I live in a marina on Hood Canal and share the harbor with an otter family.
They share a lot of family time in the water and out. Sometimes five or six heads pop to the surface in a small area, making them look like a multi headed creature.
Sometimes they're brazen, like the time two stood their ground on the dock a few feet away while consuming flounder tail first, the fish still alive and watching the blue sky, for the first and last time.
Their teeth, usually hidden, resemble the curving fangs of a saber tooth tiger. Fortunately they don't bite that I'm aware of.
They are opportunists, and will move onto a boat covered for the winter if they have access. Otters eat, spraint, ! and give birth all in the same space. No need to elaborate on that.
They also might have a sense of humor, of sorts. On a large dock with all kinds of space they choose to defecate on the cleated boat lines.
I live on an island and suffer from otter wars. My boat is docked on the island and is too often visited by The Island Otter Tribe leaving spraint and anal jelly. When in town The Town tribe of otters retaliate and fight back leaving their droppings. My boat becomes a moving battleground.
A friend, a biologist who raised an otter pup recommended urinal pucks near the cleats and in the boat and an absorbent sacrificial small rug that holds the odour placed in a strategic location on the dock.
I can attest what does NOT repel otters on a boat at the dock:
- bleach
- smelly disinfectants
- Comet or other cleaning powders
- essence of orange
- noise makers
- strips of flashing ribbons
- wolf urine ( I have no idea how it is collected)
- motion detector lights
And what really works well is my Otter Defence System—a piece of plywood 1ft high by 3ft placed where my top canvas door is to prevent entry and cord tied to my cover zippers that are tied to boat cleats so the zippers cannot be pushed up. And instead of snaps in vulnerable places, I had then changed to the twist type so the canvas cannot be forced apart. And a tarp that covers the top.
Thanks for the comment on the origin of "espresso." My Italian friends agree. One of my pet peeves is to hear it as "expresso." My Italian friends and I also cringe when they hear pasta called "noodles," as in "the spaghetti noodles are ready."
I've spent some time collecting and sorting through otter scat along the Sammamish River looking for (and finding!) kokanee otoliths. Thanks for giving me a proper name for otter scat to use when I share my unsavory exploits with my family over dinner.
I live in a marina on Hood Canal and share the harbor with an otter family.
They share a lot of family time in the water and out. Sometimes five or six heads pop to the surface in a small area, making them look like a multi headed creature.
Sometimes they're brazen, like the time two stood their ground on the dock a few feet away while consuming flounder tail first, the fish still alive and watching the blue sky, for the first and last time.
Their teeth, usually hidden, resemble the curving fangs of a saber tooth tiger. Fortunately they don't bite that I'm aware of.
They are opportunists, and will move onto a boat covered for the winter if they have access. Otters eat, spraint, ! and give birth all in the same space. No need to elaborate on that.
They also might have a sense of humor, of sorts. On a large dock with all kinds of space they choose to defecate on the cleated boat lines.
I live on an island and suffer from otter wars. My boat is docked on the island and is too often visited by The Island Otter Tribe leaving spraint and anal jelly. When in town The Town tribe of otters retaliate and fight back leaving their droppings. My boat becomes a moving battleground.
A friend, a biologist who raised an otter pup recommended urinal pucks near the cleats and in the boat and an absorbent sacrificial small rug that holds the odour placed in a strategic location on the dock.
I can attest what does NOT repel otters on a boat at the dock:
- bleach
- smelly disinfectants
- Comet or other cleaning powders
- essence of orange
- noise makers
- strips of flashing ribbons
- wolf urine ( I have no idea how it is collected)
- motion detector lights
And what really works well is my Otter Defence System—a piece of plywood 1ft high by 3ft placed where my top canvas door is to prevent entry and cord tied to my cover zippers that are tied to boat cleats so the zippers cannot be pushed up. And instead of snaps in vulnerable places, I had then changed to the twist type so the canvas cannot be forced apart. And a tarp that covers the top.
Thanks for the comment on the origin of "espresso." My Italian friends agree. One of my pet peeves is to hear it as "expresso." My Italian friends and I also cringe when they hear pasta called "noodles," as in "the spaghetti noodles are ready."
“... his fumes (excrements) tredeles or spraints.” Curious!!
I did not know there were otters in Lake Washington! Just thinking I might see one makes the lake more beautiful.
I've spent some time collecting and sorting through otter scat along the Sammamish River looking for (and finding!) kokanee otoliths. Thanks for giving me a proper name for otter scat to use when I share my unsavory exploits with my family over dinner.