Otter females are called bitches or sows, and their offspring are called pups. The collective nouns for otters are bevy, family, lodge, romp (being descriptive of their often playful nature) or, when in water, raft. The feces of otters are typically identified by their distinctive aroma, the smell of which has been described as ranging from freshly mown hay to putrefied fish; these are known as spraints. The gestation period in otters is about 60 to 86 days. The newborn pup is cared for by the bitch, dog and older offspring. Bitch otters reach sexual maturity at approximately two years of
Mammal (band) released their single titled "Slaves/Nagasaki in Flames" which had a live version of "Hollywood Shrine". Mammal began work on material for their debut studio album on 20 November. The band has continued to play many shows at the beginning of 2008 and are fast becoming one of Australia's biggest bands, with a solid reputation as a live band. They performed at the Melbourne "Big Day Out" and they opened for KISS at their Brisbane show in February. They entered "Sing Sing Studios" on 21 April to begin recording their new studio album, which was released on 30 August 2008. The