collapse

Advertisement


Author Topic: Help me identify a fur bearer  (Read 4380 times)

Offline pd

  • Trade Count: (+7)
  • Frontiersman
  • *****
  • Join Date: Nov 2012
  • Posts: 2538
  • Location: Seattle?
Help me identify a fur bearer
« on: January 13, 2016, 10:10:38 PM »
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?

« Last Edit: January 13, 2016, 10:25:49 PM by pd »
Si vis pacem, para bellum

Offline predatorpro

  • WA State Trappers Association
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: May 2010
  • Posts: 1719
  • Location: Wenatchee, WA
Re: Help me identify a fur bearer
« Reply #1 on: January 13, 2016, 10:14:03 PM »
Sounds like an otter to me from your description...

Offline ouchfoss

  • Business Sponsor
  • Trade Count: (+5)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Apr 2009
  • Posts: 1558
  • Location: Lake Quinault
Re: Help me identify a fur bearer
« Reply #2 on: January 13, 2016, 11:20:43 PM »
Sounds like an otter to me from your description...
:yeah:
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.

Offline dreamunelk

  • Political & Covid-19 Topics
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Jan 2009
  • Posts: 2049
Re: Help me identify a fur bearer
« Reply #3 on: January 13, 2016, 11:24:07 PM »
yes, very common.

Offline JODakota

  • BIGtuna
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Sourdough
  • *****
  • Join Date: Oct 2011
  • Posts: 1309
  • Location: Walla Walla
Re: Help me identify a fur bearer
« Reply #4 on: January 13, 2016, 11:48:47 PM »
Otter
Not for self, but for country

Offline pd

  • Trade Count: (+7)
  • Frontiersman
  • *****
  • Join Date: Nov 2012
  • Posts: 2538
  • Location: Seattle?
Re: Help me identify a fur bearer
« Reply #5 on: January 14, 2016, 09:24:18 AM »
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.   :rolleyes:
Si vis pacem, para bellum

Offline lokidog

  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Explorer
  • ******
  • Join Date: Mar 2009
  • Posts: 15186
  • Location: Sultan/Wisconsin
Re: Help me identify a fur bearer
« Reply #6 on: January 14, 2016, 01:22:54 PM »
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).
« Last Edit: January 14, 2016, 08:10:00 PM by lokidog »

Offline WildlifeAssassin

  • Past Sponsor
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Scout
  • *****
  • Join Date: Sep 2008
  • Posts: 342
  • Groups: RMEF
Re: Help me identify a fur bearer
« Reply #7 on: January 14, 2016, 07:24:49 PM »
There are sea otters in Puget Sound, they are multiplying rapidly.

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

Offline lokidog

  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Explorer
  • ******
  • Join Date: Mar 2009
  • Posts: 15186
  • Location: Sultan/Wisconsin
Re: Help me identify a fur bearer
« Reply #8 on: January 14, 2016, 07:33:09 PM »
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

Offline WildlifeAssassin

  • Past Sponsor
  • Trade Count: (0)
  • Scout
  • *****
  • Join Date: Sep 2008
  • Posts: 342
  • Groups: RMEF
Re: Help me identify a fur bearer
« Reply #9 on: January 14, 2016, 07:39:40 PM »
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.

Offline lokidog

  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Explorer
  • ******
  • Join Date: Mar 2009
  • Posts: 15186
  • Location: Sultan/Wisconsin
Re: Help me identify a fur bearer
« Reply #10 on: January 14, 2016, 07:51:18 PM »
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.

Offline pd

  • Trade Count: (+7)
  • Frontiersman
  • *****
  • Join Date: Nov 2012
  • Posts: 2538
  • Location: Seattle?
Re: Help me identify a fur bearer
« Reply #11 on: January 14, 2016, 08:01:49 PM »
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.
Si vis pacem, para bellum

Offline lokidog

  • Trade Count: (+6)
  • Explorer
  • ******
  • Join Date: Mar 2009
  • Posts: 15186
  • Location: Sultan/Wisconsin
Re: Help me identify a fur bearer
« Reply #12 on: January 14, 2016, 08:09:08 PM »
Thanks PD

 


* Advertisement

* Recent Topics

2025 Montana alternate list by bear
[Today at 05:38:00 AM]


Sportsman Alliance files petition to Gov Ferguson for removal of corrupt WA Wildlife Commissioners by HntnFsh
[Today at 05:36:01 AM]


Son drawn - Silver Dollar Youth Any Elk - Help? by VickGar
[Yesterday at 09:14:24 PM]


Do folks run their refrigerators on Propane while towing their RV's? by ghosthunter
[Yesterday at 08:23:59 PM]


Bowfishing on the Snake River by Kingofthemountain83
[Yesterday at 07:57:32 PM]


3-Legged Washington Black Bear by Kingofthemountain83
[Yesterday at 07:53:12 PM]


Cougar Problems Toroda Creek Road Near Bodie by mountainman
[Yesterday at 06:38:52 PM]


AKC Australian Shepherd Puppies by TeacherMan
[Yesterday at 04:26:31 PM]


Lund Fisherman 1800 info/advice by NorseNW
[Yesterday at 04:01:03 PM]


Alaska 2025 by Sitka_Blacktail
[Yesterday at 02:57:51 PM]


Rotator Cuff repair X 2 advice needed by trophyhunt
[Yesterday at 01:59:14 PM]


Looking for a hunting partner by wildfire
[Yesterday at 01:14:37 PM]


More Kings! by 30.06
[Yesterday at 12:08:37 PM]


Muzzleloader scope options by Kingofthemountain83
[Yesterday at 12:05:28 PM]


AUCTION: Custom knife by Alden Cole by jrebel
[Yesterday at 11:53:45 AM]


Stealth Cam QV20 by Kingofthemountain83
[Yesterday at 11:43:44 AM]


Mt. St. Helens Area – Muzzleloader Deer & Elk Advice (Back After 12 Years) by HntnFsh
[Yesterday at 11:12:56 AM]


Calling in August in Western Washington by logola512c
[Yesterday at 10:22:19 AM]


Ross Lake boat launch? by cjjcb
[Yesterday at 10:14:59 AM]


Mt. St. Helens Goat by hunterednate
[Yesterday at 09:30:03 AM]

SimplePortal 2.3.7 © 2008-2025, SimplePortal