News from OtterCam

There hasn't been much activity on the otter cameras in the past couple of weeks but as I haven't posted any otter news since April I thought I should produce an update.

The cubs were with their mother until early May and then disappeared - they were full grown and it was time to disperse to find their own place in the world.  The dog otter was a constant presence at that time.

In mid May there was one night with what I take to be courtship activity although the cameras only got a fleeting view.  First lots of chittering and whistling.

Then a wrestling or play-fighting episode.

A week later the dog otter was scent-marking and still whistling.  An hour later the female did the same, this time with a blackbird for accompaniment.

Since then I have found a new camera position.  It has the advantage of being a little farther away to give a wider view.  The disadvantage is that I have to wear waders to reach the cameras.

In this next video the otter in the middle clip is still squeaking.  I don't think it is the dog and it is probably the female but I just wonder if it might be one of the cubs still in the territory, a month after the family broke up.

Since then there have been only solo otters on the cameras.  This last video shows the female otter (I think) who may or may not have caught a fish.

If the courtship lead to mating in May the female may have given birth to new cubs last month, in which case I shall hope to see them on OtterCam in October or November.  I have now been following the otters with trail cameras for 5½ years (since February 2019) in which time there have been six litters of cubs - the first I saw only in my first month before they moved on. Since then there will have been two or more dog otters and two or more females as otters don't live that long.  Mating probably usually takes place around the time that the previous cubs leave, an otter pregnancy lasts two months, and cubs don't follow their mother around until they are 5-6 months old.  This chart shows what I have seen and confirms that otters are non-seasonal breeders and can have cubs at any time of year.  It also suggests that the average breeding cycle is perhaps a bit less than a year locally, with a hiatus in 2022, perhaps due to a changeover in resident animals.

The cubs seen in April 2021 were too small to be out and weren't seen again until July - I think the mother was moving them to a safer place but even so there was a surprisingly small gap from the previous cubs.  This may have been a new female taking over a vacant territory.

In the first couple of years I was only putting out cameras intermittently but since they have been in place all the time.  It will be interesting to see what patterns emerge as I gather more data.