THE OTTER 89 



but in the far north, where the winters are long and severe, it sleeps, 

 like the bears, for months together. When spring arrives it wakes 

 up, much leaner and more hungry than when it went to sleep, and 

 begins to hunt for mice, rats, moles, and nests of ants and humble- 

 bees, going about grunting like a pig, and turning up the earth 

 with its snout. 



It is by no means dainty in its appetite, for in addition to the 

 objects first mentioned its bill of fare may include young hares or 

 partridges, lizards, serpents, toads, underground fungi, and various 

 kinds of roots, grapes, currants, and other fruits. To the stings of 

 ants and humble-bees it pays little heed. 



When driven into a corner the badger defends itself with great 

 courage. Lying on its back, it assails its foe with teeth and claws, 

 and it is only when attacked by several enemies at once that it can 

 be forced to leave its den. 



THE OTTER 



The Otter, like the badger, is found in most parts of the Old 

 and New Worlds. It may be regarded as a water weasel, its diet 

 consisting of fish instead of the many small animals that form the 

 food of its relations on dry land. Its body is long, stout, and 

 shaped like a cylinder, its legs, like those of the weasel, are short, 

 the tail is long and flat, and the feet are webbed, as in all animals 

 that spend a great part of their life in the water. 



The otter is perhaps the most expert of all swimming and 

 diving animals. It swims easily against the strongest currents, 

 and is in no way inferior to the trout and pike in rapidity of move- 

 ment. The holes on the banks of streams in which the otter 

 makes its home are, as a rule, very cunningly concealed. The 

 passage to the outside generally opens at a certain depth below the 

 surface of the water, while one or more passages leading to the 

 ground above serve for ventilation. 



Although fish and crayfish are the favourite food of the otter, 

 it also eats small mammals, frogs, and in short everything that 

 lives in or near the water. It is so destructive to fish that great 

 eff'orts are made to capture and kill it, but there is probably no 



