CLASS MAMMALIA. 45
weighing 23 lbs., was found in a brook at Great Hallingbury
by a fox-terrier, whose owner was compelled to shoot the
Otter to save the dog, which it savagely attacked. A fort-
night or so later (ibid, Dec. 24th), a pair were shot in a
"fleet" close to the Cottage, Great Bentley.
In the Essex Naturalist for 1893 (vol. vii., p. 123) is a
record by Mr. Bateman of Otters breeding in the open near
Brightlingsea ; and, in the same periodical (Essex Naturalist,
vol. vi., p. 138), Mr. W. Cole relates how a baby Otter found
in a rabbit's hole at East Mersea was suckled by a cat with
her kitten.
Mr. J. Surridge, jun., writes (Field, 18th April, 1874, p.
374) an amusing account of an impromptu otter hunt in
the park at Stisted Hall, the animal being apparently both
strange and terrifying to the keepers and servants of that
estate during the absence of the family.
Daniel also relates (Rural Sports, vol. i., p. 625) that Mr.
Edwards, of Little Waltham Hall, owned an Otter which
attended him like a dog, and which, every afternoon, while
the old gentleman slept, regularly stationed itself upon his lap.
It obtained fish from the various ponds in the gardens and
grounds near the house, and was fed also upon milk. At last,
it was accidentally killed by a maid-servant striking it with a
broom-handle upon the nose, where the slightest blow is fatal.
The Otter is certainly one of our most interesting and
graceful animals when seen swimming in its native streams.
It is astonishing that a creature of its size should be able to
slip in and out of the water so quietly, and without making
half the " wake " that a Rat does. Anyone fortunate enough to
see, as I have more than once seen, a mother Otter and her
family playing in clear water, will, I am sure, agree with me
that it is one of the most attractive aquatic sights possible.
Otters, like the rest of the family, are nocturnal in