Otters in Cape Town!
Otters are amongst my favourite animals. I don't know why, but it seems like many people share my sentiment about these beautiful animals. Not only do I like the animals themselves but I think that the track of a Cape Clawless Otter (Aonyx c
apensis) is one of the most beautiful things to behold in the wild.
Unfortunately, because they are crepuscular (what a wonderful word!), camouflaged and secretive, they are seldom seen. However I see their tracks often enough to keep me satisfied but still hungry for a sighting of the animals themselves.
Remarkably these special animals have managed to survive on the Cape Peninsula, amongst all the Cape Town sprawl. Recently on a walk at Cape Point we (Sharon Zwi, Mark Gorta, Jo Gorta & Simon Gorta ) were blessed with an incredible sighting of a Cape Clawless Otter eating a pyjama shark.
The otter reluctantly abandoned its dinner and retreated into the sea where it waited amongst the breakers for us to pass. After years of waiting for exactly such an opportunity I managed to obtain some very special photographs . . . and then somehow trashed all of them, except one. I hope that you enjoy the picture almost as much as we enjoyed the experience:
