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.
 

A Romp of Otters

Meet  Lontra Canadensis – the Northern River Otter – not just one but at least a half-dozen.  You can call a group of otters a lodge or a bevy.  If they are swimming as a group they're called a raft of otters.  If they're out and about like this - it is termed a romp.

We’ve got weasels, muskrat and mink around these parts yet this is a first for us.  I've observed these gregarious and beautiful critters while fishing northern Wisconsin flowages but have never seen one on the peninsula or the waters of Sturgeon Bay, Green Bay or Lake Michigan.  After decades of wildlife monitoring  with trail cameras this is my first river otter captured digitally here.  Last Saturday no less.  Remarkable!

click on the image for a better look


This member of the weasel and skunk family can live up to twenty years is larger than a mink and sports a distinctive long, thick tail.  My dogs would tell you that an otter's tail is coincidentally similar to a Labrador retriever's tail.  Or maybe that is the other way around. The otter is a semi-aquatic mammal characterized as a playful and social animal.  They den along the shores of lakes and riverbanks and sometimes take-up residence in an abandoned beaver lodge.  They breed this time of year and while the male is a solitary man he’ll return in summer to assist in raising the young. 

Back in the Big City I remain the focus of whispering by a small minority of busybodies and self-styled preservationists who manifest an irrational abhorrence to sustainable forestry practices.  You’re probably scratching your head over that, eh?  Me too.  Most people in the Big City community share that head-scratching observation.  They know it doesn't make much sense to carry a grudge over science-based forest management.  Besides, they know my environmental cred is pretty solid and I'm not some sort of nut job.  And being the tolerant individuals that they are they know that in this vast country everyone is entitled to a point of view.  Even if it is a bit off.  This is why America is already great.  Although it is entirely possible that the only thing greater is when you have a romp of river otters - and as a consequence life is much too short to be grumpy.

Cheers!