568 



REPORT OF STATE GEOLOGIST. 



even catching such active members of the finny tribe as trout and 

 salmon. They resemble seals in their movements in the water, and 

 are equally graceful and playful. They are more active on land 

 than their form would indicate, for the legs are so short that the 

 body drags the ground when walking. Where they travel in the 

 snow the body scoops out a furrow along the path. 



Otters do not hibernate during the winter, but seek out springs 

 and the swift places in streams where the water does not freeze. 

 They also fish under the ice, and in the far north are said to stay 

 under the ice for hours at a time. At all seasons, they travel from 

 stream to stream, and they seem to follow somewhat regular routes. 

 They are sometimes away from home for several weeks, and appear 

 to have regular stopping places along the way. They are sociable, 

 and a pair, or even a whole family, are often found together. 



These animals are fond of sliding down embankments, and wear 

 furrows on the banks of streams where they resort frequently for 

 this sport. In winter snow freezes to their wet fur and enables 

 them more readily to slide down declivities to which they come in 

 their wanderings, and they always take advantage of this, and walk 

 up hill and across level places, but slide down all inclines. 



Some observers think that otters remain mated for life. At 

 any rate, the pair remains together during the summer, and the 

 male assists in caring for the young. From one to five is the num- 

 ber in a litter. It is said that the young are afraid of the water, 

 and that the mother carries them in by force when she is teaching 

 them to swim. 



The home is in a burrow in the bank of a stream. Rhoads has 

 given us an account of a very extensive one which he examined. A 

 chamber "large enough to hold a horse and cart" was broken into 

 by some workmen excavating brick clay. It was in a high bluff 

 overlooking a marsh and seventy-five yards from a creek. An un- 

 derground tunnel probably led beneath the marsh to the creek. 

 Mr. Rhoads thinks the chamber "probably had been dug hun- 

 dreds of years ago," and that "it is possible the large amount of 

 earth thrown out by the otters was the ultimate cause of the ob- 

 struction of the creek and its final abandonment of that channel 

 for the one now occupied on the opposite side of the marsh." 



. The fur of the otter has always been highly prized, and it has 

 resulted in great pers(H',ution of the animal by trappers. Only the 

 shyness of the ott(^rs has prevented their complete extermination. 



