Otter?

nature article Earl Plato

Beaver Creek? I traced the route of this little stream on my topographical map. It crossed House Road at Paonessa’s ranch complex. I followed its path until it reached Black Creek which flows into the Niagara River. What am I getting at? I am trying to make a case for the River Otter (Lutra canadensis) being in Greater Fort Erie. My proof is very limited so feel free to question me.
In 1988 wife, Elaine, and I pulled over on the Niagara Parkway. We had seen a strange sight. Some mallards and a few black ducks were about a hundred feet out on the river. There was a movement among them. A long narrow animal with a long slim tail was swimming among the ducks. It would dive, emerge, roll over and dive again. I said, “It’s probably a muskrat.” But was it. It did not move on but seemed to enjoy being surrounded by the ducks. Unusual behaviour? If you have seen the antics of an otter this behaviour was usual.
Remember we were up river from Black Creek. Enter Black Creek and head upstream until you reach the little tributary, Beaver Creek. The years passed. I received a call from Carol House who lives across the road from the Paonessas. “Earl, my neighbour Diane Paonessa believes that she seen the tracks of an Otter along their stream (Beaver Creek).”
Otters prefer water habitats. They travel overland to hunt small rodents and move to other areas of water for fishing. Was an otter here? Quite possibly.
Diane had taken some winter snapshots. The otter track is unmistakable. They have adapted to snow travel by combining bounding and sliding. What a sight to see this animal taking three or four bounds then sliding from five to fifteen feet. The slide resembles a pattern as if some one has pulled a small toy toboggan over the snow. My Peterson guide book shows a couple of prints a slide mark ending with a couple of prints.
Otters usually slide down slopes. The Stokes book, Nature in Winter, tells us they may even slide up a slight incline by pushing with their hind feet.
Apparently the Otter at Paonessas did not stay long. It hasn’t been seen since as far as I know.
When fishing in water, Otters keep a hole or two open in frozen lakes and rivers. They dive into a hole and chase the slower fish into shore where they catch then in their mouths. There aren’t many fish in Beaver Creek at least at House Road for a hungry Otter. So he moved on.
Otters use dens for winter protection. We read that some of these dens may be up to 500 feet from water usually in the bank of a stream. Beaver Creek? Say, what’s the origin of the name, Beaver? Remember Otters and Beavers are compatible. Historically there’s a case for Otters in the area.
I checked the WEB and found 13 species of Otters worldwide. There is an International Otter Survival Fund (IOSF) and a rehabilitation centre on the Isle of Skye, Scotland. They report that 95% of the European Otters are gone. That leaves 5 %!
See any otters lately in the Niagara area?.
Flash! Here on February 2, 1999 I received a call from Stephanie at 9:30 p.m. She was an excited young lady. She had seen on least teo occasions s week apart a River Otter playing and sliding near the mouth of a creek flowing into the Niagara River. She checked the Internet and compared it with what she had seen. This long slim animal was black with some white under the neck. Stephanie took several photos. She said, “It was friendly and I was able to move very close to it. I’ll send you some pictures. They turned out quite well.”
I received four great closeup prints ftom Stephanie on February 8th. As she said, “I was so close to the otter.” The photos show so clearly our River Otter.