Otters are so friendly!!

[BilletHead]

55 minutes ago, Flysmallie said:

I think you need to lay off the shrooms. PETA has nothing to do with it. People wear what people wear because it’s trendy. When fur came out of trend it went away. It did trend out because of people basically canceling it. I mean if they get that upset over a can of beer they can end anything. 
 

            So Peta throwing red paint on people wearing fur had nothing to do with it? Peta trespassing and going into fur farms damaging things and turning loose all the animals had nothing to do with it?  There were many things that had to do with the downward spiral of fur prices. 

Is PETA Ending 'I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur'? | PETA

    With fur out of fashion, PETA sets its sights on wool, leather and down | CNN

      How PETA has changed the fashion industry over the last 40 years – and what's next (harpersbazaar.com)

What Impact Has Activism Had on the Fur Industry? - Scientific American

   I could go on and on.  Peta is dangerous and next Ronnie it will be your fly-tying material  

[jdmidwest]

12 hours ago, MOPanfisher said:

I like that Honey Badger!

Wrench never did tell us the difference, but that honey badger could make a damper on the feral otters.

[jdmidwest]

12 hours ago, MOPanfisher said:

 

 

[jdmidwest]

2 hours ago, BilletHead said:

            So Peta throwing red paint on people wearing fur had nothing to do with it? Peta trespassing and going into fur farms damaging things and turning loose all the animals had nothing to do with it?  There were many things that had to do with the downward spiral of fur prices. 

Is PETA Ending 'I'd Rather Go Naked Than Wear Fur'? | PETA

    With fur out of fashion, PETA sets its sights on wool, leather and down | CNN

      How PETA has changed the fashion industry over the last 40 years – and what's next (harpersbazaar.com)

What Impact Has Activism Had on the Fur Industry? - Scientific American

   I could go on and on.  Peta is dangerous and next Ronnie it will be your fly-tying material  

PETA is dangerous when idiots take them seriously.  They are a worthless organization.  But, there are better materials than fur for clothing, most are made from environmental unfriendly plastic compounds.

Fur has its uses, and in its day, superior.  But in modern times, there are better solutions, synthetically.

But we need to keep the little critters in check for fun if nothing else.  I am all for killing things, the world is getting too crowded.  Not enough Alpha Predators to keep them in check.  I do my part when I can.

[BilletHead]

9 hours ago, jdmidwest said:

  I do my part when I can.

        As do I but not to the part of mass extermination. There is room for everything just need to keep things in balance. 

[Al Agnew]

I knew the biologist in charge of otter reintroduction, too.  He told me after they began to be a problem not only what Mitch said about farm ponds, but also about the habitat, especially wintering habitat, in smaller streams.  Many smaller streams do not have the large, deep, cover-filled pools they once had.  When fish are squeezed into smaller areas, especially in the winter, it makes things easier for otters.  He also said that ALL the studies and the literature on otter reproduction turned out to be wrong when it came to Missouri, probably because of farm ponds and habitat deterioration.  He said the otters were reproducing NINE TIMES faster than the literature said they should be.

But, when you think about it, with the lack of otters, a first class predator of fish, perhaps populations of game fish in smaller streams were "unnaturally" heavy.  This is the same thing I think about when you're talking about the undeniable decline in turkey populations from the 1980s and 1990s.  When turkeys were reintroduced into Missouri, the found a huge unexploited habitat niche, and predators that didn't know how to exploit the turkeys.  So they exploded in population.  The turkey population at its height was probably way larger than a natural turkey population.  Then the predators caught up, and the turkey population dropped.  It's the same with game fish in small streams...without the otters preying upon them, their populations may have been unnaturally high.  Once the otters showed up and found a smorgasbord of fish and no natural predators, they went the same way, exploding to unnatural levels, and dropping the fish populations in small streams to a point where in many cases they were almost wiped out.

Eventually, theoretically, it should all work out; the otter population and fish population stabilizes, probably at a level that we human anglers won't like because there aren't as many fish as there used to be.  However, we humans need to be part of the population control mechanism for otters, since they still don't have any natural predators except for the handful of mountain lions that may or may not be roaming the woods.  With some human population controls the otters and fish might stabilize at levels happier for us anglers.

[fishinwrench]

2 hours ago, Al Agnew said:

He said the otters were reproducing NINE TIMES faster than the literature said they should be

Naturally the reproduction matches the forage.   This is why zebra mussel numbers decline once the body of water they are in clears up.   And it's why clean houses have fewer mice, rats, and roaches.  I'm surprised that your biologist friend doesn't pretend to know that.

 I use this psychology on my daughters.... to keep cereal bowls, bags of popcorn, glasses of milk and plates of half-eaten food from collecting on the floors of their bedrooms.   

[run2jeepn]

Otters are very mean and smart. I do a lot of night fishing. One of my spots I like is below the Dam at Lake Springfield. 99% of the time I can be the only one down there overnight during the week.

Well, last year I happened to go over night 2 nights in a row. If anyone is familiar with that spot. There are 2 islands below. An older gentleman was on the 1st island and I was on the 2nd. I kept hearing what I thought was birds, but it was otters. Their chirps were echoing off the surroundings. Next thing I knew the old man is yelling and throwing everything he had around him at something. He was cursing and throwing rocks. Went on for a good 10min. I was laughing to myself, because I thought it was just a raccoon. As they always sneak up and try to steal bait. 

Well that very next night. I was out at the same spot. Only one there. Heard those Chirps again. Still thinking it was birds. Well an otter came up out of the water right in front of me. Making that chirping noise and acting really aggressive. I stood up and started to walk back and pick up hand full of rocks. 

This is were it got sketchy. As the 1st one was making a huge fuss in front of me. (12 o'clock) less then 10ft away. I heard something behind me off to the side. A freaking another one was coming (4 o'clock).  So now I'm trying to keep track of these two otters. Next thing I know a 3rd one at my (8 o'clock). I'm freaking surrounded by them. I spent what seemed like forever, trying to scare them off, but man they wouldn't back down. They finally gave up, but it was the craziest thing I have ever had happen to me fishing. 

They tried to attack me like freaking Raptors from Jurassic Park. I finished fishing that night and they didn't come back. I spent the rest of the night on Google searching river otter attacks. It's not uncommon at all. Even Alaska Conservation Dept. released a warning that they have seen an increase in aggressive Otters and they can't explain way. I found a ton of stories. 

Singapore as such a large population of River Otters. They have Otter Gang fights. Google that one. Its nuts. I'd post a link, but I'm at work.

 

 

 

 

 

[jdmidwest]

6 hours ago, run2jeepn said:

They tried to attack me like freaking Raptors from Jurassic Park. I finished fishing that night and they didn't come back. I spent the rest of the night on Google searching river otter attacks. It's not uncommon at all. Even Alaska Conservation Dept. released a warning that they have seen an increase in aggressive Otters and they can't explain way. I found a ton of stories. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It's the world heading to the next great extinction.  Nature runs awoke.  Essentially man made critters in the wrong place and time.  They lost their first battle with us, now it's their turn.

[BilletHead]

6 hours ago, run2jeepn said:

Otters are very mean and smart. I do a lot of night fishing. One of my spots I like is below the Dam at Lake Springfield. 99% of the time I can be the only one down there overnight during the week.

Well, last year I happened to go over night 2 nights in a row. If anyone is familiar with that spot. There are 2 islands below. An older gentleman was on the 1st island and I was on the 2nd. I kept hearing what I thought was birds, but it was otters. Their chirps were echoing off the surroundings. Next thing I knew the old man is yelling and throwing everything he had around him at something. He was cursing and throwing rocks. Went on for a good 10min. I was laughing to myself, because I thought it was just a raccoon. As they always sneak up and try to steal bait. 

Well that very next night. I was out at the same spot. Only one there. Heard those Chirps again. Still thinking it was birds. Well an otter came up out of the water right in front of me. Making that chirping noise and acting really aggressive. I stood up and started to walk back and pick up hand full of rocks. 

This is were it got sketchy. As the 1st one was making a huge fuss in front of me. (12 o'clock) less then 10ft away. I heard something behind me off to the side. A freaking another one was coming (4 o'clock).  So now I'm trying to keep track of these two otters. Next thing I know a 3rd one at my (8 o'clock). I'm freaking surrounded by them. I spent what seemed like forever, trying to scare them off, but man they wouldn't back down. They finally gave up, but it was the craziest thing I have ever had happen to me fishing. 

They tried to attack me like freaking Raptors from Jurassic Park. I finished fishing that night and they didn't come back. I spent the rest of the night on Google searching river otter attacks. It's not uncommon at all. Even Alaska Conservation Dept. released a warning that they have seen an increase in aggressive Otters and they can't explain way. I found a ton of stories. 

Singapore as such a large population of River Otters. They have Otter Gang fights. Google that one. Its nuts. I'd post a link, but I'm at work.

      Thanks for sharing your story.  Makes one think what is lurking in the nocturnal darkness. I used to get the epee jeebeies walking in the dark turkey or deer hunting. Not so much anymore but that feeling may be coming back.

      There are giant river otters in the amazon. Up to six foot long and seventy-five pounds. UGH!