116 THE OPEN AIB. 



enthusiasts, for instance, desire the extinction of 

 water-fowl — there is not a single aquatic bird which 

 they do not accuse of damage to fry, spawn, or full- 

 grown fish ; no, not one, from the heron down to the 

 tiny grebe. They are nearly as bitter against animals ; 

 the poor water-vole (or water-rat) even is denounced 

 and shot. Any one who chooses may watch the water- 

 rat feeding on aquatic vegetation ; never mind, shoot 

 him because he's there. There is no other reason. 

 Bitterest, harshest, most envenomed of all is the 

 outcry and hunt directed against the otter. It is as 

 if the otter were a wolf — as if he were as injurious as 

 the mighty boar whom Meleager and his companions 

 chased in the days of dim antiquity. What, then, 

 has the otter done ? Has he ravaged the fields ? does 

 he threaten the homesteads ? is he at Temple Bar ? 

 are we to run, as the old song says, from the Dragon ? 

 The fact is, the ravages attributed to the otter are of 

 a local character. They are chiefly committed in 

 those places where fish are more or less confined. If 

 you keep sheep close together in a pen the wolf who 

 leaps the hurdles can kill the flock if he chooses. 

 In narrow waters, and where fish are maintained in 

 quantities out of proportion to extent, an otter can 

 work doleful woe. That is to say, those who want too 

 many fish are those who give the otter his opportunity. 

 In a great river like the Thames a few otters cannot 

 do much or lasting injury except in particular places. 

 The truth, is, that the otter is an ornament to the 

 river, and more worthy of preservation than any other 

 creature. He is the last and largest of the wild 

 creatures who once roamed so freely in the forests 



