TWO FAMOUS SWIMMERS. 159 



quote what Elliott Coues says of it : " In general 

 shape it is an equilateral pentagon, with one side 

 inferior, horizontal, and straight across, and the other 

 side on either hand irregular, owing to the shape 

 of the nasal apertures, the two remaining sides com- 

 ing together obliquely above to a median acute angle 

 high above a line drawn across the tops of the nos- 

 trils. It somewhat resembles the ace of spades." In 

 a word, this nose pad is a valve which closes over the 

 nostrils and prevents the water 

 from entering while the animal 

 is diving or swimming. The 

 otter in other respects is much 

 like its congeners ; the body is 

 long and columnar, about two 



J. , J. xT_ i- J? The otter's webbed foot. 



teet or more from the tip 01 

 the nose to the root of the tail ; the head is globose, 

 the muzzle very obtuse, the eyes and ears are very 

 small, the broad feet well furred and webbed, and 

 the tail about a foot long and slightly flattened — 

 i. e., elliptical in transverse section. 



The nest of the otter is built under some shelving 

 rock or uprooted tree, and sometimes in the hollow of 

 an old stump. The young are brought forth about the 

 middle of April, and there are usually two, or rarely 

 three, in a litter. The mother and young generally 

 remain together through the summer and autumn. 



