Spraints-less summer
Aug. 20th, 2007 10:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
otterfamilyI've really been surprised at the complete lack of scat on the floating dock this summer. It's usually a disgusting mess if there are any otters in residence. Since Chirper went missing in mid-June, though, there's been a grand total of just one teeny-tiny scat on the dock; this despite the fact that Slick has been a regular resident here the past month.
So why is Slick not pooping on the dock? I think it's obvious – with Mother's pier-phobia and Chirper absent, there are no other otters visiting the dock that could read Slick's fecal messages, so he's simply not bothering. I used to think that their scats had only incidental value as a medium for the otters' intraspecific communication, but obviously I was completely wrong in that belief. Quite clearly, otters only poop where they are certain that other otters will find it (and sniff it).
So why is Slick not pooping on the dock? I think it's obvious – with Mother's pier-phobia and Chirper absent, there are no other otters visiting the dock that could read Slick's fecal messages, so he's simply not bothering. I used to think that their scats had only incidental value as a medium for the otters' intraspecific communication, but obviously I was completely wrong in that belief. Quite clearly, otters only poop where they are certain that other otters will find it (and sniff it).
