Otter Family

While I occasionally catch a glimpse of a Northern River Otter here and there as I walk along the West Song or West Bay Walkways I have not before seen an entire family. This group of five was busily catching something in the seaweed along the shoreline. I particularly like that about 30 seconds into the video you can see they all take notice of me and while they don't panic, they nevertheless disappear fairly quickly shortly after. To see such abundant wildlife here in the city always seems like a privilege to me and something we should treasure carefully. Below is a brief video of this group of five.

In-Flight Entertainment

We have had very low tides recently and the consequent exposure of tidal flats that are normally covered with water seems to be encouraging increased activity amongst the Great Blue Herons. While I often see one on my morning walk along the West Bay Walkway, I seldom see more than one. Yesterday I saw three in various places along the walkway fishing in the shallows where the water is normally much deeper. I also saw a River Otter just offshore yesterday but there was little of him visible but his head popping up above the water from time to time to do some vigorous chewing and swallowing.

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Why Great Blue Heron? When I look at the above photo I see lots of gray, some black and orange, some yellow and white but no blue of any shade. There is also a "Green" Heron which is equally un-green if the photos are anything to go by. One doesn't mind if the Latin names for plants and animals don't communicate much except to ancient Romans, but generally one expects the common names to refer to some distinctive aspect of the plant or animal. Oh well, sometimes life is just plain disappointing. Things don't make sense and there is not even any good reason for the confusion.

Northern River Otter (Lutra canadensis)

I am regularly amazed at the variety of wildlife that is visible within the urban areas of Victoria. Though they are much less common than seals, I have several times seen Northern River Otters (Lutra canadensis) such as the one pictured above and to the left, though seldom so close. This one was sighted just below the West Bay Walkway a few days ago. Because Sea Otters are so much more famous - their luxuriant fur having drawn early explorers and fur traders to this area - Northern River Otters are often mistakenly identified as "Sea Otters", especially when they are seen in coastal waters. The Sea Otter population is rebounding from near extinction a hundred years ago, but the nearest large colony is further north on the coast of Vancouver Island and they are unlikely to be seen south of Tofino in this area. True Sea Otters (Enhydra lutris) are related to River Otters but are considerably larger. Adults often have lighter colored heads which aids in identification. To see the differences between the species check the photo below of a Sea Otter, taken in the Seattle Aquarium last summer.