IN THE HIGHLANDS 161 



Loch, and the twenty or more smaller lochs that empty 

 themselves into it, to the ocean, which the otters 

 much prefer in winter to the fresh water. One could 

 not possibly imagine a more perfect home for otters 

 than the islands of the Fionn Loch. I remember one 

 day when fishing on it, and when right out in the middle, 

 we saw a very young otter swimming along, which must 

 have somehow got separated from its mother. During 

 the chase it happened to come up near enough to the boat 

 to be captured with the landing-net, and after keeping 

 it for some weeks, we sent it to the London Zoo, where 

 it lived and throve for many a long year in the otter pond. 

 About the year 1860 I had a deUghtful tame otter, 

 which had been captured when quite tiny, and was 

 brought up on milk. What a fascinating pet it was ! 

 It was never so happy as when playing like a kitten 

 with a bit of stick, or tumbling about among dogs and 

 puppies under the kitchen table, and it loved a good 

 hot fire. I got it in April, and in the following winter 

 I used to let it out with a very long cord in the big sea- 

 pool of the Ewe below the bridge. One day the cord 

 came off, the otter disappeared, and after swimming 

 along the coast for two or three miles, came upon some 

 boys fishing for cuddies off the rocks. Not being in the 

 least afraid of human beings, it clambered up the rock, 

 and began eating the fish, but the boys, who did not 

 know it was tame and belonged to me, began belabouring 

 it with the butt-ends of their rods and killed it. They 

 added insult to injury by bringing the skin to me for 

 sale a few days afterwards. How I did bemoan the loss 

 of my otter ! 



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