Of the hunting of the Otter. Chap. 75.

THe Otter is a beast well knowne. Shee feedeth on fishe, and lyeth neare vnto Ryuers, Brookes, Pooles, and fishe∣pondes, or Meares: hir lying commonly is vnder the rootes of trees, and sometimes I haue seene them lying in •… hollowe tree, foure or fiue foote aboue the grounde: euen as a Foxe, Polcat, wildecat, or Badgerd will destroye a Warren, so will the Otter destroy all t•…e fishe in your pondes, if she once haue founde the waye to them. She dyueth and hunteth vnder the water, after a wonderfull manner, so that no fishe can escape hir, vnlesse they be verie great and swift. A litter of Ot∣ters, will destroy you all the fishe in a ryuer (or at least, the grea∣test store of them) in two myles length. They goe sault at suche times as firrets go sault, which time euery mā may eassy know. And they kindle & bring forth their yong Otters, euen as firrets do, somtimes more, & somtimes lesse. To speak a truth, they seem to be a kind of water firrets. There is great cunning in the hun∣ting of thē, as shal be saide in the next chapter, & also it is possible to take thē vnder the water, & by the ryuers side, both in traps & in snares, as you may take a Hare with Harepypes, or such like gynnes. They byte sore and venomously, and defende them selues stoutly. And if they be taken in snares, if they abyde long, they will sone sheare themselues out with their teeth. I will not speake much more of their nature, but onely that they are footed Page  201 like a Goose: I meane they haue a webbe betweene theyr clawes, and haue no heele but onely a rounde ball vnder their soale of their foote: & their tracke is called the marke of an Otter, as we say, the slot of an Hart: and their fewmets are called spraynts, as hath bene sayde before. An Otter abideth not much nor long in one place, but if she be frayed or finde any fault (as they are very perfectly of smellyng and hearing) they will forsake their couche & shifte a mile or two vp or downe a riuer: the like wil she do if she haue once destroyed the store of fishe, and finde no plentie of feeding. From a pondgarden or good store of fishpondes she wil not lightly be remoued, as long as there is store of fish in them: for therein fishes are taken with more ease, than in the Riuers or greater waters: but inough of their natures.