The photographers roaming around Huntley Meadows Park have spotted some otters who have made this estuary in Mount Vernon their home for some time. They've been spotted mainly hanging out under the log and around the corner from "the point" (so viewable only from the top of the watch tower). Viewers have spotted the "bubble trail" they leave in the water, a good way to distinguish them from the beavers as well, who typically swim mainly on the surface of the water only submerging occasionally.

The otters at Huntley Meadows are the Northern River Otter, a species that's common in Virginia, says the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources. They are found all over the state but "are most abundant in food-rich coastal areas and the lower part of streams and rivers," the VDWS said. 

At one time, this species was endangered particularly in the western part of Virginia because their stream clearing habits conflicted with landowners, so the officials stepped in and repopulated the species. In 1988, 17 river otters were relocated to Virginia from Louisiana and the species rebounded. In 1990, they were taken off the state endangered list.

An otter peering out from under some brush at Huntley Meadows