OtterCam in January

This is my twelfth consecutive month of setting trail cameras to look for the otters and the eleventh month in which I have seen them.  I set the cameras near the water's edge one night and was very pleased to see three otters - the mother and her two pups - the first time I have picked them up since November.  They only appeared one at a time so it isn't easy to say which is which - the pups are probably now about nine months old, so nearly full grown.  I suspect the first to appear was the mother.

This otter has three marks or scars on the left shoulder.

The next one came out of the water in the same place about 10 seconds later.

This one has a single mark or scar on the left shoulder.

About 50 seconds later a third otter came out of the water in the same place.  As far as I can see this one has no marks.

All three otters went off to the left as this camera looks at it.  A second camera was looking in that direction but only the first otter triggered a recording, perhaps supporting my theory that a wet otter seen from behind has too small a heat signal to trigger the camera reliably.

Here are the three videos.  The otters often take an interest in the cameras.  The first one here gives it a sniff and leaves the lens steamed up and smeared.  Note there is a bit of spurious reflection of the light in the otter's eyes from the extra close-focus lens, giving the impression that there might be a second otter in the picture but that isn't the case.

As a result of the first otter wiping its nose on the lens the next video is rather blurred.

The lens still isn't back to normal by the time the third otter appears.

I have also had a camera set up to monitor the sluice gate and pipe for several nights this month.  On a few nights the camera picked up a single otter but I can't tell whether it is one of the three or a lone male.  My guess is that it is a large male.

Judging by the tracks the three otters haven't been that way recently.  The pipe and the sluice gate are both very slippery and the tracks show how the otter slips around.  The footprints wash away after a day or two and so are a good indication of recent activity.

On this video the otter runs through the pipe away from the camera.  It returned the next night but was almost up to the camera by the time recording started.  Like the other otter above, this one sniffs the camera and leaves a wet mark on the lens.

Another time after rain the water had risen more than I had anticipated and when I returned the bottom of the camera was in the water.  To my surprise the camera was OK and still worked and had continued to record.  Because the water level was higher the otter was wading rather than walking through the pipe.  On the first recording it was approaching the camera and ducked under the water when it saw it.

It returned two nights later during a gale and with the camera almost in the water, giving a very dramatic picture.

I have put these together on a short video, including a slow motion repeat of the first brief clip.  At the end of the second clip the otter turns and looks back at the camera suspiciously before disappearing over the gate.  You can see how close the camera was to the water but it makes for a good picture.

A male otter can take several days to go round its territory.  This one seems to be going through the pipe about once every two or three nights.  It is interesting that it is mostly going north (away from the camera), suggesting that it has a regular circuit to patrol.  This final montage is from earlier this week.  After the near miss with the water the week before I mounted the camera a bit higher on a bracket fixed to the pipe.  However, I prefer the pictures from the lower position.

The sluice gate is in the process of being raised so it is now more of a step up.  Soon it may be a bit too high to climb and he'll have to use another route.  Another sniff of the camera as he passes.

It is noticeable how the otters seem to have become used to the cameras.  I am sure they can see the infrared light on both the no glow and low glow cameras.  When the pups and the male(s) first came across the red glow in the summer they turned and ran but now they are just curious.  It is interesting also how often they sniff the camera.  Maybe they are just checking that it is me.

I have made a further refinement to the close-focus lens.  I cut down the Poundland reading glasses lens with a fine hacksaw to fit the camera and sealed it in with gaffer tape.  I hope this will prevent spurious reflections from the back of the lens and reduce the risk of fogging.  It seems to be working.

I think the otter pups were born around last April and they will probably stay with their mother for just over a year. These two are now noticeably more independent and don't trail their mother as closely as they did when I first saw them in early October.  I'll continue to monitor them to see what happens.  I think this is at least the mother's second litter and not all live long enough for a third.  If I am right about a lone male also being around in the territory I expect he has his eye on the situation as well.