Did I Spot an Otter?

[Guest]

18 hours ago, cuthound said:

 

I saw a tame other when I passed through Hopwas on the Coventry Canal ?

 

https://www.vintageinn.co.uk/restaurants/midlands/thetameotterhopwastamworth?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=gmb

I shall be visiting that Otter in a couple of weeks

[haggis]

32 minutes ago, catweasel said:

I shall be visiting that Otter in a couple of weeks

We prefer the pub on the other side of the canal. Maybe not as big a menu but we find their food good, Mind you, we haven't been there for a while as our boat is now moored further north.

 

haggis

[Guest]

Just now, haggis said:

We prefer the pub on the other side of the canal. Maybe not as big a menu but we find their food good, Mind you, we haven't been there for a while as our boat is now moored further north.

 

haggis

Noted and thanks.  Will try both and report back

[haggis]

5 minutes ago, catweasel said:

Noted and thanks.  Will try both and report back

Good idea! We both like sirloin steaks although we seldom have them when eating out but my memory tells me that we have had them several times in the Red Lion because not only were they reasonably priced but they were good.

 

haggis

[cuthound]

1 hour ago, haggis said:

We prefer the pub on the other side of the canal. Maybe not as big a menu but we find their food good, Mind you, we haven't been there for a while as our boat is now moored further north.

 

haggis

 

I agree. The Red Lion is more intimate and the food is excellent. It changed hands about 18 months ago and  is now run by a young couple who have vastly improved it..

 

The Tame Otter is a typical Vintage In s chain pub.

[Opener]

Preparing to go down locks 20/21 on L&L a couple of weeks ago when a bit of sinuous, dark coloured wildlife came out of the undergrowth on the offside dragging some prey, across the lock gates and off into the bushes.  Discussion with a passerby identified it as a weasel / stoat. Came back and back across the lock.  I opened one gate and back to the boat.  Creature reappears carrying a second item.  Across first gate.  Speech bubble "Oh bugger!!" - dives into the water, shins up the lock wall and away.  Boat into lock.  Reappears and grabs small version of self from the the timber beam at the lock entrance/ground paddle and swims it across the lock before I had a chance to close the gate.  Later identified from my 'Idiots Guide to Wildlife' as a mink.  Obviously moving house with the kids/kits and was not going to let some stoopid boater thwart her efforts.  Totally unphazed by the presence of hooman beans, the boat or a missing lock gate.  Checked and they do not seem to be 'reportable' - apparently quite a common site around the cut. Plenty of nice juicy ducks around!

[haggis]

Yes, mink are afraid of nothing and will stand up to anything, even much bigger animals than themselves, like dogs. They kill for the joy of killing and when they move into an area most of the other wildlife disappears. I have heard though that they won't live in an area where there is an otter.

 

haggis

[Jerra]

6 minutes ago, haggis said:

Yes, mink are afraid of nothing and will stand up to anything, even much bigger animals than themselves, like dogs. They kill for the joy of killing and when they move into an area most of the other wildlife disappears. I have heard though that they won't live in an area where there is an otter.

 

haggis

There is some evidence that where Otters are Mink aren't.  I haven't seen any data on reason be it fear or predation.

[BruceinSanity]

2 hours ago, Jerra said:

There is some evidence that where Otters are Mink aren't.  I haven't seen any data on reason be it fear or predation.

I googled for otters killing mink and found several reports that they do. An example here which reports that mink bones have been found in otter spraints.

[Jerra]

12 minutes ago, BruceinSanity said:

I googled for otters killing mink and found several reports that they do. An example here which reports that mink bones have been found in otter spraints.

As you will notice I said data.   I have read reports but nowhere have I found data to tell if it is common, a one off, regular, whether it happens all over the range or is a peculiarity of a certain population etc.  Equally I haven't come across data which shows whether it is killed as prey or a competitor.

 

Also the last reports I came across were for Ireland which can't always be extrapolated into the rest of the British Isles.

[WotEver]

On 09/07/2019 at 14:50, Jerra said:

I haven't come across data which shows whether it is killed as prey or a competitor.

The reports I've read suggest that otters simply don’t like mink. Heck, they’ll kill an alligator if they feel threatened by it...

 

[Jerra]

Just now, WotEver said:

The reports I've read suggest that otters simply don’t like mink. Heck, they’ll kill an alligator if they feel threatened by it...

 

Have you ever seen a South American Giant Otter?   They are fearsome beasts, I visited an Otter sanctuary once and one didn't like the owners Labrador, it came across the pool like a speed boat, reared up against the glass doing the otter equivalent of snarling.  Its head was well above mine.

[Guest]

5 minutes ago, WotEver said:

The reports I've read suggest that otters simply don’t like mink. Heck, they’ll kill an alligator if they feel threatened by it...

 

They take no prisoners do they?

[Opener]

Fortunately,  they are confined to South America. If they were in the canals, I'd be concerned for the safety of my boat, never mind a Labrador!

[tree monkey]

Otters pah

 

 

[Ssscrudddy]

I've seen several otters on the River Nene. There's a pair that have a burrow(?) opposite Midsummer Meadows mooring.