I did a charcoal of an otter, which I consider as a Spirit of the Place for me--that's how much I venerate this endearing creature--and have it hanging over Grampa Koftan's rocking chair, my usual reading and TV-watching spot, like a presiding deity.
It's a sea otter, while the ones at our zoo are river otters. A sea otter floats on its back to swim and is often pictured using a rock to break open a clam or oyster shell set on its stomach. It will tangle itself in kelp to stay anchored while floating on its back, snoozing in the sun. It is relatively clumsy on land. The opposite is true for the smaller river otter, which swims on its stomach and is also just as agile on land as in water, often pictured making slides down a muddy bank for its own pleasure. The otter is one of our most curious and playful creatures, as I've mentioned, and I have difficulty with their family's including weasels, polecats, and badgers, all lacking the happy otter's traits. It's great fun seeing river otters sliding on ice like kids in the winter and teasing other predators like coyotes and crows. The largest otters are the Amazon River otters, very gregarious, which grow up to six feet long, now severely endangered.
Below are some more of the otter photos I took at the Doorly besides the one in the Zoo Afternoon.
Our pair's curiosity had them speeding toward me, one at the window, the other with the torqued water behind it like a torpedo aimed at me. They bounced off the window until they were satisfied and then climbed on a log a short distance away.
Their curiosity satisfied, they tore off, enviable swimmers that they are, and raced around the pool and over the logs, visible joy.
I like the drawing of the otter and especially the frame.
Taken pictures of those moving playful creatures shows you're getting very skilled at your photography. I could never manage to catch them without ending up with a complete blur.