I saw fresh wolf tracks day before yesterday .

Today was nice sunny day, mid 60s. Friends were over for lunch, and since Cliff is wheelchair bound, I set up a table and chairs on the concrete car pad out front so he wouldn't have to manage steps . We were finishing up our picnic lunch about 1:30 local, 11:30 solar, when we caught movement down the driveway about 50 yards, out on the 2 lane blacktop going down to the state park headquarters and below that, the Kenai River, about 800 yards away.

Big, and I mean big!, river otter was humping his way right down the double yellow centerline, stopping every 20 yards or so to catch his breath, or scope the road, I guess. Making good time, tho. Easy meat maybe for that wolf, tho if my 45 lb Lab-mix and/or 12 lb Wiener had tackled him, my money was on the otter. Fortunately, they didn't notice it.

Not something one sees every day!

I ran in and grabbed the Canon with telephoto lens , jumped in the truck (half filled with slash - we are clearing yard trees) and went down the road to see if I could get a picture. Parked at the ranger's river access gate and walked down to the river to see if maybe the otter was on the bank or in the river. No luck. Never saw the otter again .

I did have a nasty gram on the truck when I got back tho- something about "strewing brush all over the road. Please tie down. or cover your load"

I retraced my route and found one 14 inch spindly spruce twig on my entire route that had fallen out.

Lots of Gestopo going around nowdays....

I've never seen an otter fight, but I have trapped a few. They are solid muscle, have teeth like needles, and are slippery/slinky as hell. The otter is high on my list of things I don't want to tackle.

But they are fun to watch.

I wouldn't try fugkin' with no otter. LOL

How long were you out of the truck to receive a note? Seems excessive.

Dont let them see you kill a shark or gar.

10 minutes out of the truck . Ranger was right, it should be noted. It is law to tie or tarp your loads . I just never thought about it in the moment. He could have cited me, and it ain't cheap!

In 52 years up here, that is only the second river otter I have seen on land, the third over-all. Bashful they are.

We wouldn't want a spruce bough ending up on the side of the road! Think of the raw devestation that would ensue.

Next thing you know, cats and dogs, living together, water falling out of the sky, general mayem and societal breakdown.

No, you were extremely irresponsible and should probably have been jailed and exposed to the rona.

Only those embracing suicide would go hand to claws with an otter. Down here in Florida they are known to eat gators. When they show up the lizards haul azz.

They are amusing critters nonetheless. Unless you’re a fish.

You are in the heart of Gestapo country!

A number of years ago, the state imported some otters to transplant into the Chelsea Marsh. One of the CR television stations covered the big release. The cameraman got down in the perfect position to film the first otter to be released. The cage was opened, the otter shot out like a bolt of lightning, stopped long enough to bite the cameraman, then continued on his way to the water.

Otters are no joke. There was a breeding pair living in the little lake by the cabin. They were eating the hell out of the trout and bass in that lake and one day a long distance swimmer was attacked by one of the otters. Damned near drowned her, climbing on her head biting and clawing. The only thing that saved her was a passing paddle boarder who beat the otter with an oar and the swimmer climbed aboard.

Fish and game came to trap them but when one attacked their boat they shot it.

You need to get out more, especially a little closer to the coast. Not uncommon to see large family groups of river otters in and near saltwater. Once, with past 24hr posters we had two family groups in sight with a total north of 25 river otters.

The otter did good!

Watched one in the evening in the Fox River, near Fox Lake, in northern B.C. Big otter who, apparently, lived right next to where I had set up camp..
My most surprising encounter happened on the Palouse River in North Idaho, when I was a kid (close to 60 years ago). I had been fishing all day, catching nothing, and, while I was working a good looking pool, an otter popped up with a 12 inch trout in his mouth. Judging by my lack of success, I figured he had eaten every trout in the river. The truth was, he was just a better fisherman.
Saw some in the Everglades and looked hard for a giant otter in Peru but couldn't find one. Neat animals. GD

Many years ago, I was paddling the Ogoki River in northern Ontario with a couple of friends. About half way between the dam and the Albany River we heard a commotion in the brush and down into the river tumbled an otter and a Canada goose. The otter eventually killed the goose but it was a harder fought battle than I would have expected. Upon noticing us, the otter hit the water and disappeared downstream. Not to let a meal of fresh meat go to waste, we retrieved the goose and had it for dinner.

The small lake one of my in laws lives on is used to raise walleye fingerlings for stocking. That is a prime buffet for a family of otters as well as osprey and even Eagles. In spite of the predation, the Fisheries guys are getting plenty of fish each fall to make it worthwhile.

I mis-remembered, Art. I have seen a number of them on seacoasts- particularily in Whittier. I was thinking inland waters.

I wonder what this otter was up to. Hall Lake is about a half mile up the road- Was it coming from there, or Scout Lake, a couple miles away, or another lake across the Sterling Hwy off Panoramic? Heading to the Kenai for the smolt and/or hooligan run? Looking for Love? New territory?

Whatever, that thing had the right idea it seems. Humping down a paved road has to be preferable to going through the woods and muskeg for ease of travel, if a bit hotter. Bet it thought it hit the jackpot when it found the road.

Forget which river but had a small group commonly seen in Yakutat near to but definitely above tidewater. Make a hell of a hat I'd think.

Ridgefield wildlife refuge in SW Washington is a pretty easy spot to see them, all two times I tried.

You talkin' about me?

Otter is a pretty neat critter till they decide your pond is part of their new hunting grounds. They don't scare off you must deal with them to get rid of them. I've dug water holes in the creeks when everything drys up and have archery stands overlooking some of them. While hunting I've seen otters come through and eat some frogs then they move on up the creek. From my observations otter will not completely fish a hole out.

I’ve only seen them on TV. They are amazing. I didn’t know they were that mean

I don’t see them as mean actually. Toss them some fish scraps and they’ll be your best buddies. They will bring the kids along for a snack and everybody has a good time.

What they are is stunningly agile, intelligent and well armed. They believe in the team spirit. Be nice and they are nice. You don’t want to get on their wrong side.

They are a member of the weasel clan, are they not? GD