MA - lone Otter, happy camper

A two hour delay at school gave Matan and I chance to run errands and still have enough time to check the state of the ice at the power canal. A dark brown blob on the ice didn't register at first and I was far more interested in the 400 dabbling ducks flying around that had just been flushed by a Bald Eagle.....but that blob started to move and casually slinked into the water - Otter! It was submerged for what seemed like forever (it was about 0 deg F outside) but then shuffled back onto the ice giving Matan his first River Otter in the wild. Even better, it swam over to check us out..........it's Matan's favorite mammal and his face says it all!

American River Otter - Turner's Falls power canal, Franklin Co., MA. January 8th, 2015.