142 CAENIVORA. 



EUEOPEAN OTTEE. 



Lutra vulgaris, 

 French : Loutre du pays. German : Land Otter. 



The Otter was probably abundant at one time over 

 the whole of the United Kingdom. It is now extinct in 

 some counties, but abounds in others. Its former 

 existence is shown by the names of places, towns, etc., 

 such as Ottercap, Otterburn, Otterford, Upper Ottery, 

 St. Mary's Ottery, Otterington, Otterhampton, Otterton, 

 the river Otter, most of these places being in Devon- 

 shire; also Otterham in Norfolk, and Otterpool and 

 Otterden in Kent. The Otter is occasionally found in 

 the Thames. 



There are eighteen packs of Otter-hounds in the 

 United Kingdom : thirteen in England, four in Wales, 

 and one in Scotland. Each pack consists of ten to 

 twenty-five couples of hounds, which hunt two or three 

 days a week. Fox-hounds are occasionally used, but 

 rough-coated Otter-hounds of pure or mixed breed (dogs 

 which bite and do not hold) are preferred. Packs are 

 sometimes moved from county to county. The season 

 is a summer one, from April to September. 



Otter-hunting has increased in favour in the last few 

 years, but not to the same extent as in the olden times, 

 when this sport was extremely popular. The old- 

 fashioned spear is not now used. 



The Otter affords much sport at times, drowning the 

 hounds by holding them under the water, and at others 

 it escapes by hiding under a reed or rock, with merely 

 its snout above water in order to breathe. 



