by Brad Hill
Zen & the Joy of Swimming
I have an admission to make - I'm a huge and unabashed fan of Sea Otters. To me, they're nothing short of rock stars. Extirpated from the BC coast over a hundred years ago. Successfully re-introduced to Vancouver Island between 1969 and 1972. Fascinating fully marine mammals with a globally unique means of retaining heat in a cold environment (Look Ma - no blubber, just an amazing fur coat!). A keystone species that punches WAY over its weight in ecological impact and that's responsible for the expansion of kelp forests with a huge corresponding increase in biodiversity. And, cute and incredibly fascinating animals to watch and to photograph! See? Pure Rock Stars of the zoological world!
Sea Otters only VERY rarely come out of their salt water home, even when giving birth and providing care for their young (the young are born with thick coats that provide good insulation but they initially can't swim). And, like with both sea lions and seals, Sea Otters are amazing swimmers. Watch a Sea Otter swim for awhile and you'd swear that they just LOVE their main means of locomotion - even while going in a straight line they'll twist, roll, and spin in the water as though they're having the time of their lives!
We were traveling parallel to this Sea Otter (in a Zodiac inflatable boat) when I captured this shot. This particular otter was a female, and seemed to be on a mission to get somewhere fast. But even so it took the time to gracefully roll and, at times, swim on its back. Here she's just initiating a smooth and graceful roll while "climbing" a small swell in the water. Why the roll? I can't be sure, but if someone was to suggest it was just for the joy of it I wouldn't argue with them.
Subject: Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris) in mid-roll while swimming...
Location: Northern Vancouver Island region, BC, Canada
Camera: Nikon D4s
Lens: Nikkor 400mm f2.8E VR plus TC-20EIII (2x) teleconverter (800mm total focal length). Hand-held from floating Zodiac, VR on and in "Sport" mode.
Exposure: 1/1000s @ f9; ISO 3200. -1.33 stop compensation from matrix-metered exposure setting.
Crop: Very minor - full frame horizontally with small crop from bottom
A lot more info about this shot - including a 2400 pixel version of it - can be found here on my website.:
http://www.naturalart.ca/galleries/latest/.
Comments and critiques welcomed - probably best to view the larger version prior to doing so!
Cheers...
Brad
PS: Like all wildlife images on my website and that I post on NPN, the subject is fully wild and completely unconstrained. Besides the potential impact of my presence, nothing has been done to intentionally alter or affect the ongoing behavior of the subject and, of course, there has been no use of any form of bait or other form of wildlife attractants (including vocalizations)
Comments
3 commentsI really like the tones, mixture of textures and the simplicity of the image, but I'm left wishing that just a little more of the otter's head was visible. With both sets of whiskers visible or an eye, I think it would be a real winner. I suppose it might have been difficult to get such a picture while still conveying the playful nature of its swimming.
I requires some looking to really see what is going on here. What I find most appealing, however is the wonderful color and texture of the water.
I totally agree with you about your feelings towards sea (and river) otters. They are are really fun to watch but as coastal water recreation becomes more popular, finding them is more difficult. My only sitings of sea otters have been while sea kayaking in secluded areas of the Gulf Island, in far northern areas off Vancouver Island, and in the Kenai area in Alaska. River otters appear to be a lot more common down south here in the Puget Sound. I like the contrast of the water and fur in your image. Hopefully you can find some more in the future.