OtterCam in September

Ottercam drew a blank on two nights in August, the first time it hasn't shown an otter since I started monthly recordings in February.  Two nights last week were also otterless so I moved to a new location.  And an otter turned up on the cameras, not long after I had left.

My guess is that it is the same female I have been watching all year.  If so, she no longer looks pregnant (there have been several suggestions that she looked pregnant on the recordings in May and June).  February and March recordings showed her with two well-grown pups but on the April video she was alone.  Otters are non-seasonal breeders and females will often be pregnant by the time they encourage their full-grown pups to move on.  Gestation is about nine weeks and the newborn pups stay in the natal holt for about three months, so with any luck they should be around about now.  On the latest recordings the otter was still alone but I'll keep trying in the hope of seeing pups.  In the meantime here are a few short videos clips from this week.  The position is shaded with a very bright background which is a challenge for the cameras but I think they cope reasonably well.