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Photographer takes remarkable photos of otter eating an entire fish whole
Published July 01, 2020
At least this otter didn't bite off more than it could chew.
A photographer in England captured remarkable photos of an otter swallowing a rare scorpionfish whole, British news agency South West News Service reports.
Anita Crook, who is a marine mammal medic, said she was able to snap the images while walking alongside the River Tweed on June 15.
These dramatic pictures captured a hungry otter swallowing a rare scorpionfish in a single gulp. (Credit: SWNS)
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“I’m always looking out for otters and thought I would try taking some pictures of them fishing in the estuary," Crook, 56, said. “I think some of the best pictures are of him with his mouth wide open swallowing the whole fish. You can only see the tail of the fish sticking out. I think this one’s doing the same with the scorpionfish because of its spiky spine. It looked like a bit of struggle."
According to Oceana.org, scorpionfish are largely found in the Indian and South Pacific Oceans, as well as temperate waters.
Crook wasn't sure of the type of otter, but she believes it may be a dog otter, adding it was "catching fish for about 50 minutes and wasn’t hauling them out to the bank like the otters traditionally do."
The otter swimming with its captured prey. (Credit: SWNS)
“The otter’s teeth are quite ferocious and so white," Crook explained. “It is using its paws like fingers to stuff the fish into its mouth. The fish isn’t going to get away. That is quite a lethal machine. I was very fortunate to be in the right place at the right time for the pictures.”
Anita Crook, 56, captured the feeding frenzy while walking on the banks of the River Tweed in Northumberland on June 15. (Credit: SWNS)
Otters disappeared from England between the 1950s and 1970s because of hunting and pesticides washing into waterways, The Guardian previously reported.
However, in 1978, hunting the sea mammal was banned and its numbers in the area started to rise, eventually returning to British rivers around 2011.
https://www.foxnews.com/science/photographer-takes-remarkable-photos-of-otter-eating-an-entire-fish-whole