Why I otter...

Jon Holcombe

Explorer
Dec 1, 2015
967
1,934
Medford
Click bait unintended, I was unable to take my camera off the tripod fast enough to get a shot. In October I was in the dark under trees and I heard a wet chuffing sound in the river, a few feet away. An otter popped way out of the water and stared at me for a few seconds. I could see his breath in the dim light.

A couple of weeks ago, on another river I thought I saw beaver, but a whiskered face lifted far out of the water, checking me out. A second otter did the same thing. They submerged and I watched a trail of bubbles head down the river, for about a hundred yards until they turned the bend.

If I was not getting up at 4 AM and hiking into the frigid forest I would never have had that experience. The photos are almost secondary to exploring the Pine Barrens.
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RednekF350

Piney
Feb 20, 2004
4,944
3,080
Pestletown, N.J.
Beautiful photos Jon. I was in the woods at 5:40 this morning walking the mile from my house to my stand under moonlight. Nothing like it.
We usually have an otter or two back here but I haven't taken the time lately to look for sign.
 
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Jon Holcombe

Explorer
Dec 1, 2015
967
1,934
Medford
Thanks Scott. Otters feel like good luck to me for some reason. In October, I was hking along the river in pitch dark and a coyote started calling near by and was answered by his buddies on the other side of the river. A week later I got out of the car and immediately a coyote started to call very close, it felt like 20 yards. And a week after that I saw one running, illuminated in my headlights as I drove close to the bridge.
 
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