104 POPULAR OFFICIAL GUIDE. 
is available for the use of the furrier, this creature is so 
nearly extinct that trappers no longer pursue it. In the 
southern States, where its fur is short, rather coarse and 
‘‘off color,’’ the Otter still is found. In some portions of 
eastern Florida, and along the coast of South Carolina, it 
is frequently taken. In ccptivity, it often becomes quite 
tame, even affectionate, and always is interesting. Unless 
closely confined, however, it is prone to wander, and meet 
premature death. 
In captivity the Otter usually is active and restless, and 
very much in evidence. Owing to the strength of its jaws, 
its ability to climb under certain conditions and its restless 
activity, it is difficult to confine a full-grown Otter in any- 
thing else than a complete box of iron cage-work. 
Few persons save woodsmen and naturalists are aware of 
the fact that in a wild state the Otter is a very playful ani- 
mal, and is as fond of sliding down hill, over a wet and 
muddy slide, with a water plunge at the bottom, as any 
young person is of ‘‘shooting the chutes.’’ Like the small 
boy with the sled and a snowy hillside, the Otter sometimes 
indulges in its sliding pastime for an hour at a time, with 
a keen relish for the sport that is quite evident to all who 
have ever watched it. 
The Otter is a carnivorous animal, and in a wild state 
lives upon fish, frogs, crabs, young birds, small mammals, 
and, in fact, about any living thing which it can catch. 
The Coypu Rat, (Mvyopotamus coypu), of Central and 
South America, is interesting because of the fact that it is 
the largest of all rats or rat-like animals. In its habits it 
is as fond of water as the musk-rat. It is sufficiently clothed 
with fur to endure outdoor life in the Park, even in winter, 
and it has been acclimatized here in one of the other pools. 
It breeds persistently, and thrives in captivity, provided it 
is treated as it should be. 
THE SMALL-MAMMAL HOUSE, No. 35. 
The new Small-Mammal House, erected and occupied in 
1905, is a very different structure from the temporary build- 
ing which formerly occupied the site. The present building 
is a twin of the Ostrich House, and in it much effort has 
been expended in devising ways and means to keep its liv- 
ing inhabitants clean, odorless and in good health. Owing, 
however, to the musky odors secreted by many of the civet 
