The Otter is by no means the nearly extinct beast that is commonly imagined; but he who would see it in a wild state must seek it by night along the banks of remote streams or tarns, where there are alder-holts, or in the neighbourhood of the East Anglian Broads. It may sometimes be found by day, by searching the caves on some remote part of our coast where the cliffs are rocky and the shore strewn with boulders. Even so near the congested haunts of men as the upper Thames, Otters are occasionally trapped.

If one has the good fortune to get a good view of the Otter in such places it will be found to be a very different creature from the specimens in zoological gardens. The long, lithe body, clad in fine smooth fur and ending in the long thick tapering tail, gives it a very graceful appearance in the water; and, of course, it is a most expert and agile swimmer. The head is broad and flattened from above, the face short, the black eyes small but bright, and the short, rounded ears hairy. The ears are closed when under water. The legs are short and powerful, and all the feet are completely webbed. There are five toes on each, with short pointed claws, those of the hind feet flat and nail-like. The tail is somewhat flattened from the sides, and forms a most efficient rudder. Below its thick base there is a pair of glands which secrete a fetid fluid. The fur is of two kinds: a fine, soft, under-fur of whitish-grey with brown tips, among which are interspersed longer, thicker, and glossy hairs. Water does not penetrate the under-fur. On the upper parts and the outer sides of the limbs, these longer hairs, which have a grey base, have rich brown ends; but on the cheeks, throat, and under parts they are brownish-grey. At a little distance it appears to be of a uniform dusky brown tint. White, cream-coloured, and spotted examples are on record.

The total length is about four feet, of which about one-third is tail. The weight of a full-grown male is between 20 lbs. and 25 lbs., but occasionally it exceeds 27 lbs.—Pennant records one of 40 lbs.! The female weighs less than the male by about four pounds. The dental formula is i 3/3, c 1/1, p 4/3, m 1/2 = 36. The molar teeth have sharp tubercles on the crown.

Where the presence of Otters is suspected, a keen look-out should be kept for their footprints—known as "seal" or "spur" (spoor)—on moist ground, which may help us to find its "holt" or lair, which will probably be a hole in the bank with the entrance under water and overhung by alders and rank herbage. There may also be an alternative way in at the back of the bank above water. Here the Otter rests secluded in the daytime, coiled up like a dog with its tail around its face. The "spraints," or droppings, are also a good clue for the observer. A short distance in from the mouth of the tunnel, a side-chamber will be found, which is the family midden.

About the time of sunset the Otter wakes up, utters his flute-like whistle, enters the water, and hunts favourite pools in the stream for fish, which it secures by diving below them. These are always brought to the bank to be consumed. The backbone is first bitten through behind the gills; and where fish are large (salmon) and plentiful the Otter often contents himself with a mouthful from the shoulder. At other times he may eat methodically from this point to the tail, which is always left. Apart from the fact that he has to make frequent visits to the surface in order to breathe, he is as much at home in the water as a fish, swimming in circles where the water is deep, and his movements in that element are as graceful as those of the fishes he pursues. Not that his diet is restricted to fish: he is very fond of the river crayfish, and will turn over every stone in his section of the stream in his search for them. He is known also to consume frogs, which he carefully skins before eating them. Occasionally he indulges in wild duck or moorhen; and when he hunts on shore may catch a rabbit unawares, a rat or a vole. When he goes down stream he floats with the current his forelegs pressed against his sides and only the upper part of his head with eyes, ears, and nostrils exposed.

[Pl. 40.]][E 60.
Pine Marten.
Mustela martes.

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