A Romp of Otters

April 28, 2018 I captured several digital trail camera photos of a half-dozen northern river otters cruising one of the trails.  That was a first.  It doesn't necessarily mean that river otters haven't been here before - or since - it simply means that they revealed themselves to an ever-vigilant trail camera monitoring one particular location.

They're back.  Same location, same camera, different  time of year - November 30th to be sure - 10 PM for this nocturnal, diurnal member of the Mustelidae family.

Weasels, mink and muskrat are rather common around these parts.  Earlier this year I even captured a photo of a rare and elusive fisher.  This member of the weasel and skunk family is a semi-aquatic mammal characterized by their gregariousness and sociability.  Their presence is an indicator of a healthy riparian environment as this is a critter that is absolutely intolerant of water pollution. 

When fishing in northern Wisconsin they're a common sight - so perhaps they're becoming more common on the peninsula too.  If you spy a family assembly of otters lounging-about that is termed a lodge or bevy.  If they are swimming as a group that would be a raft of otters.  On the other hand, if a troupe of them is tumbling down a trail like this - that would be called a romp of otters.