Written and submitted by Diane Tomecek
For readers that know me, this will not be new information, but let me begin by stating that I am an otter fanatic! I think many of us are; and how could we not
be - they are adorable creatures after all.
It seems many individuals experience both river and sea otters in
aquariums or zoos, but it is extra special to encounter them in their natural
habitat. My husband and I have had the
privilege of experiencing both river and sea otters in aquariums and wildlife
sanctuaries, as well as in the wild.
As an amateur photographer, I’m always looking to combine my love of
travel with that of otters. I find
myself continuously drawn to the Pacific in central California or the rugged
coastlines of British Columbia and Vancouver Island. Could it be that these areas are home to my
favorite…the sea otter? Yeah, that’s
it!
Our very first experience, though, with otters in the wild
of the Pacific Northwest was with two North American River otters in Oak Bay along the
southeast coastline of Vancouver Island.
My husband and I were out for an early evening drive along the
coast. I was watching the water for
signs of wildlife, especially river otters.
I had read about a family of river otters that inhabit the waters
between Discovery Island and Oak Bay so I was especially vigilant to spot any
sign of river otters. I was not really
expecting to see anything, however. But
upon our arrival at a calm inlet site, I saw an animal which I assumed to be a
cormorant dive into the water. I watched
for a minute and saw it appear again and swim along the top of the water. This was no cormorant! My husband, being also “otter alert,” saw
what I had witnessed and was already pulling our car over to a parking
area. Well, he was not fast enough for
this otter fanatic because immediately upon identifying the “cormorant” as a
river otter, I yelled “Stop! Pull
over! That is a river otter!” He calmly turned to me in my excitement and
said “Don’t worry, we are stopping. I
have you covered. I see it too.” Needless to say, I did not hear him. I had already unpacked my camera and was
high-tailing it to a section of rocks to watch the otter. “Wow, this is so cool!” I thought. Upon reaching the rocks, though, I was in for
another surprise – swimming closer to shore was another river otter. I could not believe our luck! This was an experience to remember
forever! We stayed on the rocks watching
the otters for close to an hour. It was
incredible to witness them come out onto the rocks about fifty feet from our
location to “chow” on their fish dinner.
I still wonder at the incredible
experience we had that evening. 