Otters are fun and can be good subjects if you can get close, but they don't tolerate that easily. This is one we watched on Tuesday catching trout in an ice covered lake a mile from the house. I hid behind a tree and he popped up on the ice below to roll around and preen. Got lots of pics and video. Three Bald Eagles were there to take advantage by diving at the otters but we haven't seen them successfully steal a fish. The otters gobble down the trout pretty quickly.
Last evening we were by the stream enjoying a tonic and watching dippers when we saw an otter about 15 feet away moving upstream. Difficult to see it was like a dark slinking rock flowing up and over other dark rocks. That animals like dippers can swim, survive and thrive in freezing waters is amazing.
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