hana: Wee PS pe airs Mite 
Sar ia ae : oN Meee ink 
“ yiay ¢ 
328 = ot On 
————$———- — — —— ———————_— eee 
t—— 
LUTRA CANADENSIS, (Turron). 
THE OTTER. | 
Specific Character—Length about 4} feet. Muzzle longer than wide, send- 
ing down a naked point along the median line of the upper lip anteriorly, 
Under surfaces of the feet so covered with hair towards the circumference as 
completely to isolate the naked pads of the tips. 
A hairy strip extending forward from beneath the carpus qn the aati 
Colour above, liver brown, barely lighter beneath interior surface and sides of neat 3 
and neck dirty whitish. 
Habitat.—North America generally, common in Northern Ontario. 
Average Size-—Equal to that of an enormous cat, although much longer in 
body. 
Average Weight.—From 25 to 40 pounds. 
Average Height.—10 inches. 
Average Length.—8} to 4 feet. 
Value of Fur.—Per skin, average $4 to $8. 
The general form of the otter is musteline. 
The head is broad and blunt, the neck long, the body depressed and ee legs 
short, tail long, tapering and much depressed about three-fifths as long as the head 
and body. F 
The feet are broad and webbed to a point opposite to the root of the canes in 
the fore feet. The palms are entirely hairy, except the central portions which 
are naked. The characteristies of the hind feet are much like those of the fore 
feet. | 
The fur is of a soft brown colour ; the under fur is, however, decidedly lighter, 
The habits of the otter are decidedly aquatic and its movements in the water 
are marvellous. 
It is a great destroyer of fish, and is so dainty in the matter of food that it 
will eat only the choicest parts of the fish it kills, leaving the remainder to rot on 
the river bank. | 
The nest of the otter is found in hollows under the banks of the river, but 
the animal never burrows, its claws being too weak for any such purpose. ~ 
The fur of the otter is very valuable, and for this reason it is hunted in« 
cessantly, so much so, that as far as Ontario is concerned the animal is almost’ 
extinct. 
The breeding season occurs in March and the young are porn in April, from 
three to five being produced at a time. 
