Metro River Otters ???

Some will think I’m on something, but last week, two days in a row, I saw 3, what I believe to be, river otters here in Bloomington…. Nine Mile Creek. First morning, it was pretty dark, and I assumed they were a group of small beavers…..I had seen the large, slow beaver, who had been building a dam for last week and a 1/2, about 10 minutes before…..didn’t think much of it, except I’d never seen the small ones before, and was kinda cool how sleek and fast they were when small.

Next day, there’s way more light, and here come the three “little beavers”, (that I now believe to be are river otters) coming down stream fast! Then, one proceeds to go up the bank, with other two in close pursuit….lead “otter”, has a large, brown / tan “something” in mouth….pull out binocs, it’s a fair sized fish….guessing a carp / sucker? Anyways, the two are chasing the one with fish…..looks like a circus act, complete with chattering, squealing and noises i’ve not heard before. The one with the fish heads back into water, followed again by other two, and they swim around corner, not to be seen again……I’ve been getting up early for last 4-5 days, trying to get them on camera……can’t even get the beaver to come by again. ??

Reason I’m posting……I’ve seen many a beaver, mink, weasel, muskrat and even river otters. Only place I’ve seen the otters, until now (I think) is on the Rainy River though….I did a quick search, and learn that river otters have been seen on Minnesota R. and Mississippi R. here in metro in recent years.

BUT, if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes, I’d call “B as in B, S as in S” on anyone claiming to have seen river otters in Nine Mile Creek. just throwing it out there to either confirm what I saw, or give another rational expanation that I may not have thought of……They were NOT 3 small beavers, muskrats, mink or weasels, that I am sure of.

Definitely could have been otters! They are making a comeback and can be found anywhere in the state:

DNR – Otters

I see a few every other year on a small river North of the metro.
The first time I was like that the H E double hockey stick was that.

They are very cool to watch.

Ron

I have seen Otters all over the state including Pool 2. They are the new Turkeys as far as species making a huge comeback, IMHO.

They are a blast to watch, especially if they are at the water’s edge.

I’ve also seen enough that I can distinguish their chirping noises from sounds a bird or duck would make.

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I have seen Otters all over the state including Pool 2.

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I’ve also seen enough that I can distinguish their chirping noises from sounds a bird or duck would make.

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Bird or duck ?

isn’t a duck a bird

I’ve seen otters on the MN river near Bloomington.

Yup, saw an otter right under the Wakota Bridge on Pool 2 last summer.

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isn’t a duck a bird

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Otters are really facinating creatures to watch. They are interesting and great hunters too.
Three years ago at a local small lake there was a mama and two baby otters for us to watch as we fished there.
The mama didn’t seem to be very wild, and would swim past us or one time she came over to get a bull frog that made the mistake of croaking close by us.
She took the froggie back to the kids.
Really a pleasure to watch how these creatures live.

We never saw them again after that year.
I feel blessed to have just shared a bit of how they live.

Tight lines,

Iowa Roger

A duck floats,so logically if she weighed the same as a duck she is made of wood. And therefore, a witch………………

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A duck floats,so logically if she weighed the same as a duck she is made of wood. And therefore, a witch………………

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That’s otterly ridiculous.

Not sure about MN, but they are trapping them in WI.

I’ve seen them at the Windmill Marina on the St Croix, Pool 3 and there’s been a couple at Everts in the spring.

Fascinating and odd creatures. I never see them in the same place twice. They must cover a huge territory.

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Fascinating and odd creatures. I never see them in the same place twice. They must cover a huge territory.

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Ya, was afraid of that….I’m guessing they’ve moved on. Thanks all for affirming that I was not hallucinating and I can tell others what I saw without fear of being in a straightjacket, again

Must have been Minnesota R. otters exploring. Hope to see them again, and will keep eyes peeled on the Pools from now on too.

Not necessarily. I believe that they still utilize dens.

Late winter this year saw a pair right in the boom island area of NE mpls. Was there for a week about and was sitting in my spot every time. One time it had a nice 8# catfish it was chowing down on. Once the snow melted they disappeared.

I have seen them a time or two on P-4.Spent one morning watching a pair slide down a muddy bank,playing and chirping like it was the coolest thing in the world.

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Not sure about MN, but they are trapping them in WI.

I’ve seen them at the Windmill Marina on the St Croix, Pool 3 and there’s been a couple at Everts in the spring.

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If there is water and a food source, they can be there. I have taken otter out of creeks that are 18″ wide and out of city folks garbage cans in the middle of a city