GROUP OF THE OTTERS, 



231 



In a state of freedom it is certainly ex- 

 clusively carnivorous, but in captivity it can 

 easily be accustomed to a vegetable diet. 



The otter li\-es a solitary life. The breed- 

 ing season, which interrupts its solitariness 

 for a time, mostly occurs at the beq-innino- of 

 spring. The female gives birth in Mav to 



at most four blind young ones, which she 

 watches o\'er tenderly, dnd keens for a lono- 

 tmie under her guardianshi]). 



Although otters are rather helpless crea- 

 tures on land, they yet sometimes tra\-erse 

 long stretches of country to get from a dried- 

 up brook to another still running. They 



rhe Otter {Lutra vulgarii). page 220. 



waddle along pretty ([uickly with their bell)' 

 on the oTound. The\- can easily be tamed, 

 become much attached to their master, follow- 

 ino- him like a doo-, and allow themselves to 

 be trained for hsh-catching. 



Yet the otter is passionately pursued on 

 account of the devastation it commits among 

 the fishes in ponds and rivers, as well as for 

 the sake of its fur and its tender tasty flesh, 

 which is among the articles of diet allowed 

 during fasts. In the eyes of the Church the 

 otter is a fish. But the hunting of the otter 

 is extremely difficult. In the water the ani- 

 mal merely shows the point of its nose tor an 

 instant to breathe. Traps it a\-oids with great 

 astuteness, and it detects at once by the smell 

 whether a human hand has touched them; 

 and when it has been caught by a single paw- 

 it bites itself free and makes oft. 



The Sea-otter (/f;///r;//7.>- ;;/(r/7'//(?), fig. 124, 

 is rightly considered a peculiar type, which 

 forms the connecting link between the otters 

 and seals. It is a powertuJ animal, attaining 

 a weight of about 90 lbs., and a length of 

 nearly 4 feet. The species is absolutely con- 

 fined to the shores of Behring's Strait. 



The head is quite round, the neck thick 

 and short, the body thick and cylindrical, the 

 tail short and flattened like an oar, the feet 

 very short and clums)". All the teet are 

 broadly \\'ebbed, and thus form powerful 

 oars ; the fore-paws are small, the toes com- 

 pletely covered with hair, and only indicated 

 by very short claws; the hind-legs are placed 

 very far back, and are long and broad, 

 shaped in fact almost like those ot seals. 



The dentition is very remarkable. The 

 sea-otter is the only carnivore which has only 



