catalogue
1. Living habits
2. Morphological characteristics
3. Distribution range
4. Breeding technology
5. Economic value
1. Living habits
Otter is a semi-aquatic animal, living in rivers, swamps, ponds, lakes and other fresh water areas with slow water flow, high transparency, poor aquatic plants and more fish, especially in wooded streams on both sides. Others live in coastal areas where salt and fresh water meet. On small islands near the coast, they often go fishing in seawater. Most of them dig holes for a living, and their nests are built under roots, stumps, reeds and bushes near the water's edge, using natural low-lying land to build nests. Like the Skull Cave, the otter's cave has several entrances and exits. The tunnel inclines upward to prevent water from entering the cave, but one of the caves leads to water and opens at the underwater 1-3 meters to connect the land and the water. Not only is it convenient to get in and out, but it can also dive directly into the water for food to avoid the attack of carnivores. Hide in the cave to rest during the day and come out for activities at night. The cave is covered with grass and has a fixed defecation place. They usually live alone except during mating. In order to find more food, in addition to the breeding season, they often migrate from one river to another, or from upstream to downstream.
Otters are good at swimming and diving. Its soft body and long tail can reduce the resistance to moving in the water. When swimming in, its forelimbs cling to its body and push the water with its hind legs and tail. At the same time, it also acts as a rudder, making its body wavy and its posture is very similar to that of an eel. The swimming speed is very fast, and it can swim more than 50 meters per minute, and the lifting and turning are very flexible. It swings back and forth in the water, turns left and right, and rolls freely. It also likes to swim around like a circle, rolling up sediment at the bottom of the water or small fish in the water, and jumping on the water like a dolphin in an emergency. It can be 4-5 minutes downstream of the water, and the stealth distance is quite far. Hearing, sight and smell are keen. In water, it can automatically close the valves of nostrils and ear holes to prevent water from flowing in. When swimming near the water, people are used to showing their heads, backs and tails, so they are often mistaken for water monsters. Sometimes I lie on my back and shrink my feet, floating on the water and drifting with the flow. It loves to play. It often stands up by treading water, making its head and neck out of the water, making movements to watch the distance, or climbing up and down the slope of the river bank, sliding and rolling on the ice and snow, etc. These behaviors make it more acute in response and more exquisite in hunting skills. However, it is not good at walking on land. It mainly crawls forward, intermittently slides, rolls and jumps on the abdomen, and hobbles on thin ice or shallow snow. When it is hurt by the enemy, it immediately dives into the ice cave or snow to escape. When it meets the light, it doesn't stay for a minute like other Nocturnal Animals, but looks back while running, showing a strange appearance.
The otter's food is mainly fish. It often lifts the fish it catches from the water and eats it. It also catches birds, small animals, frogs, shrimps, crabs and crustaceans, and sometimes eats some plant food. I like to dive into the water from the shore or river cliff to catch fish, but the most commonly used hunting method is ambush, especially in winter, I often hide in the ice cave and wait for the fish to swim over and suddenly rush out to hunt. When waterfowl are found swimming slowly on the surface of the water, they will also sneak up from underwater, then bite their prey and eat it slowly. But if there are many sundries or aquatic plants in the water, fish can hide in them, making it more difficult for otters to hunt. Therefore, in some fish ponds in the south of China, pine branches are often put into the water to prevent otters from stealing. Because otters are gluttonous, they catch fish one by one and put them on the shore, arranged neatly, much like the tributes placed when people sacrifice, and otters also observe the movements beside the food like people kowtow, so the ancients thought that they needed to sacrifice to heaven to eat. As early as the Book of Rites, there was a record that fish were frozen and Rex sacrificed to heaven. In terms of size, it belongs to one of the most powerful mammals and can move rocks weighing 60 kilograms. After a full meal, rest on the beach, slate or cave by the water. Before choosing a resting place on the beach, people called it a paw hanging on the sand surface.
Fierce by nature, when being rounded up by hounds, they dare to resist larger attackers, and there are often records of hunting hounds. In 20 14, otters were arrested in American national parks and caught attacking crocodiles.
2. Morphological characteristics
The otter is 55-82cm long, 30-55cm long and weighs 5- 14kg, and the female is smaller. The body surface is covered with dense needle hair, the back is dark brown, the abdomen is light brown, and the throat, neck and chest are nearly white. When facing the sun, it will reflect oily luster, with brown fluff inside, so water can't penetrate but will bounce off. The body is slender and cylindrical, the head is wide and flat, the snout is short and not prominent, the nose is small and round, the upper edge of the nose pad is W-shaped, and the middle of the upper edge of the nose mirror is concave. The upper lip is white, the corners of the mouth have developed tentacles, and the inner side of the maxillary cleft tooth has big protrusions. Small eyes and small round ears. The limbs are thick and short, the toes are slightly pointed, the claws are large and obvious, and there is a webbed toes between the toes. The tail is long and flat, with a thick base and tapering towards the tail end, and the length is almost more than half of the body length.
Otter's streamlined body, long and thin hair, brown or black, with silky luster; The wool of local sheep is rich and soft. The back of the body is grayish brown, the chest and abdomen are grayish brown, the throat and neck are grayish white, and the coat color changes with the seasons, and it is slightly reddish brown in summer.
3. Distribution range
China is distributed all over the north and south, including Taiwan Province Province and Hainan Island, such as Sichuan, Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, Zhejiang, Guizhou, Shaanxi, Henan, Jiangxi, Taiwan Province, Hainan, Liaoning, Jilin, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Xizang Autonomous Region, Anhui, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Hubei, Gansu, Heilongjiang, Yunnan, Shanxi and Heilongjiang provinces.
Distribution abroad: Widely distributed in Europe, Asia and Africa.
4. Breeding technology
Feeding and management
Generally, fences and open-air cement ground sports grounds are used, covering an area of 4.5 10.5 meters and surrounded by 3-meter-high barbed wire. There is a 360.8-meter swimming pool on the sports ground, and clean water should be prepared in the swimming pool. The playground is connected with a small feeding room, covering an area of 2. 83.5 meters, swimming pool height is 2 1 meter. There is also a wooden production box, the specification is 10.60.8m, the top of the production box is 1 observation hole, and the box is padded with hay.
Young otters can be weaned 40-50 days after birth, but after weaning, they should be caught in another pool with a density of 8-9. Young otters grow fast and can reach their annual weight after 1 year. Under the condition of artificial feeding, otters are mainly fresh and freshwater fish, and each otter is fed 0.8- 1.2 kg every day, with a small amount of animal meat residue, internal organs, grains, vegetables and so on. In cold weather, the feed standard needs to be raised by 25%. When the temperature is high in summer, you can feed some small fish, loach, frog and green feed. Adult otters are fed three times a day and twice a day in winter. Young otters can feed freshwater fish four times a day, or they can replace fresh fish with rice, minced meat and fish powder. Male and female otters should be raised separately in the non-breeding period, and male otters should be caught in the female otter pond to mate in the breeding period. Otters are easy to tame. After domestication, otters can listen to people's calls and feed from their hands. It is known that the Moscow Zoo in the former Soviet Union once did an experiment of raising otters in dry land. When I was young, I raised small otters in dry land and refused to enter the water when I grew up.
5. Economic value
economic value
Otter fur is shiny, elastic, gorgeous in appearance, soft to the touch, tough in leather, rich in native sheep down hair, hardly soaked by water, and extremely warm. It is the first-class raw material for making expensive coats, collars and hats, and has high economic value.
Medicinal value
The main medicinal part of otter is its liver, and the medicinal material is called otter liver. Its feet, meat, bones, fur and bile can also be used as medicine. The medicinal materials are named otter quadruped, otter meat, otter bone, otter skin and otter gall respectively.
Otter liver: flat in nature and sweet and salty in taste. Has the effects of nourishing yin, clearing away heat, relieving cough and stopping bleeding. Indications: asthenia, bone steaming hot flashes, night sweats, cough, asthma, hemoptysis, night blindness, hemorrhoid bleeding and other diseases.
Otter quadruped: it can be used to treat chapped hands and feet and eat fish bones.
Otter meat: it is mainly used to treat women's fatigue, bone steaming, water swelling, constipation and amenorrhea.
Otter bones are mainly used for vomiting and eating fishbones.
Otter skin: it can cure water and yin diseases.
Otter gall: It can be used to treat diseases such as black eyes, blurred vision, tuberculosis and lymphoid tuberculosis.