THE BOOK OF THE OTTER 



feeding expeditions are not necessarily restricted 

 to the main river, for he often explores side- 

 streams, ditches, and other places, which lie at 

 a considerable distance from deep water. He 

 usually leaves his holt — or couch if he is lying 

 rough — about dusk, and returns to it before 

 daybreak. For the most part otters are silent 

 creatures, but they whistle when calling to each 

 other, and will snort and blow when playing 

 together. In Canada their playgrounds are the 

 " slides," and there two otters will gambol like 

 puppies between the intervals of tobogganing down 



the bank. 



Although an otter does not dig to any extent, 



he will, as already mentioned, scratch up sand or 



soft earth for a certain purpose, and his feet and 



claws aid him in securing crustaceans and other 



food. Although the otter is unable to climb 



like the marten, he can on occasion jump and 



scramble over high places in a wonderful manner. 



In the North, otters regularly travel deep ghylls 



and watercourses where they are obliged to climb 



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