Otters are weasels. This is technically untrue. Otters and weasels are both mustelids, as are minks and martens and wolverines, etc. The weasel is, in my mind, the archetypal mustelid. When I characterized otters as amphibious weasels this was merely poetic license. I do the same thing with rodents, characterizing all of them as variants of rat. (Yes, even our proud national symbol, the beaver, is only a giant, flat-tailed, amphibious rat.)
As for the edibility of carnivores, I was there going to the other extreme of speaking about carnivores in an overly technical sense, that is members of the order Carnivora.
These are generally not regarded as good eating, though there are exceptions. Sandy correctly indicated bear and dog as Carnivores that people do relish eating, he missed raccoons which some people also like. I don't have any knowledge of native americans enjoying skunk, I'll take his word for it. ( I wouldn't be surprised if it was eaten more as a test of intestinal fortitude than because they liked it, or if it was one of those things where people decide that if it tastes this bad it must be a delicacy.)
On the other hand, most wild canines (wolves, foxes, jackals, wild dogs, coyotes) are not regarded as food animals. Maybe the diet of domestic dogs makes them taste better. And cats, mustelids (excepting skunks), civets, and hyenas are not regarded as good eating either.
So I confess to overstating my case. I should have said that most species of carnivore are not regarded as food for humans. Thankyou for correcting me, Sandy.
Anyway, enough of technical quibbles. I think John Hughes has finally given us good reasons why the FarPointers hunt otters. They do it because they hate the little buggers!
Is this attitude general amongst Sartari and Orlanthi, or is this a local prejudice in Far Point?
I suppose they hunt them in summer because the otters are more vulnerable then. They have their kits in tow and they are hunting furiously to build up fat reserves for the winter. The pelts would be better in winter but they are easier to hunt in summer.
Those intelligent otters make me worry about other possibilities. An intelligent otter might be a destructive prankster but an intelligent marten or fisher would be a threat to lots of livestock and an intelligent wolverine would be a deadly threat to humans. Got any of those up in the hills?
John, please expand on your theories and calumnies about Odaylans. I'm running one at the moment and could use more inspiration.
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