Those Crazy River Otters

Have you ever had the opportunity to see river otters at play? I finally had that surprise opportunity about a month ago. These marvelous furry little river dwellers are a laugh a minute. If all of us could have as much fun living and breathing as they seem to have. Diving and chasing one another, wrestling in the water or just catching a fish to snack on. The curious part was, they weren't in a river when I saw them, and I was not walking along a river bank.

I was walking our dog Chica and we were taking a stroll through Deer Ridge park in north Auburn, California. This is one of many walking routes we have, but one of my favorites because we always manage to see some unusual wildlife in or around the old pond.

When this land was part of Marriot Ranch, cattle grazed where we now walk and they were able to get a drink at a large manmade pond that was built along a natural creekbed. The creek kept the pond full through winter and during the summer it was supplemented by water from one of the many irrigation canals owned by Nevada Irrigation District that provide water to farms and ranches all over Placer county.

When the aging Marriots sold the land, it was developed for homes and the pond became part of a openspace park in the Deer Ridge subdivision, continuing to be supplied by NID water. The pond is apparently well known by migrating ducks, geese, grebes, mures, herons and many other birds and wildlife so it is a fun place to visit if you like water birds. Last year three cormorants were blown of course on their migration and found the pond. I had no idea it was also known to some river otters.

On this particular day, four of the furry rambunctious river dwelling critters, a mother and three of her young ones were having a ball playing in the pond, and sitting on the fountain ring in the middle of the pond to eat fish they were catching. Obviously, they had followed one of the NID canals from a river source and were dining on the plethora of perch and sunfish that occuppied the pond. My dog Chica was as mystified by them as I was and just quietly watched them play. This quiet trait in my dog has allowed me to enjoy wildlife without her barking or straining to chase them away.

After I walked Chica back home, I grabbed my camera and went back to get some pictures of this furry brood. They made it much easier for me, because they were now on a spit of land by the outflow. They were languishing on the shore, licking their fur, cleaning their paws, and just having fun rolling around on the ground. I was able to quietly approach behind some bushes and take several pictures before they felt my presence nearby. Once they figured out what the clicking was and identified me, they dived back in the pond and swam back to the middle.

I came back a few more days in succession and watched them from shore, and after a few days, they had moved on after fishing out the pond. It was just one more opportunity to enjoy the creatures that live around us in a somewhat natural setting. Makes me wonder what I'll see next.