I had not planned on any more “wet fur” posts, but this was irresistible.
Ten days after the fish-eating otter in my recent post, a group of three appeared.
One sunbathed on a small rock.
Two swam around in formation for a bit, catching the occasional fish, and moving northwards up the pond as I followed quietly in the bushes.
Some diving and splashing, and then they suddenly turned towards the shore, and me. The one in front had a fish, and the other was shadowing him in the hope of a mishap:
The owner of the fish needed to get out of the water to eat it, and to protect it from its marauding sibling, so it headed for the closest option, a fallen branch sticking partly out of the water.
Still a bit low down:
With some difficulty, it hauled itself high enough for safe eating:
Teetering slightly precariously on its inadequate perch:
it set to work:
As the branch slowly sank, the second otter lurked close by, just in case:
Their teeth are impressive:
There were no slips, and the second otter, crestfallen, swam away hungry.
PS Here is a picture of the otter’s teeth, showing its four huge canines, from Tumlinson et al (2022)
