Taken by: Lauren Beall

Ice Beards

As soon as I found out that there were River Otters in Yellowstone I immediately became obsessed with finding them. Many of the roads in Yellowstone follow a few rivers, so every time I drove along the rivers I was constantly looking for them. I spent two summers searching the rivers only to be tricked by rocks or ducks. It was not until my first winter that I actually was able to spot my first otter. Around the Brink of the Upper is one of the best places to see otters, especially in winter. With the amount of ice and snow we had the winter of 22-23 it was easy to see all of their slides and to spot them on the contrasting background. It was one of the canyon trips that winter where I had one of the best wildlife experiences ever in Yellowstone. My boyfriend Dan was leading a Canyon Ski trip, and I was given the day off so that I could go on it with my Dad and sister who were visiting. Skiing the canyon in general is an amazing experience, but I knew that people had been seeing the otters basically everytime they went to the canyon. The whole morning we were talking about how great it would be to see them. On our second ski of the day we went the half mile to the Brink of the Upper falls and looked around and took photos for 15 minutes, but no otter sights. Dan called it and said we should start heading back to our skis. As soon as we went to head up the stairs, we heard little tiny squeaks, only to turn around and see three otters popping out around the corner of the falls. This was immediately followed by squeals of excitement over actually seeing their cute faces. We ended up watching them play, fight and swim for 45 minutes. To have such an intimate experience with friends and family that have such an appreciation for this moment is something I am going to cherish forever. I waited two years to see these fluffy water critters and it was definitely worth it.

Who Are You?

Taken by: Lauren Beall

Cuddle Puddle

Taken by: Lauren Beall

Taking the Plunge

Taken by: Lauren Beall

Otter Tongue

Taken by: Lauren Beall

Teephies

Taken by: Dan DeBruyn

Otters Stacked

Taken by: Lauren Beall

River Otters are very unique creatures. Out of the whole weasel family they are the most aquatic animal. They are able to hold their breath underwater for 8 minutes and can swim as fast as 8 miles per hour. They have a special eyelid that closes when underwater so that they don’t get water in their eyes but can still see. Their tail, which is 40% of the body weight, helps propel them through the water. Living most of their life in the water, their main source of food are also aquatic animals such as fish, crayfish, turtles, etc. In order to keep warm during the winter they have two layers of fur, the outer layer being thicker guard hairs. The guard hairs are covered in oil to prevent water from reaching their skin. They also groom themselves to spread the oils around and to trap air bubbles in their fur. The trapped air bubbles help insulate themselves and keep them warm.