OT: Sea Otters in Belmar

R1766U_rivals

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Jan 17, 2014
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Over 15 years ago now, my dad saw an otter in a pond in South Jersey, probably 15 miles from any river. He called the state, absolutely perplexed about how an otter would get to a land locked pond. The state said it happens from time to time in rare cases and to let it be.

Its interesting when you see species where they normally/traditionally have not been. Can be cool but also raise alarms.
 
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LETSGORU91_

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Jan 29, 2017
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I dont know if anyone has noticed yet, but they look like river otters, not sea otters. And definitely the Otter in this place....

with GIF
 
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iReC89

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Jul 2, 2014
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shark river snack bar

bummer that I missed them paddling around the marina on Monday, or maybe I'm glad I missed them.
 

rufeelinit

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May 16, 2010
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I hope they are river otters. I have seen signs posted about sea otters on the beach in Spring lake but have never seen in the water or on beach/jettys. I like to swim in the ocean and not crazy about running into who might be the sea otters natural prey in the food chain.
 
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Knight Shift

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May 19, 2011
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I hate to be That Guy, but the horse in this picture is not a pinto.

Also, I'm hearing that many people are saying the otters are not sea otters
Maybe the flounder was a fluke too. . . . .
My Dad used to say there are more horses asses in the world than horses. As I get older, that saying sometimes makes more sense than when I first heard it.
 
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ashokan

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May 3, 2011
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I hope they are river otters. I have seen signs posted about sea otters on the beach in Spring lake but have never seen in the water or on beach/jettys. I like to swim in the ocean and not crazy about running into who might be the sea otters natural prey in the food chain.

Locally we get otters and seals up in the Hudson every year (they like the marina docks the most).

River otters eat flesh and have serious choppers (sea otters have crushing teeth for moullsks etc). Otters get rabbies.

People get all Disney ("so cute!") over the animals but they can have a business end and seals carry a nasty bacteria in their mouths that can reall cause a bad infection and limb loss if bit.



 
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mildone_rivals

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Dec 19, 2011
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I hate to be That Guy, but the horse in this picture is not a pinto.

Also, I'm hearing that many people are saying the otters are not sea otters
To be honest, I haven't a clue what the difference is between a sea otter and a river otter, or if there actually even is any difference. What I know about otters could be written on a matchbook. A small matchbook.

I just wanted to carry on the apparently newly formed tradition of posting that there was a difference and they were river otters. I wanted to be just like everyone else.

I was, if only very momentarily, tired of being so damn weird.

But I'm all better now, and happy to be weird af. 🙂
 

e5fdny

Heisman
Nov 11, 2002
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I hope they are river otters. I have seen signs posted about sea otters on the beach in Spring lake but have never seen in the water or on beach/jettys. I like to swim in the ocean and not crazy about running into who might be the sea otters natural prey in the food chain.
Highly doubt it.

I mean where/how are they going to pin on a beach badge?
 

PSUriseANDfire

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Bull sharks adapting more and more to fresh water at a rapid pace is scary as hell. Those thing are slightly smaller but way meaner great whites.
 

RU4Real

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Jul 25, 2001
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Bull sharks adapting more and more to fresh water at a rapid pace is scary as hell. Those thing are slightly smaller but way meaner great whites.

Ehhh...

Bull sharks aren't "adapting more and more" to fresh water. They have, for about 100 million years, had the capability to balance the saline level in their bodies to prevent osmotic shock in fresh water. They've been doing it forever. FWIW, Bull sharks pup in brackish water, such as estuaries and mangrove swamps. One of the reasons why preservation of coastal wetlands is so critical.

I wouldn't necessarily say, either, that they're "meaner" than a white shark. They're responsible for more bites on humans, but that's mostly because they feed in the surf line, in places where visibility is low and if they detect something moving that seems like a prey item, they'll just go ahead and bite it.

Bull sharks in clear water (I've encountered several in the Bahamas) are fairly docile and predictable. Less so than something like a nurse shark, which will literally only bite you if you stick your hand in its mouth (I saw someone do that) but a lot less sketchy than, say, a Silky or even a Lemon.
 

PSUriseANDfire

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Ehhh...

Bull sharks aren't "adapting more and more" to fresh water. They have, for about 100 million years, had the capability to balance the saline level in their bodies to prevent osmotic shock in fresh water. They've been doing it forever. FWIW, Bull sharks pup in brackish water, such as estuaries and mangrove swamps. One of the reasons why preservation of coastal wetlands is so critical.

I wouldn't necessarily say, either, that they're "meaner" than a white shark. They're responsible for more bites on humans, but that's mostly because they feed in the surf line, in places where visibility is low and if they detect something moving that seems like a prey item, they'll just go ahead and bite it.

Bull sharks in clear water (I've encountered several in the Bahamas) are fairly docile and predictable. Less so than something like a nurse shark, which will literally only bite you if you stick your hand in its mouth (I saw someone do that) but a lot less sketchy than, say, a Silky or even a Lemon.
Just seems like it is progressing but maybe they have always been to some degree making their way into the Susquehanna and up through Illinois.
 

BigRnj

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Nov 20, 2012
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As stated by many here they are river otters and I have seen several in NJ over the years… at Saxton Falls, on the Pequest, on the Big Flatbrook, at a friends place on a lagoon in Point Pleasant, … Jersey has a lot of wildlife that pretty much avoids people.
 

e5fdny

Heisman
Nov 11, 2002
113,737
52,406
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Bull sharks adapting more and more to fresh water at a rapid pace is scary as hell. Those thing are slightly smaller but way meaner great whites.

Ehhh...

Bull sharks aren't "adapting more and more" to fresh water. They have, for about 100 million years, had the capability to balance the saline level in their bodies to prevent osmotic shock in fresh water. They've been doing it forever. FWIW, Bull sharks pup in brackish water, such as estuaries and mangrove swamps. One of the reasons why preservation of coastal wetlands is so critical.

I wouldn't necessarily say, either, that they're "meaner" than a white shark. They're responsible for more bites on humans, but that's mostly because they feed in the surf line, in places where visibility is low and if they detect something moving that seems like a prey item, they'll just go ahead and bite it.

Bull sharks in clear water (I've encountered several in the Bahamas) are fairly docile and predictable. Less so than something like a nurse shark, which will literally only bite you if you stick your hand in its mouth (I saw someone do that) but a lot less sketchy than, say, a Silky or even a Lemon.
One of the names on this shirt ended up that way…

 

tom1944

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Feb 22, 2008
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Ehhh...

Bull sharks aren't "adapting more and more" to fresh water. They have, for about 100 million years, had the capability to balance the saline level in their bodies to prevent osmotic shock in fresh water. They've been doing it forever. FWIW, Bull sharks pup in brackish water, such as estuaries and mangrove swamps. One of the reasons why preservation of coastal wetlands is so critical.

I wouldn't necessarily say, either, that they're "meaner" than a white shark. They're responsible for more bites on humans, but that's mostly because they feed in the surf line, in places where visibility is low and if they detect something moving that seems like a prey item, they'll just go ahead and bite it.

Bull sharks in clear water (I've encountered several in the Bahamas) are fairly docile and predictable. Less so than something like a nurse shark, which will literally only bite you if you stick your hand in its mouth (I saw someone do that) but a lot less sketchy than, say, a Silky or even a Lemon.
I glanced at a headline on line earlier today about cocaine sharks.

I think I will wait for the movie
 

RU4Real

Heisman
Jul 25, 2001
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I glanced at a headline on line earlier today about cocaine sharks.

I think I will wait for the movie

The article was more stupid than the headline.

Actual journalism seems to not be a thing, anymore.
 

Source

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Aug 1, 2001
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They’re in the Manasquan river in Brielle as well.
Yes sir. Took a night stroll once near the Shipwreck Bar and Restaurant at the docks in Brielle and looked down and saw them near the boats. Someone did a nice, dumb favor for them and put out traps. Since the caught prey had no where to go, it was easy pickins for the river otters. I watched them as they dove down and came up aith a crab or a fish or something else in the traps.
 

MoreCowbellRU

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Jan 29, 2012
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Just seems like it is progressing but maybe they have always been to some degree making their way into the Susquehanna and up through Illinois.
A Bull shark is the specie that wandered up Matawan Creek and killed a couple folks. The attack that inspired the writer of Jaws.
Bulls have been exploring rivers and creeks as long or longer than people have been a thing. They are also agressive AF. Seals and otters are fine dining for sharks.
 

newell138

Heisman
Aug 1, 2001
35,785
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I hope they are river otters. I have seen signs posted about sea otters on the beach in Spring lake but have never seen in the water or on beach/jettys. I like to swim in the ocean and not crazy about running into who might be the sea otters natural prey in the food chain.
My dad used to swim for exercise along the beach in the Gulf of Mexico and one day rammed into a manatee. That’ll wake you up