WOOL- AND FUR-BEARING ANIMALS 275 



Otter, Clawless Otter, and two African species, known as the 

 African Clawless Otter and Spotted-Necked Otter respectively. 



The Common Otter is an inhabitant of many parts of Europe 

 and Asia, and is a good representative of this highly interesting 

 genus. A few notes concerning the life and habits of this species 

 will serve equally well for the other members. 



Active both on land and in the water, the Otter has long been 

 held in high estimation for the sport it presumably affords, for in 

 the water it is thoroughly at home, the webbed toes, short, flat head 

 and flattened tail assisting the little beast to carry out remarkable 

 manoeuvres which, thankful to relate, often baffle the huntsman and 

 his dogs. Being largely nocturnal, the Common Otter is rarely 

 seen excepting by those who are frequently near its haunts, and it 

 is so quick of movement that when fishing I have only had 

 momentary glances of the wary creature as it has suddenly appeared 

 close by, and then slipped away in less time than it takes to tell 

 the story. Accused, no doubt often unduly, of feeding largely upon 

 the angler's precious trout and salmon, the Otter has not many 

 friends, but, as I have written elsewhere on more than one occasion, 

 I have known many anglers who have, by taking a number of under- 

 sized fish, done more harm in a few excursions by the river than an 

 Otter will do in a season. Why grudge an animal its natural food 

 supply? Does not the beast in question frequent water where fish 

 are abundant and can best be spared, and is it not a sufficiently 

 attractive inhabitant of our streams and seas to warrant protection ? 

 My angling days are over, but I always look back with more satis- 

 faction upon the wild creatures I was privileged to see during my 

 fishing exploits than on heavy bags secured. Blank days occur to 

 me when not a single fish fell to my rod, but at such times many 

 other delightful interviews took place between myself and wild folk 

 which more than repaid me for lack of success with rod and line. 

 Therefore may I make a humble plea for the preservation of the 

 Otter as a British animal, for only recently in my own neighbour- 

 hood there have been killed two beasts — a bitch and a dog — which 

 frequented a stream containing to-day as many trout and other fish 

 as ever it did ! 



The last representative in this section of fur-bearing animals, the 

 Otter, has a coat of short close fur which is light grey in colour on 

 the under-parts, and long, silky fur of a rich brown colour above. It 

 attains a length of about three feet, including the tail. 



