CHAPTER I 



THE NATURAL HISTORY OF THE OTTER 



The common otter of the British Islands, known 

 in scientific classification as Lutra vulgaris, 

 belongs to the Mustelidse, or in other words the 

 weasel family. Included in the latter are the 

 martens and their allies, whose chief attributes 

 are activity, length of body and tail, shortness 

 of legs, widely separated toes, and small claws. 

 The otter is the possessor of similar attributes, 

 with additional developments to fit it for an 

 aquatic existence. If therefore we describe the 

 otter as an aquatic marten, living chiefly on a 

 fish diet, we shall probably not be deviating 

 very far from the truth. Swimming is an 

 inherited instinct handed down through the ages, 

 and though it has been lost by man, it has been 

 developed and taken advantage of by many 



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