August 17, 2025.
Salish Sea, Pacific Northwest
Our previous encounters with the otter mom and her lone pup were in a quiet bay. A few days later I came across them in a much busier bay about a half a mile across the peninsula. River otters have a home range they travel through as a way to avoid exhausting the food supply in a single location.
The home range of an otter is extensive, covering as much as 50 miles. It may take two weeks to a month for an otter to cover its territory. An otter rarely stays in one place for more than a few days. While moving from one water course to another, it may have to make several overland passages.
Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection
This change of venue meant dealing with a lot of car, bicycle and foot traffic since there’s a road bordering this bay. That’s especially true right now at peak tourist season; in winter there’s very little traffic of any kind, I might see one car in 15 minutes. The otters were pretty skittish about all the activity.
I’m quite a ways down the beach, using a zoom lens, but even so, mom is wary of me
Note: I have lots of videos in this edition of the Otter Mom & Baby chronicles. This first one is 35 seconds.
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Still, even though alert and wary of people and loud cars, the mom and pup went about their usual routine of alternately fishing and sandbathing. One time mom came powering in toward shore with a big mouthful, baby following closely. When she got out I saw she was clenching TWO gunnels in her jaws! Never seen that before. Gunnels are the bread and butter of otters around here, incredibly abundant long thin bottomfish, easy to catch (for an otter) and small enough to eat while floating out in the water. But this time she was bringing the fish in to the beach for the baby.
(52 seconds:)
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The otter pup has been following mom around for weeks watching how she hunts and catches bottom fish. But today was a major milestone. The pup started catching its own gunnels! It’s a tricky business, between catching and then eating them while floating on the surface. Mom easily caught 3 to 4 for every one the pup caught. But it’s early days yet.
(One minute:)
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Perhaps as a reward for all the pup’s hard work, mom brought in a much bigger fish, a sculpin. These need to be taken apart before swallowing in any case, so she was giving the pup some experience in that. It was a bit messy, but then again, have you ever eaten a whole fish without using your hands or implements?
(48 seconds:)
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That was enough fishing for the day. The otters did some thorough sandbathing. Seemed they were ready for a nap….but somewhere more quiet than this busy beach.
Sandbathing to get dry
Waiting for bicyclists to go by. The otters mind them less than cars.
After looking both ways, waiting for a pause in car and bicycle traffic, they crossed the road. I was sitting halfway down the beach and by the time I walked down to where they’d disappeared through the fence they were most of the way across the field. Otters can move fast on land when they want.
(One minute 24 seconds:)
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They were almost to the trees in just a few minutes.
This bay is especially rich in fish, worth the hassle of dealing with all the human activity (that’s why otters spend so much time on the docks, which are away from the road and usually empty). But August is by far the busiest season here on the island. Come fall, this little otter family won’t have to be so wary of people since most visitors will have returned to the city.
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Sunny and getting hot again the PNW islands.
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