THE WEASEL KIND. 



13 



big fish, and the latter, though wary of the wiles of the 

 Sy-fisher or angler, is probably more easily captured by the 

 methods employed by the otter than are smaller and more 

 active fish. Now, no worse vermin can exist in a stream, 

 most of all a trout stream, than a big fish, and most of all 

 a big trout : and these monsters, little likely to fall 

 victims to the lures of the casual angler, are very well 

 bestowed in the jaws of an otter, This is all we can urge 

 in his favour to the fisherman, except, if the latter be an 

 all-round sportsman, that legitimate otter-hunting is a very 

 charming sport. But if the otter's virtues end upon the 

 river-bank, his vices terminate there likewise. For we may 

 regard the charges of visiting farmyards and destroying 

 poultry, and even young lambs, as (if proved) too exceptional 

 to be of serious import. 



Many instances are on record of the otter being tamed 

 and taught to fish for the benefit of its master.''' 



Otters may occasionally be trapped by placing a fairly 

 strong steel gin in their tracks through a bed of rushes or 

 osiers. The trap must be well covered up and attached to 

 a small chain. Some trappers have recommended that 

 when the trap is set close to the edge of deep water, the 

 chain to which it is attached should not be fastened to a 

 fixed object, but to a piece of lead of such a weight that the 

 otter, when frightened by the snap of the trap, 

 instinctively diving under water, can drag it over the edge, 

 but is unable to come to the surface again wath it. In this 

 case the otter is drowned, and there is less risk of it 

 wrenching or biting its foot free from the trap. A long 

 line ought, of course, to be tied to the trap, in order to trace 

 the whereabouts of the drowned otter. The plan has the 

 recommendation of insuring a speedy and easy death to the 

 captive. 



* One of my friends had a young otter wliich he led about in a i^ash. At Bassenth\\-aite 

 a man and his son trained a pair of otters to fish in the lake. They would return when 

 called upon, or follow their master home when the fishing was over. — Editor. 



