The River Clown

North American River Otter....the River Clown!  
No other animal in nature has this fellows human like personality or senses. I have often wondered why there are not more of them on the rivers. They are smart. They have command of sight, smell and hearing that gives them the ability to size up danger like no other animal. His worst enemy in the past has been his fur. Man made fibers have literally saved his skin!
He began his come back in northern Emmet County's Pleasantview Swamp in the late 1980's. My chance meetings with the otter have been cute, entertaining but brief.  You can never trick or get near him. He knows what a safe distance is and will confront you with honorable courage before he disappears. You will usually see them in pairs ... they will look at you, moving their head around like it's checking out what kind of fishing rod you're using and with a parting bark like a small puppy ... gone.
Otters may present themselves like they are standing in waste deep water, with their hands on their hips, giving them an appearance of ... they are also fly fishing. They look like a Toby Mug of an old English man with a bushy mustache ... so human like you almost want to ask "Catch Anything?"  
Their diet consists of frogs, clams, crayfish and of course trout. They have some of mans bad habits of catching more fish than they can eat and playing with the left overs ... just short of a food fight. I am surprised, with their entertaining talents, Hollywood hasn't given them their own reality show! The River Otter has my vote for an Emmy.

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