River Animals Eat

1. A Giant River Otter (pteronura Brasiliensis) Eating An Unidentified Fish, Brasil, Mato Grosso
2. North American River Otter: An Unlikely Apex Predator
1. What Animals Live In The Amazon River?
2. What River Animals Eat/ Que Comen Los Animales De Los Rios?: Que Comen Los Animales De Los Rios? (nature's Food Chains/ Las Cadenas Alimentarias En La Naturaleza) (spanish And English Edition): Mattern,
   1. Giant River Otter Eating Fish
3. Fascinating Facts About Otters

I can only answer this question by explaining how I got high definition video and 20+ megapixel images of a North American River Otter this past weekend.

The first key factor was, well, luck. I was kayaking in an area that’s about 30 square miles of open water. Coming across an otter in that much space is at least partially happenstance. I did however stack the deck in my own favor, to help create that luck.

I began my kayak outing early in the morning, before sunrise. Leaving before it is fully light out, makes it tricky to create many images right off, but it does give you time to make it to either good vantages or wildlife rich areas and set up as good lighting naturally arrives. With wildlife there is an added advantage to an early start. Many animals will be most active early I. The morning, late afternoon, and through the night. Wild critters are usually at their least active during the midday hours (siesta time I suppose). I’ve yet to come across river otters being active in the middle of the day.

A Giant River Otter (pteronura Brasiliensis) Eating An Unidentified Fish, Brasil, Mato Grosso

I came across the river otter as it was swimming across the bay. They can be hard to notice when they are swimming, because they are smallish animals and there isn’t much to see of them above the waterline. They are much easier to spot when there is little to know wind, and the surface of the water doesn’t have many waves or ripples. (This again plays into kayaking early in the day, before the wind has a chance to pick up.) I am also familiar with the different profiles that the more common seals present against the water, versus the otters. (It is important to know what the local animals are, and a little something about their looks and behavior.)

I have lots of images of otters swimming in open water, and while fun to look at, you only need so many swimming shots. So I kept a very discreet distance. I had a good pair of binoculars with me, and stayed 75 to 100 yards away. Otters swim large distances at a time underwater, and I watched it when it dove (the direction it was swimming in) so that I could project the likely area that it would pop to the surface in. I also did most of my paddling while it was underwater. That way it wouldn’t see me flailing along in hot pursuit and feel threatened.

When it finally approached the shore and rocks, I continued to maintain my distance, slowly drifting closer, paddling discreetly with only half my paddle- I had disassembled it just for this reason as I got with in fifty yards. I watched the otter the whole time, judging its reaction to me. If an animal seems to be nervous or overly aware of me I back off. If you scare an animal away, you’ve failed in two respects- not only have you disturbed it from its natural behavior and added stress to its life, but you’ve also lost the subject you were photographing.

North American River Otter: An Unlikely Apex Predator

As I drifted slowly closer watching it, I saw the otter climb out onto a rock. I stopped taking stills and began recording high definition video instead. (For both the video and stills I was using the longest lens I had, helping me to get close images without getting overly close to the otter.) It was as I was filming that I noticed that the otter had climbed onto the rock with a rather large fish.

Food can have a funny effect on animals. It can help distract them so that you can approach more carefully, but it can also make them more defensive which means that they will try to run away with the food or attack to chase off those that might steal it. (You can observe these varying attitudes even in dogs. I would never try to take a bone from a strange dog. It might bite.)

The fish that the otter was eating was so large, that I suspected it would not want to swim very far with it, so I approached a little more closely than I might have otherwise, as it seemed very busy with its feeding. I still gave most of my attention to how it was reacting to me. At times I would drift closer than I attended, and so with very slow, smooth motions (no jerky or fast motions, ) I would gently back my kayak away, using just the half paddle. I tried very hard not to scare the otter from its meal or to make it feel like it had to defend its meal by approaching too closely. The otter had worked too hard for that fish already.

What Animals Live In The Amazon River?

Using the rudder, slight breeze, and tidal currents, I was able to drift around the otter until it had finished the entire fish (except the head) photographing it from many angles. After the otter left, I shooed away some gulls that had been waiting for leftovers, and took a few pictures of the remains to continue on with the story. I then filmed the gulls as they descended upon the prize.

About Galen Leeds Photography Nature and wildlife photographer, exploring the world on his feet and from his kayak. Among other genres, he is one of the leading kayak photographers in Northern California. To learn more about him, visit him on his website- www..net

This entry was posted in documentary, How To, How To, kayak photography, marine life, nature photography, otters, photography, SLR, video, wildlife photography and tagged fish, how to, kayak, marine life, nature, otter, photography, Point Reyes National Seashore, river otter, video, wildlife. Bookmark the permalink.Our Privacy/Cookie Policy contains detailed information about the types of cookies & related technology on our site, and some ways to opt out. By using the site, you agree to the uses of cookies and other technology as outlined in our Policy, and to our Terms of Use.

What River Animals Eat/ Que Comen Los Animales De Los Rios?: Que Comen Los Animales De Los Rios? (nature's Food Chains/ Las Cadenas Alimentarias En La Naturaleza) (spanish And English Edition): Mattern,

River otters are cute little creatures whose antics make them all the more captivating. You could watch them for hours without stopping to wonder whether they're omnivorous or not. You've seen videos and images of otters eating clams, fish and similar seafood fare, but there's more to these little mammals' diets than the meat lover's buffet.

River otters who live in captivity, like the ones at the Oakland Zoo in California, get their meals served to them without the benefit of filling out a menu preference card. Typically zoo otters are fed between two and four times daily with fish, horse meat, boiled eggs, chicken or crayfish and a side of vegetables. At least twice each week otters in captivity are supplemented with vitamin E to help maintain healthy coats, and depending on the health of the otters, some zoos also supplement with a multivitamin.

In the wild a river otter's diet is just as varied as those kept in the zoo, although a wild otter's food leans more towards the carnivorous. A wild river otter eats fish, crayfish, amphibians and will occasionally hunt down a bird or other small animal like a muskrat, beaver or rabbit.

Giant River Otter Eating Fish

Otters usually forage for the slower-moving fish like carp or suckers, but once an otter has developed a taste for a specific species of fish, those are the ones it searches out. Even if their fish of choice is dwindling in numbers, river otters will still concentrate their efforts on finding the type of fish they crave.

River otters are social creatures who don't mind banding together to seek out a quality food source. If a few come upon a school of herring, for example, the whole group, friends and family alike, will gather to feast on the find. Nutritious and succulent fish otters crave travel in schools large enough to feed a romp of otters, so the team effort in locating those schools is an ideal arrangement.

Elle Di Jensen has been a writer and editor since 1990. She began working in the fitness industry in 1987, and her experience includes editing and publishing a workout manual. She has an extended family of pets, including special needs . Jensen attended Idaho and Boise State Universities. Her work has appeared in various print and online publications.What they look like: The River Otter is built for swimming - they have a streamlined body, short legs with webbed feet, dense fur that keeps them warm, a tapered tail, small ears, and nostrils that can close underwater. They can grow to be more than a meter long, from head to tail, and weight up to 14 kg. Males are larger in size than females (see photos).

Fascinating Facts About Otters

River Otters are mammals that are relatives of the stoats, weasels, mink, badgers and wolverines. These groups of mammals are known as Mustelids. The Mustelids all have one thing in common, they all have scent glands that they use to mark off their territory.

River Otters are found along rivers, streams, and lakes and also in estuaries, coastal bogs, and large marine waterways such as Puget Sound