“As an explorer and nature filmmaker, I’ve spent the last year following wild animals through all kinds of environments, sitting motionless beside rivers, waiting for something to reveal itself. If you stay still long enough, something shifts. The boundary between observer and observed softens. Trees begin to speak in gesture. Wind shapes thought. You start to realize that this isn’t scenery. It’s intelligence.”
– Gonzalo Kern
I’ve been fortunate to live where sea otters are easily found. They like the waters around Santa Cruz and are especially plentiful slightly south on Monterey Bay in Moss Landing and Elkhorn Slough.
River otters are another matter. They live hidden lives along the banks of lakes and rivers and are seen more by luck than effort.
The most remarkable river otter sighting I have had was in Oregon while camping along the Mckenzie River in 2014. On the opposite bank, an otter got into a fierce fight with a salmon almost as big as she was. All I could see was the frantic and chaotic splashing of water. It was a life or death match for the fish and a struggle for food for the otter. After a valiant effort from both, the otter won its meal. Soon the otter’s three pups arrived for the generous gift of pink flesh from the river.
Last week, we were camped on the beach where the Navarro River reaches the ocean near Mendocino, CA. During low tide, the river empties into sea over rocks and around boulders. During high tide, the ocean flows into the river, filling a large lake-like expanse at it’s mouth.
Awake unusually early before sunrise, I walked the river’s edge heading toward the ocean beach to see what I might find. The tide was extremely low exposing sand bars where the high-tide lake would appear later in the day. It was foggy and light was low. Ahead I spotted several dark forms hopping and running at water’s edge. River otters! A mom and two large pups. They were at a distance and the morning light was dim.
The otters were clearly enjoying themselves, catching and eating fish together. I was excited and hoped to get closer by quietly approaching them over the dune. My observations and reverie were broken when two early morning fisher-people barreled by, talking loudly and noisily dragging their ocean kayaks on wheels over the sand. The otters fled.
About an hour later, as I was returning to our campsite for breakfast, I saw the otters again, fishing and playing in deeper water! They moved on after about 10 minutes but I got to enjoy seeing them surface and dive repeatedly like sinuous furry serpents.
There are both similarities and difference between river otters and their cousins, the sea otters. Sea otters are hefty creatures weighing in at 45-90 pounds. River otters are much smaller, only 10-30 pounds. They are thinner and sleeker with longer tails. Sea otters rarely go on land and are clumsy and awkward when they do, where as river otters are agile and fast on the ground. But both species are playful and excellent hunters. Sea otters eat mostly crustaceans and shellfish. Nothing like a big clam or a crab to keep them happy! River otter’s favorite foods are fish and crayfish but they also hunt amphibians, small mammals and even birds. The facial expressions, the way they swim and attack their food was similar for both species. And they both have a cuteness factor.
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Outstanding! Thank you Carla. We once saw a river otter in the stream at Muir Woods in early dusk. It felt magical.
This is a lovely story, Carla. It’s easy to imagine you out walking along the river in the fog and low light. I’m glad you could see them again, playing in the deeper water!
Always grateful for your reports from the field!
I love how expressive their faces are and that they love to play. Thank you for finding them, Carla