There's this video on YouTube of an "otter playing with baby deer" and as someone pointed out downthread in its comments, that otter might have been looking for some venison, instead. The mama deer makes sure it doesn't happen.
And if we're sharing scary encounters with animals in the water stories, I had a watersnake swim across my legs during swim team practice once. I FLEW up on the dock, followed by about 40 of my teammates. I don't mind snakes. Just them sneaking up on me in the water.
I was trying to find the video of the giant otter and his friend, but had no luck. It's probably on Instagram, which has no useful search function. The otter and deer video is cute! I can't tell what it's doing. But that's a big otter.
As for water snakes, no criticism here! Thanks for not calling it a "water moccasin" and having it killed. They don't exist up here, and people sometimes think any swimming snake is a venomous cottonmouth. The ones that fall out of trees are usually water snakes, which are not venomous.
I did field biology in college in the Boundary Waters, and was in the bow of the lead canoe, in a narrow river, when we upset an otter.
FUCKING TERRIFYING
Came 3/4th out of the water vertically, hissing at us, charged a couple of times. It was the 80s so all I could think of was Jimmy Carter and the swimming bunny, but I was Jimmy Carter, with my paddle, yelling at everyone to BACKPADDLE.
OMG the swamp rabbit! I can't imagine how wild it would have been if the otter had climbed into the canoe and got bitey. I'm glad you deescalated the situation. I lived in Minneapolis for a few years, and I remember someone dangled his foot off a boat and was bitten by a muskellunge. They can't let go because of their hooked teeth, so he had to pull it off! And then the wardens confiscated it, which I always thought was cruel. Those trophy fish might be a match for an otter! I caught one once and released it.
I spent my childhoods in northern Wisconsin, and was always terrified of fish. Then my dad (or his guide, cough cough) caught the biggest muskie in the state when I was 7. It was bigger than me with 3 rows of teeth. THE GROWNUPS HAD LIED THAT FISH COULD TAKE ME.
I only passed the fish portion of that summer school course on vertebrates by leaning all the fish facts from books. No way was I snorkeling down into sunken beaver dams. Nope nope nope. (And don't get me started on snapping turtles, the other terror of my childhood).
I don't like water where I can't see the bottom. But I love snapping turtles! I wanna see an alligator snapper. And alligator gar in Louisiana... from afar.
They are usually shy rather than aggressive, especially river otters, but don't mess with them! I didn't even mention the giant otters of the Amazon, which get to six feet long. I've seen videos of locals swimming with them, and befriending them.
There's a typo in the last line, Substack saved an incorrect draft. If you want my copy of Becoming Wild, respond to the email of the newsletter and claim it. First dibs gets it!
Anyone interested can watch the 1979 adaptation of Tarka the Otter, narrated by Peter Ustinov, on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKJwFz0MNIw
There's this video on YouTube of an "otter playing with baby deer" and as someone pointed out downthread in its comments, that otter might have been looking for some venison, instead. The mama deer makes sure it doesn't happen.
https://youtu.be/ZiDIobYa9VI
And if we're sharing scary encounters with animals in the water stories, I had a watersnake swim across my legs during swim team practice once. I FLEW up on the dock, followed by about 40 of my teammates. I don't mind snakes. Just them sneaking up on me in the water.
I was trying to find the video of the giant otter and his friend, but had no luck. It's probably on Instagram, which has no useful search function. The otter and deer video is cute! I can't tell what it's doing. But that's a big otter.
As for water snakes, no criticism here! Thanks for not calling it a "water moccasin" and having it killed. They don't exist up here, and people sometimes think any swimming snake is a venomous cottonmouth. The ones that fall out of trees are usually water snakes, which are not venomous.
Oh yeah, we knew it wasn't poisonous. But it made a big splash swimming through a bunch of kids at a swim team practice that day.
I did field biology in college in the Boundary Waters, and was in the bow of the lead canoe, in a narrow river, when we upset an otter.
FUCKING TERRIFYING
Came 3/4th out of the water vertically, hissing at us, charged a couple of times. It was the 80s so all I could think of was Jimmy Carter and the swimming bunny, but I was Jimmy Carter, with my paddle, yelling at everyone to BACKPADDLE.
Don't fuck with otters.
OMG the swamp rabbit! I can't imagine how wild it would have been if the otter had climbed into the canoe and got bitey. I'm glad you deescalated the situation. I lived in Minneapolis for a few years, and I remember someone dangled his foot off a boat and was bitten by a muskellunge. They can't let go because of their hooked teeth, so he had to pull it off! And then the wardens confiscated it, which I always thought was cruel. Those trophy fish might be a match for an otter! I caught one once and released it.
I spent my childhoods in northern Wisconsin, and was always terrified of fish. Then my dad (or his guide, cough cough) caught the biggest muskie in the state when I was 7. It was bigger than me with 3 rows of teeth. THE GROWNUPS HAD LIED THAT FISH COULD TAKE ME.
I only passed the fish portion of that summer school course on vertebrates by leaning all the fish facts from books. No way was I snorkeling down into sunken beaver dams. Nope nope nope. (And don't get me started on snapping turtles, the other terror of my childhood).
I don't like water where I can't see the bottom. But I love snapping turtles! I wanna see an alligator snapper. And alligator gar in Louisiana... from afar.
Great post. I had no idea otters were so dangerous. How cool is that? I LOL’d at the picture you painted of the danger to surfers. 😂
I’m excited to read “Tarka the Otter” - thanks for the recommendation.
They are usually shy rather than aggressive, especially river otters, but don't mess with them! I didn't even mention the giant otters of the Amazon, which get to six feet long. I've seen videos of locals swimming with them, and befriending them.
There's a typo in the last line, Substack saved an incorrect draft. If you want my copy of Becoming Wild, respond to the email of the newsletter and claim it. First dibs gets it!