The otter varies in size, some adult specimens measuring no more than
thirty-six inches in length, tail inclusive, while others, again, are to
be found from four and a half to five feet long. The head of the otter is
broad and flat; its muzzle is broad, rounded, and blunt; its eyes small
and of a semi-circular form; neck extremely thick, nearly as thick as the
body; body long, rounded, and very flexible; legs short and muscular;
feet furnished with five sharp-clawed toes, webbed to three-quarters of
their extent; tail long, muscular, somewhat flattened, and tapering to
its extremity. The colour of the otter is a deep blackish brown; the
sides of the head, the front of the neck, and sometimes the breast,
brownish grey. The belly is usually, but not invariably, darker than the
back; the fur is short, and of two kinds; the inferior or woolly coat is
exceedingly fine and close; the longer hairs are soft and glossy, those
on the tail rather stiff and bristly. On either side of the nose, and
just below the chin, are two small light-coloured spots. So much for the
appearance of the otter: now we come to its dwelling. The otter is common
to England, Ireland, and Scotland; a marine variety is also to be met
with, differing from the common only in its superior size and more furry
coat. Some naturalists have set them down as a different species: I am,
however, disposed to regard them as a variety merely.
The native haunt of the otter is the river-bank, where amongst the reeds
and sedge it forms a deep burrow, in which it brings forth and rears
its young. Its principal food is fish, which it catches with singular
dexterity. It lives almost wholly in the water, and seldom leaves it
except to devour its prey; on land it does not usually remain long at
any one time, and the slightest alarm is sufficient to cause it to
plunge into the stream. Yet, natural as seems a watery residence to this
creature, its hole is perfectly dry; were it to become otherwise, it
would be quickly abandoned. Its entrance, indeed, is invariably under
water, but its course then points upwards into the bank, towards the
surface of the earth, and it is even provided with several lodges or
apartments at different heights, into which it may retire in case of
floods, throwing up the earth behind it as it proceeds into the recesses
of its retreat; and when it has reached the last and most secure chamber,
it opens a small hole in the roof for the admission of atmospheric air,
without which the animal could not of course exist many minutes; and
should the flood rise so high as to burst into this last place of refuge,
the animal will open a passage through the roof, and venture forth upon
land, rather than remain in a damp and muddy bed. During severe floods,
otters are not unfrequently surprised at some distance from the water,
and taken.
In a wild state the otter is fierce and daring, will make a determined
resistance when attacked by dogs, and being endued with no inconsiderable
strength of jaw, it often punishes its assailants terribly. I have myself
seen it break the fore-leg of a stout terrier. Otter-hunting was in
former times a favourite amusement even with the nobility, and regular
establishments of otter-hounds were kept. The animal is now become
scarce, and its pursuit is no longer numbered in our list of sports,
unless perhaps in Scotland, where, especially in the Western Islands,
otter-hunting is still extensively practised.
Otters are easily rendered tame, especially if taken young, and may
be taught to follow their master like dogs, and even to fish for him,
cheerfully resigning their prey when taken, and dashing into the water
in search of more. A man named James Campbell, residing near Inverness,
had one which followed him wherever he went, unless confined, and would
answer to its name. When apprehensive of danger from dogs, it sought the
protection of its master, and would endeavour to spring into his arms for
greater security. It was frequently employed in catching fish, and would
sometimes take eight or ten salmon in a day. If not prevented, it always
attempted to break the fish behind the fin which is next the tail; and as
soon as one was taken away, it always dived in pursuit of more. It was
equally dexterous at sea-fishing, and took great numbers of young cod
and other fish. When tired it would refuse to fish any longer, and was
then rewarded with as much food as it could devour. Having satiated its
appetite, it always coiled itself up and went to sleep, no matter where
it was, in which state it was usually carried home.
Brown relates that a person who kept a tame otter taught it to associate
with his dogs, who were on the most friendly terms with it on all
occasions, and that it would follow its master in company with its
canine friends. This person was in the habit of fishing the river with
nets, on which occasions the otter proved highly useful to him, by going
into the water and driving trout and other fish towards the net. It was
very remarkable that dogs accustomed to otter-hunting were so far from
offering it the least molestation, that they would not even hunt any
other otter while it remained with them; on which account its owner was
forced to part with it.
The otter is of a most affectionate disposition, as may at once be seen
from its anxiety respecting its young. Indeed, the parental affection
of this creature is so powerful that the female otter will often suffer
herself to be killed rather than desert them. Professor Steller says,
“Often have I spared the lives of the female otters whose young ones I
took away. They expressed their sorrow by crying like human beings, and
following me as I was carrying off their young, while they called to
them for aid with a tone of voice which very much resembled the crying
of children. When I sat down in the snow, they came quite close to me,
and attempted to carry off their young. On one occasion when I had
deprived an otter of her progeny, I returned to the place eight days
after, and found the female sitting by the river listless and desponding,
who suffered me to kill her on the spot without making any attempt to
escape. On skinning her I found she was quite wasted away from sorrow
for the loss of her young.” This affection which the otter, while in a
state of nature, displays towards her young, is when in captivity usually
transferred to her master, or perhaps, as in an instance I shall mention
by and bye, to some one or other of his domestic animals. As an example
of the former case I may mention the following:--A person named Collins,
who lived near Wooler in Northumberland, had a tame otter, which followed
him wherever he went. He frequently took it to the river to fish for its
own food, and when satisfied it never failed to return to its master. One
day in the absence of Collins, the otter being taken out to fish by his
son, instead of returning as usual, refused to answer to the accustomed
call, and was lost. Collins tried every means to recover it; and after
several days’ search, being near the place where his son had lost it, and
calling its name, to his very great joy the animal came crawling to his
feet. In the following passage of the “Prædium Rusticum” of Vaniere,
allusion is made to tame otters employed in fishing:--
“Should chance within this dark recess betray
The tender young, bear quick the prize away;
Tamed by thy care the useful brood shall join
The watery chase, and add their toils to thine;
From each close lurking hole shall force away,
And drive within the nets the silver prey;
As the taught hound the nimble stag subdues,
And o’er the dewy plain the panting hare pursues.”
Mr Macgillivray, in his interesting volume on British Quadrupeds in the
Naturalist’s Library, mentions several instances of otters having been
tamed and employed in fishing. Among others he relates that a gentleman
residing in the Outer Hebrides had one that supplied itself with food,
and regularly returned to the house. M’Diarmid, in his “Sketches from
Nature,” enumerates many others. One otter belonging to a poor widow,
“when led forth plunged into the Urr, and brought out all the fish it
could find.” Another, kept at Corsbie House, Wigtonshire, “evinced a
great fondness for gooseberries,” fondled “about her keeper’s feet
like a pup or kitten, and even seemed inclined to salute her cheek,
when permitted to carry her freedoms so far.” A third, belonging to Mr
Montieth of Carstairs, “though he frequently stole away at night to fish
by the pale light of the moon, and associate with his kindred by the
river side, his master of course was too generous to find any fault with
his peculiar mode of spending his evening hours. In the morning he was
always at his post in the kennel, and no animal understood better the
secret of ‘keeping his own side of the house.’ Indeed his pugnacity in
this respect gave him a great lift in the favour of the gamekeeper, who
talked of his feats wherever he went, and averred besides, that if the
best cur that ever ran ‘only daured to girn’ at his protegé, he would
soon ‘mak his teeth meet through him.’ To mankind, however, he was much
more civil, and allowed himself to be gently lifted by the tail, though
he objected to any interference with his snout, which is probably with
him the seat of honour.”
Mr Glennon, of Suffolk-street, Dublin, informs me that Mr Murray,
gamekeeper to his Grace the Duke of Leinster, has a tame otter, which
enters the water to fish when desired, and lays whatever he catches with
due submission at his master’s feet. Mr Glennon further observes, that
the affection for his owner which this animal exhibits is equal or even
superior to that of the most faithful dog. The creature follows him
wherever he goes, will suffer him to lift him up by the tail and carry
him under his arm just as good-humouredly as would a dog, will spring
to his knee when he sits at home, and seems in fact never happy but
when in his company. This otter is well able to take care of himself,
and fearlessly repels the impertinent advances of the dogs: with such,
however, as treat him with fitting respect, he is on excellent terms.
Sometimes Mr Murray will hide himself from this animal, which will
immediately, on being set at liberty, search for him with the greatest
anxiety, running like a terrier dog by the scent. Mr Glennon assures me
that he has frequently seen the animal thus trace the footsteps of its
master for a considerable distance across several fields, and that too
with such precision as never in any instance to fail of finding him.
I myself had once a tame otter, with a detail of whose habits and manners
I shall now conclude this article. When I first obtained the animal she
was very young, and not more than sixteen inches in length: young as she
was, she was very fierce, and would bite viciously if any one put his
hand near the nest of straw in which she was kept. As she grew a little
older, however, she became more familiarized to the approaches of human
beings, and would suffer herself to be gently stroked upon the back
or head; when tired of being caressed, she would growl in a peculiar
manner, and presently use her sharp teeth if the warning to let her
alone were not attended to. In one respect the manners of this animal
presented a striking contrast to the accounts I had read and heard of
other tame individuals. She evinced no particular affection for me; she
grew tame certainly, but her tameness was rather of a general than of an
exclusive character: unlike other wild animals which I had at different
times succeeded in domesticating, this creature testified no particular
gratitude to her master, and whoever fed her, or set her at liberty, was
her favourite for the time being. She preferred fish to any other diet,
and eagerly devoured all descriptions, whether taken in fresh or salt
water, though she certainly preferred the former. She would seize the
fish between her fore paws, hold it firmly on the ground, and devour it
downwards to the tail, which with the head the dainty animal rejected.
When fish could not be procured, she would eat, but sparingly, of bread
and milk, as well as the lean of raw meat; fat she could on no account be
prevailed upon to touch.
Towards other animals my otter for a long period maintained an appearance
of perfect indifference. If a dog approached her suddenly, she would
utter a sharp, whistling noise, and betake herself to some place of
safety: if pursued, she would turn and show fight. If the dog exhibited
no symptoms of hostility, she would presently return to her place at the
fireside, where she would lie basking for hours at a time.
When I first obtained this animal, there was no water sufficiently near
to where I lived in which I could give her an occasional bath; and being
apprehensive, that, if entirely deprived of an element in which nature
had designed her to pass so considerable a portion of her existence,
she would languish and die, I allowed her a tub as a substitute for
her native river; and in this she plunged and swam with much apparent
delight. It was in this manner that I became acquainted with the curious
fact, that the otter, when passing along beneath the surface of the
water, does not usually accomplish its object by swimming, but by walking
along the bottom, which it can do as securely and with as much rapidity
as it can run on dry land.
After having had my otter about a year, I changed my residence to another
quarter of the town, and the stream well known to all who have seen
Edinburgh as the “Water of Leith,” flowed past the rear of the house. The
creature being by this time so tame as to be allowed perfect liberty,
I took it down one evening to the river, and permitted it to disport
itself for the first time since its capture in a deep and open stream.
The animal was delighted with the new and refreshing enjoyment, and I
found that a daily swim in the river greatly conduced to its health and
happiness. I would sometimes walk for nearly a mile along the bank, and
the happy and frolicsome creature would accompany me by water, and that
too so rapidly that I could not even by very smart walking keep pace with
it. On some occasions it caught small fish, such as minnows, eels, and
occasionally a trout of inconsiderable size. When it was only a minnow
or a small eel which it caught, it would devour it in the water, putting
its head for that purpose above the surface; when, however, it had made
a trout its prey, it would come to shore, and devour it more at leisure.
I strove very assiduously to train this otter to fish for me, as I had
heard they have sometimes been taught to do; but I never could succeed
in this attempt, nor could I even prevail upon the animal to give me up
at any time the fish which she had taken: the moment I approached her
to do so, as if suspecting my intention, she would at once take to the
water, and, crossing to the other side of the stream, devour her prey in
security. This difficulty in training I impute to the animal’s want of
an individual affection for me, for it was not affection, but her own
pleasure, which induced her to follow me down the stream; and she would
with equal willingness follow any other person who happened to release
her from her box. This absence of affection was probably nothing more
than peculiarity of disposition in this individual, there being numerous
instances of a contrary nature upon record.
Although this otter failed to exhibit those affectionate traits of
character which have displayed themselves in other individuals of her
tribe towards the human species, she was by no means of a cold or
unsocial disposition towards some of my smaller domestic animals. With an
Angora cat she soon after I got her formed a very close friendship, and
when in the house was unhappy when not in the company of her friend. I
had one day an opportunity of witnessing a singular display of attachment
on the part of this otter towards the cat:--A little terrier dog attacked
the latter as she lay by the fire, and driving her thence, pursued her
under the table, where she stood on her defence, spitting and setting up
her back in defiance: at this instant the otter entered the apartment,
and no sooner did she perceive what was going on, than she flew with much
fury and bitterness upon the dog, seized him by the face with her teeth,
and would doubtless have inflicted a severe chastisement upon him, had I
not hastened to the rescue, and, separating the combatants, expelled the
terrier from the room.
When permitted to wander in the garden, this otter would search for
grubs, worms, and snails, which she would eat with much apparent relish,
detaching the latter from their shell with surprising quickness and
dexterity. She would likewise mount upon the chairs at the window, and
catch and eat flies--a practice which I have not as yet seen recorded
in the natural history of this animal. I had this otter in my possession
nearly two years, and have in the above sketch mentioned only a few of
its most striking peculiarities. Did I not fear encroaching on space
which is perhaps the property of another contributor, I could have
carried its history to a much greater length.