The otter is found in some medieval encyclopedias. it is a clever and mischievous animal that has its den near rivers and ponds. It lives on fish and hunts them in the water. It sometimes enters a fish trap in search of fish, and being unable to escape, suffocates. It is so greedy for fish that it collects many of them in its den, where the decaying fish produce a stench and infect the air. People sometimes domesticate an otter and use it to chase fish into their nets.