Large bream, partially devoured, lie for the rats to complete on the sting of 1 mere that I go to; they’ve been caught within the shallows by herons. However on the banks of one other and deeper mere, bream are uncommon; an occasional pike or perch, or a portion of it, exhibits {that a} extra environment friendly fisher has been at work. Beside the alder roots lay about half a big perch, the pinnacle and many of the pectoral girdle absent, the ripening roe uncovered; an otter had eaten what it required and left the remainder.
On the roots have been the relics of one other feast, a mass of feathers plucked from a captured coot, for the style of the otter is catholic; fish or fowl or the flesh of rabbit or water-vole are all welcome. The otter can hunt in deeper water than the heron, and it could possibly chase its prey with a good probability of success. It should fare effectively, for it usually leaves a substantial a part of its captive, and little doubt, as with the heron’s bream, the rats are grateful. They have to keep away from scavenging when both chicken or mammal is about.
