Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1901-03-30

The Canada otter Is another OF the
animals probably doomed to extlne-
ton. In New England, at least In It's
own beautiful coat 1t carries Its death
warrant. and the greed OF man and the
vanity Of woman have supplied the
executioners. The otter sleeps In the
shadow of steel trap. and swims with
shotgun In It's wake. Were he pro-
Inc, like the Norway rat, he might
survive even under these conditions,
but he Is not The Canada otter has
but one litter OF young each year. AMI
there are usually but two or three
young to litter. The consequence Ii
that the animal has already been ex-
terminated in many places. and Is now
quite rare In most parts of New Eng
land. IL you can imagine a very, very
thick snake. between four and five
feet long. mounted on four short.
stumpy legs, with webbed feet. with a
roundish head. and short ears, AMI COW
cred all over with dark. glossy brown
hair, you will have some Idea Of what
Canada otter looks like He ID, not
quite the same color all over. as the
under parts are usually shade lighter
than the upper. and the chin and
throat are dirty white. Under the
long. glossy hair. which covers almost
the. whole body. Is fine. soft. water
proof fur. nearly equal To that Of tue
beaver. He also has sti1 bristIy
mustache. His home Is usually In a
burrow In the bank OF the pond or
stream he inhabits. with the entrance
under the water. 1t Is often protected
by being made among the roots OF an
overhanginE tree. and Ia generally safe
from rains and floods. The nest con-
sists Of an abundant supply OF grass.
leaves. soft bark and sticks. and sew
eral offers often occupy the same nest.
In the northern states and Canada the
young are born about the middle of
April, but In the middle and southern
states they often appear month ear
lier. The otter feeds chiefly on nsh.
which he pursues through the water
with marvellous speed and agility. Dc
casIonally he may be seen rising wet
and shining from the river with Ash
in his mouth. Sometimes he viii come
out upon the shore to eat his prey. or.
IL there is the half submerged trunk OF
a fallen tree lying in the stream. he
Is likely to crawl up on to that. Though
the otter Is well supplied with teeth.
the severe tests to which he puts them
wear them out In time. In the young
animals the CANNES often project be-
yond the lips, but In old specimens
all the teeth are found to be very
much worn, sometimes down to the
gums.
But the life OF the otter Is not all
work by any means. He Ia naturally
Of o playful disposition, and though
the patent reports may not show IL.
he II the inventor OF the toboggan. To-
bogganing has always been his favor
tie sport. and he sometimes INDUCES
In 1t for hours at time. For this
game he and his companions select a
high snow-covered bank. Up this they
toll until they reach the top. An the
FIRST one arrives he turns round. lies
down, bends his fore legs backwards.
gives himself push with his hind feet
and away he goes down the hill. bel
lywhoppers," as the boys call Il. He Ia
followed by second, third. and n
fourth, in rapid succession. ana when
they have once got the hill packed
they keep the pot a-bolling" until
they are too tired or too hungry to plav
the game any longer In the southern
states, where snowbanks are not 10
be found, they make their slides of wet
mud. and seem to enjoy the fun Just
as much.
The habit Of the animal II taken adj
vantage Of by trappers, who some
times set steel traps near the bottoms
Of slides for the frivolous merrymakers
10 get their feet into Others set traps
on the submerged parts Of slantlng