Lights, camera, otter: Playful mammal checks out HCT’s custom-made den at Cold Brook
If otters read the real estate ads, they might be intrigued by this listing: “Free Harwich pondside home with front and back door and easy access to tasty fish. Great place to raise pups. In-residence camera offers chance to become a furry influencer.”
An otter checks out Harwich Conservation Trust’s new human-made den at the Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve.
This turnkey opportunity at Harwich Conservation Trust’s (HCT) Robert F. Smith Cold Brook Preserve has been drawing a lot of interest from wildlife. In August, HCT staff and volunteers installed what may be the nation’s first human-made otter den by the side of a pond at the Preserve, with hopes that otters might move in and raise pups.
The den is equipped with a solar-powered camera that provides an intimate look at any animal that might be kicking the tires on the swell residence. And this week, there was breaking news from the pondside perch.
An otter appears
“A few days ago, an otter was exploring the den, ” said Herb Raffaele, HCT Board of Trustees Member. “It’s a great sign.”
But the otter wasn’t the only animal caught on camera. Other looky-loos included a raccoon, a muskrat and a rabbit, perhaps drawn by the 24/7 “Open House” availability at the waterfront retreat.
Harwich Conservation Trust’s new otter den at the Cold Brook Preserve also drew interest from a muskrat, a racoon and a rabbit (top to bottom).
Raffaele said otters will have first dibs on the property. “Other animals are exploring the den, but the otters will dominate them,” he said. “If they want the den, they’re going to take the den.”
Research into the den’s design took months. Raffaele, a noted ecologist, author, and former chief of international conservation for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, consulted with European experts on construction techniques. “I’m not aware of anybody building a den in the U.S.,” he said. “This could well be the first in the country.”
Custom built for otters
He then worked with HCT Summer Intern Lucy Palmer, who researched how a camera could be brought into the picture. This “Otter Dream Team” finalized a plan that led to a heroic house-raising by HCT staff and volunteers on a sweltering August day at Cold Brook.
Specific features were necessary to bring the den up to otter standards. The chamber, made of cinder blocks and buried in the earth, had to be above the water level of the pond. A tube provides access directly into the pond, with a second tube providing an “escape route” into the upland. The den is equipped with a metal roof and a trap door for camera access.
Now that at least one otter knows about the den, the big question is: could otter pups be the next stars at the Cold Brook Preserve?
Raffaele said otter pups are born in the early spring, but a clue to the future of the pondside palace could be coming soon. “If they overwinter there, there’s an excellent chance that they would then choose to den there and have their young,” he said.
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