It was earlier in the spring that we noticed we had a new resident living under an out building ..first we smelled her..phew! Then we saw her…a big, lovely otter returning from our pond with duckweed on her back making her way back to her new home under our shed. We would watch her do this several times a day over the next few months. Well…we did hope our pond would attract wildlife!

The photo shows her enjoying a swim. The video shows something even more exciting…mama returning from the pond with her two little ones! It was one of the first times we had seen them. We call this video “Otter-Gate”…watch mama rescue her baby once she finally notices it’s not with her! After that, we fixed the gate so there would be no more mishaps.

We were never able to see the new family swimming together and now they’ve gone on to explore the big wide world together. We miss them but our yard sure smells much better.

– Norma and Neil Wilson, Hornby Island