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I just saw wild river otters at Trinidad for the 4,800th time! Or maybe this evening's sighting was #4,801. Whatever, it's been so long since the last time, I've kind of lost count...
Anyway, what I saw was clearly an extended, multi-generation Family grouping. You might think that after not seeing otters for so long, I might not be able to tell what was going on, but after only a few minutes observing the group, I could tell with certainty that it was comprised of a matriarch accompanied by two adult female daughters, and two yearlings of indeterminate sex. There were no pups of the year with the Family.
Although I have no way of knowing for certain, I also have no reason to doubt that this new matriarch is the same alien female who colonized this harbor in 2007, after the resident family I followed for 20 years snuffed itself out. If the 2007 female is, indeed, the reigning matriarch now, this present state of affairs is a genuinely glad outcome. I do confess to being a bit troubled by the evident lack of offspring this past season, but on the basis of my own brief observations, and anecdotal accounts by others reported over the summer, it does appear that Trinidad Bay is once again home to a stable, resident otter population. And, for that scant knowledge alone, I am truly happy!
Anyway, what I saw was clearly an extended, multi-generation Family grouping. You might think that after not seeing otters for so long, I might not be able to tell what was going on, but after only a few minutes observing the group, I could tell with certainty that it was comprised of a matriarch accompanied by two adult female daughters, and two yearlings of indeterminate sex. There were no pups of the year with the Family.
Although I have no way of knowing for certain, I also have no reason to doubt that this new matriarch is the same alien female who colonized this harbor in 2007, after the resident family I followed for 20 years snuffed itself out. If the 2007 female is, indeed, the reigning matriarch now, this present state of affairs is a genuinely glad outcome. I do confess to being a bit troubled by the evident lack of offspring this past season, but on the basis of my own brief observations, and anecdotal accounts by others reported over the summer, it does appear that Trinidad Bay is once again home to a stable, resident otter population. And, for that scant knowledge alone, I am truly happy!
