The north american river otter is a semi-aquatic and primarily nocturnal member of the weasel family. While they are known for their playful and almost comedic nature, as they are often seen sliding and rolling around, they are actually formidable hunters, preying mostly on fish, amphibians, mollusks and crustaceans. Otters once suffered a serious decline and were extirpated from much of their original range nationwide due to habitat loss, pollution and over trapping for the fur trade. Thanks to reintroduction and conservation efforts, including here in Maryland, they have successfully returned in healthy numbers to many areas. Otters are always a treat to observe and we feel fortunate to share with you this brief glimpse of this incredible local species.
With the fresh snow we decided to trek out earlier this evening to one of the spots we had captured river otters on our trail cameras last year, hoping for tracks. Even with lots of exploring at the optimal times of morning and evening we have not seen otters here other than what the trail camera captured. We walked along the creek and noticed some red fox tracks but nothing unusual. Then we came across something interesting. There was an area of snow matted down that funneled into a hole in the bank. This looked promising. There were even streaks in the snow that were most likely made by something with a long thin tail. Otters had been here!
We waited patiently along the bank, with most of the creek frozen we knew the best luck would be to scan the open areas of ice for any movement. Suddenly two otters popped up from one of the breaks along a distant bank. They marked their territory, sniffed around and quickly slid bank into the creek. We could hear them moving up stream along the bank past us under the ice so we followed.
We stopped when we heard movement outside of the ice and were surprised to not see an otter but a beaver that was trying to climb up on the ice through one of the breaks. It kept slipping but eventually gave up and went back under the ice.
About a quarter mile up the creek we found another large opening in the ice. We sat still and waited as the sun slowly disappeared behind the horizon. Just as we were about to give up and hike out there was a splash and a snort of something clearing water from its nostrils. The otters had reappeared about 20ft away from the bank. Once they saw us they quickly disappeared again. We heard them further around the next bend but it had become to dark to continue safely.
What an incredible experience. We will continue to go back and try to get more photos and video since we know they are occupying the area. The lesson here is to do your homework so that you understand the signs and habits of wildlife, look and listen for movement, and most of all be patient!
