I submit to you that this is not a timid otter. Now to back track a bit. The dam I was standing on is part of my regular route as I tour the ponds. For a week or so I had been seeing a solitary beaver lurking around the dam in the middle of the day

which is somewhat unbeaver like, especially in late May and June. It's more common when beavers are vying for control of a pond, but the colony in this pond was quite stable, and usually only came out at late dusk and went back into the lodge well before I usually get out to the ponds. And so the day I encountered the otter, I had already noticed the beaver lurking by the dam. I had also been seeing otter signs for the past few days, and forming in my mind was a theory that a beaver out in a pond during the day might be a sign that otters are around. Now, see what happens when the beaver and otter meet. Turn the page: page31