THE OTTER AND SEAL 61 



The other otters joined in the chase, but the 

 prey continued for a time to escape capture, 

 and one by one they had all to come to the 

 surface to vent. Down again, and once more 

 the fish was flushed. On this occasion the male 

 cub got his teeth into the shoulders of the sea 

 trout as it doubled back to escape from the old 

 otter. 



Still swimming under water, the cub went 

 ashore with his prize, and as soon as he reached 

 the bank scrambled up the rocks. One of the 

 other cubs followed her successful brother 

 ashore with the idea of sharing his capture, but 

 the dog went for her, bit her on the head, and 

 drove her into the water. The mother and two 

 cubs now continued to hunt, and before long 

 all four otters were chewing their fish, the young 

 dog on the rock at the tail of the pool, his 

 sisters on a bank of shingle, and the mother on 

 a projecting boulder in the middle of the stream. 



The old otter had done most of the work 

 and was hungry, so she started at the head of a 

 two-pound sea trout and ate it down to the tail, 

 only stopping occasionally for a drink. The 

 meal finished, she again slipped into the water 

 to fish ; a splash of blood and a few scales alone 



