Giant Otter

Gallery: WildlifePosted October 18, 20171,180 views8 comments

One of the animals I looked forward to photographing most in Brazil was the giant river otter. I've seen them before, but photo opportunities were limited during my previous encounters and the animals were quite shy. In the Pantanal, we had plenty of encounters with more tolerant otters, but it was still a challenge to get interesting photos with much of the creature out of water, since they were usually busy swimming down the river during hunting expeditions. One exception is when they actually catch a fish (which happened quite often) and stop to chow down. I must admit by the end of the trip I was getting tired of otter-eating-fish photos. angel

This was one of the nicer of such moments, with a chance to photograph an otter out of the harsh sun (which often blows out the details on their lighter neck fur) and at close range.

Canon 1DIV
Canon 600mm f/4 IS
ISO 800
1/640th
f/4
(Hand-held from a boat)

Max

Comments

8 comments

Comment posted by Jerry Austin on October 18, 2017 at 11:23 AM

One of the best otter images I've seen. The detail is really great. Nicely done.

Registered on January 6, 2012, 651 Posts, 3448 Comments

Comment posted by Lon Sharp on October 18, 2017 at 8:37 PM

Wow Max. I think you have pulled off a fine one. I like the bokeh background, and especially appreciate the fine details, such as the hairs atop the head and the eye and fur quality. The only thing that pulls my eye a little is the bright shiny of the front feet. I know it is because they are still "water saturated" but perhaps a slight tweak in processing would make them less contrasty and bold.

Registered on December 9, 2007, 258 Posts, 9892 Comments

Comment posted by Richard Sandor on October 19, 2017 at 9:42 AM

Max: beautiful detail and clarity especially when viewed large. Those teeth are really impressive! Richard

Registered on January 12, 2014, 453 Posts, 1625 Comments

Comment posted by Charles Bell on October 19, 2017 at 5:00 PM

A very interesting capture. What's he eating? Usually, they surface with one of those rough scaled fish.

Registered on February 21, 2016, 187 Posts, 192 Comments

Comment posted by Max Waugh on October 19, 2017 at 6:30 PM

Charles, it's a fish of some sort, but I have no idea what kind. We saw the otters catch a variety of fish, including a monstrous yellow fish (golden dorado perhaps?) that must've been three feet long. One otter kept that to itself and refused to share.

Max

Registered on September 26, 2008, 428 Posts, 2329 Comments

Comment posted by Mark Seaver on October 20, 2017 at 4:19 PM

This is a great look at this otter, Max. The bent neck, so many teeth showing and the reflections all come together very well.

Registered on January 23, 2011, 1103 Posts, 17270 Comments

Comment posted by Jagdeep Rajput on October 23, 2017 at 8:55 AM

Beautiful frame, very nicely executed.

Jagdeep Rajput

Registered on April 29, 2008, 686 Posts, 2857 Comments

Comment posted by Ajit Huilgol on October 26, 2017 at 8:28 AM

Fabulous image, Max! Great detail in the subject, and lovely soft bg. What sharp teeth these guys have!

Registered on December 19, 2008, 302 Posts, 2055 Comments