If you are a female North American river otter, it’s time to choose a mate and get pregnant. Then, instead of gestation, future mama otter can delay implantation of fertilized eggs until two months (the gestation period) before the optimal time to birth otter pups.
Tuleyome Tales reports on river otters and their life history.
River otters breed between December and April, and the mama otter can have up to six pups in a litter. Pups are born fully furred, but can’t see or hear until they are about a month old. [snip]
Mother otters need a place to stay where they can rest and have their babies, but they are loath to building anything for themselves and often take over the abandoned beaver dens or burrows of other animals. If there’s no vacancy anywhere, otters will use whatever else is available such as hollow logs. Once the otters establish themselves, their home is referred to as a “holt.” The holt usually has several entrances, including at least one that leads directly to a water source.
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The bevy of otters you see on land isn’t as out of their element as they seem and they run fast! (If they are in the water a group of otters are called a “raft.”)
Although at first glance they may seem somewhat gangly on land, they can actually run at speeds of up to 29 miles per hour — and slide on their bellies even faster. In the water, they tend to swim at speeds around 8 or 9 miles per hour.
So, while some of us are staying warm indoors looking out on fog, rain and tree branches dancing wildly (me!), otters equally at home in water and on land are living their lives and planning for the future.
What’s happening near you? Anyone still blooming? Critters visiting? I looked out my bedroom window this morning and mama deer and her no longer spotted twin fawns were casually lying in the wet grass being pounded by serious rain. They looked up at me and slowly blinked their eyes then went on with important deer business.
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