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 captivity, 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, (Myopotamus 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 



