Ask any Klamath Basin farmer or rancher what their favorite parts of working in ag is, you’ll get a long list that ranges from working outside to being a part of community that looks out for one another. And on most of those lists is getting to be around wildlife.
It’s not a secret that agriculture provides a lot of habitat and feeding opportunities for wildlife. From impromptu winter wetlands for migrating birds to hunting grounds for predators, when you work the fields you get to see a lot of different animals on a daily basis. On one of our farms in particular – the Running Y Ranch – we’ve had elk make trails through our potato fields, bears prowl the edges of the tree lines, countless numbers of ducks, geese and swans swim our flooded fields, and even a sighting of an occasional cougar.
Knowing that all of that wildlife is around, it should come as no surprise that we even get the occasional otter sighting. River otter habitat ranges all over Western Oregon, and in many areas just east of the Cascades. With the abundance of wetlands, rivers, lakes and canals in our area, Klamath County is an ideal place for river otters to thrive. And apparently one of those places is our canals on the Running Y Ranch!
This video was shot by our Running Y Farm Manager, Trino Zendejas, while driving on the ditch banks of the farm. While he doesn’t make a long appearance, the little guy plays a little peek-a-boo with Trino before diving below. It’s a short video (12 seconds), but does a great job of capturing the playfulness of everyone’s favorite mustelidae (there’s a five dollar word to impress your friends with!).
A big thank you to Trino for capturing the otter on your phone and to Bart Crawford for passing it along!
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