410 
MUSTgL A. 
reality of the otter’s having ever been properly tamed, fo 
as to be rendered ferviceable in fifhing; but later expe¬ 
rience has proved this to be perfectly practicable. An 
otter thus tamed has followed its mafter like a dog, and 
been found extremely ufeful. Inftances of this kind are 
defcribed in Mr. Bewick’s work on Quadrupeds. A per- 
fon near Invernefs in Scotland had, according to this 
writer, a tame otter, which would follow him wherever 
he chofe; and, if called by its name, would immediately 
obey. When apprehenfive of danger from dogs, it would 
feek protection from its mafter, and endeavour to fly into 
liis arms for fecurity. It was frequently employed in 
catching fifti, and would fometimes take eight or ten lal- 
mon in a day : thefe it always made an attempt to break 
behind the fmall back fin, if not prevented : as foon as 
one was taken away, it immediately dived for another, 
and, when tired, refufed to fifh any longer; and, after 
having been rewarded with a part of the fpoil, would 
compofe itfelf to fleep, and in this ftate was carried home. 
It would fifh in the fea as w r ell as in frefh water. Another 
perfon, according to Mr. Bewick, who kept a tame otter, 
luftered it to follow him with the dogs ; and it was found 
a very ufeful afliftant in fifhing, by going into the water, 
and driving the trouts, &c. into the nets. It was farther 
remarkable, that the dogs, though accuftomed to hunt 
otters, were fo far from giving it the fmalleft moleftation, 
that they would not even hunt an otter while in its com¬ 
pany. This method of fifhing with a tame otter is alfo 
mentioned by Vaniere, in his truly Virgilian poem, the 
Prcedium Rvjlicum: 
Si nidum tenerofque ferae deprendere pul/os 
Contigit; abfenti fobolem furabere matri ; 
Et dam mollis adhuc (etas facilijique doccri, 
Pifcandi cicurem lutram formabis ad artes: 
JSamque vbi tranjverfo ftcterint JuJpenfa fluento 
Lina; cavernofos rimabitur ilia receffus, 
Ejeffios Jpecubus pij'ces in retia trudens ; 
Ut canis excitos ag'it in venabula cervos, 
Et leporum prejjo Jequitur vejiigia rojlro. 
Should chance, within their dark recefs, betray 
The tender young, bear quick the prize away. 
Tam’d by thy care, the ufeful brood fhall join 
The wat’ry chace, and add their toils to thine ; 
From each clofe lurking-hole fhall force away 
And drive within thy nets the filver prey : 
As the taught hound the timid flag fubdues. 
Or o’er the dewy plain the panting hare purfues. 
Laftly, Buffon himfelf, in his fixth fupplemental vo¬ 
lume, retraCfs his fcepticifm on this fubjeCt, and has pub- 
lifhed a letter from the marquis.de Courtivron, relative to 
a tame otter kept in an abbey at Autun, in the year 1775, 
&c. This otter was a female, and had been taken ex¬ 
tremely young, and reared with milk till it was two 
months old, when it was fed with foup, fruits, pulfe, meat, 
fifh, See. which latter, however, it would not eat unlefs 
perfectly frefh. It was as tame as a dog, and would come 
whenever it was called by it's name. It would alfo play 
with a dog and cat with which it had been early acquainted, 
but fliowed great animofity againft other dogs and cats 
which happened to approach it. This otter chiefly inhabited 
a room, and would lie by night on a bed, and, during the 
day-time, on a heap of ftraw provided for it: it would oc- 
calionally plunge its head and fore-feet into a vefiel of water, 
which always flood near it; and, after fhaking itfelf, would 
go out into the court-yard forexefeife, &c. and would often 
fleep in the funfliine. It feemed in a manner to have loft 
the natural habits of its kind ; fince, being carried one 
day to a pool of water, it feemed afraid, and would not go 
into it, but only wetted its head and feet, as in its cham¬ 
ber ; and, when thrown in to the diftance of fome feet, it 
inftantly made to the fhore, as if in a kind of alarm, and 
followed readily to the abbey. 
When the otter, in its natural or uneducated ftate, has 
caught a fifh, it immediately draws it afhore, and devours 
the head and upper parts, leaving the remainder; and, 
when in a ftate of captivity, will eat no fifh but what is 
perfectly frefh, but will prefer bread, milk; &c. “ The 
otter,” fays Buffon, “ is as noxious in a fifh-pond as the 
polecat in a hen-rooft ; fince he frequently kills many 
more fifh than he can eat, and then carries off one in his 
teeth. The otter will lometimes devour vegetables of 
different kinds, and will gnaw the bark and twigs of 
young trees. The flefh of the otter is rank and fifty. 
The Romifli church permits the ufe of it on maigre-days; 
and Mr. Pennant declares, that, in the kitchen of the 
Carthufian convent near Dijon, he faw one preparing for 
the dinner of the religious of that rigid order, who are 
prohibited, during their whole lives, the eating of flefh. 
See the Plate, fig. 2. 
6. Muftela Canadenfis, the Canadian otter: black; fur 
fmooth; tail long and tapering. It inhabits North Ame¬ 
rica, particularly Canada, and is about two feet long, the 
tail ten inches. 
7. Muftela lutreola, the fmaller otter : very hairy feet, 
equal toes, and a white mouth. This fpecies very much 
refembles the M. lutra, but is confiderably fmaller; the 
body is of a dufky colour, but with a tawny caft; the 
chin and throat are white; the ears are roundifh ; the feet 
broad, w'ebbed, and covered with hair, inftead of being 
naked, as in the former animal. In North America this 
fpecies is known by the name of minx, and is faid fome¬ 
times to leave the water, and prey on poultry, &c. in the 
manner of a polecat; but in Poland and other parts of 
Europe, where it is found, it lives chiefly on fifh, frogs, 
&c. Its fur is very valuable, and next in beauty to that of 
the fable. 
8. Muftela Cayennenfis, the Cayenne otter: toes on 
the fore-feet unconnected ; tail long, taper, naked. 
This fpecies is the Jaricovienne of Pennant, and the petite 
/outre d'eau douce de la Cayenne of Buffon’s Supplement. 
It is about the fize of a cat, with a fur as fine as velvet, 
grey and black; and web-footed. It lives more in the 
water than on land : the flefh is very delicate and good 
to eat. The body, fays M. de Buffon, is feven inches 
(Trench) in length ; the tail fix inches and feven lines, 
llender, taper, tuberculated, convex above, flat beneath ; 
ears rounded, and longer than ufual with otters; head, 
cheeks, and back, dufky, and the fides marked regularly 
with the fame colours, iffuing from the back, extending 
almoft to the belly; the fpaces between of a yellowifh 
grey ; above each eye is a white fpot; the throat, and 
whole under-fide of the body, of the fame colour; the 
toes before are divided, thofe behind webbed. 
M. de la Borde, as quoted by M. de Buffon, mentions 
another fpecies of otter frequent in the rivers of Guiana, 
weighing from twenty to twenty-five pounds, and of a 
yellowifh colour. 
9. Muftela gracilis, the llender otter. This fpecies, 
from the nole to the tip of its tail, is four feet four 
inches; of the tail about thirteen inches; diameter of 
the body fcarcely more than five inches and a half; the 
fore-legs are about three inches and a half long; hind¬ 
legs about four inches. Head fmall, eyes fmall, ears moll 
extremely fmall, fcarcely vifible ; fore-feet webbed, hind- 
feet more ftrongly fo. Colour of the whole animal a very 
rich deep chefnut or dark brown, rather paler beneath ; 
cheeks and throat paler than the other parts, or more in¬ 
clining to whitilh. It inhabits Staten-Land. 
10. Muftela minx, the minx: colour deep chefnut. 
Inhabits North America, on the banks of rivers. Feeds 
on fith, birds, and mice ; and lometimes haunts farm¬ 
yards. 
II. Weasels. Feet cleft; tongue fmooth. 
11. Muftela barbata, the Guiana weafel: black, with a 
white three-lobed fpot under the neck. The ears are 
round, and covered with down ; but the hair in general 
on the body is coarfe. It inhabits Brafil and Guiana; 
fize of the marten. When it runs againft trees, it leaves 
behind an uiuftuous matter that fmells like mufk. 
/ 3 . M. cuja. Dr. Gmelin confiders this to be a variety 
of 
