e numerous
throughout practically the whole of the United States and Canada, but
because of the persistency with which they were hunted, have become rare
in many of the sections where they were once found in abundance.
Especially is this true of the beaver. Almost all of the states in which
beavers are still found, as well as the various provinces of Canada,
have made laws to protect these animals, but they are still hunted and
trapped, and the day is not far distant when the beaver will be extinct.

The otter is a more wary animal than the beaver, and as a consequence
will linger within the bounds of civilization long after the beaver has
disappeared, but for all this they are becoming very rare in most of the
settled sections. As these animals both belong to different orders and
their habits are entirely different, it will be necessary to take up
each separately.

THE BEAVER.--As before mentioned, the beaver has become extinct in many
sections where it was once found, and at present they are practically
confined to Canada, Alaska, the Northern States and the Western mountain
regions. A few are still found in the more isolated portions of the
South, but there they are quite rare except in a few small sections.
Thruout the Central and many of the Eastern and Southern States, they
have entirely disappeared. There is only one species of the beaver, but
there are several varieties, all of which are very much alike in
appearance and the habits of all are the same, except where it is
changed because of difference in food, climate, etc.

The beaver has always been an interesting animal, not only to those
directly interested in furs, but to all others, and practically
everybody knows something regarding the habits of the animal. One of
their most remarkable habits is that of building dams on the stream, or
at the outlet of the pond or lake on which they are located. These dams
are intended to regulate the height of the water. They will vary from
two to five feet in height, and from twenty to one hundred yards in
length, according to the size of the stream and the nature of the
shores.

The dams are composed of sticks and chunks of wood, stones, sods, etc.
They always watch the dam closely and keep it in repair, and each fall
it is strengthened by adding new material. In addition to the main dam
there are, as a rule, one or more smaller dams built lower down stream.
What these small dams are for is not known for a certainty