mrsmelly Posted December 18, 2019 Report Share Posted December 18, 2019 Last night heard splashing about at side of my boat near to pontoon and wondered if something had fallen in tut watter. On investigation with torch through window two feet from me directly outside swimming next tut boat was an otter. Lived aboard over 30 years and seen them very occasionaly but never literaly next to mi boat, well happy. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterdog Posted December 18, 2019 Report Share Posted December 18, 2019 (edited) I've had a few is it / isn't it, sightings over the years having spotted something in the water but not been close enough to be sure. Earlier this year at Welford Junction I took the dogs out last thing and the head torch reflected on a pair of eyes in the water, definitely an otter this time and was lucky enough to watch it for a minute or so before it climbed out and disappeared into the bushes on the offside. Magical Edited December 18, 2019 by waterdog Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kudzucraft Posted December 18, 2019 Report Share Posted December 18, 2019 I love seeing otters. They are still pretty rare here on the Tennessee River but we see them occasionally when out kayaking. Always makes me smile to see them but it is a rare site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bizzard Posted December 18, 2019 Report Share Posted December 18, 2019 We get them occasionally on the Stort, snuffling along alongside boats, mainly in the winter. One looked like Bill Travers. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerra Posted December 18, 2019 Report Share Posted December 18, 2019 47 minutes ago, mrsmelly said: Last night heard splashing about at side of my boat near to pontoon and wondered if something had fallen in tut watter. On investigation with torch through window two feet from me directly outside swimming next tut boat was an otter. Lived aboard over 30 years and seen them very occasionaly but never literaly next to mi boat, well happy. Lucky you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulJ Posted December 18, 2019 Report Share Posted December 18, 2019 Brilliant sighting. Watched as a big dog otter wandered up towards me while I was filling Kings Sutton lock a couple of months ago ish. Priviliged! ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldGoat Posted December 18, 2019 Report Share Posted December 18, 2019 Ah, the Joys of the Oxford canal (shhhhh - keep it quiet) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rambling Boater Posted December 18, 2019 Report Share Posted December 18, 2019 That’s a coincidence, I saw one the otter day when I came to a holt at a lock on the South Oxford. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueStringPudding Posted December 18, 2019 Report Share Posted December 18, 2019 How lovely. I saw one in Linslade once, I assume it had come from the nearby river to nab the huuge fish it had in its month while it was swimming around the canal. I had heard a commotion among the nesting moorhens around my boat, and I stepped on to the bow to find the otter swimming up to a little bird feeding platform I had against my bow. Unfortunately he saw me when he got within about a foot of me so turned round and swam under the overhanging bushes in front of my bow where I could hear him crunching his way through his dinner. ? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark99 Posted December 19, 2019 Report Share Posted December 19, 2019 There a lots of Mink in the rivers which can look like Otters. The only Otter I saw in the UK was on the Stort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerra Posted December 19, 2019 Report Share Posted December 19, 2019 12 minutes ago, mark99 said: There a lots of Mink in the rivers which can look like Otters. The only Otter I saw in the UK was on the Stort. With regard to separating mink from Otters try to get an idea of size. Otter - adults around a metre long and 10 or 12 Kg Mink - adults around 45 cm and 1.5 - 2 Kg Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark99 Posted December 19, 2019 Report Share Posted December 19, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Machpoint005 Posted December 19, 2019 Report Share Posted December 19, 2019 On 18/12/2019 at 16:29, OldGoat said: Ah, the Joys of the Oxford canal (shhhhh - keep it quiet) The Oxford Canal, quiet? You must be jokng! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tree monkey Posted December 19, 2019 Report Share Posted December 19, 2019 21 hours ago, BlueStringPudding said: How lovely. I saw one in Linslade once, I assume it had come from the nearby river to nab the huuge fish it had in its month while it was swimming around the canal. I had heard a commotion among the nesting moorhens around my boat, and I stepped on to the bow to find the otter swimming up to a little bird feeding platform I had against my bow. Unfortunately he saw me when he got within about a foot of me so turned round and swam under the overhanging bushes in front of my bow where I could hear him crunching his way through his dinner. ? Was that the time I found the fish scales on the path by your boat or was that another time. They were big scales 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueStringPudding Posted December 20, 2019 Report Share Posted December 20, 2019 18 hours ago, tree monkey said: Was that the time I found the fish scales on the path by your boat or was that another time. They were big scales The fish scales on the path was at our current mooring. I never saw the fishmonger, but I heard the thrash and splash against my hull in the dark. Peered out the back where I heard the noise because I wanted to be sure the neighbour's cat had fallen in the water but couldn't see anything. Heard some more thrashing this time sounding like large shagging carp against the hull so presumed that's what it must have been. Next morning we saw all those fish scales on the path. That was quite a big fishy that got chomped. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsmelly Posted December 20, 2019 Author Report Share Posted December 20, 2019 On 19/12/2019 at 08:13, mark99 said: There a lots of Mink in the rivers which can look like Otters. The only Otter I saw in the UK was on the Stort. The mink doesnt look remotely like an otter, wrong colour, completely different shaped head and much smaller. The otter is unmistakeable this close up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tree monkey Posted December 20, 2019 Report Share Posted December 20, 2019 16 minutes ago, mrsmelly said: The mink doesnt look remotely like an otter, wrong colour, completely different shaped head and much smaller. The otter is unmistakeable this close up. Maybe but I've still never seen our local otter/mink in the flesh yet, seen the spraint, heard something very unfish like crashing against the hull and I've driven something big into the water on my way to work at 5:30am, problem with that is it's always been pitch dark. Flaming thing is avoiding me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victor Vectis Posted December 20, 2019 Report Share Posted December 20, 2019 Has anyone seen any otters above Calcutt top Lock? That's the place where the fisherfolk had an 'otter proof fence' put around their fishin' pond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark99 Posted December 20, 2019 Report Share Posted December 20, 2019 Flat cat. Is a good way for me to I'd. Otter has a flat head / skull and bigger than a cat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WotEver Posted December 25, 2019 Report Share Posted December 25, 2019 On 20/12/2019 at 16:08, mrsmelly said: The mink doesnt look remotely like an otter, wrong colour, completely different shaped head and much smaller. The otter is unmistakeable this close up. But that only works if you surely know what one or the other looks like... I’ll go for the 1 metre - it’s an otter, half that - it’s a mink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Featured Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now