Now that sunrise is just after 6 am, getting up to Lindsay Parsons Preserve in Danby means getting up very early! But once I am awake I’m okay with it and look forward to the day with anticipation. I was in my spot before dawn and it was a cloudy, dead calm day. The GBH’s were stirring in their nests preparing for the coming day. The Beavers were very busy (duh) gathering breakfast but there were no ducks of any kind to be found. No Woodies, Hoodies, Mallards, nothing but the Damn geese. And it stayed that way for two hours! I amused myself watching the Beavers criss-crossing the pond in their travels. One Beaver was making a bee-line for the shore not too far away from where I was in my blind, but it seemed like this Beaver was moving way too fast. I realized it was an Otter! I had been seeing Otters up here off and on for the last two years and I was hoping to get a good image of one this year. Once this otter had finished up on the shore (more on that later) he slid back into the water and began feeding. Fortunately for me he caught a fair sized Bullhead and was looking for somewhere to have breakfast! He headed straight for a log about 40 yards away from me and climbed up onto the log. I knew this was a long shot in iffy light, but it was the best chance I had ever had to photograph an Otter so I didn’t want to screw it up!
MMMM…. fresh fish!
The one thing you immediately realize is how muscular and powerful these animals are! They are 30 pounds of pure muscle. And even though I was forty yards away you could hear the fish bones crunching under the power of those jaws and teeth!
I think he needs a toothpick!
Look at those claws!!!
I have two other images that I took while he was on land. I had no idea what he was doing until I did some research online. It appears that River Otters use a communal pooping area called a Latrine! It is a large part of their social structure and everybody poops in the same area. It is a way for them to keep track of one another, kind of like Facebook for Otters! There is even a YouTube video of this behavior believe it or not! Here is the link…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qMr9fL9iXSY
You can’t make this stuff up!!!
Consider this your Natural History fun fact of the day!!! Enjoy!