Northern River Otter

Back in 2005 a biologist added an entry for the Northern River Otter to the ongoing inventory of life in Pocahontas State Park.  There is no detail in the record about where it was sighted, or if it was only inferred from signs.  Today I was tramping along an off-trail border of the park when I came across this apparent mud-slide into Swift Creek.  Perhaps it’s just wishful thinking, but it could be that we still have river otters here.  There is still quite a lot of wild land along Swift Creek, through and below the park.  Otters are sensitive to water quality, so their presence would be another sign that Swift Creek has not been overly degraded by upstream suburban development.

--Ben

---