The Otter in Winter

Before the snow got too deep for easy walking, I took Freckles (our springer spaniel) for a daily winter hike on the ice of Birch Lake, near Harshaw, Wis., where we built a cottage last summer. One day we came upon the track of an otter following the very edge of the ice. The clawed paw prints and the belly imprint (or was it a tail drag?) in the snow made clear whose track we were following. Freckles did not seem to find a scent, so the trail must have been cold. We followed the trail along the shoreline, then across a bay, to where it led into the trees. Backtracking a long distance, we found a 6-inch hole in the ice near the marshy spot where a creek exits the lake. The snow on the shore near the hole was littered with scat.

I had seen otters (technically river otters) in the wild before, but never on Birch Lake, and I had never felt quite so close to one, although the animal was not present. Otters remain active in winter. Where they can find openings in the ice, they will enter the water to hunt for fish, clams and other prey. This otter clearly had made its own hole (the ice next to shore was thin). Otters can remain submerged for long spells and can breathe in the space (if it exists) between the ice and the water. I'll be keeping my eyes open for otters on the lake this winter, and maybe I'll be lucky enough to spot one while taking a snowshoe walk toward evening or on a moonlit night. I’m glad to know they live here on the lake we now call home.