A fisherman on Clear Lake recently reported seeing a small and dark brown head peek over the side of his small boat. He wanted to know what it was. Another dock owner reported seeing pieces of crawdads, fish and droppings on his dock. He wanted to know what was causing it.
More than likely in both instances it was one of Clear Lake”s most playful critters, the North American river otter.
Otters have become common on Clear Lake and are one of the most fascinating animals in the county. While there have always been few otters around the lake, the population has increased dramatically in recent years.
According to wildlife biologists, the river otter probably migrated to Clear Lake by way of Cache Creek. The creek empties into the Yolo Bypass, which has a large population of otters.
Otters are somewhat territorial and as the population in an area grows, a few otters are forced to leave and establish new territory. That”s what has been happening at Cache Creek. Otters can now be found not only at Clear Lake, but at Indian Valley Reservoir as well.
Otters are the largest member of the Mustelidae family, which includes mink, skunks, weasels and badgers. Their life expectancy is about 10 years in the wild. The females give birth to a litter of one to six pups and the pups will stay with the mother for about three years. The males don”t assist in the rearing of the young ones.
An adult otter weighs up to 25 pounds and can be 4 feet long. The head is small and round and the feet are webbed. The eyes and ears are also small. In fact, the eyes of the otter have evolved over the years so that they can see very well underwater but are nearsighted when on land. Their long and lean body is perfect for swimming.
An otter will spend most of its life either in or around water. Their fur is dense, which protects them from cold water and when they dive their heart rate slows to less than 20 beats per minute, which allows them to conserve oxygen. They can stay underwater for up to 10 minutes. They are incredibly fast swimmers and have little trouble catching a fish.
The otter”s main diet at Clear Lake is crayfish along with other species of fish. On rare occasions they will eat bird eggs and even small birds. Because they have a high metabolism rate they must eat constantly.
Once when fishing in a bass tournament along the docks at Nice, I observed an otter diving and coming up with crawdads, which he climbed up on a dock to eat. He did this repeatedly. I told my partner that I bet there were also bass down there feeding on the crawdads. My partner cast a plastic worm that resembled a crawdad and immediately caught a 5-pound bass. We stayed there for several hours and caught a healthy limit of bass, which won us $400. Thanks to the otter.
Recently a dock owner near Lakeport said an otter had taken up residence on his dock. When he tried to shoo the otter away, all it did was sit and hiss at him. Actually otters aren”t dangerous and I have never heard of one attacking a human. Department of Fish and Game (DFG) warden Lynette Shimek said that she occasionally receives complaints about otters living in boats that are moored at docks but has never received any reports of otters attacking people.
“Once in awhile a person will complain about an otter leaving his calling card in a boat, but for most part the lakeside homeowners like to see the otters,” said Shimek.
According to the DFG, otters are completely protected in California and cannot be killed or harassed.
Last summer I was fishing with a friend near the Lakeside County Park, when we saw a family of otters that numbered six. The family consisted of an adult and five juveniles. They played on the tule mats and wrestled. Their playful antics amused us for more than 30 minutes.
Clear Lake is home to another animal that closely resembles the otter and is actually often mistaken for an otter. That animal is the mink. The mink has the same features as the otter but is much smaller. It”s often found along the rocky shores at Buckingham and in Soda Bay. Minks have even been seen living in the rocks at Library Park in Lakeport.
The otter is another good example of the dozens of interesting birds and animals that call Clear Lake home. It”s just another example of the incredible diversity of animals this lake has to offer.
