keepers and anglers, the Otter (Fig. 23) is to be 



regarded as a most beautiful and engaging creature, and 



a distinct acquisition to any stretch of water that it 



frequents. Unfortunately, as we ourselves can testify, 



it commits much havoc where Trout are reared, and 



several fine animals have passed through our hands which 



103 



