Otter Observations

I saw a family of 6 otters this evening! Here's a short video of 5 of them swimming toward the pier:



That's the elder matriarch at front left, an adult daughter at her side, and three pups of the year behind the females. (I don't know if they are all the old mother's or a combining of two females' litters.) The sixth individual was Slick, who had already come over to the pier by himself about a minute earlier. :3

 

I saw otters at Trinidad this evening! First sighting since last September. It was the family – a mom, two juveniles (one of which was a pup of the year), and a companion who I'm 90% sure was Slick. (He would be 9 this year.) Didn't see much of the second juvenile, but I think it was more likely a yearling than a pup. Just missed getting to touch Slick on the nose under the dock (eating in his usual spot, as always), and I probably would have succeeded if I didn't have my dog with me. Anyway, it was a big thrill to see them! First time this summer, but hopefully not the last. :3

I just saw wild river otters at Trinidad for the 4,800th time! Or maybe this evening's sighting was #4,801. Whatever, it's been so long since the last time, I've kind of lost count...

Anyway, what I saw was clearly an extended, multi-generation Family grouping. You might think that after not seeing otters for so long, I might not be able to tell what was going on, but after only a few minutes observing the group, I could tell with certainty that it was comprised of a matriarch accompanied by two adult female daughters, and two yearlings of indeterminate sex. There were no pups of the year with the Family.

Although I have no way of knowing for certain, I also have no reason to doubt that this new matriarch is the same alien female who colonized this harbor in 2007, after the resident family I followed for 20 years snuffed itself out. If the 2007 female is, indeed, the reigning matriarch now, this present state of affairs is a genuinely glad outcome. I do confess to being a bit troubled by the evident lack of offspring this past season, but on the basis of my own brief observations, and anecdotal accounts by others reported over the summer, it does appear that Trinidad Bay is once again home to a stable, resident otter population. And, for that scant knowledge alone, I am truly happy!

 

This otter almost looks like something out of the Pliocene to me. It's good news, anyway! :3



Click for the story.

 

Pictures of a true albino otter in the North of Scotland.

( Read more... )

Story here.

 

Here's Little Mama inspecting my shoe.




My friend, Dan Lorey, captured the bigger picture.




Trinidad, California, August 15, 2003.

 

Little Mama, July 2, 2004, during the last summer of her life...



click image to enlarge

Photo by my friend Alon D. Karpovsky.

Over last night, I upgraded all of the photos on my "official" website, An Otter Family Album. For some time, I've wanted to make the pictures larger, and do away with the unsightly (and now unnecessary) copyright watermarks. Overall, I think the visual appeal of the site is significantly improved.

I'm surprised to discover that the Family Album is now the #8-ranked site on Google for the search term "otters." I remember a few months after I launched Otters.net in 2001, I couldn't find it at all via Google. I still don't think many people read it, though. I only get maybe a dozen email inquiries a year from the site. I'm glad it's easier to find in searches now, anyway.