122 BRITISH QUADRUPEDS. 



in a river, and to drive them before it until the greater 

 part have thrown themselves on the bank. 

 Referring to these habits, Somerville says : 



" Seas have their sharks ; 

 Rivers and ponds enclose the ravenous pike ; 

 He in his turn, becomes a prey ; on him 

 The amphibious otter feasts. Just is his fate 

 Deserved ; but tyrants know no bounds ; nor spears, 

 That bristle on its back, defend the perch 

 From his wide greedy jaws ; nor burnished mail 

 The yellow carp ; nor all his arts can save 

 The insinuating eel, that hides his head 

 Beneath the slimy mud ; nor yet escapes 

 The crimson- spotted trout, the river's pride, and beauty of the stream." 



There is an Irish otter which differs, in some respects, 

 from that which is common in England. It is to a con- 

 siderable extent a marine animal, being found chiefly 

 on the coast of the county of Antrim, living in hollows 

 and caverns formed by the scattered masses of the ba- 

 saltic columns of that coast, and constantly betaking 

 itself to the sea when alarmed or hunted. It feeds 

 principally on the salmon ; and as it is injurious to the 

 fishery, a reward is given for its destruction. There 

 are, therefore, many persons who are employed in hunt- 

 ing it, obtaining a livelihood by the premium offered, 

 and by the sale of its skin. 



In reference to a young otter, Izaak Walton repre- 



