It otter be very cold

[Hummer]

...swimming in the river water under the ice and snow.

Late his afternoon I was in the living room talking with my neighbor who said she'd seen an otter on the river about three weeks ago. The otter dove into a pool in front of the house. It's the first otter she's seen in two years here. At the moment she told me this, I looked up the river--all covered in snow and ice--to see an adult otter bounding up the river corridor over the snow and rounding the bend to the right.

Just as the otter moved out of sight, another otter came into view and followed around the bend. Two adult otters! Big critters, about 30" long.

The river is frozen with few or no open spots now. I might go open a hole or two tomorrow. Otters will swim for long distances under the ice. Catching air pockets is important. Above the snow they have other foraging opportunities but also are more vulnerable to predation. I walked up the river to check out the otter tracks which go in two by two leaps, one foot just behind the other, and a heavy tail dragging over the snow.

Pretty neat, how many people ever get to see something like that? I will be keeping my eyes pealed for any movement on the river.






From right to left, otter tracks and slide.





Otter pups in June by the cabin

[Jeffrey Lebowski]

Good stuff!

[newracer]

They are very cool. The first time I saw some in the wild I did a double take.

[theGinsue]

My daughter is an otter fanatic. I ought to bring her out there this coming summer.

[Irving]

My daughter is an otter fanatic. I ought to bring her out there this coming summer.

Is her patronus an Otter, just like Hermione?

[Hummer]

My daughter is an otter fanatic. I ought to bring her out there this coming summer.

I've become an otter fanatic, too, after watching them. We check out river otters and sea otters whenever we can. I looked for them in the Monarch Lake and Grand Lake drainages soon after they were introduced into Rocky Mountain National Park in the late '70s. It took a while before they expanded to the Front Range. Our place is on the St. Vrain north of Ward. I think there's a small but widespread and growing population here now. The chance of seeing one is slim but they are out there.

[Bailey Guns]

That's pretty cool. I've seen one since I've been here...back in the summer, though.

[Gman]

Thanks for the pics and info!