OtterCam in February

Since the mother and cub split up it has been hard to tell which otter is which, or indeed, if there is even more than one. The resident female is probably still here, the dog may still be around or calling in, and the cub could still be hanging around in the territory.  Although the videos are not the best, one of the cameras picked up some intriguing behaviour last week.

On the first night an otter ran up the bank and clearly has a mark on its flank - possibly from an injury.

Four hours later another otter turned up.  It spent a few minutes rolling around on the ground (often slightly out of view so I have edited the footage) and clearly doesn't have a mark so this is a different animal.  I am not sure if just has an itchy back and is conditioning its fur or whether it might also be scent marking.

Much later that night the otter with a mark on its flank ran up the bank again and didn't return the same way.

The next night the unmarked otter returned and was rolling and scratching in exactly the same spot (again I have edited the video) before running up the bank.

And a couple of hours later an otter came down and spent some time sniffing in the same spot.

On the third night an otter came down the bank and spent several minutes rolling and grooming before slipping into the water.

I think this is evidence that there still are at least two otters around and my guess is that the big animal that has been rolling around is the male.  Otters do condition their fur by rolling like this but it could also be a way of marking the territory.

Here is another video from earlier in the month of the otter rubbing itself on the ground and grooming its fur before getting back in the water.

And one brief video left over from when we had the snow.  I had been hoping for a recording of an otter in snow but when it turned up the lens was covered in snow so the picture quality is poor.  Maybe next winter.