linguistic:paraphrasing, structural:expansion
Religion and mythology

Norse mythology tells of the dwarf Ótr habitually taking the form of an otter. The myth of "Otter's Ransom" is the starting point of the Volsunga saga.

In Irish mythology, the character Lí Ban was turned from a woman into a mermaid, half human and half salmon, and given three hundred years of life to roam the oceans. Her lapdog assumed the form of an otter and shared her prolonged lifetime and her extensive wanderings.

In some Native American cultures, otters are considered totem animals.

The otter is held to be a clean animal belonging to Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrian belief, and taboo to kill.

In popular Korean mythology, it is told that people who see an otter (soodal) will attract 'rain clouds' for the rest of their lives.

In the Buddhist Jataka tales, The Otters and The Wolf, two otters agreed to let a wolf settle their dispute in dividing their caught fish but it was taken away by the cunning wolf.