A HISTORY OF BUCKINGHAMSHIRE 



while out for a a stroll, was frightened by an 

 accidental noise, and at once plunged into the 

 tank and swam across, nearly all the way 

 under water. The next day (when the cubs 

 were almost nine weeks old) on my giving 

 some fish to the old otter while the cubs were 

 out with her, she took two small roach to 

 them and tried to entice them to eat, by 

 taking first one fish, then the other, then both 

 together in her mouth and moving them about 

 close in front of the cubs to attract their at- 

 tention, at the same time uttering a peculiar 

 whine or growl, or something between the 

 two, which was quite new to me, and which 

 sounded ferocious ; her intention evidently 

 was to make them believe she did not want 

 them to take the fish from her, while all the 

 while she was using her utmost cunning to 

 incite them to do that very thing ! The cubs 

 were by dint of much patience gradually 

 induced to try, and though they at last occa- 

 sionally gnawed at the fish, they appeared on 

 this occasion to get nothing off. This amiable 

 dissimulation was repeated daily for some 

 time afterwards. On 31 December (when 

 1 1 \ weeks old) they appreciated an additional 

 fish meal at about 11.15 p.m. ; and a day or 

 two later a third meal was added first thing 

 in the morning ; but the cubs lay up through 

 all the remainder of the day, and if food were 

 given at other times the mother made no at- 

 tempt to induce them to eat. On 25 Janu- 

 ary (when fifteen weeks old) the cubs came 

 out an hour earlier than usual (at 5 instead of 

 6 p.m.), and continued gradually to come out 

 earlier until 20 February, when they were 

 out as early as 2.30 p.m. I could not satisfy 

 myself how long they continued to suckle, 

 but believe they did so all through the spring. 

 The above are the bare bones of the story, 

 but the whole episode, watched day by day, 

 and almost night and day, with its various 

 little details, proved one of the most interest- 

 ing events, from a naturalist's point of view, 

 that I can imagine. Both cubs were females ; 

 one I eventually sold ; the remaining one 

 came in season for the first time when ten 

 months old, but was hardly full-grown before 

 she had completed her twelvemonth. Males 

 continue to grow rather longer than this. She 

 spent six months of her life in London, at 

 the Fisheries Exhibition. From the time I 

 obtained the mother as a cub about two 

 months old, to the death of the daughter, 

 seventeen years and almost nine months 

 elapsed. Each lived to be over ten years old. 

 The cause of death in the mother was slightly 

 obscure, while the daughter was drowned 

 during very cold weather under the ice in her 

 tank. In both cases however they had lost 



the vigour of youth, so died from accidents 

 that would hardly have proved fatal to younger 

 animals. 



The two largest Thames otters that I have 

 handled were trapped at different spots above 

 Bisham, near Great Mario w, and were natu- 

 rally both males. One, caught 14 July 1889, 

 was brought to me alive, but died from the 

 injury sustained in trapping. The other was 

 caught 23 April 1882. The two largest 

 females from the Thames, of which I have 

 measurements, were both caught by myself. 

 One, on the lock eyot, Great Marlow, I May 

 1896, died 25 February 1898; the other, 

 caught lojuly 1873, died 27 December 1878. 

 The largest ever killed by the Bucks Otter 

 Hounds was near Thornton Hall, Bucking- 

 ham, and weighed more than 30 lb., which 

 was the limit of weight the steel yard could 

 show. 



The second of the two Thames females 

 mentioned above was caught in an unusual 

 manner. On the evening of the day named 

 (10 July 1873), I went up the river to shoot 

 some water voles for my wild cats, and after 

 securing two or three, saw near the Bucks 

 side, a little above Bisham Grange, a piece of 

 water weed travelling steadily up stream. Not 

 doubting that this was being carried by a 

 water vole, I put up the gun and was on the 

 point of firing when I noticed what appeared 

 to be a water vole's head about a foot beyond 

 the water-weed, and the two objects kept 

 exactly the same distance apart as they pro- 

 ceeded up the river. Struck by this odd cir- 

 cumstance I paused, and instantaneously saw 

 that the leading object was not a vole's head 

 but an otter's nose, the remainder of the head 

 being under water ; and that the weed was 

 lodged against the curve of the back, which 

 just protruded above water. To shoot an 

 otter being about the last thing I should wish 

 to do, I half-cocked and put down the gun, 

 whispered to my dog, who was on the tow- 

 path, and had seen me put up the gun, though 

 he could not see what I was pointing at, to 

 'down-charge,' which he did at once; and 

 noiselessly backed the boat up stream to see 

 as much as I could of the otter. It continued 

 steadily up stream, generally swimming, but 

 once or twice getting into shallow water it 

 waded for a few yards, until at last it dis- 

 appeared into or under a thick stubby hazel- 

 bush growing out of the bank and hanging 

 down to the water's edge. I forced the boat's 

 head into the bush, and kneeling in the bow 

 pushed my head in likewise ; on opening my 

 eyes I saw a large hole doubtless a water- 

 expanded water vole's hole under the roots 

 of the hazel, and the otter looking out of it. 



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