THE LARGER NORTH AMERICAN MAMMALS 



445 



still occur regularly in the Adirondack^ of New 

 York and the Green Mountains of Vermont 

 and in Maine, but are gone from most of the 

 southern border of their former range. 



Fishers are powerful and agile animals, 

 probably for their size by far the swiftest and 

 most deadly of all our forest carnivores. So 

 swift and "dextrous are they in the tree-tops 

 that they not only capture squirrels without 

 difficulty, but are able to overtake and kill the 

 marten, almost an incredible feat. When in 

 pursuit of their prey or when alarmed, they 

 make astonishing leaps from tree to tree. 

 While not so speedy on the ground as some 

 other animals, they have the tireless persist- 

 ence of their kind and capture snowshoe hares 

 in fair chase. 



Among the habitants of the forest the fisher 

 is a fearless and savage marauder, which feeds 

 on frogs, fish, and nearly every bird and mam- 

 mal its domain affords, except species so large 

 that their size protects them. Porcupines are 

 among its favorite victims and are killed by 

 being turned over and attacked on their under- 

 parts. As a consequence of such captures, the 

 fisher often has many quills imbedded in its 

 head and the foreparts of its body. 



The fisher, like many other predatory ani- 

 mals, has more or less regular "beats" along 

 which they make their rounds over the terri- 

 tory each occupies. These rounds commonly 

 require several days to accomplish. In winter 

 they keep mainly along wooded ridges, where 

 they are trapped. 



It follows trap lines like the wolverine and 

 eats the bait or the captured animal, but, un- 

 like the wolverine, appears to have no pro- 

 pensity for further mischief. When overtaken 

 by dogs or when at war with any of its forest 

 rivals, it is so active and ferocious that it is 

 worthy all due respect from antagonists several 

 times its size. 



Although essentially a tree animal, much of 

 the fisher's time is spent on the ground. In 

 summer it appears to be fond of heavy forests 

 in low-lying situations and the vicinity of 

 water. Its dens are usually located in a hollow 

 high up in a large tree, but sometimes in the 

 shelter of fallen tree trunks or crevices in the 

 rocks, where, the last of April or early in May, 

 the young are born. These may number from 

 one to five, but are usually two or three. The 

 young begin to follow the mother in her wan- 

 derings when quite small and do not leave her 

 guardianship until nearly grown. 



The fisher is not a common animal and only 

 about 8,000 of its skins are marketed each year. 

 Owing to its size, it is conspicuous, and its 

 very fearlessness tends to jeopardize its exist- 

 ence. It is gone from most of the southern 

 part of its former range and will no doubt 

 continue steadily to lose ground with the in- 

 creasing occupation of its haunts. 



OTTER (Lutra canadensis and its relatives) 



Land otters are common throughout a large 

 part of the Old World, and when America was 



explored the animals were found generally 

 distributed, and sometimes common, from the 

 northern limit of trees in North America to 

 southern South America. Within this great 

 area a considerable number of species and geo- 

 graphic races of otters occur, all having a close 

 general resemblance in appearance and habits. 



The Canadian otter is the well-known type 

 throughout the United States, Canada, and 

 Alaska. It is a slender, dusky brown animal, 

 from 4 to 5 feet in length, frequenting streams 

 and lakes which contain a good supply of fish. 

 Otters are too short-legged to move easily on 

 land, but are remarkable for their admirable 

 grace, agility, and swiftness in the water. Al- 

 though so poorly adapted to land travel, they 

 are restless animals, constantly moving up and 

 down the streams in which they live and often 

 crossing from one stream to another. In the 

 far north in midwinter they travel surprising 

 distances across snow-clad country, following 

 the banks of streams or passing between them 

 searching for an entrance to water, whether 

 through the ice or in open rapids. 



In Alaska I saw many otter trails in the 

 snow crossing the Yukon and through the ad- 

 jacent forest. In such journeys it was evident 

 that the animals progressed by a series of long 

 bounds, each leaving a well-marked, full-length 

 impression in the snow, so characteristic that 

 it could not be mistaken. These trails, often 

 leading for miles across country, always ex- 

 cited my deepest interest and wonder as to 

 how these animals could succeed in finding 

 holes through the ice in this vast snow-bound 

 waste. Nevertheless they seemed to know full 

 well, for the trails always appeared to be lead- 

 ing straight away for some known objective. 



Although never very abundant, otters are so 

 shy and solitary in their habits that they have 

 managed to retain almost all of their original 

 range. They occur now and then in the Po- 

 tomac, near Washington, and in other rivers 

 throughout the country, where their tracks may 

 occasionally be detected on sand-bars and in 

 the muddy shallows along the banks. A sight 

 of the animals themselves is rare. Their dens 

 are usually in the banks of streams or lakes 

 above or below the surface of the water, under 

 the roots of large trees, or beneath rocky 

 ledges. 



Otters are extremely playful and amuse 

 themselves by sliding down steep banks into 

 the water, repeatedly using the same place 

 until a smooth chute or "slide" is denned. 

 They usually have two to five young, which 

 remain with the mother until nearly grown. 



While close relatives of the weasel, they are 

 much more intelligent, have a gentler disposi- 

 tion, and make playful and most interesting: 

 pets. Their fur is highly prized and always 

 brings a good price in the market. As a re- 

 sult, they have been persistently hunted and 

 trapped since our pioneer days. That the spe- 

 cies should continue to exist, though in much 

 diminished numbers, throughout most of its 

 original range is a striking evidence of its re- 

 tiring habits and mental acuteness. 



