Tarka the otter is hunted but fights ferociously and strategically. Here he bites back as hounds close in. He gives as good as he gets.

See another image for speed conveyed by the slither of a viper, and one drawing on a quick drip tempo.

‘Tarka bit and bit and bit, quick as a striking viper, in cheek, shoulder, flank, nose, and ear.’

Source: Henry Williamson, Tarka the Otter: His joyful water-life and death in the two rivers, illus. C.F. Tunnicliffe (Harmondsworth: Puffin Books, 1976 (1927)), p. 147

Photo credit: xuuxuu at pixabay.com