IN CAPTIVITY IN LOWER BENGAL. 91 



slope of a tank and enclosing a large area of .water. The enclosure 

 may be 30 feet long and 15 feet broad, stretching lengthwise into 

 the tank, and built on substantial brick walls with somewhat deep 

 foundation, as otherwise the otter is not unlikely to work its way out 

 under the mud. The portion of the enclosure which is to remain under 

 water should be made of at least half inch thick iron rods, placed one 

 inch or an inch and a half apart from each other ; the portion above the 

 water may be made of quarter inch rods, placed at an interval of an 

 inch and a half. Stout wire netting may be used for the roof, which 

 during the hot weather, should be covered with a slight thatching of 

 straw. If some extent of dry ground is not available inside the 

 enclosure, a wooden platform may be built and a sleeping box provided. 

 For reasons to be explained later on, otters in this garden are some- 

 times kept in other and less comfortable places. Otters, unknown to 

 each other, should never be placed together. 



Food. — Their food consists principally of fish. Otters eat much, but 

 waste more, if they have an opportunity of doing so. Two pounds of 

 koi or singi fish form the usual allowance of a full-grown otter, but their 

 appetite varies. Besides fish they eat crabs and frogs, and tame ones 

 have been known to become very fond of bread and biscuits. An otter is 

 therefore an expensive animal to keep, a full-grown one costing from 

 Es. 6 to Es. 8 a month. As far as possible young otters should not be 

 fed on koi or singi, but on less bony fish. 



Transport. — To transport an otter is by no means easy, especially 

 if it is to be sent by sea and the distance is long ; the difficulty lies in 

 providing fresh fish. Fortunately, however, the koi and singi fish 

 are hardy, and with a little care may be kept alive for a considerable 

 time. It is best to put these fish in an old earthen jar, but this 

 may be fractured on board a steamer; so the next best plan is to put 

 them in a wooden tub (half of a beer barrel) with plenty of tank weeds 

 and mud ; a tub will hold from 10 to 20 pounds of fish ; it should 

 be covered over with a piece of fishermen's net, otherwise the fish will 

 escape ; in such an arrangement the water need not be changed more 

 than once a fortnight. Crabs may also be sent, and otters may be fed 

 on eggs and chickens ; but as they do not all care for such food it is 

 better to observe them and train them to eat such things before des- 

 patch. The cage for transport should be made with a sliding partition 

 so as to divide it at the time of cleaning into two compartments, other- 

 wise it will soon become very dirty and the animal will suffer. A 

 quantity of dry earth or sand should be provided to enable the animal 

 to roll over it, and the creature should be syringed or sprinkled with 

 water twice a day. On approaching cold latitudes both the otter and 

 the food— the fish, when provided — should be placed somewhere near the 

 engine room. 



Breeding. — Otters have never bred in this garden. 



Treatment in sickness. 



Young otters, and sometimes adult ones also, have been known to 

 pine away and die. On one occasion a tame smooth-haired otter 

 suffered from an abscess in the throat ; this was opened and the animal 

 recovered without any further treatment. Those kept in places with 



