234 THE OPEN BOOK OF NATURE 
and a female will fight ferociously in order to protect 
her bairns. 
The Otter has been hunted extensively with the 
aid of dogs specially trained for the purpose. It can 
be easily tracked by its strong scent, and it often 
betrays its presence by giving vent to a shrill call. 
I suppose the animal is not loved by anglers ; it 
certainly takes its toll of the fish, but I should be 
sorry for it to be hunted out of existence. 
Bedtime! All three of us are healthily tired 
after a busy day with Nature. We ought to sleep 
soundly. Let us hope that none but happy dreams 
will be ours ; that we shall be visited by no horrid 
nightmares, and have no visions of monstrous 
Sundews holding us in their cruel clutches, and 
burning out our vitals with acid secretions. 
