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Posts Tagged ‘otter’

Otter in the morning

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, spring, wildlife, tagged , , , , , , on March 18, 2018| 11 Comments »

 When I spotted a dark shape in the distance yesterday morning at the edge of a trail alongside the water at Occoquan Bay National Wildlife Refuge, I had no idea what it was—then it started to move. These images suggest to me that it was a North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis), the first time I have seen one at this location and the first time that I have seen one in the wild on land rather than in the water.
North American River Otter
North American River Otter
As my mind was busy processing what my eyes were seeing, the otter scurried into the brush and then into the water, where it was joined by a second otter. When I watched the otters swimming away, I was facing almost directly into the sun, so all I was able to capture was this “artsy” silhouette of one of them. I really like the way that the backlighting shows off the otter’s whiskers as it turned its head around and watched as the other otter caught up.
North American River Otter
© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Asian Small-clawed Otters

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, zoo, tagged , , , , , , , on November 13, 2016| Leave a Comment »

Otters are so much fun to watch. They seem to be very inquisitive and playful. One of their favorite pastimes appears to be chasing each other around.

I am familiar with the North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis) and have been lucky enough to see one in the wild at my local marshland park. These images, however, are of Asian Small-clawed Otters (Aonyx cinerea) that I observed at the National Zoo in Washington D.C. last Monday.

There is a large group of these otters in an enclosure on the Asia Trail and I spent quite a while watching their antics. They seem to be in almost constant motion in and out of the water, so it was a fun challenge trying to get some shots of them.

Asian Small-clawed Otter

Asian Small-clawed Otter

Asian Small-clawed Otter

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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River otter in marsh pond

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, Portraits, wildlife, Winter, tagged , , , , , , , on December 18, 2013| 21 Comments »

On Monday I was checking out what looked to be a beaver lodge at one of the ponds at my local marsh, when suddenly a head popped out of the water. It was not a beaver–it was a Northern River Otter (Lontra canadensis laxatina). I was amazed (otterly amazed, you might say), but had the presence of mind to capture the moment with my camera.

I had been told that otters occasionally had occasionally been sighted at the park and that very day I overheard part of a conversation about otter scat, but I never expected to actually see an otter myself. (The conversation revolved around some scat on the boardwalk, and how it was almost certainly from an otter, because of the fish scales and shells in in it).

The otter turned his head in all directions, surveying the situation. Then all too quickly, the otter submerged itself and swam away.

otter1_blogotter2_blog

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved.

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Otterly adorable

Posted in animals, Nature, Photography, zoo, tagged , , , , , , , on February 19, 2013| 12 Comments »

The American Trail is one of the newest and coolest exhibit areas at the National Zoo, highlighting North American wildlife, including the North American Beaver (Castor canadensis), that I featured in an earlier post, and the North American River Otter (Lontra canadensis), pictured here.

When I arrived, the zookeepers were spreading food all throughout the area inhabited by two otters. It was a lot of fun to watch the otters scurrying about, searching for the food. They were incredibly energetic and curious (and difficult to capture in a photo).

This is my favorite shot, because I think that it does a good job of expressing some of the otter’s essential traits.

otter1_blog

© Michael Q. Powell. All rights reserved

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