Final session

Today marks the 25th anniversary of my first otter sighting at Trinidad Bay. It has also been six months since my last sighting. This, then, seems an appropriate time to officially call it quits. My final study session will be this evening.

I do not know if Slick, Mother and Pup are alive or dead. All I know is, they are no longer living here or even visiting here anymore, and I cannot study what I cannot see.

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When I first found these river otters – so apparently out-of-place in the ocean, yet just as apparently at-home there – I had only one thing in mind.

I wanted to know all about them. I wanted to know every detail of their extraordinary lives.

It took five of their generations, and half of my lifetime, but they finally answered every question I ever had.

They taught me my lessons.

Then they went away.

The teachers left the classroom.

Now there's no reason to stay.

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First sighting: June 6, 1983
Last sighting: December 7, 2007
Last session: June 6, 2008

Visits to study area: 6,474
Recorded sessions: 6,149
Sessions with otter(s) sighted: 4,796
Percentage of sessions with otter(s) sighted: 78%
Otter-hours of behavior observed: >12,000
Consecutive days at study area: 721 (March 10, 2003 – February 27, 2005)

Known individuals in study: 89
Generations observed: 7
Lifespan range of otters observed: c.1970 – 2007
Generations studied formally: 5
Mothers observed: 8
Litters confirmed: 30
Pup births confirmed: 59
Pup gender confirmed: females, 21; males, 21
Died in first year: >35
Died as a yearling: 8
Survived to adulthood: females, 6; males, 9
Infanticides/abandonments: >11
Most pups: Old Mama, 24
Most litters: Little Mama, 9
Longest lifespans: female, Little Mama (13y,10m); male, Ninety (11y,10m)

Most beloved: Old Mama, Scarnose Little Pup & Little Mama – my miracle girls, and my greatest teachers. Their unseen guardian angel loved them more than words can express...