Outdoor Ontario
Off Topic => Anything Goes => Topic started by: Bird Brain on January 28, 2024, 11:37:53 AM
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This week on Thursday it was Moose Day. Lots of photos online from Algonquin Park. This is the only place I've ever seen moose (adults and young) about 20 years ago! Has anyone else ever seen moose? They are huge! 8)
On Friday, a beaver was sighted somewhere in Toronto by Lake Ontario collecting branches. Apparently this was shown on CP24. So, of course everyone wants to go see the animal! I wish people would leave him alone and news stations wouldn't identify the location. Let the guy be to build his dam! ???
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Has anyone seen a moose? That's not a routine question, is it? But it got me thinking about how disconnected most of us are with what is one of the most iconic animals of Ontario, along with the beaver and the lynx. Why is this incongruous situation not more alarming. Almost no one will see a 'live' moose in their lifetime. Most of us will never see a lynx either, but its secretive nature and ghost-like reputation makes never seeing one much more tolerable. I don't believe I have seen a living moose. I've eaten moose but it was bereft of life. Steaks and roasts butchered from a hind quarter, my father's share of a hunt kill many decades ago. The moose was swiftly sectioned in the bush while surrounded by mosquitoes that gave urgency to the task. Each member of the hunting party took their section home for further butchering and then into the freezer. My parents must have purchased a freezer for that very purpose even though I don't recall ever seeing one. On the other hand, beavers are everywhere there is water. I regularly see one in the Rouge. A moose and beaver walk into a pub and sit on wooden stools right in front of the bar counter. The moose has some difficulty finding room for its hind legs but is suitably ensconced by the time the drinks arrive, at which time the bar stool collapses and the moose falls on the sticky floor. The beaver just grins. The moose cursed ... damn beavers.
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. Almost no one will see a 'live' moose in their lifetime. Most of us will never see a lynx either, . On the other hand, beavers are everywhere there is water. I regularly see one in the Rouge.
I have never seen a lynx but have seen lots of beavers and muskrats. Bison at High Park zoo in Toronto.
Also, have never seen a Pine Marten before - apparently they are up at Algonquin Park as well. Have you ever seen one of these?
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No, I have never seen a Pine marten. Algonquin Park is likely the only place that one might see one but they are usually hunting very early in the morning or just before dark in very remote country, thereby making them as elusive as the Lynx and Bobcat. I have not been to the park in at least 30 - 35 years and even then it was a short visit. AP is just too far away for a casual or regular visit, requiring a lot of travel time, fuel expenditure and the need for expensive accommodations, which would probably need to be booked online and in advance, all preparations that I would be unwilling to accept. I would also imagine that these days the park would be too busy with tourists when compared to what it was like decades ago. Everything is now busier that it used to be. I can walk outside and down the driveway to the curb here on a residential street and count to ten and a car will almost certainly drive by. That didn't even happen on a main thoroughfare 40 years ago.
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Pine marten. Algonquin Park is likely the only place that one might see one
I've seen a few recent photos online of Pine Marten by Mew Lake garbage bins. One photo shows a Pine Marten with a pepperoni circle in his mouth. Reminds me of the rat in New York City running with a pizza slice. Apparently that video went viral and now there's a man charging $50 per person to take people around the city to see rats!
::)
even then it was a short visit.
Same here, just cutting through but did stop at the Visitor Centre.
these days the park would be too busy with tourists
It would be nice to visit again but I'm not a fan of crowds.
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I drive regularly in Northern Ontario and see roughly one moose per year on average. I have seen a mother and calf once. These are mostly just quick sightings off the side of the road, though the mother and calf were crossing (fortunately I was on a gravel side road and going slowly).
If you really want to see moose, go to Newfoundland. On our last trip, we saw 11, including 9 in one day and 5 in one camera field. There was a huge bull adjacent to the parking lot at L'Anse Aux Meadows that was munching away just a few feet from us.
We saw a pine marten in Algonquin Park a couple of years ago. It was very tame, initially sitting on a branch beside the parking lot for a trail and then later puttering around the parked cars, looking for morsels.
Of the larger Canadian land mammals, I have not seen a cougar, lynx, polar bear, grizzly bear, musk oxen, wolf, wolverine, fisher, Dall's sheep, pronghorn antelope, and mountain goat (seen the last two in the U.S.).
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I saw moose and calves a few times in Algonquin Park and also near Thunder Bay.
They are active at dawn and dusk.
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I drive regularly in Northern Ontario
Do you ever see Black-billed Magpie? I was really shocked to find out there's currently one in London at a landfill site. I've heard of them being in Northern Ontario - eg. Thunder Bay and Kenora. I saw one in August 1986 when visiting Edmonton.
If you really want to see moose, go to Newfoundland. On our last trip, we saw 11, including 9 in one day and 5 in one camera field. There was a huge bull adjacent to the parking lot at L'Anse Aux Meadows that was munching away just a few feet from us.
Wow, that is really thrilling! I've always wanted to visit Newfoundland to see Atlantic Puffin. I will now definitely add moose to the list!
We saw a pine marten in Algonquin Park a couple of years ago. It was very tame, initially sitting on a branch beside the parking lot for a trail and then later puttering around the parked cars, looking for morsels.
They are very cute looking.
Of the larger Canadian land mammals, I have not seen a cougar, lynx, polar bear, grizzly bear, musk oxen, wolf, wolverine, fisher, Dall's sheep, pronghorn antelope, and mountain goat (seen the last two in the U.S.).
I haven't seen those either in the wild but a few at Toronto Zoo - eg. Polar Bear. My parents had a cottage in Torrance back in the mid to late 1980's and a black bear broke into a neighbor's garbage bin. I never saw the bear but saw the damage. The MNR had to set up a trap and caught the bear. One night I heard an odd sound - apparently it was from a moose.
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I saw moose and calves a few times in Algonquin Park and also near Thunder Bay.
They are active at dawn and dusk.
Wonderful sightings and photo! :)
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Never saw a black-billed magpie in northern Ontario. That would be cool.
In addition to puffins and moose, Newfoundland is great for other seabirds. If you go on a boat tour in Witless Bay, you will see see lots of murres (common and thick-billed), razorbills. Cape St. Mary's is a real highlight in the summer, with a northern gannet colony just a stone's throw from where you can perch (plus lots of nesting black-legged kittiwakes).
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Murray Shields does several trips to Algonquin Park ,as well a Amherst Island for owls each winter.
Here are details for latest one which is booked up, but sure he will do another in next month
https://www.meetup.com/toronto-nature-lovers/events/298716723/
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black-billed magpie
One of my birding friends lives in Edmonton, has sent me photos of these birds visiting his backyard feeders, walks at Beaumaris Lake and Bison from Elk Island hikes. Wow! Alberta is so beautiful and scenic. I would love to visit Alberta again, Banff was truly stunning,! :D
In addition to puffins and moose, Newfoundland is great for other seabirds.
It's always great getting away somewhere to see different birds and wildlife. The Newfoundland seabirds you've listed sound excellent!
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Murray Shields does several trips to Algonquin Park ,as well a Amherst Island for owls each winter.
Thank You for this information! I've never visited Amherst Island before.
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This week on Thursday it was Moose Day. Lots of photos online from Algonquin Park. This is the only place I've ever seen moose (adults and young) about 20 years ago! Has anyone else ever seen moose? They are huge! 8)
???
Bird Brain! I From 1988 to 2016 we traveled from the GTA to the wife's parents house at Niobe lake or
Atikokan 10km from Quetico park entry. We saw Moose very often during our drives. We had a Wolf and a Black Bear cross the road in front of us on Hwy 11 North of North Bay during the early morning.
We were pushing the limits of night safety on the way home North of NB on Hwy 11 in Aug 2016 when the wifey said "MOOSE"I saw 2 sets of Red eyes taller than the truck. (SUV) they crossed the road behind us and the vehicles that were behind us vanished.
I will not drive at night North of North Bay on 11 or 17 or Parry Sound on 69, it is just to dangerous.
Napper:)
ps. Ideal July trip is Leave at 12-2 am from home or Cottage North on Hwy11 all the way to Nipigon to 11/17 then 102 to 11 depending on speed and dog 16.5 hours to 18.5.
Crazy Brother in law Does kakabeka to Midland in 14.5 Hrs with Gramma in the car :o .
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This week on Thursday it was Moose Day. Lots of photos online from Algonquin Park. This is the only place I've ever seen moose (adults and young) about 20 years ago! Has anyone else ever seen moose? They are huge!
We saw Moose very often during our drives. We had a Wolf and a Black Bear cross the road in front of us.
Cool! 8) . Algonquin Park used to do public wolf howls. I remember leaving North Bay very early in the morning, heavy fog on way to Sudbury, seeing signs for Moose crossings and feeling really nervous! No animals or any vehicles though and saw 2 Sandhill Cranes in a farm field just South of Sudbury.
Crazy Brother in law Does kakabeka to Midland in 14.5 Hrs with Gramma in the car :o .
;D This makes me think about the movie National Lampoon's Vacation and Aunt Edna dying on the road trip then her wrapped up body tied to roof of the station wagon!
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Napper, when I read your comments in light of the trend toward remembrances of years past, I started to recall a Monty Python skit where each aging member of a group was recounting the trials and tribulations of their youth, in particular how tough it was growing up in poverty. "We lived in a shack" / "Well, at least you had a roof cuz we lived in a burned-out shell of a shack" / Well, we lived in a cardboard box" / "At least you had a box". While remaining peripherally metaphorical to this thread about trips up north, seeing moose, travelling long distances, etc ... the trend seems to be headed into one-upmanship, which is great and definitely entertaining. I can't wait for the next sensational instalment.
Back in the 1860's, no, wait, it only seems that long ago, it was actually in the early to mid 1960's that my father, a friend of his and your truly were headed up north in one of those massive 8-cylinder cars that floats like a boat in search of a border to cross when we barrelled down the highway at dusk and managed to identify a black bear in the middle of the lane. It didn't appear that relocating off the roadway was its primary objective so we notified Houston and did a controlled retro burn to brake the ship to a crawl. The bear eventually did move so it wasn't taking a dump. It sidled upside the ship and tried to look into the window. We slowly throttled away at a crawl and reduced our speed for a while. But only for a while. The throttle and the metal were magnetic, or so I was told. That occurred on the first day of the trip. We started early in the morning from Toronto and by day's end we stopped just outside Kenora ... 1,056 miles in one day. If you do the math it sounds impossible and yet it happened. Admittedly it was a long day and travelling at 85 mph (136 kph) can translate one across a good chunk of territory. There may have been moose nearby but were blurred into insignificance. How did we manage to make it through the 60's with such a weight of stupidity onboard? Maybe it wasn't stupidity, but desperation. There was no drinking involved. We were not that stupid and I would have been underage anyway. It's just that we had to make it Vancouver and two and a half days. We made it! End of day two was Golden, B.C. Then half a day to Vancouver. We got there and the store was closed. Houston, we have another problem.
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We had a Wolf and a Black Bear cross the road in front of us on Hwy 11 North of North Bay during the early morning.
We were pushing the limits of night safety on the way home North of NB on Hwy 11 in Aug 2016 when the wifey said "MOOSE"I saw 2 sets of Red eyes taller than the truck. (SUV) they crossed the road behind us and the vehicles that were behind us vanished.
I will not drive at night North of North Bay on 11 or 17 or Parry Sound on 69, it is just to dangerous.
Napper:)
It is precisely Highway 11 heading north from North Bay that I drive on. I have done it at night over many years. There was one close call where I was blinded by oncoming headlights and saw a moose sauntering towards me on the shoulder at the last second (given that I was going 100 km/h). Fortunately it stayed on the shoulder.
Never saw a wolf on this stretch of highway, despite nearly 25 years of driving it.
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It's fairly easy to spot beavers. I saw them in High Park, CSSP and Tommy Thompson Park.
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It's fairly easy to spot beavers. I saw them in High Park, CSSP and Tommy Thompson Park.
Yes. :) I've seen them in parks in Toronto, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Rockwood, Hamilton and even got to hold one at Science North in Sudbury! 8) That was a really thrilling experience!
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We had a Wolf and a Black Bear cross the road in front of us on Hwy 11 North of North Bay during the early morning.
We were pushing the limits of night safety on the way home North of NB on Hwy 11 in Aug 2016 when the wifey said "MOOSE"I saw 2 sets of Red eyes taller than the truck. (SUV) they crossed the road behind us and the vehicles that were behind us vanished.
I will not drive at night North of North Bay on 11 or 17 or Parry Sound on 69, it is just to dangerous.
Napper:)
It is precisely Highway 11 heading north from North Bay that I drive on. I have done it at night over many years. There was one close call where I was blinded by oncoming headlights and saw a moose sauntering towards me on the shoulder at the last second (given that I was going 100 km/h). Fortunately it stayed on the shoulder.
Dr. John - that's a really scary and dangerous situation. Thank Goodness the moose stayed on the shoulder!
Many years ago driving through New York State on way to Brooklyn for cousin's wedding, dozens of dead deer everywhere! :( :o
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Monty Python
I first watched Monty Python when I was 9 years old. My favourite was Eric Idle. Didn't realize how brilliant John Cleese is until watching Fawlty Towers especially episode The Germans - moose head from Canada! A friend of mine was on a flight with Michael Palin - apparently he is very friendly, talkative and was joking around making all the passengers laugh! My favourite Monty Python skit Upper Class Twit of the Year! ;D
taking a dump.
Do black bears 💩 in the woods? Ha Ha!
Golden, B.C.
I was on a Greyhound bus which stopped at Dairy Queen in Golden, B,C. I was really happy the Oreo Blizzard was only $2. Back in Etobicoke it was $3.
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Agreed then, moose are hard to find except in Newfoundland where they congregate in numbers large enough to require traffic control measures. Beavers are near ubiquitous near water nearly all the time. If an moose and a beaver walk into a bar you can immediately tell them apart. The moose is splayed-out on the floor and the beaver has a bar stool leg in its mouth, no problem.
Let's say your in one of our golden parks where the glow of the late-day sky is reflected in the pond and you see a rodent unzipping the still water's surface. Is it a beaver, or is it a muskrat? How do you distinguish a beaver from a muskrat while they are swimming? Bear with me, I hate to see this thread end. No, there is not a bear with me right now, I'm completely without escort at the moment. A recalcitrant bear in the middle of a highway was quite enough for me, for life.
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moose are hard to find except in Newfoundland where they congregate in numbers large enough to require traffic control measures.
Sort of like Square One Shopping Mall at Christmas time with police directing traffic from the streets and by the parking lots.
Speaking of which, guess where the first case of parking lot rage ever happened in Canada? Yep, right here at this crazy mall in downtown "Misery"sauga! :o
Does this happen in Pickering and other cities? Does this happen at West Edmonton Mall?
you see a rodent unzipping the still water's surface. Is it a beaver, or is it a muskrat? How do you distinguish a beaver from a muskrat while they are swimming?
Look for the tail! Sometimes can't really tell for sure until the critter exits the water.
A recalcitrant bear in the middle of a highway was quite enough for me, for life.
You certainly had an up close and personal experience with that black bear!
I'm happy that I created this thread. Lots of responses and trips down memory lane! :)
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The way I see it, after a certain age memory lane extends backwards in and out of the sun, around and under the trees, occasionally flirts with littoral boundaries ... in other words, there was a lot going on there. When you continue walking along memory lane you can see the end just ahead littered with garbage cans and medical refuse. The clouds are low and dark as if a storm was brewing and you are thinking I'm not sure I should any farther down this lane but your feet just keep going as if propelled by some unseen force. Sort of like if you were driving a modern car with online connectivity that suddenly gets hacked and hijacked and you are no longer in control of the wheel, the brakes, the accelerator, the radio (what, a radio, how did that get here). The door are locked too! OMG, I can't remember what I was texting about. Couldn't have been important.
You are quite right Joanne, a beaver's tail is unique and a muskrats tail is ... well, it rat-like. The thing is, if they are swimming can you really see the tail. It's been my experience that beyond the shear size difference ( beaver weighs ten times as much as a muskrat) there are a few other differences that might be visible when these rodents are seen swimming.
The beaver swims with nothing much below its head visible above water level. The nuchal area (back of the head) and cervical part of the back is generally all you will see, the rest of the beaver and its tail are submerged. A much lighter-weight muskrat swims with a substantial amount of its back visible above the water. Even that rat-like tail may appear all snake-like from side to side. Also, if a muskrat is swimming in a pond and it sees you standing on the bank with your hands on your hips like aunt Clara, or uncle Fester it will steer away from you and rethink its route of navigation. A beaver, on the other hand, will not alter its course. It will quite likely ignore you and perhaps give you a submerged finger.
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-s92mJxD/0/a46de8e5/M/Muskrat%2Cswimming%2C2-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-s92mJxD/A)
Swimming muskrat with back and tail visible
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-V4HbzWb/0/50fa6409/M/Muskrat%2Cfar%2C2%2Ccrop-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-V4HbzWb/A)
Swimming muskrat with rump visible
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-LHqdSd6/0/2695e0c7/M/Muskrat%20vs%20Beaver%2CLR%20copy-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-LHqdSd6/A)
Muskrat with good portion of back visible
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-pn3fnTT/0/c4b9ee59/M/Beaver%20vs%20Musrat%2Ccrop-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-pn3fnTT/A)
Beaver with head and neck above water
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-pCBWmHp/0/8eda6a14/M/Muskrat%20head%20profile%2Ccrop-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-pCBWmHp/A)
Muskrat with notable white snout
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-973Mkjr/0/0cd5b8d1/M/Beaver%2Chead%2Cprofile-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-973Mkjr/A)
Beaver with bullish head and no real off-white snout
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after a certain age memory lane extends backwards ... in other words, there was a lot going on
At the moment, I'm Older Than Dirt (aka 50-something). Cripes! :o
The radio (what, a radio, how did that get here).
How about an 8-track? Ha Ha Now that's going way back! I can still remember the sound it made when the songs would change.
a beaver's tail is unique and a muskrats tail is ... well, it rat-like.
Even that rat-like tail may appear all snake-like from side to side.
I saw this at Rattray Marsh here in Mississauga way back in the mid-90's. Standing on the wooden boardwalk looking down at the creek - water was fairly low and clear, along comes a Muskrat with that exact same tail behavior you described!
A beaver, on the other hand, will not alter its course. It will quite likely ignore you and perhaps give you a submerged finger.
;D Yes - and give you the "side eye"! Saw this at the Rockwood Conservation Area in the late 90's, critter climbed out of the Eramosa River, was a Beaver and I got "the look"!
Great photos, the critters are very cute! :) Interesting and educational write-ups below each photo as well. Thank You!
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-s92mJxD/0/a46de8e5/M/Muskrat%2Cswimming%2C2-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-s92mJxD/A)
Swimming muskrat with back and tail visible
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-V4HbzWb/0/50fa6409/M/Muskrat%2Cfar%2C2%2Ccrop-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-V4HbzWb/A)
Swimming muskrat with rump visible
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-LHqdSd6/0/2695e0c7/M/Muskrat%20vs%20Beaver%2CLR%20copy-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-LHqdSd6/A)
Muskrat with good portion of back visible
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-pn3fnTT/0/c4b9ee59/M/Beaver%20vs%20Musrat%2Ccrop-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-pn3fnTT/A)
Beaver with head and neck above water
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-pCBWmHp/0/8eda6a14/M/Muskrat%20head%20profile%2Ccrop-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-pCBWmHp/A)
Muskrat with notable white snout
(https://photos.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-973Mkjr/0/0cd5b8d1/M/Beaver%2Chead%2Cprofile-M.png) (https://steinphotography.smugmug.com/Outdoor-Ontarioorg/i-973Mkjr/A)
Beaver with bullish head and no real off-white snout
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Every seen an Otter? No, not the airplane! A real river Otter.
Mid 2000's we were at the Outlaws lake house at Niobe lake and had two Otters run across the water's edge late July.
This place is very close to the French Lake entry to Quetico by road but also had water access thru the lakes and and creeks.
We did a lot of fishing in the area.
Napper
No they were not Mink....
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Maybe it was two mink in an otter suit. Maybe it was a device, an RC otter made by the guys that designed and built one of the sharks used in the late sequel Jaws films that was never released. I think they were brothers. One was Samuel, who was the animatronics salesman. The otter brother was the designer.
Yes, I've seen two otters here in the city, although that was way back in 2013. I had just been gifted my DSLR and therefore only had the 18mm-135mm kit lens. I wasn't yet that familiar with the camera but felt compelled to visit a local backwater. No, not that one, the otter one. I scrolled through the menu and discovered a red button labelled 'otter' so I pushed it even though it had a warning on it. Within minutes there was a swell travelling quickly across the water that left a trailing wake. The music turned ominous. The bow wave of the rapidly moving swell meandered around the pond heading straight toward me. The violins were really strident now! I checked the menu in haste just to make sure I didn't push the alligator button by mistake. No, I didn't, that button was blue. Almost immediately a head emerged and broke the surface swell just as I broke wind. Nerves, I guess. It had a slick head, well-rounded with tiny ears and whiskers. It looked a little like my neighbour but she wears glasses. Then a second swell appeared and broke the surface ... a second head, like the first but in second place ... you know, silver metal. They were meters apart so I knew the heads were not connected. It was like a dream ... two otters ... one Canon ... me ... shortsighted at 135mm ... I felt reborn. You know the rest.
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We saw an otter in the Don River a couple of years ago, a little north of the pedestrian bridge to Riverdale Park. It was on a rock and then we followed it swimming for a while. My friends have video of one at the Brickworks.
Near Parry Sound, we were out canoeing and one kept bobbing around us, curious about what we were doing. I once saw two in a small waterway just off Hwy 11 near Temagami. My best experience was on the French River. The mosquitoes were brutal where our tent was and I escaped to a windswept rock for much of the night. There I watched two otters play on a slide on the opposite bank for what seemed like hours.