As graceful in the water as they are on land, these strong, energetic members of the weasel family seem to delight in making a game of everything. They'll chase after a pebble, a shell, or each other for hours, and their favorite activity is body-sledding down a slippery slope and landing with a belly-flop in the water. Often found in the same territory with beavers, they've been known to swim up and mischievously tweak the flat tails of their more businesslike neighbors.

Marty Stouffer claims that "if it isn't fun, an otter just won't do it." But, he adds, "the otter has a serious side, too. It's a skilled and clever hunter, feeding on fish, crayfish, frogs, insects, and whatever else opportunity brings to its alert attention.

Otters are also devoted parents, unusual among mammals in that when the young are weaned and old enough to leave their riverbank den, the male often joins the female to help in raising his offspring. Young otters do not take willingly to water at first, but coaxed by their parents, these fresh-water clowns quickly learn the pleasures of swimming and diving. With their streamlined bodies, webbed feet, and rudder-like tails, the adept aquanauts can reach speeds of seven miles per hour underwater, and depths of thirty-five feet or more.

Found over most of North America, otters are adaptable roamers that may travel fifteen miles a day, following rivers, and streams in search of food -- and fun.

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