OTTERS.
The much persecuted otter presents himself to our notice among the worm-bodied, digitigrade animals. Their broad webbed feet shew that they frequent the water, and in fact, they are not only found in rivers and lakes of most European countries, but at sea. Their elongated body is flattened horizontally, their tail is broad and flat, and forms an excellent rudder for their guidance when in the water. Their short legs are so loosely jointed that they can be turned in any direction when swimming, and their fur is soft, fine, and close underneath, while a longer, coarser set of hard shining hairs, are on the outside. Their teeth are very pointed, and well adapted to hold their slippery prey; their ears are very small, and close to their head, and they have a nictating membrane, or third eyelid, for the protection of their bright eyes. Their movements in the water are particularly elegant, they swim horizontally, and rapidly dive after their victims, which they eat ashore. It is said, that they will collect a number of trouts into a shoal, and drive them on till, in their dread and alarm, many of the fishes will throw themselves on to the land. They have the power of remaining very long under water, at a considerable depth, and the fierce manner in which they keep dogs at bay, often wounding them severely with their sharp bites; and the anxious watching for their rise in the water when they have retreated, all form a most exciting sport, so that we hear of otter-hunting as a source of keen enjoyment; and there is a hunt on record in which nine otters were killed in one day.
Otters will certainly consume an immense quantity of fish; and the owners of salmon or trout streams have great spite against them. It is, however, very possible to tame them so as to make them bring the fish which they catch. This practice is much more followed in other countries than in England; they are purposely kept for it in Sweden, and at a signal from the cook will go and fetch the fish for dinner. Bishop Heber mentions, that he saw several large and very beautiful otters fastened to bamboo stakes by the side of the Matta Colly river, some of which appeared to be at play, and uttered a shrill, whistling noise. They wore straw collars and were very tame and docile. They should be caught quite young, and fed on small fish, then they are allowed bread and milk at alternate meals; till at last they entirely live upon this food. They are taught to fetch and carry with artificial fishes made of leather, and stuffed with wool. Then they are made to bring dead fishes, and if they attempt to tear them, they are severely punished. Thus trained, in process of time, the otter becomes useful and domesticated.
In their natural condition, otters will wander to considerable distances for their prey; Mr. St. John says, "I was rather amused at an old woman living at Sluie on the Findhorn, who, complaining of the hardness of the present times, when 'a puir body couldn'a get a drop smuggled whisky, or shoot a roe without his lordship's sportsman finding it out,' added to her list of grievances, that even the otters were nearly all gone 'puir beasties.' 'Well, but what good could the otters do you?' I asked her. 'Good, your honor? why scarcely a morn came but they left a bonny grilse (young salmon) on the scarp down yonder, and the vennison was none the worse of the bit the puir beasts ate themselves,' The people here (Morayshire) call every eatable animal, fish, flesh, or fowl, venison, or as they pronounce it, vennison. For instance, they tell you that the snipes are good vennison, or that the trout are not good vennison in the winter.
"It seems that a few years ago, before the otters had been so much destroyed, the people in particular parts of the river were never at a loss for salmon, as the otters always took them ashore, generally to the same bank or rock, and in seasons of plenty, they only eat a small piece out of the shoulder, leaving the rest untouched, and the cottagers, aware of this, searched every morning for their leavings."
"Otters," continues Mr. St. John, "are very affectionate animals; the young anxiously seek their mother, if she should be killed; and if the young are injured, the parent hovers near them till she is herself destroyed. If one of a pair be killed, the one that is left will hunt for its mate with untiring perseverance; and if one be caught in a trap, its companion will run round and round, endeavouring to set it free, on which occasions, though so quiet at other times, they make a snorting and blowing like a horse."
A dog belonging to the above gentleman was running and splashing through the shallow water, and suddenly stood still, sometimes whining, as if caught in a trap, and then biting furiously at something in the water. He was called by his master, but as he did not obey, his master waded to him, and found a large otter, holding on by his powerful jaws to the dog's shoulder; and had he not had a good covering of curly hair, he stood a chance of having his leg broken, the bite was so severe.
The people in Scotland believe that the otters have a king, or leader, which is larger than others, and spotted with white. They also believe that when these animals are killed, a man or another of the brute kind dies suddenly at the same moment; that their skin possesses an antidote to infection, preserves soldiers from wounds, and saves sailors from disasters at sea. The darkness in which otters delight, their watery habitations, their oily, noiseless movements, and their dark fur, invest them with mystery in the eyes of the peasantry in many parts of England.
The emigration of otters is established by the following fact:—"A labourer going to his work, soon after five o'clock in the morning, saw a number of animals coming towards him, and stood quietly by the hedge till they came alongside of him. He then perceived four old otters, probably dams, and about twenty young ones. He took a stick out of the hedge and killed one. Directly it began to squeak, all the four old ones turned back, and stood till the other young ones had escaped through the hedge, and then went quietly themselves. Several families were thus journeying together, and probably they had left their former abode from not finding a sufficiency of food."