Paul Howey - Artist

My favourite coastal walk intersects with the ranges of various otters, this video is of quite well developed twins doing what otters seem to do most of the time, namely feeding.

Smaller and more easily dealt with items are eaten on the water where they are caught. Larger or more tricky menu delicacies such as crabs and sea urchins are brought ashore to be dispatched and devoured.

This was not a promising day for otter watching, cold and dull with wind ripple on the water; making otters harder to see. It turned into a fascinating encounter involving five otters.

My take at what is happening goes something like this: Mum and twins on the rock. Mum goes off to forage and fish and runs into the dog otter. They end up back at the rock, where mum isn't happy with his presence as dog otters are known to be a threat to young otters. The youngsters are curious about him but eventually get the idea mum wants to chase him off. Otter number five appears, looks like another female, auntie perhaps and teams up very aggressively with mum to see off the dog. We are left with mum and twins. I wonder if auntie has taken a shine to Mr otter and headed off with him. I particularly like the way mum launches herself off the rock, exit stage bottom-right after the departing male.

This encounter starts off looking like siblings approaching at speed from opposite directions and greeting and roiling around as usual.

It then seems to develop into something more serious with jaw locked on jaw at times and heads being held down under water. They finally leave the water looking fairly tired but still going at it, whatever it was.