Help me identify a fur bearer

[pd]

Happy Winter Trapping, to all you trappers.

I was out for a run today with my dog, and I came across the strangest fur bearers I have ever seen.  I didn't have a chance to take a picture, so I will have to describe it.

First, it was all black.  It had a tapered tail, meaning that the tail came to a point.  It was the size of a mature raccoon, or a bit smaller than that.  The animal ran away from me, so I did not see the head.  The running gait was similar to a mink or weasel, not like the bobbing of a raccoon.  The coat was silky.

This animal was running across a homeowner's lawn, and the house is just 100 yards from Puget Sound.  The house is close to woods, but there are no streams or ponds in those woods.

I had a dog with me, so did not want to chase it.  I let it run away, but I sure wish I knew what it was.  Do you have any guesses?

Edit: Given the suggestion it might be an otter, I found this image on the web.  I notice that sea otters and river otters are actually much different beasts (different families).  It looked like a river otter, not a sea otter.  Are these common in Puget Sound?

[predatorpro]

Sounds like an otter to me from your description...

[ouchfoss]

Sounds like an otter to me from your description...

That would be my guess. Their fur can look really dark, especially if it's wet. And they hop around on land just like a weasel does. Offers are common in almost every bit of water in the state, especially Puget sound.

[dreamunelk]

yes, very common.

[JODakota]

Otter

[pd]

Thanks for all the comments.  I told my wife, and she said there used to be a lot of river otters around the Winslow docks (Bainbridge Island).  Apparently I saw my first one, but everybody else knew about them.   

[lokidog]

There are no sea otters in the Puget Sound (for all practical purposes) .  As you have discovered, it was a river otter.  We see them as much as a quarter mile from the shoreline out here (onshore and offshore).

[WildlifeAssassin]

There are sea otters in Puget Sound, they are multiplying rapidly.

http://wdfw.wa.gov/publications/01584/wdfw01584.pdf

[lokidog]

No sea otters were recorded east of Cape Flattery during the 16 or 18
July aerial surveys, however sea otters were recorded near Koitlah Point (1 independent)
and off Chito Beach (5 independents) during the 15 July reconnaissance flight,.

You do know where Cape Flattery is right?  Hence my parenthesis with "for practical purposes"

The Strait of Juan de Fuca is also technically not part of Puget Sound.

Puget Sound /ˈpjuːdʒɪt/ is a sound along the northwestern coast of the U.S. state of Washington, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean, and part of the Salish Sea. It is a complex estuarine[3] system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and two minor connections to the open Pacific Ocean via the Strait of Juan de Fuca—Admiralty Inlet

[WildlifeAssassin]

I see females with pups every year up at Orcas Island, just because they weren't on that survey doesn't mean they aren't there.

[lokidog]

Are you sure you are not seeing River Otters, many are larger in the salt than in the rivers, especially inland ones.

http://www.sanjuanislandsguide.com/san-juan-islands/san-juan-islands-wildlife/san-juan-islands-mammals/sea-otters/

Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris)

You won’t find any Sea Otters in the San Juan Islands. While many folks think they have seen a Sea Otter in this area they are actually the quite common River Otter. Here’s a little information anyway:

The Sea Otter is a large otter native to the North Pacific, from northern Japan and Kamchatka west across the Aleutian Islands south to California. The heaviest of the otters, Sea Otters are the only species within the genus Enhydra.

I also have a call out to one of the experts regarding wildlife in the Salish Sea to see if there are a few remnant individuals around Orcas.

[pd]

There are no sea otters in the Puget Sound (for all practical purposes) .  As you have discovered, it was a river otter.  We see them as much as a quarter mile from the shoreline out here.

Thanks, Ed.

By the way, I like your avatar photograph!  Very well done.

[lokidog]

Thanks PD