William Henry Flower and Richard Lydekker

“ The female produces three to five young ones in March or April, and brings them up in a nest formed of grass or other herbage, usually placed in a hollow place in the bank of a river, or under the shelter of the roots of some overhanging tree. The otter is found in localities suitable to its habits throughout Great Britain and Ireland, though less abundantly than formerly, for, being destructive to fish, it is rarely allowed to live in peace when its haunts are discovered. ”

“ The otters are captured by spearing, clubbing, nets and bullets. They do not feed on fish, like true otters, but on clams, mussels, sea-urchins and crabs; and the female brings forth but a single young one at a time, apparently at any season of the year. They are excessively shy and wary; young cubs are often captured by the hunters who have killed the dam, but all attempts to rear them have hitherto failed.
See Elliott Coues, Monograph on North American Fur-bearing Animals (1877) . ”

“ Individual otters vary in size. The total length from the nose to the end of the tail averages about 31⁄2 ft., of which the tail occupies 1 ft. 3 or 4 in. The weight of a full-sized male is from 18 to 24 ℔, that of a female about 4 ℔ less.
As the otter lives almost exclusively on fish, it is rarely met with far from water, and usually frequents the shores of brooks, rivers, lakes and, in some localities, the sea itself. It is a most expert swimmer and diver, easily overtaking and seizing fish in the water; but when it has captured its prey it brings it to shore to devour. ”