At Buckfast
in Devon they have two European Otters (Lutra lutra) called Sammy and xxx. I was going to fill in the xxx when
Daughter-who-takes-photos reminded me of the girl otter's name but she’s busy at the moment - no doubt
she’ll comment at some stage and xxx will once more be christened.
I’m Sammy – I
swim round and round and round and round in tiny little circles.
Sometimes I
swim clockwise
And sometimes
I swim anti-clockwise.
Then
sometimes I get out and see what’s going on
Is that a
keeper with some food?
My name is xxx and I sit in the corner watching Sammy acting
daft for the tourists.
Sometimes I turn my back on him
I have too
much self-respect to act silly
If I go in
the water I swim in a straight line for my objective.
And if I were to get
annoyed you’d know about it – and I’m not overly pleased about being called
xxx!
I would love to see an otter, especially one like Sammy. what fun!
ReplyDeleteOh! These are great! What a great catch that last one was!
ReplyDeleteIn Santa Cruz, CA, we saw many sea otters floating around on their backs in the harbors. So cute.
I'm glad you enjoyed your visit. I was disappointed tending towards disgusted with the environment they subject these beautiful animals to. perhaps they have cleaned the place up in the last two years.
ReplyDeleteI did enjoy the butterflies even though I had tears in my eyes....it was the cost of admission that precipitated the precipitation.
I'll go again sometime. The Chestnut Centre has a much more natural enclosure for them and is between Buxton and Stockport.
Hello Adrian - welcome back! We've been to ther chestnut Centre a few times - love the Giant Otter!
DeleteAlmost as cute as my cat! But I love your commentary. The photos are wonderful especially the one having too much self respect. Last night we had some monsoonal rain in the offing and Scruffy was curled up so tight in his velvet donut you could't tell which end was which. Just wish I'd had my camera. If I'd gone to get it he would have moved
ReplyDeleteOtters are great! Love the shot of xxx's healthy pink gums and sharp white teeth.
ReplyDeleteMy husband and I spent many a happy holiday in Scarborough, and always made sure to visit the otters (and all the other animals) at the Sealife Centre. They also have a couple at the Stuttgart zoo but they rarely appear, they seem to be very shy and probably only show up when they are fed.
Helen tells me -
ReplyDeleteJust got this off the Buckfast website:
"Samhain or Sammy for short is the latest otter to join the Sanctuary during the autumn of 2010. He was found abandoned in Ireland in the winter of 2009 at about 6 weeks old. He was cared for in a rescue centre west of Cork. Sadly he has missed his opportunity to be returned to the wild and has decided he is a person not an otter. As such we have agreed to home him with us. Tegan joined us in the spring of 2011 as a new friend for our male otter Sammy. Her name has Cornish roots which is appropriate as she was born in Cornwall."
You seem to have caught their characters so well! both in images and in text. And I think their little "hands" are so cute...
ReplyDelete