Colorado Otter's

[tamrock]

Along the Dolores river I stopped to take in the sights and way down below in the canyon I spot some River Otters just going about their business in the muddy waters. It was quite a treat to get a couple pictures of them. In the 1st picture is where I spotted them with the red arrow where they were way down below just being Otter's. I had to go with max zoom on this little tourist cam in order to get a somewhat decent capture of these very elusive little guys. Good thing they didn't know they were being watched or they'd a just submerged under that muddy water and gone out a sight. Moments like this make me want one of those high-end SLR's with one of those mini Hubble telescopic lenses. Maybe someday when I got a spare 6 grand laying around and nothing else to spend it on I'll get one.

 

[ronwoodcraft]

Awesome, those are one of my favorite critters!! You did great capturing them!......Looks like the sun was out. When I see them it's usually, cloudy, raining, or just plain not enough light.

 

[Old Dude]

I don't think I have ever seen otters in the wild. Thanks for letting me see them as they really are.

 

[tamrock]

Awesome, tose are one of my favorite critters!! You did great capturing them!......Looks like the sun was out. When I see them it's usually, cloudy, raining, or just plain not enough light.

The clouds were just clearing. They were sure in and out of that murky water. I've only heard they could be found in the Colorado River and this river runs into the Colorado and is nothing like a river in the North Western States. This is the desert country of the Colorado Plateau They slither along like snakes in the water. At first I thought they were some big carp. I've only seen sea otters before in the wild.

 

[austin]

I love otters. Used to spend hours watching the sea otters in California These look to be well fed and they are beautiful. Wish we had them here, besides at Seaworld...

 

[tamrock]

I text pictures to my wife and she replied Ew, are you sure those aren't big rats. She's a real rodentaphob. She'll literally ask me to get off the road and come home when there's a mouse in the house. The cat just kills them and leaves them on the floor. She's somewhat ok to sweep them up in a dust pan and dump them out.

 

[ronwoodcraft]

I text pictures to my wife and she replied Ew, are you sure those aren't big rats. She's a real rodentaphob. She'll literally ask me to get off the road and come home when there's a mouse in the house. The cat just kills them and leaves them on the floor. She's somewhat ok to sweep them up in a dust pan and dump them out.

 

[worldtalker]

They can clean a pond of fish quite fast too!

GOD Bless

Chris

 

[Jim in Idaho]

Good job on the pics, Tam. I've seen otters in Idaho, but had no idea they were that far south. I'll bet they have atough time catching fish in that murky water.
Jim

 

[rginn]

Lucky you! They have a few in the Blue River over around Silverthorne but they're hard to spot. I think they migrated here from where DOW reintroduced them. They probably already know about the ones you got to see, but DOW likes to get reports when they're spotted in other parts of the state.

 

[tamrock]

I did fill out a sighting report form on line. I doubt I'd a slotted them if the river was clear, as they stood out when they surfaced in that muddy water. Look for their tracks along the Blue.

 

[packerbacker]

I see them quite often in Shasta Lake near Redding, CA. And worldtalker, you are spot on about them eating plenty of fish. I saw a guy that was on a houseboat tied up to the dock one night. I could tell he was tugging on something and I heard a lot of splashing. He was trying to get his stringer of fish back from the otters. I've also seen them open lids on minnow buckets that were wired closed to keep them out. They just bend back the lid and party down. Very smart critters!!

 

[Digzit2]

They are very rare in my neck of the woods...I have been trying to spot one for years.Thanks for shareing.

 

[worldtalker]

I see them quite often in Shasta Lake near Redding, CA. And worldtalker, you are spot on about them eating plenty of fish. I saw a guy that was on a houseboat tied up to the dock one night. I could tell he was tugging on something and I heard a lot of splashing. He was trying to get his stringer of fish back from the otters. I've also seen them open lids on minnow buckets that were wired closed to keep them out. They just bend back the lid and party down. Very smart critters!!

I knew a guy when I lived in the Great Smoky Mountains that had His ponds cleaned by em.

 

[tamrock]

I got reply from the Colorado Otter folks on my sighting report. Also I'll post a few more pictures I took that day. Maybe next I'll spot the Wolf's that have been rumored to have entered the state of Colorado from Wyoming.

Grant,

Thank you for reporting your river otter sighting on the Dolores River and for sharing your great photos. I have entered your observation in the Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s river otter tracking database, a follow up to the state’s reintroduction program.



We appreciated hearing from you. Please let us know if you see otters in Colorado again and if possible, again, please take photos as those are helpful to us for our conservation efforts.

Tracy Johnston

Colorado Parks and Wildlife River Otter Project

 

[trapperart]

Very nice, we have many otters here

 

[Old Dude]

Congrats on being a part of the monitoring program. Now I guess I need to look into seeing if I need to inform someone about what I believe I saw today. Great pics!