May 13 Email to Allegan/Ottawa Listers:
While at East End Park today, there was a guy fishing along the boardwalk and he had a basket of sunfish he had caught hanging over the dock into the water. There was a bit of a commotion as he thought a muskrat was trying to get at his fish. I knew muskrats are plant eaters, and upon closer look it was a river otter. He pulled the fish basket out of the water and I threw a small sunfish to the otter which it gladly accepted. The mammal took the fish onto a bank right next to the dock and crunched it until it was gone. You could hear the bones crushing as the fish was totally consumed. Then we gave it another fish that it also consumed. There is probably something awry with this animal as it is not typical otter behavior to be so unafraid of humans and out during the day. But maybe it just needed a fresh fish lunch. I'm sure it goes without saying (but I'm saying it anyway,) do not approach this animal too closely if it hangs around. See photos. - Chip Francke
1 comment:
In the same park a otter was found dead in the marsh near the fishing area
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