> You never saw them because you haven't been down
>here at the right time. I'd guess we have 50-75
>Otters here on the refuge most of the time. They have
>done so well here. They're up and down the entire
>watershed. For the first couple of years they had
>some
>trouble learning to play in traffic, but I haven't
>heard of a road-kill in 3-4 years.
> They are truly FUN to watch. It is almost impos-
>sible not to anthropomorphise about them. It seems
>they would rather play than do anything else. I've
>never seen them, but others have told me they truly
>love harassing beaver. I know they'll allow a beaver
>to build a dam near them just to tear it down as soon
>as possible.
>On Christmas Day, we drove out that way
>and watched 4 of them playing on the ice. They were
>coming out of a hole in the ice then running and
>sliding into another hole. Then they'd swim
>underwater
>back to the first hole and repeat the whole process.
>We watched for about 15 minutes and they didn't show
>any indication of getting tired of the game.
> As far as I'm concerned, this was the best case
>of species re-introduction they've done. They're so
>damned much fun to watch even the most hardened cynic
>has to smile. From what I gather, they don't have any
>traits that would upset landowners in the area.
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