Although rarely seen in the wild, the otter is admired for its playful character and graceful aquatic agility, fixed in the popular imagination through books and films such as
Tarka the Otterand
Ring of Bright Water. This is just a small part of its story, however: throughout history, the otter has been hunted for its fur and to prevent it from killing fish. Featuring numerous images from nature and culture, as well as examples from folklore, sports, and literature, this wide-ranging book also explores the movement against otter hunting, and the ongoing efforts promoting otter conservation. A fittingly lively study of its subject,
Otteroffers a new way of thinking about this much-loved but endangered animal.
Daniel Allenis a human geographer with expertise in cultural, historical, and environmental geography. He is an affiliate member of the IUCN/SSC Otter Specialist Group.
1 Introducing the Otter
2 Folklore, Fables, Tradition and the Otter
3 Commercial Otter Hunting
4 Otter Hunting for Sport
5 The Literary Otter
6 The Otter On Screen
7 Protecting the Otter
Appendix: Otter Data
Timeline of the Otter
References
Select Bibliography
Websites and Associations
Acknowledgements
Photo Acknowledgements
Index
"Allen's writing is engaging, especially in describing otters' natural history and popular otters real and fictional, including Henry Williamson's famous Tarka. . . . There's an urgent reason to keep reading about beavers and otters. The need to restore Britain's wetlands, indeed all wildlands, makes their stories a compelling part of conservation science, deserving our full attention."
“Did you know that the otter is J. K. Rowling’s favorite animal? Or that the earliest evidence of its existence dates back twenty million years? Or that the fur of the sea otter is the densest in the animal kinls(
![Otter [Paperback]](/itemImage/2/4/7/4/2_5369074.jpg "Otter [Paperback]")