I was coming to work this week and saw something that really blew my mind. Ahead of me I saw an animal crossing the road so I slowed down to let it pass. As I got closer the shape and gait of the animal were unmistakable. It was a very large otter. It was dark, almost black and about three feet long. I have lived my entire life in West Virginia and outside an animal park that is the first one I have ever seen.
What really baffled me was how far it was from the nearest body of water. The closest water is a small stream that meanders through some bottom land but I would not think it would have the amount of fish an otter would need to sustain itself. Also they are usually in a large family unit.
It hasn’t rained much lately to have misplaced it so I am just baffled. I know otters are native to West Virginia but to have gone this far in life and this is my first sighting I am elated. I don’t know much about that area as far as how the land lies because it was a massive dump area for dirt when the four lane highway went through. I don’t know if there are ponds behind this mountain of dirt or not.
I am so intrigued that I would even go so far as to stop and ask permission to walk through the area and see if I can find where it lives. Momma Said, “I just hope it does not meet a grizzly fate on the highway.” It was a pleasure for me to see something that I would have never have guessed to see in the wild.
