I was done the evening shoot,so headed back to the dock. I was pleasantly surprised to see a young River Otter chowing down at the dock! The best time to get close up shots is when a animal is eating. They tend to zone out.
Unfortunately the sun had already set so the lighting was poor! I bumped my ISO up to 1600,slowed my shutter down to 1/125 and opened the f-stop wide open and that still wasn’t enough. I hate poor lighting conditions with a excellent subject!
Their are several collective nouns for a group of River Otters.A romp,a family,a bevy & a raft!
On another note,I went to check out my favourite salmon stream today! Unfortunately I didn’t find a single salmon in the river system.I couldn’t even see any staging out front! When they stage out front you can usually see & hear them splashing about.Didn’t see or hear anything.I also didn’t see any bears cruising.
So it appears the party hasn’t started yet!
I did a “Life” ceremony for my furry friend. I wished it well on it’s journey & said goodbye.
I visited the Daredevil & Delilah when I passed through Tsapee Narrows.As I was leaving,I noticed movement on their nest island! Turns out it was a River Otter rolling around spreading it’s scent about. These guys spook real easy,so I made sure not to move when It was watching me! Looked like a male?
I caught this River Otter scenting a rope. If Otters smell another animals scent (namely us) they spray & it’s stinky! They have a scent musk gland & use it liberally!
I originally shot this on May 23rd,2009. The collective noun for a group of Otters is a “raft”.
I saw a small raft of Otter’s on a dock & sneaked up on them. I used a boat as cover. I had the motor off so as to be silent. I paddled around the bow of the boat & they didn’t even see me. I was in perfect position!
Otters are very territorial! When they smell another animals scent,they make sure to scent on top of it. They have musk glands that give off a very strong scent!
This Otter had just smelled the rope behind it. It must of had the boat owners scent on it & he was just finishing his scenting when he spotted me!
I had just finished fueling up at the local marina & was heading out when I spotted my furry friend on a wharf finger close by! I re-approached slowly & was able to get off a few shots! Otters can be difficult to get close to! If their eating something already,it’s much easier to get closer because they are preoccupied!
We mostly have River Otters close to us in the harbour & the Sea Otters generally stay further on the outside.
I got out today and the first thing I did was fuel up. I was planning a longer than normal boat trip today so I needed extra fuel!
I went up the western side of Meares Island and around to the backside. I continued up into Bedwell Sound to check things out.
I than turned to the SE and went into Fortune Channel.
My destination was Cannery Bay to visit with my Sea Lion friends. By the time I arrived however,the light had gone bye bye for the day. I took a few shots anyways & fueled back up. I than headed west back into the harbour. It was starting to get dark and I always get off the water before that point.
I found this River Otter on a rock in the middle of the harbour. He was eating a star fish.
I had to come up from behind him to get closer.
I had seen these guys coming off of a dock and I shadowed them . They came up onto the dock down at North Sea. There must of been a dozen of them. I’ve never seen this many before!
They all were rubbing themselves all over the docks surface! I think they were transferring their scent onto the wood. Otters are always putting their scent onto everything. They are messy creatures and stinky!
I had to bump my ISO up to 1600 and open my lens all the way again. The light was all gone and there was very little afterglow. My shutter speed was too slow still. This one otter stayed still for a second and I was able to get focus on him. All the others were moving and thats why they were blurred.
This River Otter passed by and I was able to get off only one good shot.
It looked like he has been in a fight. He has a recent wound under his right eye.
I came across these River Otters at Deadman Island when I was visiting Romeo and Juliette.
It became obvious after a moment that they were mating. Although ,it looked pretty rough for her. The male seemed to wear her down by putting all his weight onto her and by biting her neck.
Kind of looked like “Bull Riding” but Otter style!
They are a very playful species and very social,except I guess when mating season is in full swing.
Romeo and Juliette were watching from above.( with amusement I’m sure)
Eagles are always watching everything and everybody. It’s very hard to sneak up on a Eagle.
I found these guys right beside the Marina. They are curious,but are more skittish !
The fellow on the left must be the dominant Otter. The two others are waiting their turn for any scraps left over.
So as not to spook them ,I went up tide and shut the motor off after heading right for them. I didn’t move as I very gently drifted by them. I had to boost my ISO up to 1000 and that only gave me 1/200th wide open. I had my tele-converter on ,so my largest aperture was 5.6.
I did two passes.
When they are not preoccupied with trying to get something to eat,they are very watchful around themselves.These guys just couldn’t figure out what was going on with this strange looking object drifting by.(me)
The technique worked beautifully!
I saw this fellow swimming under the water and placed myself in a perfect spot when he would come up for air. He was a little surprised that I was there,but didn’t consider me a threat because I wasn’t moving! Animals become nervous when they see other animals moving.
This is when he realized that I was there. I used a boat as cover to sneak up. I paddled around to the bow of the boat very quietly and was able to shoot the whole thing.
After smelling the rope ,he decided to leave his calling card. I’ll never untie a rope again without gloves. Otters are messy, smelly creatures. The musk gland they have certainly works very well.
Notice that the angle of the urine is curved backwards! Defies gravity!! Weird!
This when he smells the rope and smells another animal. One of us. An American boat moored at the end of the 4rth St.Dock. Whenever they smell something other than them,they urinate on it!
They are cute and cuddly looking ,but sure are stinky creatures!
These guys were relaxing on the porch of a floathouse in the harbour. They are very playful creatures and are almost always in a group.
The collective noun for a group of Otters can be a “Family”,”Bevy”,”Romp”,or a “Raft”! I like Romp personally!
I saw these guys resting on this floathouse and very slowly paddled in ,all the while shooting. tricky
When I go fill up my fuel tank at the local marina,these guys are sometimes hanging around. They are very watchful.
I came across this guy north of Morpheus island and he seem preoccupied with something else and not me.
I was able to follow this guy for 15 minutes or so. he was more preoccupied with eating the small fish that he had caught. This happened near sunset and bathed the water and him in a warm light.
Tofino Photography 