why was the otter named maxwell's otter

The otter was named "Maxwell's otter" because it belonged to a previously unknown subspecies of smooth-coated otter that was scientifically named Lutrogale perspicillata maxwelli after Gavin Maxwell. Maxwell was a Scottish naturalist who brought the otter, named Mijbil, from Iraq to Scotland in 1956 and took it to the London Zoological Society. The scientists there identified it as a new subspecies and named it in his honor. Hence, the otter is commonly called Maxwell's otter.