Unakwik Inlet Sea Otters

NorthernFocusNorthernFocus Registered Users Posts: 1,347 Major grins
edited July 26, 2010 in Wildlife
Last weekend we visited a glacial fjord on called Unakwik Inlet on Prince William Sound. There is a tidewater glacier (Meares Glacier) at the head of the fjord about 15 miles from where it joins the sound. Apparently the conditions favor otter habitat because there were a lot of them around. There is also a good bit of ice that the little guys like to haul out on but not enough to impare safely navigating in our small outboard boat.

The water is really clear with just enough glacial silt to produce some really amazing colors that change based on lighting conditions, angle, background, etc. Auto white balance has a hard time under some of the conditions when it is really blue. I used camera presets most of the time and then tweek it in PP. Here are a few images I managed to capture.

And, Harry, before you get carried away, these guys are not rodents, they're weasels...

All shot with D300, 200-400VR, Bushhawk.

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Here's a mom cuddling her baby in the rain. They are very protective parents. The little ones crawl around on their moms like kids on an inflatable raft in a pool. When they're really small the babies are too bouyant to go under so the moms will clutch them to their chest and dive away from danger. It's really hard to get images of the moms/babies because they are so cautious. We don't approach them because they just dive before you get into camera range and you've stressed them for nothing. Once in a while if your being still they'll cruise by within reasonable distance on their own.

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They are extremely cautious when out of the water. You have to keep a lot of distance from them or they'll get upset and bale.

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A high protein diet make a guy really sleepy after a meal.

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Dan

My Photo Gallery:Northern Focus Photography
I wish I was half the man that my dog thinks I am...

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