Ellsworth American. [volume] (Ellsworth, Me.) 1855-current, 1884-01-17
The Otter,
VERY INTELLIGENT AND INTERESTING AN.
IMAf..
From the Trny Times

The otter resembles the weasel in form
and motion, but is very different from il in
many other respects The otter, unlike the
weasel, lives almost exclusively in the water
and never allows its curiosity TO overcome
is discretion. A full-grovn otter is from
three and half 10 four feet in length
from the end Of lts nose 10 the tip OF its tail.
and weighs from twelve to twenty pounds
IS Of a dark brown color about the cad aud
shoulder, and nearly back further back,
with occasionally an individual that i, let
black all over; but a perfectly black otter is
very rare. have seen but three The
fur i short. thick and very fine and vii!
wear longer than anv other fur
M otter cannot run Very rapidly Id never
walksl; II jumps ike weasel, except that
in travelling on the snow there it is iev,. or
a LITTLE descending i drop, it, fore feet back
b, its side and slides along on lis breast,
prope ling Itself BY It's hind feet and have
seen where 1t has slid ten rods At time
without moving it, feet at all. and the track
looks as though YOU had drawn along a six
inch log They sometimes travel long dis
tancrs rland aud even over quite high
mountaU but this i not common their
home is "a the water. and there they are al
home IN earnest.
They live exclusively On fish. uhlch they
can catch with perfect ease by out-swim
ming them. II an otter takes after .ish
there /. no escape, uules, II cln get into 50
small place that the otter cannot follow.
Ii can out-sstm even a trout II doe- Mt
use its fore feet IN swimming, but drops
them back the same a. It does while shdng
80 t. ...k =,
feet, hich are webhed II prefers trout ID
any other fish and viii eat three or four
pound, per day. Il lsa yer, strong. sharp
biting ANNA! and will whip tw- ordinary
dogs
1t i. a very hardy, long lived animal often
attaining the age of twenty Years Il breeds
once a Year, dropping It's Young three ur
four apou, the first of Nav. ana general IL
selects some small stream that is ,cry ,e-
clnded aud wei. stocked with trout OF all
,he Wild animals Of the Adirondack, the
otter i, the widest. 1t is yer, hard to trap,
not on, ON account Of It's natuyi sh,ne,,,
but also from penchant that II has for
catching It's own food and consequent, Il
cannot be balyed. In one respect the otter
Is yer, much like the average DO, it loves
% slide down hill. II select. some streD
bauk that has water at the bottom. and
then 1t goe, up and slide, down into the
water, and 80 repeats the operation over
and over again, apparently ju,t for amuse-
ment and trapper> knowing Of this 'act
take AL, antage OF il and SCI their trap,
about a foot under water al the bottom Of
the slide, and thus frequently capture him.
but It requires the smarte>t Of trap, to hold
one.
An otter can remain from ten to fifteen
minutes under water and can swim a quar-
ter of a mile without taking breath and
have heard il stated that when the water
i, frozen over II would take in breath.
swim far II can. come up against the
ice, let out the bubble until il becomes rr-
oxygena,ed, take II in again and 20 on, aud
50 repeat the operation a often a. necessary
and cross any pond or small lake :" hut tnr
the truth of this statement do not vuucn.
II has mortal fear OF any human track,
track III the snow and cruise along IA sight
of ii for mile or more before 1t could
muster up courage to cross, and the least
disturbance about their slide " ii. drive them
away for a long time. Trappers general,
set their traps from boat, and do not make
the least mark on land. 1t i, not remark ably
sharp-slghted, but IT'S sense OF smell is some
thing wonderful. Upon the whole, the otter
seems to understand the first law of nature
''selt- preservation a marked degree