THE ZOOLOGIST 



No. 205.— January, 1894. 



THE OTTER, LUTRA VULGARIS. 

 By the Editor. 



Few animals have been more maligned than the Otter, or 

 more misunderstood. The majority of people know little or 

 nothing of its habits from personal observation, and are under 

 the impression that, as it is a great destroyer of fish, its presence 

 in a trout-stream, or salmon river, is on no account to be tolerated. 

 But "live and let live" is a very wholesome motto, and we shall 

 always maintain that so long as the fishery-laws of this country 

 are respected, and illegal netting is prevented, there will be 

 always enough fish in our rivers for anglers and otters too. 



Moreover, it is a fallacy to suppose that the Otter, as stated 

 by Bell in his * British Quadrupeds,' " lives exclusively on fish." 

 This is by no means the case, as we shall presently show ; nor is 

 it the fact that it confines its attention to salmon and trout, 

 despising the coarser kinds. But before treating of its food, it 

 will be proper to say something of its structure, so well adapted 

 as it is to the creature's habits. 



In the Otter we find the general organization of the Weasel 

 family specially modified for an aquatic life. The skull shows 

 some approach in form to that of the Seals, being short, oval, 

 broad, and much flattened, with the occipital region strongly 

 developed. Between the orbits it is much compressed, so that the 

 eyes look upwards. The molar-teeth have very sharp tubercles, 

 well fitted to retain their grip of hard-scaled and slippery fish. 

 The limbs are short but powerful, with very flexible joints, per- 

 mitting every freedom of movement in swimming. The intestine, 



ZOOLOGIST, THIRD SERIES, VOL. XVIII. — JAN. 1894. B 



