THE COMMON OTTER. 117 



statements of the greatest length to which the otter attains, all 

 writers agree in stating the length of the tail to be one foot four 

 inches. Bell says, that the usual weight of a fine male is from 

 twenty to twenty -four pounds, and that of the female about four 

 pounds less. We have, however, the record of an otter killed on 

 the 1st of January, 1828, in the old river Deben, at Lethering- 

 ham, and which weighed twenty -nine pounds;* and Pennant says, 

 that, in 1794, an otter, weighing forty pounds, was found in the 

 river Lea, between Hertford and Ware. All these statements, 

 though greatly at variance with each other, may be perfectly 

 true, and would, perhaps, be more easily reconciled if the 

 recorders of them had informed us of the sex and probable 

 age of the individuals to which they refer. In the history 

 of the Polar bear, I have already pointed out the great variance 

 in the statements of the length of adult specimens of that 

 animal, which have been published by Pallas, Captain Lyon, 

 and Dr. Richardson, men whom we cannot discredit. 



The upper parts of the body of the otter are of a brownish or 

 chesnut colour ; the nose is black; the lips are whitish ; the 

 cheeks, inner sides of the legs, and the throat, breast, and belly, 

 are brownish grey.f The head is compressed 3 the ears are 

 short, semi -circular, and erect; and the eyes are so situated, 

 that the animal can see objects above, even while the head is in 

 a horizontal position; the feet are palmated, or webbed; the 

 toes are covered with hair, and the surface of the tail is flat- 

 tened. Its favourite haunts are the sides of rivers, streams, 

 and lakes, especially such as have gravelly bottoms and high 

 banks. Pennant says, it forms a habitation " by burrowing 

 under ground on the banks of some river or lake, and always 

 makes the entrance to its hole under water; works upwards to 

 the surface of the earth, and there makes a minute orifice for 

 the admission of air : it is further observed, that this animal, 

 the more effectually to conceal its retreat, contrives to make 



* Bury and Norwich Post, January 9, 1828. 



f In Scotland, the common otter is sometimes found spotted with white* 

 and this variety is called by the common people, the King of the Otter*. 



