Otters
In Redwall
- Alignment: Good
- Nicknames: Riverdog; rivermutt; waterdog; riverwhomper
- Appearance: Otters look like otters in our world, except that they
are bipedal and clothed, albeit sometimes quite scantily. Sea otters,
at least, have tattoos and piercings. Their build is sleek and
muscular, rarely ever lean or lanky. They are powerfully built, often
even burly, though females seem to be less so. They are rarely, if
ever, described as "pretty," though they may joke about themselves
as being so.
- Diet: Otters will eat anything other goodbeasts eat, but prefer
shrimp and hotroot soup (also called hotroot soup), and any kind of
fish. The spicier their food, the better.
- Habitat: Most otters do not live in Redwall - that's
actually a rarity. Many live in Camp Willow, an otter camp by the
Broadstream River. They often live in holts- such as Holt Lutra and
Holt Ruddaring.
- Typical Personality: Otters tend to be very good warriors, proud of
their strength and agility, and extremely good swimmers. They are
generally fun-loving with a great sense of humor, but perilous in battle- as much so as hares.
Most lone otters seem to prefer bladed weapons, but otters as a whole are
often seen using javelins and slings as their preferred weapons.
- Habits: Otters often talk with a nautical slang, using lots
of "mateys" and the like. However, like with any creature,
there are exceptions - there are otters with no trace of a slang at all in
the books.
Outside Redwall
- Classification: Lutra lutra
- Other Names: River otter
- Appearance: Otters are long and lithe, with a thick tail and webbed
feet. They are usually about 60-120cm long with a tail of 40-45cm long.
On average, males weigh 10.1 kg and females weigh 7 kg.
- Life Span: Most wild otters live to be 5 years old, though some can
live to be 10 years of age.
- Diet: Fish, eels, and salmonoids are common fare for otters, though
they'll also eat eelpout, rockling, butter fish, and birds like coots,
moorhens and ducks. They also eat a lot of frogs in the spring time.
- Habitat: Most otters live along rivers, lakes and sea coasts,
though some occasionally live in marshes. Coast-dwelling otters need
fresh water nearby to clean off the salt from their fur. An otter den
is called a holt and is usually in a tree root system, a hole in a
bank or under a pile of rocks. They are fairly solitary, with only a
temporary pairing of mates or mothers with their young, although they are
sometimes found in loosely knit groups of up to six animals.
- Typical Personality: Otters are known as fun-loving. They
play with the strangest things - sticks, rocks, shells, even fish.
They have been observed sliding down mudbanks or snowdrifts on their bellies
and both young and adult otters play, trot, gallop, slide, and chase each
other in water.
- Habits: Otters are expert swimmers who spend much of their time in
or near the water. They can stay underwater for 2 to 3 minutes.
Otters are nocturnal, coming out mostly at dusk and at night.
- Life Cycle: Otter cubs, often in litters of 2 or 3, can be born any
time of the year. Cubs don't usually venture out of the holt until
they are 10 weeks old, and don't leave their mother until they are one year
old.
- Sites for Further Research: