228 ' A Day with the Otter Hounds, [Sess. 



otter is thus clearing the water of disease — indeed, fulfilling a 

 law of nature. The otter has been truly described as a dainty, 

 wasteful feeder, taking one meal only off each capture. The 

 angler who has had a poor day's fishing, or one who cannot 

 fish, on learning that an otter has recently been seen in the 

 neighbourhood where he has been fishing, always blames 

 the otter, never himself. As pets they can be easily 

 tamed ; they will play with children, and have been trained 

 to fish. 



The following extracts, bearing on the subject of this paper, 

 will be of interest : — 



From ' The Mammalian Fauna of the Edinburgh District/ 

 By William Evans (1892 and 1906). 



The otter occurs permanently or at intervals on all our rivers and larger 

 streams, but only in very limited numbers. Without attempting to give 

 an exhaustive list of localities and occurrences, I may mention that I have 

 on several occasions seen footprints or " seals " on the banks of the Biel 

 burn in East Lothian, and only the other day by the Esk within the deer 

 park at Dalkeith Palace ; and that besides specimens killed in these places, 

 I have, during the last few years, either examined examples or had their 

 occurrences reported to me from the Tyne ; the South Esk, on which one 

 (of two) was captured at Dalhousie Castle in 1889 ; the North Esk, on 

 which one was killed near Eskbank in 1890, and another seen at Newhall 

 five or six years since ; Glencorse reservoir and Logan burn in the Pentlands, 

 where one was captured in 1886, and the marks of another seen the winter 

 before last ; the Tweed between Peebles and Innerleithen, and at various 

 points in its course ; the Almond, both near its mouth and higher up, and 

 the Carron in Stirlingshire. I have also recently seen one near Callander, 

 and J. Gilmour, Esq. of Montrave informs me it is still not uncommon in 

 Eife. . . . While staying at Aberfoyle in 1902 I found a pair of otters 

 frequenting a deep lochan near the village, and had several excellent 

 opportunities of studying their habits. About sunset they would appear 

 in the water and engage in wild play, rolling and splashing together for a 

 quarter of an hour on end. 



On one occasion, having reached unobserved a spot at which they were 

 accustomed to land, I stood and waited. Presently one of them was seen 

 approaching rapidly, swimming on the surface and beneath it alternately. 

 A few seconds more and it shot on to the margin of the pond within a 

 couple of yards of my feet, and commenced puffing and spitting like an 

 enraged cat. Suddenly, in somersault fashion it plunged into the water, 

 reappearing about a dozen yards off. Disappearing again, it landed in 

 front of me a second time, repeated the scolding, and took another 

 "header" backwards. Having gone through the performance a third 

 time, it went off to another part of the lochan, and I lost sight of it in the 

 growing darkness. 



