38 VERTEBRATE FAUNA OF LAKELAND 



considerably. This is to be partly accounted for by illicit 

 trapping ; not entirely so. 



It has been noticed that Otters are scarce on the Eden in 

 seasons which have been preceded by heavy floods in the 

 previous twelve months. It is thought that, owing to the 

 extreme rapidity with which our rivers rise, the female Otters 

 are sometimes unable to remove all their cubs to a place of 

 safety before the ' fresh ' reaches them, and that a percentage 

 thus perish in infancy. Young Otters are far less apprehensive 

 of danger than their experienced companions. It is not long 

 since a fine young Otter was caught quite uninjured on Hawes- 

 water (where the rocks supply fine cairns), and sent as a pet to 

 Lowther Castle. Fly fishermen often observe Otters in the 

 gloaming and in the early hours of day. In the dark they hear 

 the whistling of the Otter with dislike, for his arrival frightens the 

 fishes and reduces the chance of their feeding. Otters live more 

 on the banks of rivers than many persons are aware of. When 

 snow is lying on the ground an expert should have no difficulty 

 in recognising the ' spur marks ' or ' pad marks ' of the Otter in 

 the fields near the water-side. Only this last January [1892] 

 R. Eaine traced the 'footings' of an Otter for a long way 

 across the meadows, and found that the animal had eaten a dead 

 rabbit. He and Parker agree that Otters live chiefly on eels, 

 ' skellies ' [ = chub], and other coarse fish, on the Eden at any 

 rate. I have seen a nice grilse lying on the Eden side, out of 

 which an Otter had taken his favourite cut ; so probably have 

 most people. But I believe that the Otter renders valuable 

 service in keeping down the numbers of worthless fish. The 

 distances covered by Otters in a single night often extend into 

 the teens of miles. If a stream is too strong to allow the Otter 

 to make headway comfortably, the animal lands and travels 

 along the bank. An Otter cannot travel as fast as a hound on 

 a dead level, but it can worm its way through a wood more 

 rapidly than any dog. When a river is low, or its dimensions 

 happen to be small, a hunted Otter often prefers to continue 

 the chase on land, and long defies the exertions of a pack in a 

 thick wood. Otters perform considerable land journeys when 

 desirous of changing their fishing-grounds. The Otters of the 



