Fep., 1912. Mammats oF ILLInoIs AND WIsconsIN— Cory. 333 
Cray-fish. When unable to procure these in sufficient quantity, it 
devours frogs, and is said to depopulate the poultry yard, and even 
prey upon young lambs. It can dive and swim under water with such 
speed and agility, that it can overtake and secure, with great ease and 
certainty, almost any of our fresh water fishes.” * 
“Otter slides,” about which much has been written, are smooth, 
worn pathways on the sides of banks of streams, which are used by these 
animals. Many writers claim to have seen them amusing themselves 
sliding, down these places much as a boy enjoys sliding down hill in 
winter. Audubon and Bachman state that they once saw a pair of 
these animals sliding down a bank and say, ‘‘We counted each one 
making twenty-two slides before we disturbed their sportive 
occupation.” f 
Kennicott says: “‘This curious habit seems to be indulged in by the 
Otter at all times, when a suitable place can be found, though more in 
the love season than any other. It climbs to the top of some steep 
bank, made slippery by the mud and water from its own body, or, in 
winter, by snow and ice, and lying down with its fore-feet bent under, 
slides headlong to the bottom. Trappers inform me that they have 
often seen the Otter thus engaged for an hour or more, scrambling 
eagerly to the top after each descent and greatly enjoying the sport.” 
(l. ¢., pp. 247-248.) 
The Otter makes a home in a burrow in the bank of some stream or 
pond. The young, which number from two to three, are usually born 
in April and when first born their eyes are closed. When taken very 
young they become very tame and often affectionate, but if not cap- 
tured until six or eight weeks old they rarely become gentle and are 
usually treacherous. I have owned a number of young Otters at 
various times and all of them would readily eat raw meat, but they 
preferred fish. They often uttered a low tremulous cry resembling 
that of a fretful baby. One, which we “brought up on a bottle,” 
would follow my wife about the garden and into the house and seemed 
to take great delight in being petted. 
The skins of these animals are quite valuable and in much demand, 
as they make handsome and durable furs. Although much less com- 
mon than formerly, great numbers of these animals are still trapped in 
Canada. From 1895 to 1905 the Hudson Bay Company secured 
between 85,000 and 90,000 skins, or an average of nearly 9,000 skins 
per year.{ 
*Mamm. Adirondack Reg., 1886, pp. 87-88. 
t Quadrupeds of North Amer., II, 1851, p. 8. 
{Up to the year 1906, from 200 to 300 Otter skins were annually secured by 
local dealers from the Indians in southeastern Florida, but I am informed that since 
then the number has decidedly decreased. 
