Mammals page 7
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Animal Stories: (Note - This story has nothing to do with the animals pictured on this page. An otter photo appears on Mammals page 2.) Otters seem to be perpetually playful. Even adults engaged in the mundane task of finding food seem to be involved in some persistent game. An excellent place to view river otters is on the Juniper Springs run in the Ocala National Forest, Florida. Almost every time we have kayaked or canoed this stretch, we at least glimpse otters. One time was especially memorable. I was sitting at the put-in early one morning, waiting for the car shuttle to be completed, when suddenly a dark head popped up over the edge of the dock. An almost grown otter pulled itself part way onto the wood planking and looked me over. Finding nothing of interest, it slipped back into the water and within moments, there were two of the creatures chasing fish in the little water basin next to where I sat. The water is shallow and clear and I could see every move as they performed their water ballet in the act of catching small fish. After launching our boats and starting down the creek, these two young otters continued to move along with us, catching fish and sometimes chasing each other, even running along the bank. They were so close that we could easily hear them crunch up the bones of their prey and their playful antics accompanied our paddling for the first 20 minutes of the trip.
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Longhorn Cattle (McGregor, Texas)
Cow (McGregor, Texas)
Cow (McGregor, Texas)
Calf (McGregor, Texas)
Calf (McGregor, Texas)
Anoa (zoo)
Cape Buffalo (zoo)
Gaur (zoo)
Goat (McGregor, Texas)
Aoudad (captive at Silver Springs, Florida)
Sheep (zoo)
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