Fish For Breakfast

Day 133: At the second bridge along the Bud Blancher Trail, a grandfatherly man was encouraging a boy about four years old to climb up the rails for a better look, despite a highly visible sign prohibiting just such an activity. As I approached, he said, "Look, there's an otter on the rocks down there. I just saw him catch a fish!" That was the beginning of a conversation which was soon joined by another passerby, and one from which I absented myself as quickly as possible after trying vainly to set the record straight. The fact that the animal in question was an otter seemed to be the only piece of information the fellow had right. With half a dozen other salmon dead on the rocks below, it was obvious that they were remnants of the most recent "fish toss" conducted by the Nisqually Stream Stewards, fish caught solely for their roe, their bodies frozen for later disposition. The bridge is one of their primary dump sites for such carcases, a measure instituted to help restore the natural health of the river. When I attempted to provide the details of the project, the man rejected my explanation point-blank although the woman who had joined us listened with interest. However, when she asked, "Are otters rare?" and the man replied, "Yes, very!" I decided it was time for me to move on. I'd had a full dose of misinformation for the morning, and I wasn't even on the internet!

Taxonomic update: Lutra canadensis is now Lontra canadensis.