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Shouting Otter (100)
wuta Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 856 W: 2 N: 617] (2142)
for their dense fur has been the main conservation risk for many otter species, but the European otter faces another threat. The increasing intensification of farming across Europe in the 20th century provoked many hunters to illegall

The European Otter, Lutra lutra, is a European member of the Mustelidae or weasel family, and is typical of freshwater otters. It may also be known as the Eurasian river otter, common otter, or Old World otter. For the rest of this article 'otter' will refer specifically to the European otter, although the information may be applicable to other otter species.

The European otter is the most widely distributed otter species, the name being something of a misnomer, as the species' range includes parts of Asia and Africa, as well as being spread across Europe. The otter is believed to be extinct in Liechtenstein, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Otters are now very common along the coast of Norway and in Northern Britain, especially Shetland where 12% of the UK breeding population exist[citation needed].

An otter's diet mainly consists of fish but can also include birds, insects, frogs, crustaceans and sometimes small mammals. In general this opportunism means they may inhabit any unpolluted body of freshwater, including lakes, streams, rivers, and ponds, as long as there is good supply of food. Otters may also live along the coast, in salt water, but require regular access to freshwater to clean their fur.

Otters are strongly territorial, living alone for the most part, with individual's home ranges varying between 1-40 km, with about 18 km being usual, depending on the density of food available. Males and females will breed at any time of the year when mating takes place in water. After a gestation period of about 63 days 1-4 pups are born, which remain dependent on the mother for a year. The male plays no role in parental care, because a few days before the young otters are born, the female otter begins to bite her partner until the male otter leaves. Otherwise the male otter would probably eat his young generation, because he is not able to tell the difference between rats and new born otters.


This photo I took in the Rotterdam Zoo with my husband Jaap {Carper} I hope you like it . Merry Cristmas and Happy new Year to you all.
Altered Image #1

wuta Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 856 W: 2 N: 617] (2142)
Photoshop Elements
Edited by:Evelynn Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2126 W: 756 N: 3277] (14396)
On my monitor this otter looked a little prickly from what seemed to be a some oversharpening. I softened the highlights a bit and also selectively blurred the otter's fur, leaving the facial features pretty sharp (eyes, nose, teeth). I also wanted to see if a frame that had less contrast in it would put more attention on the otter.