I saw the mother and two pups go into this beaver lodge; waited patiently and then saw this pup come out, scat and scoot right back in. But the otters seemed to be staying in the penthouse of this beaver lodge. The under water entrance I'd seen the beavers use on the many nights I watched them was on the other side of the lodge. There were at least four beavers. And that morning I had seen a muskrat go into the beavers' side of the lodge.

Many books and articles about otters mention that otters sometimes eat beavers. These sources give the impression that otters dominate beavers to the extent that beavers will flee from otters. I've seen several beaver-otter encounters, and while I've seen some miffed beavers, I've never seen them frightened. Remember the otter I saw in June, the video clip on the first page? Lets pick up his story.

After he dove into the grasses at my feet, he scooted up to the top of the dam, and soon let me know what he thought of me. Turn the page to see that: page30