332 , The Tame Otter. CHAP. xxn. 



says the huntsman, ' hereabouts it was she kennelled ; look you, here it was, 

 indeed, for here's her young ones, no less than five ; come, let's kill them 

 all.' f No,' exclaims PiscatOr, ' I pray, Sir, save me one, and I'll try if I can 

 make her tame, as I know an ingenious gentleman in Leicestershire, Mr. 

 Nich. Seagrave, has done ; who hath not only made her tame, but to catch 

 fish, and do many other things at pleasure.' Buffon, who could be as hard 

 of belief in some points as he was credulous in others, disbelieves the otter's 

 capability of domestication. The testimony above noticed has been con- 

 firmed by a cloud of modern witnesses. Goldsmith mentions an otter which 

 went into a gentleman's pond at the word of command, drove the fish up 

 into a corner, and having seized on the largest, brought it out of the water 

 to its master. Daniel, Bewik, Shaw record instances of the animal's docility 

 in this way. Mr. Bell and Mr. Macgillvray both corroborate the fact. The 

 latter has collected the following anecdotes: 'Mr. M'Diarmid, in his 

 amusing " Sketches from Nature," gives an account of several domesticated 

 otters, one of which, belonging to a poor widow, when led forth plunged 

 into the Urr, or the neighbouring burns, and brought out all the fish it could 

 find. Another, kept at Corsbie House, Wigtonshire, evinced a great fond- 

 ness for gooseberries, fondled about her keeper's feet like a pup or kitten, 

 and even seemed inclined to salute her cheek, when permitted to carry her 

 freedoms so far. A third, belonging to Mr. Monteith of Carstairs, was also 

 very tame, and though he frequently stole away at night to fish by the pale 

 light of the moon, and associate with his kindred by the riverside, his 

 master, of course, was too generous to find any fault with this peculiar mode 

 of spending his evening hours. In the morning he was always at his post 

 in the kennel, and no animal understood better the secret of keeping his 

 own side of the house. Indeed, his pugnacity in this respect gave him a 

 great lift in the favour of the gamekeeper, who talked of his feats wherever 

 he went, and avowed, besides, that if the best cur that ever ran " only 

 daured to girn " at his protige, he would soon " mak his teeth meet through 

 him." To mankind, however, he was much more civil, and allowed himself 

 to be gently lifted by the tail, though he objected to any interference with 

 his snout, which is probably with him the seat of honour.' They are 



however, dangerous pets, for, if offended, they will bite grievously. 



***** 



" L. Nair* has the fur deep-chestnut, lightest on the sides ; lower part 

 of the neck and cheeks, as well as the throat, reddish bright-brown ; above 

 the eye a ruddy yellow or yellowish-white spot. 



" This is the Nir-nayie of the people of Pondicherry, and is probably the 

 species seen by Bishop Heber, who passed a row of nine or ten large and 

 very beautiful otters, tethered with straw collars and long strings to bamboo 

 stakes on the banks of the Matta Colly. ' Some were swimming about at 

 the full extent of their strings, or laying half in and half out of the water ; 



* The common otter of Europe is Lutra vulgaris. 



