“Mom, look! An otter is crossing the sidewalk!” exclaimed Jamie Nagtegaal, a sharp-eyed seven-year-old visiting Victoria with his family.
No way, his mom thought, otters wouldn’t be on the sidewalk. But she looked, and sure enough, Jamie was right. His two younger sisters were also delighted, and the Abbotsford family followed the otter to see where he was headed.
To the grass, it turned out, where the furry otter rolled around like a puppy, Jamie said.
Eventually, it walked down the ramp to the water and jumped back into the Victoria Harbour. Jamie, who loves to draw comic books, might just include an otter in his next self-published title.
B.C. is home to two species of otter, the river otter which Jamie saw, and the sea otter. River otters do spend time on land, have a long narrow tail and pointed head, and swim on their belly.
Sea otters spend almost all of their time in the water, with hind legs that are like flippers, and they swim on their back. They’re also one of the few mammals to use a tool – sea otters are often found holding a small rock that they use to crack open shells.
READ MORE: Langford hummingbird beats the heat playing in water spray
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