Walking on the canal easement behind my house in south Florida, I often see turtles, Ibis and Great Blue Heron, but nothing prepared me for the otters. I had seen stories on the news about how territorial they can be, so I was wary when one popped its head out of the water and stared at me with those big brown eyes. I had my smaller dogs with me, and otters have been known to be aggressive, so I kept respectable distance and stared back. But, now I know why I saw empty shells everywhere.
The otter went under water and swam a little closer to the bank of the canal. It stuck its head out of the water and blew air at me. I stuck my tongue out at him and made a noise. He made the same noise back! Then another otter, his partner, popped its head out of the water and blew at me too! Otters are wiseguys!
The next day, I learned that the otters discovered the fully stocked pond behind my house and had a tilapia feast. Apparently, they followed me home. A trap was set up to catch them, but the otters mocked me by leaving a pile of feces beside it.
I am now referred to as the otter magnet. The activity in the pond has been pretty quiet. Probably because the otters ate all of the larger tilapia, possibly a few turtles, and moved on.
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