River Otters Cavort at Briggs Boardwalk

When you visit Briggs Boardwalk, you might see a number of mammals. Some past actors include white-tailed deer, black bear, bobcat, raccoon, marsh mink, and marsh rabbit.

But river otters are my favorite. Seeing them is not a rare event and it’s always fun because they are such clowns.

River otters have got to be one of the most active mammals you’ll see at the Boardwalk. They are usually in constant motion and often seem oblivious to us as we ooh, aah and laugh watching as they search out small fish and blue crabs.

A volunteer, Will Boose, videoed two otters hunting for dinner at the walk. They couldn’t have been more than 10–15 feet from edge of the walk when his smartphone caught them.

Two river otters hunting fish and crabs next to the boardwalk

You can see how close to the walk the otters were. This section of the walk is called “the bridge” because it runs over open water. You can tell it’s fresh water here because sawgrass is florushing.

Last year, I got to the walk very early and noticed three otters sunning themselves right on the walk! When they saw me approach, they began to run toward me.

I thought, that’s odd; what’s going on? Quickly, they saw what I was and jumped into the water. Then they poked their heads under the railing and screamed at me for interrupting their sunbathing. Pretty nervy don’t you think? Of course, that’s what they thought I was.

Sometimes the otters hide under the boardwalk and snarl when we go by. They are pretty possessive of their “bridge.”

The otters dig their claws into the wood posts.

Many otter claw marks on the boardwalk posts

While otters are undeniably cute, you should remember that they are wild animals and have some notably sharp incisors for biting their prey.

The von Arx Wildlife Hospital receives injured and abandoned otter pups from time to time. Here they are caught eating breakfast.