>>3151
Don't they get dizzy from all that rotation?

>>3155
I think they do eventually, but they can tolerate it for a while. I guess that's why they don't spin for very long.

>>3156
Spinning is fun, but you gotta be careful.

Please be aware of sea otters. Their week has arrived once more

>>3763
I was very aware of sea otters this week, it was a good time. I hope everyone else had a good week too!

I wonder how hard it is to spot a spotted necked otter who's in his favorite spot?

Does a spotted necked otter know that his neck is spotted?

>>3756
Spotted neck otters are excellent spotters, so I think most could spot when they're neck has been spotted. But I'm sure there are some younger otters whose spotting skills are spotty at best, they might not know.

If a spotted necked otter's neck is spotted and no one is around to spot it, does it have spots?

>>3758
Well how can it be spotted if no one is around to spot it! Of course the question remains, if you spot the otter but don't spot their spots, are they still spotted?

>>3483
These are great! Thank you ottmin!

>>3483
I love these little otters! Is there a way we can download the full-res versions of them too?

>>3513
Oh, they're all from different pics that were posted here over time. I'm sure you'll be able to find most of them around here

News are broken right now, seems Google broke their alert feeds. Gonna have to either wait for a fix or switch to another service, can't do much apart from that.

^ my email here

Go 841! Don't let the man keep you down, stick and move!

Woohoo!
May she continue her surfing days for years to come.

>>3722

>But support for a live-and-let-live approach is growing with each unsuccessful attempt.

Any updates on if this is going anywhere? I know she's getting support from the general public, but I think that Fish and Game might still be trying to hunt her down

>>3744
I checked the news and I don't see any updates on this so I believe she's at large, but I also assume they're still trying to bring her in. It has been a fun story to follow, it reminds me of when we learned about bank robbers in school who were cheered by the public.

Whoa look at him go! He deserved that fishy

>>1597
He hunted through all those fishies just to find the single most delicious one!

It only takes one otter to frighten a thousand fish.

>>2163 It looks like it knows what's about to happen.

>>2163 :o

Hah! An-otter otter thread! How fun!

An otter will usually eat a fish head first so that it's killed and doesn't flop away

This one looks like he caught a bird

t

e

r

!

>>1997
FASTER

>>2001

>>161

>I'd post WebMs too, but I guess you can't do that here.

You can now :)

Ah whoops, this was supposed to be in the general thread. Must've accidentally posted in on its own

That's alright it deserves its own thread anyway!

>>3700 I don't believe in the whole "everything in one thread" thing tbh. This totally should be a thread, just like the sea otter stealing surfboards story. And >>118 should just be a place to say hi

>>3708
You know, you're absolutely right. I just posted in the general thread because I didn't know if this was a big enough deal to make its own thread, but now I wish that I had put it all in its own place from the start. Oh well, learning experience for next time.

>>3711
S'alright, we all had enjoyed it regardless you live and you learn, as otters do

I can understand why someone might find otters scary. The pitch black eyes, the sharp fangs, and the way they prey at night... Little river monsters... Brr... (still love them though)

>>3680
Hmm, like a yokai?

>>3682
I didn't know there was an otter yokai, that's so neat! https://yokai.fandom.com/wiki/Kawauso

>>3683
>>3682
I didn't know either. Well that explains this picture that I have.

I recently started playing Sakuna: of Rice and Ruin and there's a tribe of beast people that might be based on otters? The game doesn't say outright (at least not as far as I've gotten into the game), though there's one time when someone calls one of them a "weasel" but that might have just been an insult. They look like some kind of mustelid and are described as living mostly by rivers. They're called the Ashigumo and are pretty cool, though most of the tribe was wiped out and now persists as undead specters which are definitely very spooky.

I don't know all of the answers, but I imagine it rests largely on local features. Maybe there're particular spots with enough water for otters due to rivers that surrounding areas don't have. I am also curious about the Indian and Malaysian spots though

I know their range in Norway is somewhat spotty. North of Bergen their coastal population is viable and I really wanna make a sadafari trip there to spot some. Otherwise southwards their coastal population have never made a real comeback after the acidic precipitation of earlier times. Inlands is nothing to speak of as of yet except a small populations. I really hope they make a comeback inlands as well and outcompetes the american mink

>>3536
I was looking at a map of the orca population recently, and I noticed how the population is depicted as being present around islands but not in the sea between those islands and the coasts. I wondered at the time if that was because they might just travel across deeper waters but live mostly in costal waters, but it could also be that coasts are where people are to spot orcas.

Point is, I'm wondering if some of the oddities of this map are being driven by humans being in the area to spot otters, or the population being able to identify an otter as an otter and not some other small wildlife. Otters can be sneaky after all, an otter in the underbrush at night would certainly be hard to ID.

>>3641

>Otters can be sneaky after all, an otter in the underbrush at night would certainly be hard to ID

Now this is definitely true! Otters are super sneaky, and most people aren't in tune enough with nature to pay attention to when there's an otter.
pic related

>>3522
That's a great idea! Yeah, the page is completely empty as of now apart from a link. What information do you think should be included in particular? Needs to have some solid facts of course, all about the harm it's doing to the species but also about how hard it is to keep an otter as a pet.

>>3524
I think the biggest thing we should talk about is the harm that the pet otter trade causes to wild otters. I've heard a lot of talk about how poachers kill adult otters for pelts and steal babies for being pets, so that's definitely something to talk about. I also know that there have been a couple of studies of otter cafes and how they're totally unable to care for their otters, so maybe we bring that up somehow?

>>3527
I agree, that's definitely worth mentioning. IMO it's good to keep it short and sweet and get the point across. Why don't we both think about it and write something up? Maybe we can make it into a graphic, too.

>>3528
Sounds like a plan, I'll write something up tonight

Hey, did we ever finish something?

Looks pretty cool! Otter games are definitely something the world could use more of, although I'm not a fan of dice based games (would prefer games where you can prove your ottery skills).

>>3570
Sure is and I hope it'll be more in the future

Added:

>Return of the Eurasian Otter in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Added:

>Upper Peninsula River Otter Project
>We are using snow tracking, camera traps, and DNA from harvested otters to examine the connectivity of river otter populations in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We are also interested in how this connectivity affects the otter population size and distribution of disease particularly Toxoplasma gondii.

Arcane Conservancy is currently working with Maharashtra State Forest Department and Local Communities for long-term Otter Research and Awareness Programmes in Coastal Maharashtra.

>>3637
Added!

>>3562
Does it have to be on your head?

>>3563
The Otter Safety and Health Administration agency is very clear that you do need to wear a safety helmet, but it doesn't need to be on your head. This otter is up to code!

>>3567
Well, they are the utmost authority on otter safety, I suppose that otter must be up to code!

>>1614
What's he building in there? With that hook light on the stairs...

>>3613
I don't know what he's making, but I'm sure it'll be well built, whatever it is! Everyone knows otters are brilliant, and that most likely extends to building projects too

Here's a map of all the different families' territories as of 2020

Man, this kind of stuff is cool. Nature really is amazing, and otters are the most amazing part of it.

>>2654
I remember watching something about Singapore's attempts to encourage otters to move in, and I'm glad to see it seems to be successful. Good for people, good for otters.

Apparently Zouk family is now taking over Bishan family territories with a final battle speculated to happen soon
Bishan family has become weak since they lost Bishan Mum, and Zouk has started their campaign against them
https://www.facebook.com/otterscene/videos/741591971094489/

>>3612
I had been wondering if some of the neighbors would move in after I saw news of her death. I'm interested to see how the new territory maps look after the dust settles.

>>876
Potter

Name one word that rhymes with otter? That's a tough challenge, to be sure...
Well, one word that rhymes with otter is daughter, and if I had a daughter, I'd name her Alice, so I'll give 'daughter' the name of Alice.
There, I've completed your challenge. Now, I have one of my own: Can you think of any names that rhyme with otter? They don't have to be common, mind you, so feel free to get as esoteric as you like.

>>3335
It's definitely more than archaic, but Ptolemy's full name was Ptolemy Soter, and depending on how you pronounce that, it can rhyme with otter. But I can't think of anything else right now, I'll see if any other names come to mind

>>876
Water

totter

My offering is a gif but I hope it is acceptable

I have too many lol

One more (:

One more (:

>>3580
Who's he ringing?

Speaking of older otters, I recently learned that there were once lion-sized otters! Giant otters are certainly big boys, but these otts must have really been something else!
https://www.livescience.com/lion-sized-otter-unearthed-ethiopia

>>3558
Were there also giant fish back then? It seems everything was big back then...

>>3559
I suppose that there must have been. I'm far from an expert, but if predators can get that big, it must mean that there was some hefty prey out there to be eaten.

>>3559
Apparently they mostly ate land based prey, very strange otters to not be in the water but also equally interesting to learn about. What a different world we would live in if terrestrial otters were the norm.

>>3564

>What a different world we would live in if terrestrial otters were the norm.

Definitely, but I suppose that, for the creatures living back then, that was normal. So maybe they'd see our watery otters and think we're the strange ones!

I can't get over how small and cute baby otts are!

Baby sea otters bring so much floof into our world

>>3327
It's incredible how such a small little thing turns into a real otter.

https://www.aza.org/connect-stories/stories/first-baby-otters-born-at-connecticuts-beardsley-zoo-in-more-than-a-decade
Found this on the news section, looks like we've got some new otters in Connecticut!

>>3585 Awesome! I hope they'll thrive.

Hoppy Easter everyone!

What a catch, it's not easy to catch a rabbit even as a land predator. I'm sure that otter's family was very happy that day

>>3504
It was definitely a hard fought meal, what with how quick bunnies can be, but the otter obviously came out on top! And I'm sure his family loved it, rabbit does taste good after all

>>3484
Otters can get a surprising amount of birds, from what I can tell. Here's one with another kind of bird, not sure what type

>>3515
That's awesome! Must be some kind of aquatic bird?

Here's another rabbit otter.

>>3515
And this one! From River Otter Ecology Project.

Good stuff, glad there's a reliable place to get otter news! Also, https://www.sidmouthherald.co.uk/news/otter-raids-fishpond-at-otter-garden-centre-8645440

>otter raids fishpond

You can't keep the ott out

Correction, I've set it to update daily so you'll always be up to date with otter happenings.

>>2188

>Otter Garden

And they don't even wanna let otters in? What kinda business is this?

https://www.nit.pt/fora-de-casa/na-cidade/morreu-a-lontra-marinha-mais-velha-da-europa-vivia-no-oceanario-de-lisboa
Europe's oldest sea otter died :(
Micas lived in Lisbon Oceanarium and died at age 20

News are back online!

It's a cool bug, I like the colour. What other animals have otter versions?

Cormorants! I learned that these birds are excellent swimmers, and they can dive up to 45 meters deep. How cool is that?

I had thought penguins might be otter-birds, but they're more like sea lions than otters I'd say.

>>3473

>45 meters

I wonder if they ever get the bends.

>>3449
After doing some research, they occasionally get on land in a process called hauling out. From what I can tell, they do it to get away from predators and to help warm up. Makes sense that getting on land would be warmer than the cold ocean water, and I can't think of any land predators in those regions that would target sea otters, so it seems like a good place to go and relax a bit

>>3523 Hauling out? Isn't that what it's called when seals go on land? Idk, sea otters can kinda still walk, they don't really "haul", do they?

>>3525
That's true, hauling might not be the best term. But I think it might be a general behavior applied to marine mammals, which would encompass both seals and sea otters. I'm far from an expert, this is just what I got from a quick Googling

>>3526
Oh right, so it's a marine mammal thing. I wonder if it applies to other marine mammals? Maybe just those that live in the sea a majority of the time?

>>3523
Wolves do hunt sea otters in Alaska, but they've only started doing this after all the deer disappeared.

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/in-alaska-hungry-wolves-have-started-eating-sea-otters-180981509/