LAKE DWKLLEItS. 180 



two first-coiisiiis, as tlicy appojir to bo, the beaver and 

 the musk rat,'^ yet, as the lieading is somewhat fjinciful, 

 and my oljcct is to notice the water-freqiu'nting mam- 

 malia of tlie W(jodH, I will proceed to mention otlier 

 animals which i)rowl round the mari^ins of hikes or 

 brooks, more or less taking to the water, undiir the sub- 

 divisional title of " dwellers by lake shores." 



THE OTPER of Eastern Americui (Lutra Canadensis), 

 (there is a distinct species found on the Pacific slope,) 

 differs from the European animal in colour, size, and con- 

 formation. The former is much the darkest colouri'd, a 

 peculiarity attaclnul to many North American mammals 

 when compared with their Old-Woi-ld congeners. It is 

 also the largest. Taken ^^ct se, but slight importance 

 would attach to such variations ; and it is on the grounds 

 of well-ascertained osteological differences only that the 

 separation of species in the case of both the beaver and 

 the otter of America has been agreed on. 



The Canadian otter measures from nose to tip of tail, 

 in a large specimen, between four and a-half and five feet ; 

 its colour is a dark chestnut brown or liver, and its fur is 

 very close and lustrous. Under the throat and belly it is 

 lighter, approaching to tawny. The breeding season is in 

 February and early March (of wild cat and fox, ibid), and 

 the she otter brings forth in May a litter of three or four 

 pups. The clear whistle of the otter is a very common 

 sound to the ear of the occupant of a fishing camj), and 

 the Indians frequently call them up by successful imita- 

 tion of their note. The skin is valuable and much sought 



* The musk-rat is often found as an occu})ant of an old beaver-house 

 deserted bv the latter animal. 



