Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations otter/float or sink?

if an otter was shot in the water, would he sink or float? i have seen a beaver float instantly after being shot.

I know a fish can do one or the other, but I don't know about critters.

I have seen more beavers sink after shooting them. I think if they breath in water they sink and if the lungs stay full of air they float. I bet otters would be close to the same but muskrats always float so who knows. It's obvious I don't.

Beaver has to be shot properly. If it's only injured, it will swim to it's cave and will die there. If your goal is to kill it then you've done that but if you hunt for the meet then it's too bad for you.

Could it be the fur and fat on both of these animals (muskrats and beavers) leans toward flotation vs. other animals?

i just made a boat trip around my pond and found the otter den. i was hoping they were only visiting. i know he/they have been here for over a month, i can only imagine how much damage they have done. i have caught a few (4 i think) over the last couple of years. some in the pond, and some in the beaver pond below on my pond. i have read where they do minimal damage to ponds because they only stay a short time and kinda make their way on to other ponds. i think these found out my pond is a honey hole and stayed.

If you found their den, then block the entrance with a Conibear 220 or 330, whichever fits the hole the best.

They eat a lot of fish.

330 is in place. hoping he may already have lead poisoning though.

They usually don't travel alone. Good luck!

We eliminated our Beaver problem (for now!) when I had a pair of trappers come in and take 4 of them out this time last year. The largest was 60 pounds! They were doing a real number on the trees in our property and their dams threatened to flood us out this past Spring.
We have a constant problem with Muskrats and Mink. I saw 8 Mink all at the same time while cutting grass this summer. They come into our pond from a nearby river. I am currently trapping the Mink and got two so far this week. They are doing some real damage to the fish population. They leave their scales and half eaten prey all over in small piles and run around during the day fishing at their leisure!

I would have to be very quick and accurate to shoot them.

Mink are one of the only natural predators of Muskrats [along with Herons supposedly]. I don't believe Mink forage on fish large enough to worry about. I leave the Mink alone at my place as it's the only defense I have against Muskrats.

"....as it's the only defense I have against Muskrats."

Well, you've also got Rex/Rainman as long as the muskrats are an off-white, PVC-ish color.

TJ, did you ever catch any of them in the traps that you bought?

No. I couldn't keep them baited too much trouble for absentee landowner. I decided to use one way cage traps in front of their den openings. I got a muskrat, and was pretty excited. I set it again, and this time got a Mink - entering the den to hunt muskrats - instead he got trapped and drowned. That Mink was the only thing keeping my muskrats under control according to the resources I've studied. I felt awful and vowed to never use a general purpose trap like that again. As long as I'm not seeing holes in my dam I guess I'm okay living with them and hopefully more Mink have come and set up home. I treat all cattails with reward as soon as they sprout and hope that eliminating some of their favorite forage they won't stick around long. My copious pondweed is probably just as preferred so I doubt I'm doing much to deter them.

We have had them float and others no idea where they went. I think they will float unless they go elsewhere to die. Scott don't belive that "they stay then leave" bull. Why would any animal that has what he needs leave for other unknown territory. He might leave for Love but come back. If harraseed enough and enough negative stimulus to the positive (fish) they might leave for good. They are becoming more and more of a concern for our clietns. If trapping was still profitable this would not be an issue. Love to watch them but not on one of my ponds.

My empirical research shows conclusively that the otter sink/float model depends entirely on otter lead content. Whether you are on semi or full auto has major "impact."

greg, i think they have only visited in the past few years, but have made my pond a home recently. i havent seen any signs in the last week or so. hopefully the lead diet didnt agree and made contact! my fish fed really good today. hopefully i didnt lose too many. maybe the cnbg that you (greg) stocked could out swim the otters... bring me another 100 adult cnbg if you're in my area...thanks

Otter are like beaver, they may float or sink if killed instantly with a head shot. If they don't die instantly they will sink. Rats float better than most critters, and if you are ever invaded by sea otters or spotted seals, they also need to be killed instantly or will sink.
Otter travel a long circuit when hunting and travel through rather quickly unless, as some of you found out, they find a well appointed buffet. They are difficult to trap using bait and the best otter sets are blind sets where they cross over a dam, have a slide down a bank or have their travel coridor restricted such as a narrow creek.

A few years ago, we were mowing around our biggest pond (17+ acres) and saw four different mink. I also consider them my best aide in keeping muskrats in check so that was the last time we mowed that close to water's edge. After that, we always try to leave some tall cover around waters edge to help protect the mink from hawks and owls. It also seems to help discourage the geese. I'll gladly trade a few fish for the control on muskrats.

Most of the time mink are not the great killers of fish that otter are, they don't swim nearly as well as an otter. Mink spend much of the time hunting rodents on land and will eat anything from grasshoppers to full grown rabbits. I'm sure if you have a small pond that is crowded with fish they would be glad to help themselves to a bucket full but otherwise i wouldn't worry about them.