The sun is setting, adding a rim of burning gold to the edges of the steel grey clouds drifting across the horizon. A pool of carmine encircles the darkness, illuminating the clouds in front of us and reflected in the water as baby pink. Then it happens, the cherry on the icing on the (60th birthday) cake. Enter stage right…the menacing sleek form of an Otter. For 40 minutes we’re entertained as this sinuous predator treats the tree stumps, islands, boulders and the water as an obstacle course. I’ve seen lots of Otters feeding, I’ve seen them scrambling over boulders, and I’ve seen them climbing trees. Until yesterday though I’d never seen one persistently breaching; changing direction with breathtaking speed so that it was a struggle to be sure that we were only watching one animal.
A client once asked whether I would become blase about the wildlife that we see…