The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
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July 14, 2019
Salish Sea, PacificNorthwest
Usually river otters are a bit more circumspect than this fella last Sunday. I was standing on the road above the beach leaning on my stick, very definitely visible to him as he paddled up right in front of me. River otters are loners most of the year, except for moms with their youngsters, and sometimes a gang of youngsters on their own for a while. This one is at least a year old, full grown, but not too old judging by his sharp teeth. Occasionally I caught sight of sign that he was a he.
He shook himself vigorously, climbed out onto the beach, gave me a long stare, shook himself again and started rolling in the sand. Skooching full length chin to tail, twirling, wiggling, scratching… must have felt wonderful.
I thought maybe he was scent marking but the sand he was rolling on is washed twice a day by the tide. More likely he was cleaning his fur, a very important function for a critter who depends on his thick dense pelt to keep him warm in the 48°F waters of the Salish Sea.
The most common means of body care in otters is rubbing and rolling, whether in sand, grass, snow, or whatever else is available and relatively dry. This activity is commonly associated with considerable scratching, and both activities apparently serve to clean the animal’s fur and thereby maintain its insulative qualities, as well as to dry the otter quickly after its emergence from the water. Areas used for this activity, called 'rolling sites', 'scrapes', 'haul-outs', or 'landings'. (Mowbray et. al. 1979, Melquist & Hornocker 1979), are among the most common evidence of otter activity.
www.otterspecialistgroup.org/...
He paused periodically to see what I was doing (just watching him, and taking photos), and also waited quietly for the occasional car to pass by before continuing his rolling and rubbing in the sand. No idea how he was keeping the sand out of his eyes. A closer look at my photos shows he was keeping one eye closed throughout this whole encounter. All his watching and monitoring — he was using only his left eye. I hope whatever was bothering him isn’t a serious injury or disease. In any case it wasn’t slowing him down, and judging from his belly he hasn’t been missing any meals.
Some video:
(If your playback isn’t already HD, you can change it to that using the settings wheel in the lower right corner for much better resolution.)
I took a few steps, changing my position, and he spooked — jumped up and darted back into the water. Maybe my stick looked threatening. Mr Otter swam back and forth a few feet beyond the water line chuffing and growling quietly at me.
For some reason he wanted to use THIS space and wanted me OUT of there NOW. I obliged.
Down the road a ways I looked back, and Mr Otter had reclaimed that patch of beach. Rolling and bathing in the sand with great thoroughness and pleasure.
What was so special about this spot? Not sure, but there are several houses on the other side of the road, the only ones along this beach. At least two have generous crawl spaces underneath, and the houses are owned by people who come up to visit only very occasionally. Perhaps Mr Otter was getting clean and dry before settling down for a nap in a cozy spot.
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Mostly sunny this morning in the PNW islands. Daytime temps in upper 60s, nighttime into the 50s. Light breeze. Grateful for the coolness here. Take care all you folks in the extreme heat of much of the eastern US this weekend. Stay safe.
What’s the nature news in your neighborhood?
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