THE WATER SHREW AND OTTER IN AYRSHIRE. 295 



difficulty secured. The other retreated beneath a 

 narrow ledge of rock, where it defended its position 

 with much boldness. It was at length drawn out 

 by a wire-noose attached to the end of a long stick 

 and so dropped on its neck. 



The two cubs were kept for about a fortnight and 

 were fed on fish, which they did not appear to relish 

 unless fresh from the water. Mr. John Dickie, to 

 whom I am indebted for the foregoing particulars, 

 informs me that he regards the death of the young 

 otters as probably due to the difficulty of supplying 

 them with newly-caught fish of sufficient freshness 

 to prove acceptable to their most fastidious palates. 



One of the cubs was stuffed, and in that condition 

 measures 27 in. from point of muzzle to tip of tail. 



