THEOTTER.
The Otter is an amphibious animal, which preys both by land and water, for when he is disturbed in the water he preys by land: as a proof of which, I once catched a dog Otter in a warren, where he came to prey on the rabbits, after the old bitch Otter and all the young cubs had been killed, down at the river, not far from the warren.
The Otter generally frequents rivers and brooks, in order to search for his prey, and will often come to fish-ponds likewise, destroying the fish, and yet not lie there; the method to discover his haunts is very easy, for, in whatever place he preys, you will becertain to find tails, or hinder parts of the fish, left undevoured, at the sides of the ponds,&c.for it is observable that he eats the head and body of the fish, as far as the vent, and very seldom any farther; look all round the pond, and by his marks or footsteps, you will find where he enters the pond, and likewise where he comes out to eat the fish by the side, for no amphibious animal devours his prey in the water, or can remain a single moment under it, longer than he can hold his breath. When you have discovered the place, it will be adviseable to put a good strong steel trap in the water, down in the mud; put the mud over the bridge of the trap as much as you can, that he may not discover the trap. I have catched several this way. If you should not happen to find where he takes the water, you will see where he sits to eat his fish, and then you must set a trap or two by the side of the water, in different places, where you find the bits of fish; cut a hole in the ground to let them in, justflush or even with the ground, then cover them over with moss very nicely: but, in my opinion, there is no necessity to bait them, for the Otter will seldom, I believe never, touch any thing but what he kills himself. I may possibly be mistaken in this point, but after many repeated trials never could get him to touch any bait I set for him.
The Otter in rivers and brooks has a kennel, which, with proper notice, as before given, you will find; the structure of it is very ingenious and admirable, indeed not equal to that of the beaver, though in some instances of a similar construction, for they always have two ways to go in and out, one by land and the other by water, for such is the cunningness and sagacity of these vermin towards their preservation, that if disturbed by land, they can vent or escape by water, and if attacked by water they can escape by land; now when you have found out these kennels, and discern thatthey use and frequent it, look carefully about and you will see some of his landing places, where he sits and eats his prey, and before the spot where he lands, there put a trap down in the water as already directed in the ponds, where I have caught them, and likewise destroyed all the young ones in the kennel, but know no bait in particular they are fond of, as before observed; though others may be of a contrary opinion.
In many places where I have been, small hounds have been employed in destroying these vermin, called Otter hounds; when one is unkennelled, he immediately goes to the bottom of the water, where he remains as long as his breath will hold out, which is a considerable time; he then goes under the bank, or under some reeds or boughs, there he draws breath and blubbers the water; the term when he is perceived by any of his pursuers is to say, There he vents; and they strike at him with a spear made for that purpose, and often kill him, but ifthe spear misses, he sets off again and the dogs follow, and if good seldom miss of killing him.
The above animal is not footed like other vermin, for they have a web between each claw, like many water fowls, which greatly accelerates their motion in swimming, when pursued by the dogs; they have no heel, but a round ball under the sole of the foot, the track of which is called their mark, and their dung is called their sprents.