THE OTTER AND SEAL 73 



graphs from cinematograph film show this well. 

 On one occasion an otter on the pond after a 

 good chase caught and landed a 3-lb. pike. She 

 then deliberately pushed the fish into the water, 

 and a second chase ensued; a second time the 

 fish was carried ashore and again pushed into the 

 pond. The pike by now was exhausted, and in 

 a dazed state sulked on the bottom; the otter 

 tried to stir it up, but when this failed she caught 

 the pike by the snout and threw it over her head, 

 as shown in the illustration. The fish .was then 

 carried ashore and all but one-third of it 

 devoured. The otter evidently was hungry, but 

 she wished to get the maximum of amusement 

 out of the pike before she started her meal. 



A gliding movement particularly appeals to 

 the otter. Spreadeagled, the animal may be 

 content to float on the surface of a swift-running 

 stream ; at other times it selects a spot where the 

 water, penned into a narrow channel, sweeps 

 down to the pool below. Here time after time 

 it will dive into the entrance of the channel and 

 allow itself to be carried down head first into the 

 seething water below, and then with a graceful 

 bend of the body swing up to the surface. 



The perfection of gliding is reached when the 



