River Otter
 

Out this morning looking for a few sunrise pictures and along came this guy.

Attachment 7812

From WikiPedia

"The North American river otter (Lontra canadensis), also known as the northern river otter or the common otter, is a semiaquatic mammal endemic to the North American continent found in and along its waterways and coasts. An adult river otter can weigh between 5.0 and 14 kg (11 and 31 lb). The river otter is protected and insulated by a thick, water-repellent coat of fur.

The river otter, a member of the weasel family, is equally versatile in the water and on land. It establishes a burrow close to the water's edge in river, lake, swamp, coastal shoreline, tidal flat, or estuary ecosystems. The den typically has many tunnel openings, one of which generally allows the otter to enter and exit the body of water. Female otters give birth in these underground burrows, producing litters of one to six young.

North American river otters, like most predators, prey upon the most readily accessible species. Fish is a favored food among the otters, but they also consume various amphibians, turtles, and crayfish. Instances of river otters eating small mammals and occasionally birds have been reported as well.

The range of the North American river otter has been significantly reduced by habitat loss, beginning with the European colonization of North America. In some regions, though, their population is controlled to allow the trapping and harvesting of otters for their pelts. River otters are very susceptible to environmental pollution, which is a likely factor in the continued decline of their numbers. A number of reintroduction projects have been initiated to help stabilize the reduction in the overall population."

Adorable, I love otters.

Thanks I needed a cute picture today to cheer me up. Bit overwhelming at work today being pretty much right at the scene of yesterdays horrific events.

Tale: Beaver or Otter?
 

I can't say I've ever seen an Otter on Lake Winnipesaukee, but I've seen them elsewhere. Maybe I'm confusing them with Castor canadensis.

:laugh:

Otters have a ridge that puts their eyes slightly higher and forward-looking. (Making them appear more dog-like).

I didn't see this guy, but from seeing the shape of his tail, could this be a different rodent?

I was going to guess muskrat but it looks a bit longer than a muskrat and I can't see the tail. Any wildlife biologists want to chime in?:laugh:

Not a muskrat to big for a muskrat.

"An adult muskrat is about 40–70 cm (16–28 in) long, almost half of that is the tail, and weighs from 0.6–2 kg (1.3–4.4 lb"


Here is a picture from the internet of a River Otter. This is what the one I posted looks like. It's also way too long to be a muskrat. I'm still betting on River Otter. :D:D:D

Attachment 7815

Without seeing its tail I would have guessed beaver.

Yup, me too. The body does not seem slender enough to be an otter. A good tail shot would be the way to tell. Here's a beaver stolen off the web...

Look close??

Yes it does look very close. I spotted this animal out in the middle of the lake a good 300 yards off big Pier two day in a row finally got the picture of him today as he was coming to shore by Scenic Road 1/2 mile from Ellacoya.


I sent the pictures off to Fish and Game. Fun to find out what it actually is.

Here's one more picture.. he looks "longer" and "sleeker", in the body than a beaver. Plus, when it got to shore it disappeared into the rocks along Scenic road.

Attachment 7819

I posted earlier about seeing them in front of Lago's. They were much darker or even black. This looks more like a beaver.

I've seen beavers that were huge, easily two to three foot long bodies. One that was alive, the other dead on the side of the road. Since leg hold traps have been banned here in the Massachusetts the beaver population has exploded. The big ones look like they could turn over my car if they wanted.

I've done internet "images" searches for muskrat, river otter, and beaver "swimming" , and I think I can rule out the muskrat, some of each of the "river otter swimming" and the "beaver swimming" look remarkably like the picture I took.

I leaned towards the otter because I know there is no beaver damn anywhere along the shoreline that this animal was swimming. I've seen him for two straight mornings, the first day it was way offshore, and stayed offshore for as long as I could still see it. Today, it was swimming the same direction but closer to shore and after passing Ellacoya it angled into the area of Scenic Drive and I was watching from the side of the road and got the pictures when it came to shore.

I hope Fish and Game gets back to me.

After looking at these image search results I'm leaning toward the beaver. The ears in the sample picture look a little more like the ears on the critter in my picture. BUT.. I can't figure out why a beaver would be in the middle of Winni swimming all the way from Samoset to a spot passed Ellacoya.

Ain't no beaver dams anywhere around that neighborhood.

Beaver
Attachment 7820

Otter
Attachment 7821

I would guess a beaver There used to be a lot of them out by Beaver Island . They chewed down John Beavers trees so he had them trapped and relocated. They had a large den between Middle and Big Beaver Island and it is still there. But no occupants so far.

SteveA,

I am very sure that is a beaver. Otters swim mostly with their heads up. Beavers have a large wake due to their body shape.

No idea why he is there, but they do travel from place to place. If there is a small stream that is running near by, he could be planning to build a dam. They are great engineers. They are on the school ring of MIT!

R2B

LOL.. Really on the ring? :) It may well be, the photo evidence is pretty strong. Maybe he's commuting from the job site, but he has bypassed the Poor Farm brook both days, which is the only "river" in the area, didn't go anywhere near it.
I've been hanging out down there in the pre dawn because there is a pair of loon that have been in the area for about a week. I'll see if he makes the commute again tomorrow.
There is an active beaver colony in the Gunstock River behind my house and I can see that they have built and extensive series of dams to create ponds where there weren't any before. But because beaver are primarily nocturnal, I've yet to see the beavers.
It's fun to try and solve the mystery!

Here is a link to the MIT Class Ring! Not sure how to embed images. I did not go to MIT! :)


http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=...QEwAw&dur=5138


R2B

Did I mention dog-like?

:look:

This thread now has me wondering what I saw the other day. I thought "mink" based on articles that I had read.

Here's a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igfE9InzOnI

Thoughts?

<iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/igfE9InzOnI?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Looks like otter. I thought mink were much smaller or am I mixing them up with something else?
I'd say the otter are making their presence known on this lake. They have been spotted all over, although the ones I saw in Meredith could have traveled over to Black Cat.
I just googled a mink and they are about 2 feet long, much smaller then a beaver or otter, otters range from 2-6 feet in length.
I wonder if the fox will now take the bridge over to the island. Several of us have seen a fox traveling over to the house next to the one I'm working on this winter.

Nature's engineer
 

The beaver is nature's engineer, and so that's why it's on the MIT ring.

cool video of beaver & otter
 

Steve this doesn't help but it is a pretty cool video of 3 otter checking out a beaver.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4u3zTN_J0kQ

<iframe width="640" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/4u3zTN_J0kQ?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

BR: there seem to be plenty of fox on the island. We had one living under the house last winter (who we fortunately gently convinced to move on) and last week I saw another carrying a newborn pup on the east side of the island.

I get the reason, was just commenting on how cool that is. :)

LOL.. that's amazing!

Response from Fish and Game..
 

I was wrong.. R2B is correct... it's a beaver :blush:

Response from F&G

"Hi Steve,

The photograph is of a beaver."

Patrick Tate, Wildlife Biologist
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department

I should have figured it out.. if you blow the picture way up you can see this.. :rolleye2:

Attachment 7831

Mink are tiny by comparison. The substantial and long tail is a giveaway, but I captured a frame from your video that shows typical otter diving "posture":

Yes, mink are MUCH smaller! And as I said before, when I saw the otter in my yard, I thought it was a dog. So I would agree, they do look like dogs.

Think it's a mink
 

Think it's really a mink people!:laugh:

Now this is a beaver....
 

Took this last night near the Beaver Dam that is right near Gilford HS.

He was not happy to have me around, lot's of tail slaps .

Terrible picture but it was taken at 8.30PM.

Attachment 7864

And not sure about this, but MIT is also right on the Charles River, which probably has a few beavers along it.

I was going to say mink since I saw my first one last summer up at the lake, but he was much smaller. And muskratats are small too. Had a pesky one in my yard one year (brook at the end of my property) eating all of my tulip bulbs. Poor feller got stuck in the chain link fence between mine and my neighbors yard. He was gone the next day, so something ate him. I wasn't that sad, I loved those flowers and have never had much luck growing more since.

I did see what I think was a dead otter on the side of a road near a pond one day. He was on the big side, not a beaver that's for sure. Looked more like a small seal.

The beaver is always on the front of the "Brass Rat", the nickname for the MIT undergrad class ring. It is there because the beaver is looked at as nature's engineer. Ask any MIT grad you know and they will confirm this.

It is also on the "Gold Rat", the nickname for the ring worn by masters and PhD grads.

MIT is full of tradition.

I worked in the engineering field in Boston for my whole career. I know my beavers. :)

My Dad's class of '46 ring is 14K and he only got an undergraduate degree. I don't remember him ever referring to it as a "gold-rat". I never saw a ring on my Grandfather he was class of '05. That's 1905.

Even the "Brass Rats" are most often made of gold. It is that they have a brassy look to them. The "Gold Rats" shine more. Impressive to have both your father and grandfather as MIT grads!

R2B

On Wednesday morning I saw 2 muskrats AND a beaver right in West Alton Marina around 7 am. Cool stuff :D

http://i44.tinypic.com/1499wms.gif Accipiter290, I just noticed that you are fairly new to posting on the forum and glad you have joined us. Have fun and enjoy the Winni Forum while making many new friends.:)

There seems to be more muskrats and beavers around for some reason this year as I have seem them in 3 different locations here in Alton this spring.

http://i54.tinypic.com/2e56yqf.gif

Here's Dad's well worn gold rat, and Granddad's Alumni mug. I love having my morning Joe in it watching the sun come up while sitting on the front porch in Center Harbor.

Beaver for sure
 

The originally posted photo isn't an otter. I think it's a beaver, but depending on size could be a muskrat.