Catching up with OtterCam

The otters-on-ice videos in the recent cold snap weren't as good as I had hoped, or as good as last year, but there are a few videos to catch up with.  Just before Christmas the mother and cubs showed up at the water's edge and spent a couple of minutes grooming and scent-marking before moving on.  As before, the use of several cameras gives much better lighting than just one.

A few nights later the dog otter turned up looking very relaxed (and healthy) and indulged in a bit of rolling and grooming before trotting up the bank.

Around the same time an unknown otter appeared - one that I didn't recognise.  The first time was in daylight and I didn't know if it was just one of the three with the other two staying in the water.  However, on a couple of subsequent nights it was back and looked very uncertain and wary, hurrying past the cameras without stopping to sniff like all the others do.  It was clearly on its own so I wondered it if might be a dispersing youngster from elsewhere or an older otter that had been displaced from its territory.  Here it is compared with the resident dog otter (top), so it is smaller, presumably female, and looks thin.

A sick or injured otter was subsequently seen nearby and captured by Blyth Wildlife Rescue but when it was taken to the vet it was in very poor condition and had to be put down.  It was confirmed as female and may have been suffering from a canine distemper virus infection but the results of tests are awaited.

Confirmation that our resident otters are OK came with the appearance of the three together. This video is interesting at the start because it shows the third otter swimming under the ice, searching for the exit hole.

Here is a half speed slow-motion of the under-ice swimming.

Finally, there was one brief view of the dog otter testing the ice.  He immediately decided it wasn't strong enough to bear his weight so he plunged straight through and swam off underneath.  Brrr.