Lesson-8

Mijbil the Otter

By Gavin Maxwell

“Gavin Maxwell lives in a cottage in Camusfearna, in the West Highlands in Scotland. When his dog Jonnie died, Maxwell was too sad to think of keeping a dog again. But life without a pet was lonely…”

Mijbil the Otter Introduction

The author describes how his life changed after he decided to domesticate an otter after losing his pet dog in this lesson. He takes us through his journey of adjusting, playing, and travelling with Mijbil (or Mij) the otter from Iraq to London, and how he formed an inseparable bond with him along the way.

Mijbil the Otter Summary

The storey begins with the author and a friend travelling to Basra. During their journey, the author expresses his desire to domesticate an otter because life had become lonely for him after he had lost his pet dog. His friend suggested he get one from the marshes along the Tigris River in Iraq. When they arrived at their destination, they discovered that only a friend's mail had arrived. The friend left after a few days, while the narrator was still waiting for his mail. He went to his room after receiving it, only to find an otter (brought to him in a sack) and two Arabs with a note. It was a present from a friend. He named the otter Mijbil, or Mij for short. It took some time for Mij to open up and become comfortable in his surroundings. He was so covered in mud that it took nearly a month of cleaning and washing to reveal his true colour.

Mij enjoyed playing with water so much that he learned to turn on the faucet on his own. He was convinced that every drop of water should be squished and splashed until the bowl was empty. Everything was going swimmingly in Basra, but it was time to return to London. Because British airlines do not allow animals, he had to book another flight that allowed Mij on the condition that he be transported in a box. The narrator placed him in a box an hour before the flight so Mij could get used to it before leaving for a quick meal. When he returned, the box was still there, and Mij had made a mess of it by destroying the inner lining. As a result, blood began to drip from the holes. He hurried despite his fear. They were a long distance from the airport, and the flight was scheduled to depart in ten minutes.

He cleaned it all up, jumped in a cab, and arrived just in time. He told the storey to a very nice and generous air hostess, who advised him to keep the box on his lap. Gavin had a lot of respect for the air hostess because she was so nice to him. As soon as he opened the box, the otter leaped out and vanished, causing a commotion. Passengers were terrified. In an attempt to get a hold of Mij, a lady climbed up her chair, and the author got himself covered in curry. The air hostess offered assistance and returned him to Gavin, and they eventually arrived in London.

Mij liked to play with ping-pong balls and marbles. He even made a game out of the author's broken suitcase. It had the potential to keep him engrossed for an extended period of time. While taking the lead, the narrator took him for walks and played with him. People in London had wild guesses about Mij because they were unfamiliar with otters. Some people mistook it for a baby seal, squirrel, or even a hippo. The author received the most startling reaction when a labourer digging the hole asked, "What is that supposed to be?"

Mijbil the Otter Lesson Explanation

EARLY in the New Year of 1956 I travelled to Southern Iraq. By then it had crossed my mind that I should like to keep an otter instead of a dog, and that Camusfearna, ringed by water a stone’s throw from its door, would be an eminently suitable spot for this experiment.

  • Crossed my mind- (a thought) came into my mind
  • A stone’s throw- a very short distance
  • Otter- a semi aquatic fish-eating mammal of the weasel family, with an elongated body, dense fur, and webbed feet
  • Eminently- highly; very

In the early months of 1956, shortly after the death of the author's dog, he travelled to Southern Iraq. He was too lonely without a pet, but this time he wanted to keep an otter instead of a dog. He thought it was a good idea to keep an otter at Camusfearna because otters loved water. Camusfearna was the ideal location to test this novel idea of domesticating an otter because it was surrounded by water.

When I casually mentioned this to a friend, he as casually replied that I had better get one in the Tigris marshes, for there they were as common as mosquitoes, and were often tamed by the Arabs. We were going to Basra to the Consulate-General to collect and answer our mail from Europe. At the Consulate-General we found that my friend’s mail had arrived but that mine had not.

  • As common as mosquitoes- easily found 
  • Tamed- domesticate (an animal)

When the author mentioned his desire to domesticate an otter to a friend, the latter suggested that he get one from the marshes along the Tigris River, where otters were very common and were generally tamed by the Arabs. When the narrator and his friend were on their way to Basra, they had this conversation. When they arrived, they discovered that only a friend's mail had arrived.

I cabled to England, and when, three days later, nothing had happened, I tried to telephone. The call had to be booked twenty-four hours in advance. On the first day the line was out of order; on the second the exchange was closed for a religious holiday. On the third day there was another breakdown. My friend left, and I arranged to meet him in a week’s time. Five days later, my mail arrived.

  • Cabled- sent a message by telegraph (an old method of communication)
  • Breakdown- a mechanical failure

When the author attempted to connect to England via telegraph and received no response, he attempted to connect via a call that required reservations a day in advance. He couldn't contact them for another three days due to a holiday and technical difficulties. Finally, his friend left, and they agreed to meet again in a week. After another 5 days, his mail arrived.

I carried it to my bedroom to read, and there, squatting on the floor, were two Arabs; beside them lay a sack that squirmed from time to time. They handed me a note from my friend: “Here is your otter…”

  • Squatting- crouch or sit with one’s knees bent and one’s heels close to or touching one’s buttocks or the back of one’s thighs
  • Squirmed- twisted about

When the narrator received the mail, he went to his bedroom to read it, only to be met by two Arab men carrying a sack that twisted itself over and over. They presented him with a note from his friend stating that the otter was a gift from him. The otter was stowed away in the sack.

With the opening of that sack began a phase of my life that has not yet ended, and may, for all I know, not end before I do. It is, in effect, a thraldom to otters, an otter fixation, that I have since found to be shared by most other people, who have ever owned one.

  • Thraldom- (old fashioned) being under the control of
  • Fixation- a very strong attachment or feeling

The author saw domesticating an otter as the start of a new phase of his life, which is still ongoing. He developed deep affection and a special bond with the otter that could only be understood by those who had previously owned an otter.

The creature that emerged from this sack on to the spacious tiled floor of the Consulate bedroom resembled most of all a very small, medievally-conceived, dragon. From the head to the tip of the tail he was coated with symmetrical pointed scales of mud armour, between whose tips was visible a soft velvet fur like that of a chocolate-brown mole. He shook himself, and I half expected a cloud of dust, but in fact it was not for another month that I managed to remove the last of the mud and see the otter, as it were, in his true colours.

  • Medievally conceived- an imagination of the middle ages

The otter appeared on the tiled floor as soon as the narrator opened the sack. He resembled a miniature version of the ancient imaginary creature known as the dragon. He was completely covered in mud, with small patches of soft velvet fur visible beneath it. The fur looked like the skin of a chocolate brown mole. He shook himself to get rid of the majority of it, but it took another month of cleaning and washing to bring out his true colour.

Mijbil, as I called the otter, was, in fact, of a race previously unknown to science, and was at length christened by zoologists Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli, or Maxwell’s otter. For the first twentyfour hours Mijbil was neither hostile nor friendly; he was simply aloof and indifferent, choosing to sleep on the floor as far from my bed as possible. The second night Mijbil came on to my bed in the small hours and remained asleep in the crook of my knees until the servant brought tea in the morning, and during the day he began to lose his apathy and take a keen, much too keen, interest in his surroundings.

  • Christened- named
  • Hostile- unfriendly
  • Aloof and indifferent- keeping a distance
  • Apathy- absence of interest
  • Crook of my knees- soft inside part where you bend your knee

The author named his pet 'Mijbil,' or simply 'Mij.' Mijbil belonged to a race of otters named Lutrogale Perspicillata Maxwelli, which had recently been discovered by a zoologist and was thus known as Maxwell's otter. It took some time for the otter to open up and feel at ease in his new surroundings. On the first day, he was at a distance, on the second day, he slept with the narrator in his bed, lying on the crook of his knees, and on the third day, he began to become more familiar with his surroundings.

I made a body-belt for him and took him on a lead to the bathroom, where for half an hour he went wild with joy in the water, plunging and rolling in it, shooting up and down the length of the bathtub underwater, and making enough slosh and splash for a hippo. This, I was to learn, is a characteristic of otters; every drop of water must be, so to speak, extended and spread about the place; a bowl must at once be overturned, or, if it will not be overturned, be sat in and sploshed in until it overflows. Water must be kept on the move and made to do things; when static it is wasted and provoking.

  • So as to speak- as it were (one could say this)
  • Provoking- causing anger or some other reaction
  • Plunging- falling; sinking
  • Sploshed- splashed
  • Static- motionless

Gavin made an otter a belt, just like a dog, to wear on the lead wherever they went. He discovered Mij enjoyed playing with water when he first took the otter into the bathroom. He would roll and jump in the water like a hippopotamus. Otters were known to be irritated by still water, so they played with it and splashed it until the last drop was in the bowl/bucket. Otters preferred moving water, so when Mijbil saw still water, he appeared to become enraged and would sit in it, splash it, and attempt to tip it over in the bowl.

Two days later, Mijbil escaped from my bedroom as I entered it, and I turned to see his tail disappearing round the bend of the corridor that led to the bathroom. By the time I got there he was up on the end of the bathtub and fumbling at the chromium taps with his paws. I watched, amazed; in less than a minute he had turned the tap far enough to produce a trickle of water, and after a moment or two achieved the full flow. (He had been lucky to turn the tap the right way; on later occasions he would sometimes screw it up still tighter, chittering with irritation and disappointment at the tap’s failure to cooperate.)

  • Fumbling- trying to do something in a clumsy manner
  • Trickle- flow in a small stream
  • Chittering- make a twittering or chattering sound
  • chromium- a hard white metal used to make taps

Soon after becoming acquainted with the location, the otter escaped alone to the bathroom and attempted to open the tap with his paws. Surprisingly, he was able to open the tap enough to get a trickle of water and then more to get the full flow because he began by turning it in the right direction. On other occasions, he would twist it tighter by moving it in the opposite direction, only to be disappointed when no water flowed from it.

Very soon Mij would follow me without a lead and come to me when I called his name. He spent most of his time in play. He spent hours shuffling a rubber ball round the room like a four-footed soccer player using all four feet to dribble the ball, and he could also throw it, with a powerful flick of the neck, to a surprising height and distance. But the real play of an otter is when he lies on his back and juggles with small objects between his paws. Marbles were Mij’s favourite toys for this pastime: he would lie on his back rolling two or more of them up and down his wide, flat belly without ever dropping one to the floor.

  • Flick- a quick, light movement
  • Shuffling- dragging (here)
  • Dribble- repeated hits on a ball to make it go ahead
  • Pastime- distraction; entertainment

The otter quickly learned to follow the author without being led. When he called its name, it would come to him. Mij enjoyed playing a lot. He'd spend most of his time with a ball, dragging and pushing it around the room and chasing it. Otters are known to enjoy lying on their backs and juggling objects between their paws. Mij, on the other hand, enjoyed playing with marbles and never dropped one on the floor. He would roll two or more marbles on his broad, flat stomach.

The days passed peacefully at Basra, but I dreaded the prospect of transporting Mij to England, and to Camusfearna. The British airline to London would not fly animals, so I booked a flight to Paris on another airline, and from there to London. The airline insisted that Mij should be packed into a box not more than eighteen inches square, to be carried on the floor at my feet. I had a box made, and an hour before we started, I put Mij into the box so that he would become accustomed to it, and left for a hurried meal.

  • Accustomed- familiar
  • Dreaded the prospect- was in great fear of something that would happen in the future

After a peaceful stay in Basra, it was time to take Mijbil to England, and the author was nervous even thinking about travelling with him. Because British Airways refused to transport animals, he booked with another airline, which insisted on Mij being transported in a box no larger than eighteen inches square. The flight from Basra to England was not direct. They had to fly to Paris first, then to London. As instructed by the airline, the narrator placed Mij in a box an hour before takeoff, allowing it enough time to become comfortable before departing for a quick meal.

When I returned, there was an appalling spectacle. There was complete silence from the box, but from its airholes and chinks around the lid, blood had trickled and dried. I whipped off the lock and tore open the lid, and Mij, exhausted and blood spattered, whimpered and caught at my leg. He had torn the lining of the box to shreds; when I removed the last of it so that there were no cutting edges left, it was just ten minutes until the time of the flight, and the airport was five miles distant. I put the miserable Mij back into the box, holding down the lid with my hand.

  • An appalling spectacle- a shocking scene
  • Whipped off- quickly took off
  • Trickled- drip, flow
  • Shreds- pieces

Following the meal, the narrator faced his greatest fear. The box was motionless, and blood was dripping from the air holes. He panicked and opened the box, only to discover the inner lining ripped by a terrified Mij. The narrator cleaned the box and removed every piece of the sharp metal lining. It was only ten minutes until the flight took off that everything was back in place, and they had to cover a five-mile distance. Gavin put Mij in the box and closed the lid with his hand to keep him from escaping.

I sat in the back of the car with the box beside me as the driver tore through the streets of Basra like a ricochetting bullet. The aircraft was waiting to take off; I was rushed through to it by infuriated officials. Luckily, the seat booked for me was at the extreme front. I covered the floor around my feet with newspapers, rang for the air hostess, and gave her a parcel of fish (for Mij) to keep in a cool place. I took her into my confidence about the events of the last half hour. I have retained the most profound admiration for that air hostess; she was the very queen of her kind. She suggested that I might prefer to have my pet on my knee, and I could have kissed her hand in the depth of my gratitude. But, not knowing otters, I was quite unprepared for what followed.

  • Ricocheting bullet- a bullet with changes direction after hitting a surface
  • Infuriated- very angry
  • Took her into my confidence- here, shared with her my experiences or secrets

The narrator scurried into a cab after cleaning up the mess. The cab sped up, negotiating the turns like a ricocheting bullet. He arrived just before the flight took off, which irritated the officials. He took his seat and handed Mijbil's fish food package to the air hostess for refrigeration. He told her about the incident that had caused them to be delayed, and she gladly understood while telling him what to do next. Gavin had a lot of respect for the air hostess because she was so helpful. He heeded her advice and sat with the box on his lap. He felt like kissing her hand as a gesture of gratitude for her assistance.

Mij was out of the box in a flash. He disappeared at high speed down the aircraft. There were squawks and shrieks, and a woman stood up on her seat screaming out, “A rat! A rat!” I caught sight of Mij’s tail disappearing beneath the legs of a portly white turbaned Indian. Diving for it, I missed, but found my face covered in curry. “Perhaps,” said the air hostess with the most charming smile, “it would be better if you resumed your seat, and I will find the animal and bring it to you.”

  • Portly- stout

Mij jumped out of the box and vanished as soon as the author opened it. There was chaos everywhere, passengers were terrified, and a lady climbed onto her chair. When he saw Mij beneath the seat of a white-turbaned man, he tried to catch him and ended up with his face covered in curry, only to discover that Mij had vanished. Just then, the air hostess offered to assist Mij in his search and advised him to return to his seat.

I returned to my seat. I was craning my neck trying to follow the hunt when suddenly I heard from my feet a distressed chitter of recognition and welcome, and Mij bounded on to my knee and began to nuzzle my face and my neck.

  • Craning- stretch out one’s body or neck in order to see something
  • Distressed- troubled
  • Recognition- identification; acknowledgement
  • Nuzzle- to rub gently with the nose
  • Bounded on to- climbed up quickly

When the air hostess asked him to, the narrator returned to his seat and began looking for Mij. Only then did he hear some chittering as Mij climbed up his knee to reach his face. Mij had come back.

III.

After an eventful journey, Maxwell and his otter reach London, where he has a flat

Mij and I remained in London for nearly a month. He would play for hours with a selection of toys, ping-pong balls, marbles, rubber fruit, and a terrapin shell that I had brought back from his native marshes. With the ping-pong ball he invented a game of his own which could keep him engrossed for up to half an hour at a time. A suitcase that I had taken to Iraq had become damaged on the journey home, so that the lid, when closed, remained at a slope from one end to the other. Mij discovered that if he placed the ball on the high end it would run down the length of the suitcase. He would dash around to the other end to ambush its arrival, hide from it, crouching, to spring up and take it by surprise, grab it and trot off with it to the high end once more.

  • Terrapin shell- the shell of small turtle found in North America
  • Engrossed- completely interested in
  • Ambush- to attack suddenly from a hidden position
  • Crouching- squat; adopt a position where the knees are bent and the upper body is brought forward and down, typically in order to avoid detection or to defend oneself
  • Trot off- to leave

They stayed in London for a month, during which Mij learned to immerse himself in a plethora of games. Ping-pong balls, marbles, rubber fruit, and a terrapin shell were among his favourite toys. For about 30 minutes, he was occupied by a ping-pong ball. Gavin's suitcase had been damaged during the trip. It slanted from one end to the other. Mij would roll the ball from one end of the field to the other. Then he'd dash to the far end and hide, waiting for the ball to arrive. He'd jump up just in time to catch the ball off guard. Then he'd catch the ball and sprint back to the top of the suitcase. He'd hit the ball from the other end again, which was thrilling.

Outside the house I exercised him on a lead, precisely as if he had been a dog. Mij quickly developed certain compulsive habits on these walks in the London streets, like the rituals of children who on their way to and from school must place their feet squarely on the centre of each paving block; must touch every seventh upright of the iron railings, or pass to the outside of every second lamp post. Opposite to my flat was a single-storied primary school, along whose frontage ran a low wall some two feet high. On his way home, but never on his way out, Mij would tug me to this wall, jump on to it, and gallop the full length of its thirty yards, to the hopeless distraction both of pupils and of staff within.

  • compulsive: irresistible
  • rituals: a religious ceremony
  • tug: pull
  • gallop: run fast

Gavin would walk Mij and exercise him like a pet dog. Mij ran around the streets in the same way that schoolchildren did. Like children, they developed habits such as placing their feet in the centre of each block that came their way, touching every seventh pole of the railing, and crisscrossing out of the street light poles. Opposite the author's flat was a primary school with only the ground floor under construction. A low-rise wall, nearly two feet high, ran along the school's perimeter. Mij would pull Gavin towards the wall, jump on it, and run the entire length of it at high speed on their way back home. He would draw the attention of the students and faculty members inside the school.

It is not, I suppose, in any way strange that the average Londoner should not recognise an otter, but the variety of guesses as to what kind of animal this might be came as a surprise to me. Otters belong to a comparatively small group of animals called Mustellines, shared by the badger, mongoose, weasel, stoat, mink and others. I faced a continuous barrage of conjectural questions that sprayed all the Mustellines but the otter; more random guesses hit on ‘a baby seal’ and ‘a squirrel.’ ‘Is that a walrus, mister?’ reduced me to giggles, and outside a dog show I heard ‘a hippo’. A beaver, a bear cub, a leopard — one, apparently, that had changed its spots — and a ‘brontosaur’; Mij was anything but an otter.

  • Barrage of conjectural questions- a stream of questions filled with guesses

Because otters are not a common sighting in London, the author found it odd that the residents were unable to identify one. People made wild guesses about Mij. Otters are members of the Mustelline family, which also includes the badger, mongoose, weasel, stoat, mink, and others. All of the animals in the group could be guessed except Otter. The most popular guesses were a baby seal or a squirrel. Some people thought Mijbil was a hippo, a beaver, a leopard, a walrus, and so on.

But the question for which I awarded the highest score came from a labourer digging a hole in the street. I was still far from him when he laid down his tool, put his hands on his hips, and began to stare. As I drew nearer I saw his expression of surprise and affront, as though he would have me know that he was not one upon whom to play jokes. I came abreast of him; he spat, glared, and then growled out, “Here, Mister — what is that supposed to be?”

  • affront: insult
  • spat: past tense of spit

The most shocking response came from a labourer digging a hole who paused his work to observe Mij. The man set aside his tool, rested his hands on his back, and stared at Mij. His expressions of surprise and annoyance indicated that he would not put up with any nonsense. He spat, stared at them, and asked the author loudly what that (Mijbil) was supposed to be.

About the Author

Gavin Maxwell was a Scottish naturalist who lived from July 15, 1914 to September 7, 1969. His work with otters is his most well-known. Maxwell grew up in a small village near Port William in Scotland. In 1969, he died of cancer.