The Zoologist— April, 18G7. 701 



instance of its occurrence. Last year one was seen off Shanklin. — Henry Hadficld ; 

 High Cliff, Venlnor, Isle of Wight, March 12, 1867. 



Death of the Sea Bear. — At the meeting of the Zoological Society of London, held 

 on Thursday last, Dr. Murie described the cause of the death of the Otaria, or sea 

 bear, the remarkable animal that proved so great an attraction to the visitors to the 

 Gardens during the last summer. Our readers may remember that an account of this 

 docile and intelligent creature, with an engraving after an exquisite drawing by Wolf, 

 appeared in the ' Field ' of March 10, 1866, and the engraving has been reproduced in 

 the 'Rural Almanac' for the present year. On the 10th of February last the animal 

 appeared dull and showed less than its usual activity and grace in the water: on the 

 following day it was seriously ill, and had altogether lost its appetite. On the 12th 

 the symptoms were increased ; the body became cold, there was tenderness on pressure, 

 and every symptom of dangerous internal inflammatory action. On the 14th the ani- 

 mal passed a fragment of coarse canvas, tightly compressed by the action of the intes- 

 tines into a cord-like form, some four or five inches iu length, and between one and 

 two in diameter; iuclosed in the folds was a fish-hook. The passage of these foreign 

 bodies gave every reason to hope for a favourable termination to the case; but unfor- 

 tunately the irritation produced by their presence in the digestive canal was too great, 

 and the animal died early on the morning of the 15th. The post-mortem examination 

 showed that death resulted from congestion of the alimentary canal and liver, evidently 

 caused by the passage of the substances above-mentioned. — W. G. Teyetmeier, in the 

 ' Field' of March 9, 1867. 



Notes on the Mammalia of Buckinghamshire and Berkshire (continued from Zool. 

 S. S. 631).— 



Otter. — Otters are occasionally seen, and I believe taken, in the neighbourhood of 

 Windsor, and the remains of fishes partly eaten by these animals are found on the 

 banks of the Thames. Mr. Thomas Lloyd, of Eton, observed one in the rushes by the 

 river, near Surley Hall, at the beginning of last September, and I believe several have 

 been seen this winter near here. 



Field Mouse. — A variety (?) of the field mouse was caught, by a dog, in the private 

 grounds of Windsor Castle, last November. I took it from the mouth of the dog about 

 a minute after it had caught it, and was surprised to see that it had no tail : it had 

 certainly not been eaten off by the dog. Its ears were covered with long fur, and 

 were very large, while its head appeared to be much swollen and larger than usual. 

 The eyes were set close to the snout, and its whole appearance was very peculiar. 

 I took it to several naturalists in London, and it was pronounced by ail to be a variety 

 of the field mouse. It was found close to the water, late in the day. 



Common Water Rat. — On the 29th of January last I saw a curious variety of the 

 water rat: it was swimming across a stream near Eton : its tail was quite white, and 

 the rest of its body of the usual colour. It had something in its mouth that looked 

 like a bit of straw, but whether it was or not I cannot say. 



Polecat. — These animals are still fairly common near Windsor, notwithstanding 

 the continued war which is waged against them by the gamekeepers. 



Shrew Mice. — These little animals are exceedingly numerous near Surley and 

 Eton ; but from a field which borders on the banks of the Thames (in which great 

 numbers of shrews lived) being under water during the late floods, great numbers 

 perished. 



