We were recently standing downstream by the river. We were close to the bank, at a point where there is a rock about a foot from the bank-side, leaving a narrow channel of fast running water. We were suddenly aware of movement in the water by our feet. I shouted something like “What? It’s huge!” Thinking that it was possibly a fish. It was, of course, an otter, following it’s normal fishing pattern of twisting around rocks and other obstructions to surprise any fish resting next to it. The otter surfaced about six feet away from us and turned towards us to find out where the excited gasps and snorts were coming from. It thought “Oh ******, humans!”, dived and disappeared upstream.
We were aware that otters live in the river, and leave trails in the winter snow, but to actually see one – so close! Absolute magic!!
