Is this an otter?

[Underdog 2,337]

Thanks all.

This was a youngster.

[j j m 6,479]

feet look like a otters

[The one 8,395]

Otter would get my vote as well 

[shovel leaner 7,648]

Although I’ve not seen an otter that close , it’s not a mink , because I’ve seen plenty of them and their feet are different so my guess is an Otter . I saw my first Otter here this past summer , although I have seen trade around the lakes and ponds and have suffered fish predation from Otters . They are a total pest , although a handsome creature, they are destructive and like a fox will kill and leave ducklings uneaten. They have also cleared one of the smaller ponds of the young carp I stocked . Maybe I’ll get a closer look at their feet in the future? 

[C.green 3,203]

Seen one last night a fair old way from water. Seems like they wondering this time a year.

[Gav 1,708]

Used to get them all the time when I was on trawlers, they pick the fish and bits left in the nets, one got in the galley once too, routing through the cupboards, big bugger it was too and a proper nasty pastie when I twatted it with a broom trying to shoo it out like others though, all the ones I see lately are squished on the road!

[wilbur foxhound 480]

I’ve seen quite a lot of otters over the years and watched them hunting mice,rabbits and ducks as well as fish,they don’t have a great deal of power in there jaws,ive seen them on mull using stones to break open mussels,they don’t seem to be afraid or bother much about humans,that one in the picture looks like one of last years young,they do take a long time to grow to a good size,I remember being in Brian Nuttalls house and he had the head and tail of an otter mounted on the wall with the weight stamped on it 33 1/2 pounds,he also said a fully grown dog otter would be four feet long including the tail,Lurcher and some terriers can kill young ones single handed but not a fully grown adult ,however these bull crosses I’m sure could do it very easily that one in the picture doesn’t look like a dog has had hold of it ,wf

[Alsone 789]

2 hours ago, wilbur foxhound said:

I’ve seen quite a lot of otters over the years and watched them hunting mice,rabbits and ducks as well as fish,they don’t have a great deal of power in there jaws,

I think you're wrong on that one. I've seen sea otters bite the head of fish off in 1 bite and literally bite through the skull.

According to scientists here, the bite force of the sea otter is around 80lbs of force. 

https://www.burkemuseum.org/blog/robust-jaws-and-crushing-bites-allow-sea-otters-specialize-their-diets

 

Quote

Sea otters have highly specialized skulls and teeth that allow them to pierce through the tough exoskeletons of sea urchins, and pry open clams. We found that their short, blunt skulls and flat, fracture-resistant teeth allow them to generate high bite forces for their body size (nearly 80lbs of force!). These high bite forces allow them to eat otherwise hard-to-crack marine invertebrates.

Whilst that's only around the 2/3rds the force of an adult human, it's a lot given the size of the animal relative to a human, and humans don't have incisor teeth like this:

 

I can't comment on freshwater otters. However, I'd imagine their bite was less but still probably not to be messed with.

So far as aggression is concerned, as I indicated earlier, they belong to the same family as honey badgers and wolverines!!! Although on the whole they seem quite well tempered. I certainly wouldn't want to annoy one given the family lineage.

 

If that still doesn't convince you then maybe these will:

Otter family kills Caiman (small crocodile)  (you can see the teeth in a few parts of the clip here):
 

Then again, you'll find plenty of other videos of otters being gentle and playing with both humans and dogs, and others showing otter attacks on humans. I think the answer here is don't annoy them and don't get close to their young. Pretty much with any animal.


 

Edited March 11, 2019 by Alsone

[Underdog 2,337]

9 hours ago, wilbur foxhound said:

I’ve seen quite a lot of otters over the years and watched them hunting mice,rabbits and ducks as well as fish,they don’t have a great deal of power in there jaws,ive seen them on mull using stones to break open mussels,they don’t seem to be afraid or bother much about humans,that one in the picture looks like one of last years young,they do take a long time to grow to a good size,I remember being in Brian Nuttalls house and he had the head and tail of an otter mounted on the wall with the weight stamped on it 33 1/2 pounds,he also said a fully grown dog otter would be four feet long including the tail,Lurcher and some terriers can kill young ones single handed but not a fully grown adult ,however these bull crosses I’m sure could do it very easily that one in the picture doesn’t look like a dog has had hold of it ,wf

Interestingly there is a wood upstream that has a few pools, always has teal in them ....not lately! Ummmm

[Aussie Whip 3,822]

9 hours ago, wilbur foxhound said:

they don’t have a great deal of power in there jaws,

I don't believe that,I saw a doco and at a zoo, a handler lost half his hand to an otter.Also spoke to a girl zookeeper in Oz said once grown you cant go in the enclose with them.They are like a giant ferret so pretty dangerous but awesome animals imo.The young one found probably just died, as all living things do for different reasons.

[wilbur foxhound 480]

The otters in other countries are bigger than our otters,and a sea otter is the same as an inland otter they have smaller teeth than a fox if they had a lot of power in there jaws they wouldn’t have to use stones to break open mussels or oyster shells