GOOD MORNING GLOUCESTER, BROUGHT TO YOU BY FAT AND FURRY CAPE ANN RIVER OTTERS!

Posted on by Kimsmithdesigns

For Joey, because I know how much he would love to encounter one of these beasts while swimming.

Soulful eyes of River Otters.

What a treat to come upon this North American River Otter family foraging along the pond’s edge. They are quite shy and mine was a brief encounter, but I hope to meet up with them again soon.

River Otters are returning to Massachusetts for several reasons, including better wetland conservation, pollution control, and the fact that the remarkable comeback of North American Beavers has also helped NA River Otters. For the few short moments that I saw the otters, the youngsters were playing with each other, while also intently feeding on frogs and tadpoles.River Otter Eating a Tadpole 

Follow this link for excellent information on River Otters in Massachusetts.

Published by Kimsmithdesigns

Documentary filmmaker, photographer, landscape designer, author, and illustrator. "Beauty on the Wing: Life Story of the Monarch Butterfly" currently airing on PBS. Current film projects include Piping Plovers, Gloucester's Feast of St. Joseph, and Saint Peter's Fiesta. Visit my websites for more information about film and design projects at kimsmithdesigns.com, monarchbutterflyfilm.com, and pipingploverproject.org. Author/illustrator "Oh Garden of Fresh Possibilities! Notes from a Gloucester Garden."

15 thoughts on “GOOD MORNING GLOUCESTER, BROUGHT TO YOU BY FAT AND FURRY CAPE ANN RIVER OTTERS!”

  1. The first time I ever saw an otter around here was while counting alewives at the fish ladder between the water processing p;ant and Wellspring on Little River. It was about five in the morning, early spring in year 2000, and I was counting fish with a flashlight. Suddenly an otter came flashing into my beam and continued up the ladder toward Lily Pond. I was so surprised I dropped the flash light. There was no place on the form I was filling out to record the otter count. I gather that they have become more common since. I suppose he was munching on the fish I was hoping would make it up to the pond.

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    1. Thank you for sharing that story Damon!! Fast forward to 2015 and I found it equally as surprising the first time I saw one at Niles Pond and then again in 2016 at Henry’s Pond.

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    1. Yes, because I think you said the ones you saw were large, about 3 to 5 feet long. We only have River Otters (as opposed to Sea Otters) here, and they love to fish in saltwater, too. Sea Otters live on the Pacific.

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