Otters at Brazos Bend State Park

[DHaass]

Went to the park this morning hoping to get a spectacular sunrise and not knowing if smoke was going to be an issue. Neither one of them happened, though one could argue being able to see the sunrise was still pleasurable. Got there at 6:30am and for two hours everything was pretty much normal, other than making more long shots of critters than usual with the lower water levels.

That's when things changed. I was about 100 yards from the Observation Tower on 40 Acre Lake, working my way back from Spillway Bridge. Much to my surprise I saw 3 shapes slinking across from Pilant towards 40 Acre Lake just behind the tower. It was 3 River Otters.

I moved as fast as I could with my 500mm setup to verify what I saw and try to get a shot. Long story short...I believe this is the adult male. I saw the adult female and pup but never could get a shot of them together. They were very nervous around people and I did not want to stress them by chasing after them. It's not worth getting the shot if you stress out the subject.

They ended up in 40 Acre Lake with some very observant gators making tracks in their direction. I was just lucky enough to catch a decent shot of the male who was looking at me, as he hesitated before heading into the water. 1st shot shows the edge of Observation Tower looking south down the trail. That's where they all ended up together. I took a photo of their tracks.

The park manager Steve Killian is placing the two photos on their Facebook page. They are now up on the site. They were pretty excited I had photos. Someone else had told them about seeing the otters, but they didn't have a memory card in their camera, so they were hoping someone got some shots. If you manage to get some of the otter family please stop in at the Ranger station. Let them know where you saw them.

[MichaelW]

Nothing like being in the right spot and the right time and being prepared.
I have never seen an otter in the wild.

Good shots.

[preames]

Great find and shots Doug! I was able to get a shot of one in the water at Horseshoe Lake last year, but nothing nearly as well done as these. I just hope they stay safe with the gators watching them.

[DHaass]

Originally Posted by preames

Great find and shots Doug! I was able to get a shot of one in the water at Horseshoe Lake last year, but nothing nearly as well done as these. I just hope they stay safe with the gators watching them.

I was talking to one of the volunteers on a gator (no pun intended) a little later this morning and Horseshoe Lake is where he had seen them early this year or late last year. I have not been over to Horseshoe but he said it was pretty much dried up. That's probably why they moved over to another area. I agree about the gators. The adults are probably able to steer clear, but I'm a little concerned about the pup.

[labmansid]

Awesome catch, Doug! They don't seem to make an appearance very often. Way to go.

[houtex01]

Cudos Doug...nice photos...will have to check out the parks facebook...

Ron

[DHaass]

Thanks everyone for the comments. I went back to the park on Saturday hoping to catch lightning in a bottle twice in a row. No such luck. Only thing I spotted that I had not seen out there in my many trips were some nutria. Those oversized "rats" we can do without.

[iCe]

Awesome Doug. I would have never guessed that River Otters would be at Brazos Bend SP

I need to carve out some time to go there.

[snakesat]

Great capture. They are so much fun to observe. They recently re-introduce some river otters in the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge. They seem to be doing well and you can usually get a look at them early in the morning at several bodies of water. Thanks for posting and giving some background.

[Tim T]

Great find Doug. Very cool to see and capture photos of them. I'm always surprised that they can avoid being gator bait.

[bunnyfrogs]

How exciting! I too have never seen one of these in the wild. I love that first shot, cute face and whiskers.

[DHaass]

Thank you Michael, David, Tim and Amy. I have to say I don't regret taking a day of vacation and being able to catch something so rare.

[Stargazer77517]

What a great capture, Ive heard about these out there, but never have seen one.
2 cool Doug.

[corralup]

You know your making want to go there now! Otters are cool creatures! Your photos are super! Congrats!

[dtran]

Nice find and great capture, Doug!