Chapter 12
Section 12 of Birds and All Nature, Volume 4, Number 5, November 1898. Recorded for LibriVox.org by Geza Razdina. The American Otter. In holes on riverbanks the otter makes its home. From solitude, wild nature haunts.
He never cares to roam. But swimming in the waters and sliding down the hills, he plays the games of boys and girls and fishes in the rills. Alas! The hunter sets his traps to take him unawares.
With springs of wire and teeth of steel, unhappily he fares. His fur is fine and soft and warm, and ladies vain adore it. With ne'er a thought of pity for the little beast that bore it. CCM. In all parts of temperate North America, this, the most interesting of the otter family,
makes its home on the banks of nearly all streams except those from which it has been driven by man. It is much larger than the European otter, has a longer tail, and has a nasal pad between the nostrils, which is larger than that of any other species. Though closely allied with the common species, it has distinctive differences which entitle it to be classed as a separate species. Its habits resemble those of its cousins, but it has one peculiarity that is noticed by naturalists
who have studied this animal, which is the habit of sliding or coasting downhill, in which it displays a remarkable skill. In Canada, and other sections where the snow is plentiful, otters indulge freely in this sport, and, says Goodman, they select in the winter the highest ridge of snow they can find, scramble to the top of it, lie on their bellies with the four feet bent backwards, and then, giving themselves an impulse with their hind legs, glide head foremost down the
to clevity, sometimes for the distance of 20 yards. This sport they continue, apparently with the keenest enjoyment, until fatigue or hunger induces them to desist. The young are born in April in the northern and earlier in the southern part of the otter's range, and a litter is composed of from one to three young ones. Authorities agree that the number of the otters is rapidly decreasing in America because of the systematic way in which they are pursued by trappers for
the value of their fur. The skin of the American otter is in high reputation and general use with furriers, but those from Canada are said to be more valuable than those from the more southern sections. The otter, when taken young, is easily tamed. Audubon had several young otters which he says became as gentle as puppies in two or three days. They preferred milk and boiled cornmeal, refusing fish or meat till they were several months old. They became so tame that they would
romp with their owner, and were very good-natured animals. Rivers, whose banks are thickly grown with forests, are the favorite home of the otter. There, says Brem, it lives in subterraneous burrows, constructed in accordance with its tastes and mode of life. The place of exit is always located below the surface of the water, usually at a depth of about 18 inches. A tunnel about two yards long leads thence, slanting upwards into a spacious chamber, which is lined with grass and always
kept dry. Another narrow tunnel runs from the central chamber to the surface and aids in ventilation. Under all circumstances, the otter has several retreats or homes. When the water rises, it has recourses to trees or hollow trunks. The otter is the fastest swimming quadruped known. In the water, it exhibits an astonishing agility, swimming in a nearly horizontal position with the greatest ease, diving and darting along beneath the surface with a speed equal, if not superior,
to that of many fishes. The otter, said an eminent naturalist, is remarkable in every way. In its aquatic life, as well as in its movements, in its hunt for food and in its mental endowments, it belongs without question to the most attractive class of animals. End of section 12. This recording is in the public domain.
