CLASS MAMMALIA. 45 



weighing 23 Ibs., was found in a brook at Great Hallingbury 

 by a fox-terrier, whose owner was compelled to shoot the 

 Otter to save the dog, which it savagely attacked. A fort- 

 night or so later (ibid, Dec. 24th), a pair were shot in a 

 "fleet" close to the Cottage, Great Bentley. 



In the Essex Naturalist for 1893 ( v l- vii., p. 123) is a 

 record by Mr. Bateman of Otters breeding in the open near 

 Brightlingsea ; and, in the same periodical (Essex Naturalist, 

 vol. vi., p. 138), Mr. W. Cole relates how a baby Otter found 

 in a rabbit's hole at East Mersea was suckled by a cat with 

 her kitten. 



Mr. J. Surridge, jun., writes (Field, i8th April, 1874, p. 

 374) an amusing account of an impromptu otter hunt in 

 the park at Stisted Hall, the animal being apparently both 

 strange and terrifying to the keepers and servants of that 

 estate during the absence of the family. 



Daniel also relates (Rural Sports, vol. L, p. 625) that Mr. 

 Edwards, of Little Waltham Hall, owned an Otter which 

 attended him like a dog, and which, every afternoon, while 

 the old gentleman slept, regularly stationed itself upon his lap. 

 It obtained fish from the various ponds in the gardens and 

 grounds near the house, and was fed also upon milk. At last, 

 it was accidentally killed by a maid-servant striking it with a 

 broom-handle upon the nose, where the slightest blow is fatal. 



The Otter is certainly one of our most interesting and 

 graceful animals when seen swimming in its native streams. 

 It is astonishing that a creature of its size should be able to 

 slip in and out of the water so quietly, and without making 

 half the " wake " that a Rat does. Anyone fortunate enough to 

 see, as I have more than once seen, a mother Otter and her 

 family playing in clear water, will, I am sure, agree with me 

 that it is one of the most attractive aquatic sights possible. 



Otters, like the rest of the family, are nocturnal in 



