APPENDIX. 



Some Wild Pets I have known. 

 No. i. PADDY, THE OTTER. 



I HAVE known two or three tame otters, including one which was caught in Surrey, 

 two miles away from a river, in a poultry shed, where, night after night, chickens 

 were found dead. As it was obvious that neither fox, nor rat, nor stoat, was re- 

 sponsible for the murders, a trap was specially made to catch the culprit alive, 

 and one fine morning the young otter was inside. 



The thief must have had a very perverted taste, for he had come from a river, 

 two miles across the fields, in which there were plenty of trout. Strange to say, 

 though half-grown, he became very tame in captivity. 



But the tamest of all is Paddy, whose photograph is on Plate II. Paddy and 

 his brothers were found last spring close to a river, in a bed of reeds and rushes. 

 I fear that in all probability their mother had been shot or trapped, for the 

 river is closely preserved, and it was said that considerable damage had been done 

 among the fish. Personally, I don't believe it ; and even if it were true that otters 

 kill more fish than they can possibly eat, they are amongst the few surviving 

 British mammals, and it would be a thousand pities if they were exterminated. 



Paddy and a brother, however, fell into the hands of a kind mistress, who at- 

 tempted to bring them up on the bottle. The brother died, but Paddy survived 

 and grew into a playful and affectionate pet, as tricksome and wilful and a good 

 deal more intelligent than a puppy. He was allowed to wander all over the house, 

 and was as much at ease in the drawing-room as in the kitchen. At night, however, 

 he was put into a large outdoor aviary. 



As a tiny baby some 14 inches long, quite blind and helpless he was fed 

 with milk ; he soon began to recognize the kind hands that fed him and fondled 

 him, and would give a low whine of comfort when stroked ; whilst, like many another 

 baby, he uttered screaming whistles when hungry. 



So fond was he of the bottle that, when he grew older, it was with difficulty 

 that he could be " weaned," and at first juicy pieces of pike had to be forced into 

 his mouth before he could be got to appreciate solid food. 



A fortnight after his arrival he was eating fish and drinking from a saucer ; 

 every day he had a warm bath, with some Condy's fluid added, and wouldn't he 

 cry if it was not warm enough ! He would follow his mistress wherever she went, 

 get under her dress to hide, roll like a puppy on the rug in front of the fire, and 

 love to be rubbed and romped with. 



He must be full grown, or nearly, now, but he is as tame as ever. He sleeps 

 in the aviary ; but when any one comes to the door he sits up and puts his hands 



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