In the Field

Wary - Northern River Otter. Khutzeymateen Estuary, British Columbia, Canada. June 16, 2024.

Even though I have been visiting and leading photo tours into the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary since 2005 I am still finding new and unique photo ops on each and every visit. This year we had lots of great photo ops with the "headline" species (grizzly bears of course), but some of my most memorable scenes were with other species, most notably Northern River Otters and Bald Eagles.

This photo op was unique in several ways. We found the otter in a very "clean" environment, without distracting background or foreground elements. In most previous river otter encounters the scene has been chaotic at best, with distracting branches, roots, grasses and more. We first saw the otter when it was swimming, and we fully expected it to do the "normal thing" - run like heck the moment it hit the shoreline. Instead, it climbed out of the water onto a moss-covered intertidal rock and just sat (and sat, and sat). It was just a heavenly scene! At the time the water was calm as could be, giving us great reflections to work with (and this reflection is TOTALLY natural and not the product of any AI-based generative tools).

The otter DID keep a wary eye on us, but allowed us to slowly approach and get a variety of different styles of shots. I liked the "sideways" glance the otter was giving us in this shot, producing (at least to me) a feeling of almost wary disdain ("Oh...it's those damned humans again...").

One quick technical comment on this image. I captured this image using my Nikon Z 9 paired with the Z 800mm f6.3 VR PF S super-telephoto lens. I initially was not planning on taking my Z 800mm lens on this trip (largely owing to the close distance to the subjects we have with the bears on this trip), but shortly before the trip my Z 400mm f2.8 VR S went on "sick leave". So I had to juggle my kit just before the trip, and I ended up bringing my Z 600mm f6.3 VR PF S and my Z 800mm. I have to say I found the Z 800mm just great when we were "just cruising the inlet" in our Zodiac and commonly encountered wary subjects like American Mink, Northern River Otters, and Bald Eagles. In short, having the Z 800mm was a whole lot of fun and in several instances I used it to produce images that I could not have even dreamt of if I had left the lens at home (like, for instance, this otter shot!).

Here's a larger version (4800 pixel) of this evasive mustelid for your perusal:

• Wary - Northern River Otter: Download 4800 pixel image (JPEG: 6.0 MB)

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

1. These images - in all resolutions - are protected by copyright. I'm fine with personal uses of them (including use as desktop backgrounds or screensavers on your own computer), but unauthorized commercial use of the image is prohibited by law. Thanks in advance for respecting my copyright!

2. Like all photographs on this website, these images were captured following the strict ethical guidelines described in The Wildlife FIRST! Principles of Photographer Conduct. I encourage all wildlife photographers to always put the welfare of their subjects above the value of their photographs.

3. This image was captured during my Grizzlies of the Khutzeymateen in the spring of 2024. Each year I offer trips into two different parts of the Great Bear Rainforest as well as two tours into the Khutzeymateen Grizzly Sanctuary (to photograph grizzlies, of course!). Details about these trips can be found on the Photo Tours page of this website.

Behind the Camera

Wary - Northern River Otter. Khutzeymateen Estuary, British Columbia, Canada. June 16, 2024.

High Efficiency* Compressed RAW (NEF) format; ISO 1000.

Nikon Z 9 paired with Z Nikkor 800mm f6.3S. Hand-held from floating Zodiac. VR on in Sport mode. Single-point AF area mode.

1/400s @ f6.3; -0.3 stop compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.

At the Computer

Wary - Northern River Otter. Khutzeymateen Estuary, British Columbia, Canada. June 16, 2024.

Initial noise reduction and capture sharpening on the .nef (raw) file using the DeepPRIME XD algorithm of DXO PhotoLab 7.7 Elite (using the appropriate lens/camera optical module).

Subsequent adjustments to the adjusted linear DNG file (exported from PhotoLab) and conversion to 16-bit TIFF file (and JPEG files for web use) - including all global and selective adjustments - made using Phase One's Capture One Pro 23. In the case of this image the only global adjustment was an overall contrast tweak (using the Levels tool). Selective local adjustments performed using Capture One Pro's layers and masking tools. In this case numerous small adjustments and minor tweaks were made on 7 separate layers, with most of the tweaks being associated with "exposure balancing" and contrast adjustments (such as adjustments to clarity, highlights, shadows, etc.).

Photoshop modifications included insertion of the watermark and/or text.

Conservation

Wary - Northern River Otter. Khutzeymateen Estuary, British Columbia, Canada. June 16, 2024.

Species Status in Canada*: Not listed as endangered or threatened.

The Northern River Otter (Lontra canadensis) is a semi-aquatic mammal that is widely distributed on the North American continent, especially within Canada. This large member of the weasel family is strongly associated with waterways and typically establishes burrows close to the water's edge in rivers, lakes, swamps, coastal shorelines, tidal flats or estuaries. Most studies suggest that population densities are highest in coastal regions.

River otters primarily eat an "aquatic" diet that is dominated by (but not limited to) "coarse" fish of low or no economic value to humans. Besides fish, river otters will consume amphibians, clams, mussels, snails, small turtles and crayfish.

One of the most striking behaviors of river otters is their apparent love of playing, and they have been documented repeatedly sliding down wet rocks/boulders and snow covered hills. Groups of otters (known as "romps") are particularly playful.

13 species of otters exist worldwide. The Northern River Otter (found only in North America) is the only of the 13 species that is not considered endangered or threatened). Its range in North America has, however, has been significantly reduced by habitat loss.

*as determined by COSEWIC: The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada