See how easy it is surviving the cold winter? Of course, I am having a little fun taunting those of you who live south of here. In reality this is perhaps the one day of glorious sundrenched freedom with the ponds collapsing back into the fecundity of the late summer and fall. And there is another good 20 to 30 days of winter remaining. But judging from the weight of the otter on the ice, this has been an easy winter for them.

By showing how comfortable the otters are under the ice of the beaver ponds, I may be giving a misimpression. Otters do trek across the snow. Otters seem to have a compulsion to move on no matter the season, and during the winter two things happen which I think impels them to travel long distances. In late January the eggs the mother has been carrying in her body since April implant themselves inside her and begin to gestitate -- baby otters begin to take form inside her. Often in late January, otter slides that have generally been going around pond or find an easy way from one pond to the next, began to head for high ridges and can go for miles. Often I find one otter evidently being followed by two others. The mother is trying to separate from her pups. Then throughout March, I often find slides going up, around and all over. In this case the male otters are searching for mates.

The next clip is the only one in which you don't see an otter. But an otter is very much on my mind: page40