Otters
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(Lutra lutra) Other than the eagles and the puffins the one other animal I wanted to see on Mull were the otters. They are quite elusive despite there being many of them and they are hard to get close to. We were very lucky to spot this mum and pup out fishing in the loch and we were delighted when she caught a crab and decided to come ashore right in front of us to eat it! The pup wasn't getting a look in though!
Taken Stour Valley Nature Reserve, Bournemouth, Dorset. A few fames on from the previous image, the Otter is making quick work of it's meal.
Looking S from this well-placed higher location at the Otter Crest Marine Reserve and a portion of Cape Foulweather.
The iconic "Punchbowl" is located on the 2nd, longest peninsula. Much to enjoy and admire along this stretch of the Oregon Coast.
I appreciate your taking a look, and for any comments, faves and suggestions.
Have a wonderful Wednesday.
Otter - Lutra Lutra
Otters are carnivorous mammals in the subfamily Lutrinae. The 13 extant otter species are all semiaquatic, aquatic or marine, with diets based on fish and invertebrates. Lutrinae is a branch of the weasel family Mustelidae, which also includes badgers, honey badgers, martens, minks, polecats, and wolverines.
The word otter derives from the Old English word otor or oter.
An otter's den is called a holt or couch. Male otters are called dogs or boars, females are called bitches or sows, and their offspring are called pups. The collective nouns for otters are bevy, family, lodge, romp (being descriptive of their often playful nature) or, when in water, raft.
The feces of otters are typically identified by their distinctive aroma, the smell of which has been described as ranging from freshly mown hay to putrefied fish; these are known as spraints.
The gestation period in otters is about 60 to 86 days. The newborn pup is cared for by the bitch, dog and older offspring. Bitch otters reach sexual maturity at approximately two years of age and males at approximately three years. The holt is built under tree roots or a rocky cairn, more common in Scotland. It is lined with moss and grass.
After one month, the pup can leave the holt and after two months, it is able to swim. The pup lives with its family for approximately one year. Otters live up to 16 years; they are by nature playful, and frolic in the water with their pups. Its usual source of food is fish, and further downriver, eels, but it may sample frogs and birds.
The Eurasian otter is the most widely distributed otter species, its range including parts of Asia and Africa, as well as being spread across Europe, south to Israel. Though currently believed to be extinct in Liechtenstein and Switzerland, they are now very common in Latvia, along the coast of Norway, in the western regions of Spain and Portugal and across Great Britain, especially Shetland, where 12% of the UK breeding population exists.
Sea Otter, Katmai, Alaska.
For licensing see:
www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/photo/wildlife-royalty-free-...
All my otter images are taken with 500mm + 1.4 extender and cropped so as not to disturb them.
Many thanks for your comments and faves. Always appreciated.
Down at the local harbor is the resident Otter family. There are a few more otters in the bottom of the skiff.
This is the marsh where the first river otters were reintroduced to Indiana back in 1995. Although I didn't see any otters today, it did make for a nice nature shot.
Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge
Seymour, IN
" 5 weeks off my 70th birthday I finally joined the Wild Otter Club.... !!! :-)))
I was seriously beginning to think I would never see one and then out of nowhere there were two ! "
As seen on the banks of the Contra Costa Canal next to Heather Farm Park in Walnut Creek, California.
Photograph by my wife, Beatrice.
Post-processing by me.
Still sorting through my otter shots from The Isle of Mull.
The delete button is wearing out!! Quite a few more to come, so turn off if you find them boring.
As always, your comments and faves are much appreciated.