156 FAMILIAR LIFE IN FIELD AND FOREST. 



South he is common in the wilds of Tennessee, 

 IS^orth CaroUna, and West Virginia. 



The otter is amphibious in the largest sense of the 

 word ; he can remain under water as long as a loon, 

 and can swim a quarter of a mile without reappearing 

 at the surface. His prey generally consists of fish and 

 crayfish, but he also has a taste for frogs, muskrats, 

 wild duck, and poultry. He is an expert swimmer; 

 he can overtake almost any fish, not excepting the 

 trout, of which he is very fond, and in captivity he is 

 pirtiaj to boiled beef. Dr. Merriam also says he is 

 remarkably fond of crayfish {Cambaruf<), incredible 

 quantities of which he destroys during the summer. 



Otters are most restless creatures, traveling from 

 lake to lake and river to river, and pursuing either a 

 continuous or a devious course, " just as it happens." * 

 Tiiey travel great distances in winter, and are with 

 considerable difficulty overtaken by the hunter, so 

 rapidly do they progress. They propel themselves 

 over the slippery ice and snow with their hind legs, 

 and, doubling the fore legs under, sHde downhill and 

 over snowy ridges in a most rapid and comical fash- 

 ion. With the impetus gained by several rapid 

 jumps on the ice they manage to cover the ground 

 quicker than a swift runner on snowshoes. 



* Animals of the Adirondacks. Dr. Clinton Hart Merriam. 

 Transactions of the Linntean Society, vol. i. 



