River Rabbit

River Rabbit (Otter)
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Dog Terms	River Rabbit
Human Terms	Otter
Book Appearances	The Endless Lake

A River Rabbit is the dog term for an otter.

Background

River Rabbits in Survivors generally have a long, muscular body with a round face, very small ears, a short muzzle, a long neck, short legs with clawed paws, and a long, pointed tail.

They are faster in water than on land. They have a fat and rich taste

History

In the Original Series

The Endless Lake

When the dogs are looking for prey, Martha tells them to look at the water, where Lucky sees an animal bobbing up on the surface of the river, spinning around, and ducking out of sight. Storm asks if it is a fish, but Lucky shakes his head, as he had seen fur on the animal. The dogs watch in wonder as the creature turns loops in the water, sun shimmering off its glossy coat as it yawns. Bella says that it's a river rabbit, and she has heard of them.

Lucky is unsure of this, as he has never heard of rabbits swimming, and the animal has a round face, short muzzle, small ears, a long, muscular body, and a long, pointed tail. Lucky watches as the animal flips onto its back and floats with its clawed paws in the air, easily riding the gently current. Moon warns them that they must stay downwind and keep quiet, and she, Lucky, and Martha stalk along the bank, while Twitch, Bella, and Storm hold back. As they follow the common hunting practice of circling prey, Lucky hopes that the river rabbit will come onto land, as the dogs won't be able to swim in the water.

Lucky, Moon and Martha sink behind a tussock of the grass by the riverside and silently watch the river rabbit splash about. Lucky is amazed when it flips onto its belly and swims to the near bank, toward where the dogs crouch, right where Martha's pelt rises over the tussock. The river-rabbit slides effortlessly onto the grass and shakes out its fur when Martha springs on the creature. It struggles and squeals ferociously, slipping under her and bounding for the bank with the three dogs chasing after it, although it is slower than they are on land. It starts back toward the water, but Lucky pounces in its path and as it rears and screeches furiously, Martha dives at it and bites its neck.

Later, the dogs stretch after their meal and pick the last morsels of meat from their claws. Storm yawns that river rabbit is delicious, and Bella agrees that it is like regular rabbit but more fatty and rich. Martha approaches the riverbank and murmurs thanks to The River-Dog for the meal.

When Twitch says that he will stay with his Pack, he mentions that the river rabbit was delicious, but he doesn't want to be a burden.

When Storm gets hungry before all of the other dogs, she says that the river rabbit they had was quite small and they had it a while ago. When Bella notes that they are all hungry, Lucky's stomach churns at the thought of a river rabbit.

Later, when with the Wild Pack again, Lucky sadly thinks that the dogs have to worry about all of their meals, and he wryly thinks back to the river rabbit, which he had considered to be a small meal among five.