Chasing An Otter

I finally got out this afternoon for a walk along the Sammamish River, starting at the south end of the Opportunity Bldg.  I headed south toward Marymoor Park.  As the weather was mild and somewhat sunny, the trail was fairly busy.  I had almost reached the Redmond Way Overpass when I noticed a young couple intently staring across the river at the fairly steep and wooded west bank.

I approached them and asked them what they were looking at.  When they whispered "otter", I immediately began getting my camera in gear.  Sure enough, I quickly spotted a solitary otter about ten or twelve yards uphill from the water's edge.  With its thick dark brown fur coat, it was the largest one I have ever seen in this area. It briefly nosed and shuffled about with its typical slinky gait, before suddenly ambling downhill and launching itself into the river.

I snapped off a few shots as it did so, hoping that at least one of them would turn out well.  It began swimming north (with the current) at a rapid rate.  The young couple scrambled out ahead of me and followed it north at a fast pace along the trail.  I got going behind them, pushing myself to keep up with them.  We constantly glanced over to the river to see if the otter was still moving ahead, or had decided to stop.  However, it continued paddling quickly and we did our best to stay even with it.

We eventually rushed out onto the promontory that overlooks the river at the south end of the Opportunity Building, believing we had managed to get a few yards ahead of it.  However, we failed to see any further sign of the otter and had to give up the chase.  It was a marvelous experience, and certainly provided me with a more strenuous outing than I had originally anticipated.

Photo and story by John Reinke