For all you readers bored with notes about chicory, here’s canyon news
of a livelier sort: We may have a river otter in the lake! Zac Perry
tells me he saw a river otter near the fishladder entrance the other
day. Apparently, our otter may be living in a burrow on the edge of the
lake near the amphitheater.
I’ve never actually seen a river otter (as far as I know) so I
turned to my handy Peterson Field Guide for the following description:
- RIVER OTTERLutra canadensis A large weasel-like
mammal, rich brown above, with a silvery sheen below, and with small
ears and a broad snout; feet webbed, tail thick at base, tapering
toward tip.
A sociable animal, usually 2 or more travel together. Eats fish,
frogs, crayfish, and other aquatic invertebrates. Dens in banks, with
entrance below water, or other suitable places.
This isn’t the first time river otters have been seen here. Bob
Salinger mentioned them a few years ago when he described the canyon in
Wild in the City, a guidebook to Portland’s natural areas. But
this is still a fairly unusual visitor for most of us. If other people
see the otter, please drop me a note and I’ll post it here. A photo
would win you amazingly big bonus points…
– posted by Niels
