iN PHOTOS: Kamloops river otter caught on camera having carp for lunch

A Kamloops wildlife photographer snapped some photos of a river otter busy pulling a carp out of the Thompson River and dining on his catch.

It was the first river otter she'd seen outside of a zoo.

“I was excited as heck and wasn’t leaving there until he was,” she said. “He pulled the fish up by the nose and dragged it up onto the rocks. He was sitting on it and lying on it.”

She said the otter was roughly three feet long and 15 pounds with a long tail that “looked hairless.”

“He swam over to a beaver lodge and was sitting on the lodge when a beaver came out and you heard this awful scream, then he took off and went into one of the holes in the river bank.”

READ MORE: Everything you need to know about river otters in the Thompson-Okanagan

A river otter enters the Thompson River in Kamloops. Credit: SUBMITTED/ Mary Boychuk Photographer: Shannon Ainslie

River otters can be found around bodies of water all over the province and are known to be mischievous.

They can grow to over a metre in length and are agile and adept swimmers.

The otters eat fish, birds and mammals, and their favourite catches are slow moving bottom fish.

They stay active during the winter and are able to keep warm with their incredibly dense coats.

This river otter is pulling a fish out of the Thompson River in Kamloops. Credit: SUBMITTED/ Mary Boychuk Photographer: Shannon Ainslie

This river otter in Kamloops just caught a fish. Credit: SUBMITTED/ Mary Boychuk Photographer: Shannon Ainslie

A river otter was observed eating a carp along the Thompson River in Kamloops. SUBMITTED/ Mary Boychuk


To contact a reporter for this story, email Shannon Ainslie or call 250-819-6089 or email the editor. You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom and be entered to win a monthly prize draw.

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Shannon Ainslie

Shannon Ainslie brings a background of writing and blogging to the team. She is interested in covering human interest stories and engaging with her community of Kamloops.

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