>>3115
I like to believe this was a two otter job, where the first one deliberately distracted the human so the second could execute the grab. A well planned otter heist.

>>3116 Perhaps. Or maybe the second otter just saw a good opportunity to grab that bucket. Not planned, but well executed.

>>3117
Though have to say otters seem like animals that are enough in tune with each other to plan complex things like that. They'd be able to solve problems together like (how do we steal the guy's bucket without him noticing).

>>2029
How about a bucket full of water? I believe humans call that a pool

>>3443 That would be perfect for otters.
And that pic is just the cutest!

It's better with friends and family.

>>3371 us

>>3372 as your fellow otterpal, I heartily agree!

>>1896
Those are defintely his

>>3119
This is so cool! Might pick it up as a Christmas gift to myself.

A Ring of Bright Water (1960) and its sequels are an amazing set of autobiographical novels about Gavin Maxwell and his lutrine companions.

I recommend them ONLY to the stout of heart, though (especially the latter ones), as they get exceedingly sad.

But if you're into otters (if you're not, why are you reading this thread!), reading (see my previous parentheses), and you don't mind a little sadness, definitely check out A Ring of Bright Water!

>>3379
Thanks for sharing this! How do you think the book compares to the film? I'd love to give it a read if I weren't so lazy about reading heh

>>3389
I think the movie is at least as good for otter enjoyers... perhaps better? But for someone more interesting in Maxwell (or the writing in general), the book is obviously superior. If you're lazy about reading, the movie'll probably be fine lol.

It's more for beginner otterlovers, but there are lots of good testimonials and pics of otts in this. It's by the otter specialist group! https://weloveotterscom.files.wordpress.com/2016/10/the_otter_book_definitivo_web.pdf

>>2754
>>2755
looks like one of those otter cafes, evil places.

>>3402 Nice squeaks. Did you take this anon?

>>3403
Sadly no. A friend sent it to me.

>>2757 The otters are still cute, though.

>>3278 So cool, what an amazing pair of otters! It's lovely seeing them twirl around underwater.

>>3280
I'd bet some of it is that otters check stuff out by sniffing it, and so that's the first part of the otter that touches something with snow

>>3296 That's what I thought too. You stick your nose into everything,eventually something's gonna stick back.

Otters have to work a little harder for their food in the snow but they also get to enjoy themselves playing in it, so it's a fair trade right?

>>3281

It's true, this is a big issue unfortunately. These kinds of videos lead to the impression that it's as easy to keep a pet otter as a dog or cat. It's made a big business out of poaching. Organized criminals killing otter mums and stealing their pups to sell them off. And these youtubers know this and continue, they keep their many millions of followers in the dark about this and keep up the facade. These people have more publicity than anyone in the otter conservation space could dream to have, but they're just interested in supplying cute videos for the masses. I don't watch any of these pet otter channels anymore.

I wish that I could enjoy these videos. I'll admit it, they are certainly cute, but the fact that they're so cute isn't helping the otters, because it just encourages more poachers to go out and harm wild otters. I've stopped watching them, and I wish that there was some sort of way to raise awareness about how harmful these channels are to otters, but I don't know how we could get that message out to the people that need to hear it

It's unfortunate how popular these videos are. Too many people don't know.

Just signed up, it sounds like a good time.

These otters are relatively small. An adult marine otter can reach 6 kg, where a sea otter can weigh up to 45 kg.

Another name for the marine otter is sea cat.

A very special otter indeed.

Wow, that's a bunch of cool facts! I always thought the marine otter was cool, but I didn't know all this stuff about it

>>3288 Wow, that's one small otter. Especially for a marine mammal. Doesn't make it any less otter of course.

>>2915 That's one scary otter, wouldn't wanna get in his way

>>2909
I like this otter, they look so proud of themselves. Thanks for sharing anon!

>>2547
I get it

Found this on my hard drive

>>3126
This one has a much fatter tail

>>3131
Could just be the perspective.
What otters have the thickest tails?

>>3134
I don't know about the thickest, but neotropical otters have the longest tails relative to size. It's why they're called lontra longicaudis.

>>1905
hahahaha

>>466
Otters are perfectly shaped just as they are.

>>466
I have to agree with >>467

>Otters are perfectly shaped just as they are.

In any dimension or realm, the Otter will be conformed to the Perfect Shape for that Sphere of Reality. In our 3D world, the 3D Otter represents the perfect fluidity of God-in-Motion as river-dwelling apex carnivore/Olympic cuddler.
Howeevr, if viewed in quantum space, the Otter will indeed be a very different shape: it will conform itself into the most perfect expression of God-in-Motion for that dimension.
Thus, the Otter is always perfectly adapted for maximum beuaty according to its local environment.

You get smartier just reading this thread

>>439
Otters make more sounds than just their squeaks, I've found. Even just sniffing to find out information about their environment can create otter sounds

>>3360
Those are some very curious otts! I'm always surprised at how fast otters can be on land. I expect them to be fast in water, but I forget they can just be generally speedy.

They can kinda look like big mice, I think.

>>3174

>Why do otters kind of look like seals sometimes?

More like seals look like otters!

But in all actuality, I think that it's because they're both marine animals, and thus are adapted to move best in those types of environments

Just doesn't have quite the otter energy yet.

>>2239 It's doing a good job simulating a very tired otter.

Oh no, that's so sad! I'm gonna miss Bishan Mum, she was such an important part of bringing back otters in Singapore, what with all the babies that she had. Still, at least she went in a peaceful way. :(

>>3300
She did have a lot of babies, IIRC it was over 40. She really left a great legacy

An inverted Otter is usually a sign that total relaxation is occurring

>>2312

>>2312
It can also be a sign of scratches being had

>>2355
Which itself can also be an indicator of comfort and relaxation for otts

>>2312

>An inverted Otter is usually a sign that total relaxation is occurring

Certainly, after all, it's the only way they can put their feet up.

IOSF have put together a neat little quiz about otters here. Apparently there's a prize, too, but they won't say what it is (curious!). Regardless it's a neat way to test your knowledge.

https://s.pointerpro.com/wadotterquiz

Have they named any winners yet? I myself don't really have anyone to nominate...

They've finally announced the winners:

>Photography/Artwork – Talia Rose, USA - Check out the great photo below!

<----

>Young Person - Lim Wei Hang and Haizan anak Kamarul Zaman Malaysian Nature Society, Malaysia - For their incredible knowledge, passion and help during IOSF/MNS Workshop in April.
>Group or Organisation - Chesapeake Bay Otter Alliance: Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, USA - Monitoring of North American River Otter’s on Chesapeake Bay, USA.
>Community Achievement – Krunal Trivedi, Nature Club Surat, India - Otter-community conflict management, outreach and mitigation methods.
>Research – WildTrack - Frederick Kistner, Larissa Slaney (and co-contributors Asaf Ben David , Zoe Jewell and Sky Alibhair) - For the development of technology using otter footprints to monitor populations.
>Special Award - Dr Wolfgang Gettmann , Germany - Wolfgang has been creating awareness of the problems facing otters, particularly in Germany, for many years and continues to be a passionate advocate for their conservation.

Comment too long. Click here to view the full text.

>>2495 Otter things

>>819
Here's some schlippers.

>>2514 Always good to see otter thirst being quenched

Cute otter!

>>2514 I love this vid

welcome

Hey, you guys are welcome to visit us any time. I like having visitors. Just don't post so many threads please

>>2974 €55 collected so far, not bad.

Here's some news:
UKWOT are coming out with their own magazine publication, with the first issue being available for free.
https://ukwildottertrust.org/ukwot-supporters-club-magazine

>>2974
Money has been received, and our very own supporter board is now in the making!

They've got two new young otters at the sanctuary! Hansel and Gretel were taken in as orphaned cubs a couple of weeks ago. Aren't they the cutest pair of otts you ever did see?

>>3161
Aww, they're so cute! I'm sure they're gonna be getting the best care with the UKWOT

I glad soup otters' numbers have been recovering.

>>1762
As with other otter species, it's all about habitat. The more soup for them to live in, the more soup otters.
Make soup, not war!

This is getting me in the mood for some soup

>>1763 What kinds of soup do soup otters like?

Waiter there's 500000 hairs per square inch in my soup

>>3141
Probably, otters are very wise after all, they know many things.

I'd say they are at least vaguely aware.

>tfw don't live in a country with an otter population

If I did I would look into volunteering for a charity. I'm not a vet but shit if someone 200 miles away said they found an otter cub in their garden I could pick it up for the charity.

If I had bigger balls I'd make a career out of hunting down poachers in SEA

>>2759
That makes me think. Are there any remote Otter jobs, for those of us who don't live near otters?

>>2760
Charities sometimes have volunteer openings for work in the media space, where you could work remotely editing content and stuff.

>>2759
I don't even know how one can go the poacher hunting route
how do you even get hired

>>3142
You'd have to become a ranger in one of the anti-poaching units in sub-saharan Africa. These guys are mainly focused on protecting rhinos and elephants from poachers in what's known as the Rhino War. You'll go through military-style training to fight poaching gangs and wildlife traffickers, well-funded organized criminals who have access to armored vehicles, helicopters and modern weapons, which they can pay for by smuggling ivory to Asia. You on the other hand will need to make do, you're much more restricted both by laws (can't wear camouflage in some African countries, not allowed to shoot first, etc) and your budget, which means you're getting an AK47 with two magazines. Then they send you to the African jungle where you'll patrol for several days, sleeping in a hammock and surviving off bugs on the floor.

You can join them as a volunteer, but you usually need to be at least a permanent resident of the country where they operate or else they can't give you a gun. Pic is from one of the better-known ones. I'm not aware of such units existing in the SEA region, though it would be great if we could intervene against otter poaching. Imagine if the poachers came to get the baby otters but got a bloody nose instead. Don't know what needs to happen for that to be possible, but I'm sure it is.

Masters of Bush, River, Sea, Art AND trees? Are ottes OP?

>>2912
Sometimes it seems like otters are too powerful, but in truth, they can do what they can do because they've got to do what they've got to do.

>>2912
They're also expert musicians!

>>2913
Otts've gotta ott

>>2912 That otter is making some nice abstract impressionist art.

>>2920
I bet otter art would be really valuable. They should put it up in art museums to show what true artistry is

>>2149
This is like stuff straight from my nightmares.

>>2185
How could you have a nightmare about an otter? That is just utterly ridiculous

>>2185
How could you hate this face?

(pic is from Longleat park)

>>1870
I’d love to watch some sort of movie where a bunch of different types of otters come together to help each other out

>>3059
Someone should write a new Redwall book about different otter tribes banding together.

Excellent question, and not easy to answer. I think it's the elegance and sublimity of everything they do, combined with their relaxed, curious attitude. Otters are animals that are at peace with themselves and their surroundings while at the same time dying to learn more about everything.

As has been said, this is difficult to answer exactly. Of course otters are cute, which was an initial reason for my interest in them, but as I've grown to understand more about them, the importance that they have on their ecosystem has a beauty in and of itself. And the ease that they display within their ecosystem has such a natural beauty to it. And otter never tries harder than he has to, and always has time for play and fun

>>3049
I'm fond of how sleek they look

I love their adorable faces

I also just love the way they are formed