OtterCam in daylight

The trail cameras have been picking up a lot of daytime otter activity recently.  There is no intrinsic reason why otters should be nocturnal.  They have no predators except humans (and their dogs) and they eat mainly fish.  A few thousand years of hunting and persecution probably taught them to seek safety in the dark but for the last 40 years or so they have been protected and it is getting to be more common to catch a glimpse at least in daylight.  My local otters are very used to my cameras, which are well away from people and dogs, so they seem quite relaxed.  This spot at the edge of the water is a favourite scent-marking place and otters call in several times a day.  This was a Wednesday, with three visits.  I think the middle one is the dog but I can't tell if the other two are the same animal or two different ones.

The next day there were four visits, but how many individuals?

And on the Friday just one.

Telling one otter from another isn't easy, particularly on black & white infrared rail camera videos.  The recent recordings in daylight make things a bit easier and convince me that there are three individuals around, the dog and two females.  I suspect one is the female that was courting with the dog recently and the other is last year's cub, now independent.  I can't tell which female is which but the fact that the youngster is still tolerated within the territory may suggest the other one is her mother.

Here are the three.  This is the dog, a bit too close and out of focus, but otherwise fairly easy to identify from his size and build.  He has a pink mark under his chin and a small one on his nose, perhaps acquired during the recent excitement of courtship.

On the video the two cameras recorded simultaneously in early morning but the second one had a bit less light as it wasn't pointing at the water and was still in infrared mode so I have converted the other to black and white as well.  We can see this is the dog from his size and build but the facial markings are more difficult without colour.

This is one female.  She has a pink mark on her upper lip and a pale chin with a diagonal dark mark across it.

This is the other female, the same size and build as the first but with a dark unmarked chin.

I'll keep recording and see how many of these stick around.  I suspect we may see less of the dog as he tries his luck elsewhere after the excitement of the courtship on last week's post.  This is the latest recording of the otter with a pink mark on its lip.  If that heals completely it will make it harder to tell who is who, especially at night.