Hiked the Magnetic Rock Trail on Friday. It was a blustery day with some light snow and wind that increased in intensity in the afternoon. Nevertheless, a wonderful day in the woods.

There is a small body of water within the first quarter mile of the trail. We saw movement and thought it was a beaver, though we didn't get a good look. We continued on our way. On the way back, we saw the same creature, and two others. They were not together, but were swimming very fast doing their own thing. Each one submerged under the water without a tail slap. It never occurred to us that we would see otters, but the terrain and water was perfect otter territory. What a treat.

Mike

don't be posting that on facebook! there are trappers up there just looking for otters and beavers and fishers....

In Wis two otters per trapping lic. to bad fur prices are so low.

I’m scared of them up close!

I love those critters but I’ve had them get real mad at me in my canoe. More than once I’ve had them come up to me snorting and looking like they want to go for my neck.

Last fall while on a trip I observed one playing on shore rolling and tossing to and fro in some grass on the bank, like how a dog likes to roll in poop.
Once he saw me he slid in to the water.
Tom

tumblehome: "I’m scared of them up close!


I love those critters but I’ve had them get real mad at me in my canoe. More than once I’ve had them come up to me snorting and looking like they want to go for my neck.


Last fall while on a trip I observed one playing on shore rolling and tossing to and fro in some grass on the bank, like how a dog likes to roll in poop.
Once he saw me he slid in to the water.
Tom"

We've had them show interest in our canoe, but from a distance of maybe 50 feet. Not too close. Mostly we see them swimming around and playing in the distance.

Mike

Had one pop up just 5 feet from my canoe this summer. Sent my young dog into a tizzy. That barking they do makes them seem sort of angry sometimes.

Usually otters stay away from people unless pups are nearby. This happened to me some years ago while I was trying to photograph them. The parent got extremely aggressive and got within feet of the canoe. We quickly exited the area. I have a vague memory of a story where someone got attacked.

I've had them swim back and forth under the canoe on one occasion.
The memory has stayed with me for a long time.

Had a fun encounter with a family of 5 otters 10 years ago on a Oct solo trip.
Dead still evening and I spied them about 75 yards away heading my way down the lake close to the shoreline.
I sat down by shore and waited.
It wasn't so much the sighting as it was the sound effects that still make me smile.
They were on the hunt and trolling the shoreline.
All I could hear was their exhale's as they surfaced, and almost every exhale was followed right away by a *crunch* *crunch* *crunch*.
I heard at least two dozen crawdad's meet their demise as they passed and continued on their trolling run.

Love watching them but can't shake the memory of an article about one that "attacked" a swimmer on an inland lake outside Duluth. Swimmer needed lots of stitches. Happy to see them from a distance!

I like to watch these little guys up there. I don’t see them every trip but when I do it’s special.

My deer stand is by the river and I get to watch them play every year during deer hunting :)

I’ve never seen one in the wild!

Last fall I was kayaking back in some public land to bowhunt when I came across an otter in a creek. He was swimming slowly away from me, so I followed him just to see what he would do. Diving to the bottom, he would rise up and hold his head back as if swallowing some food. Then he would dive again. He was so consumed with this process and heading away from me that I watched and filmed him for some time. It was mesmerizing.

I've told this story in the past. I was sitting at the head of a small, whitewater stream and an otter was hopping his way up to me. He had to do some fancy footwork and thus was looking down rather than forward and the wind didn't carry my scent to him, so he came closer and closer and closer.

I finally gave him a curtesy, "Hey."

Whoa, was he surprised.

I've also had three follow my canoe, popping up on starboard and then port and then starboard again.

Back in the late 80s early 90s I was involved with otter restoration. After capture we would do blood work, tag them etc before release. Saw a fellow stick his hand in the cage before the otter was completely sedated. He pulled his hand out less one finger.

dustytrail: "Back in the late 80s early 90s I was involved with otter restoration. After capture we would do blood work, tag them etc before release. Saw a fellow stick his hand in the cage before the otter was completely sedated. He pulled his hand out less one finger."

Yikes! Now that's a story and a half. You have won the Internet! Use it well. With great power comes great responsibility.

tumblehome: "I’m scared of them up close!


I love those critters but I’ve had them get real mad at me in my canoe. More than once I’ve had them come up to me snorting and looking like they want to go for my neck.


Last fall while on a trip I observed one playing on shore rolling and tossing to and fro in some grass on the bank, like how a dog likes to roll in poop.
Once he saw me he slid in to the water.
Tom"

Talk about being scared up close! My most recent otter story: On Sawbill in 2020, we had an otter come near our campsite to check us out--popping up from the water here and there for several minutes and even briefly coming up on shore at one point to get a closer look at us.

Later that night, well after dark, I decided to step back into the woods behind our tent to take one more pee break before turning in for the evening. When I finished and turned around to return to our tent site, I was surprised by an an otter (probably the same one from earlier) that was standing and watching me from about 4-5 feet away! I had never heard it but when I saw it, I certainly yelped and probably jumped about two feet in the air! Once it had successfully startled the buh-jeebers out of me, the otter just casually ambled back down to the lake. Back at the tent site, the guys wondered what all of the shrieking was about and when I told them the story they probably laughed for 10 minutes straight!

I saw two playing in the distance in the BW.

We had a refuge where I used to live that had two otters for many years. (This place has animals that are permanently injured or can't be released back into the wild for some other reason). I love watching them. One day, when I stopped by the enclosure, I thought they were killing each other. It was horrible to watch and listen to. The male was biting the female's head/neck, and it seemed like he was trying to drown her. She was carrying on like she was dying. Turns out they were mating. yikes. They did have a little baby later.