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Illinois Valley News, Cave Junction, Ore. Wednesday, March 21, 2018
Crawlies with Cri: by Cri Solo
Weather
Watch
This week’s Crawly is ‘otterly’
irresistible and ‘otter’ be at least somewhat
familiar to most folks. Meet the North
American river otter (Lontra canadensis).
River otters can be found in much of
Canada and the United States, however
in Oregon they are only occasionally
found east of the Cascades. Luckily,
seeing them, west of the Cascades is not
uncommon.
River otters are very sensitive
to pollution and will quickly abandon
polluted waterways. So, Oregonians are
very lucky that their corner of the state
has so many clean rivers, creeks, ponds,
marshes and lakes.
While most active at dawn, dusk
and even at night, when undisturbed river
otters will be quite active in the daytime,
giving us a chance to watch the antics of
these adorable Mustelids. “Muste-what-
now?” River otters are in the Mustelid
family, which includes marten, fishers,
weasels, mink, wolverine, badgers and
even skunks.
River otters grow to an average of
three and a half feet, including their tail,
which is one-third of their body length.
They use that tapered tail, along with
their webbed hind feet to power through
the water and make quick fish-catching
maneuvers. Their swimming is so slick
that their name in Old English is “burna
Cave Junction
Thursday, Mar 22
Rain
High -- 44 Low -- 34
Friday, Mar 23
Rain/Snow
High -- 41 Low -- 33
Saturday, Mar 24
Rain/Snow
High -- 42 Low -- 32
Sunday, Mar 25
Showers
High -- 46 Low -- 34
Monday, Mar 26
PM Showers
High -- 51 Low -- 36
Tuesday, Mar 27
AM Showers
High -- 55 Low -- 38
Wednesday, Mar 28
Mostly Sunny
High -- 59 Low -- 39
Following are the high & low temperatures,
and rainfall recorded at The End of the Road
in O’Brien by Cheryl Johnson:
Mar
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
High Low
37.2
57.1
35.9
51.8
40.9
58.4
35.0
63.0
39.6
54.1
35.6
53.9
33.4
39.1
Mar Rain: 6.99”
YTD Rain: 41.93
Rain
0.35
0.08
0.02
0.01
1.18
0.01
1.56
snaca” or “water snake.”
That swift swimming is good for
catching foods other than fish as well.
River otters have a very high metabolism
and must eat frequently. While fish are
favored, they also eat crayfish, crabs,
amphibians and even small rodents. They
can hold their breath up to six minutes
for their underwater foraging forays. In
addition, they grow two types of fur: a
lighter-colored, softer undercoat and a
darker-guard hair on top, which keep the
undercoat dry. They can also close-up
their ears and noses underwater.
River otters will patrol up to 40
miles of a waterway, depending on food
availability. They will also truck overland
between bodies of water. They can run up
to 15 miles per hour and their eyesight is
equally good in and out of water.
When river otters are not foraging
for food, they do frolic and play a lot.
With their skill at sliding over snow
and down riverbanks, they could form
their own bobsled team. If you are lucky
enough to see a group of river otters at
play, it is likely the group is a mother
and her pups. Pups stay with females
for almost a year and sometimes one
female from the previous year’s litter will
stick around to help mum with kid duty.
Generally, adult male river otters lead a
solitary life, but groups of all sexes and
ages will sometimes get together to hunt
or play.
All that hunting and play leave little
time for den building, otters prefer to use
dens abandoned by beaver or muskrat
with their handy, secret underwater
entrances.
River otters are active year-round,
but keep an eye out on warm spring days,
like the rest of us they like to get out and
enjoy our rare sunshine and now is a good
time to see them out of their typical semi-
dark hunting hours.
(Photo by Christy Solo, for the Illinois Valley News.)
North American river otter
i love
shuffleboard!
S PORTSMAN TAVER N
• 2 Pool Tables & Shuffleboard •
• Friday Night Karaoke •
• Saturday Night Pool Tournaments •
• Bloody Mary Sundays 11 a.m. - 4 p.m. •
• NFL Special Events •
(Photo courtesy of Tabatha Siemer for the Illinois Valley News)
January Students of the Month
Fifth grade - Christina Courville and Ezra Murphy; sixth grade - Mariah Hoffman and Zoey Tucker;
seventh grade - Anna Coy and Tobias Giroux; and eighth grade - Luis Hernandez and Destiny Johnson,
pictured with Vice Principal Darrell Erb.
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