I have twice seen an otter in the flesh recently but both sightings were brief. A total of seven hours sat in the hide for all of 20 seconds viewing. Still, it was exciting and always gives a buzz to see one in real life.
More reliable, and sometimes equally exciting, is to see one on the trail cameras. Overall there hasn't been much activity recently and then this turned up early yesterday morning.
This is the first sighting of an otter cub this year. The video is not the greatest quality and is brief so I have added a ¼ speed slow motion replay. There is a faint high-pitched squeak as the otters go by, presumably from the cub. It becomes a lower-pitched, owl-like moan on the slow motion which is easier to hear.
Intriguingly an otter had swum past in the same direction 20 minutes earlier but it was halfway past the camera before recording started so I can only see its back and tail on the first frame and can't see whether it was carrying another cub. I suspect it might have been.
The otter could easily have returned in between times unseen by the camera as the cold wet back of an otter's head would probably fail to trigger the camera.
The timing is interesting. I think the otters mated in mid February which would lead to birth in mid April, meaning this cub is about 6½ months old. Cubs are said to follow the mother around from about 6 months of age so it might just fit, although this one isn't yet following. I'll hope to see it swimming under its own steam (and perhaps with another) in the near future. If I do you'll be the first to know.
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