33 
Clafs I. ] QUADRUPEDS. 
The otter fwims and dites with great ce¬ 
lerity, and is very deftruCtive to fifti: in ri¬ 
vers it is always oblerved to fwim againft the 
ftream, to meet its prey. In very hard wea¬ 
ther, when its natural fort of food fails, it 
will kill lambs and poultry. 
It fhews great fagacity in forming its ha¬ 
bitation : it borroughs under ground on the 
banks of fome river or lake; and always 
makes the entrance of its hole under water £ 
works upwards to the furface of the earth, 
and there makes a minute orifice for the ad- 
miffion of air : it is further oblerved, that this 
animal, the more effectually to conceal its re¬ 
treat, contrives to make even this little air 
hole in the middle of fome thick bufh. 
C '< * *■ * 
The otter brings four or five young at a 
time : as it frequents ponds near gentlemen’s 
houfes, there have been inffances of litters be¬ 
ing found in cellars, finks, and other drains. 
Sir Robert Sibbald , in his hiftory of Fife , 
mentions a Sea Otter , which he fays differs 
from the common fort, in being larger, and 
having a rougher coat; but probably it does 
not differ fpecifically from the kind that fre¬ 
quents frefh waters. 
Beavers, which are alfo amphibious ani¬ 
mals, were formerly found in Great-Britain ; 
but the breed has been extirpated many ages 
ago; the lateft account we have of them, is in 
Giraldus Cainbrenfs who travelled through 
Wales in n88 : he gives a brief hiftory of 
their manners ; and adds, that in his time they 
were found only in the river Feivi ; two or 
three lakes in that principality, ftill bear the 
name of Llynyr afangc , or the beaver lake ; 
which is a further proof, that thefe animals 
were found in different parts of it f. 
Girald. Cattib . itin . p, jjS* lytq. 
•f Raii fyn. quad. 213. 
GENUS 
