Sea Otter love

Everybody loves sea otters! This mother and pup were curled-up at the end of the wharf for their afternoon nap. We got a few images and let them be.

Happy International Sea Otter Week

Happy Sea Otter awareness week!

• Otters are part of the Mustelidae family, which is a family of carnivorous mammals that includes skunks, weasels, wolverines, and badgers. The sea otter is the largest member of the weasel family, yet the smallest marine mammal in North America.

• Most sea otters call Alaska home. Approximately 90 percent of the world’s sea otters live in coastal Alaska. Many live in the waters surrounding public lands including Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, Kenai Fjords National Park, and Glacier Bay National Park

• U.S. and international law protects threatened sea otters. Hunted to the edge of extinction by fur traders in the 18th and 19th centuries, the few remaining sea otters (about 2,000 scattered in remnant colonies throughout the North Pacific rim) were first protected by the International Fur Seal Treaty in 1911. Sea otters in the United States received additional protections with the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act in the 1970s.

• Sea otters eat 25 percent of their body weight in food every day. Sea otters’ diets include sea urchins, crabs, mussels, and clams, which they’re known to crack open with a rock and eat while floating in the water. To find food, sea otters may occasionally dive as deep as 250 feet and will use their sensitive whiskers to locate small prey inside crevices or their strong forepaws to dig for clams.

• Sea otters have the thickest fur of any animal. Their fur contains between 600,000 to 1,000,000 hair follicles per square inch. Unlike most other marine mammals, otters lack a blubber layer. Instead, they depend on their dense, water-resistant fur to provide insulation. To keep warm, sea otters spend a large portion of their days grooming and conditioning their fur. This traps air and heat next to their skin.

• Sea otters can have a pup any time of the year. Southern sea otters breed and pup year-round, while northern sea otter pups in Alaska are usually born in the spring. A newborn pup needs constant attention and will stay with its mother for six months until it develops survival skills. Fun fact: An otter pup’s fur is so dense that it can’t dive underwater until it gets its adult fur. This comes in handy when mothers leave their pups safely floating on the water’s surface while they forage for food.

• Otters are an essential keystone species. A “keystone species” is a species that is critical to how an ecosystem functions because it has large-scale effects on the communities in which it lives. Along the Pacific coast, sea otters help control the sea urchin population. Fewer sea urchins in turn help prevent kelp forests from being overgrazed. In California, research has found that sea otters also enhance seagrass beds, and in Alaska’s Glacier Bay National Park, sea otters’ expansion into the area marked a gradual return of a more diverse ecosystem and an exciting moment in colonization efforts.

• The otter is one of the few mammals that use tools. A sea otter’s tool of choice: typically a rock that can be used as a hammer or anvil to break open hard-shelled prey. They have a loose patch of skin under their armpit to store both the food they’ve foraged and their rock to crack it open.

• Read more at the US DOI website HERE

Sea Otter Mother Nursing Pup

Sea Otters are trending here, so I’ll continue with this image of a mother nursing her pup. The hardest part of making this image in the Homer harbor (Alaska) was getting an image without a reflection of the many colorful boats. I started lying on the dock, but didn’t like the split horizon that the ice floating in the background caused. I slowly stood-up and was lucky they drifted closer to me while both looking at me - smile!

Stay safe!

Sea Otter Mother and Pup KISS

Here’s a special moment between a mother Sea Otter and her Pup. What appears to be a kiss, is really the baby trying to take food from it’s mother’s mouth ;) If you missed it, and are looking for something to do, here is a link to my recent Vistek Live Stream that was sponsored by Sony of Canada. We had our share of technical difficulties, but that often happens live.

In this episode we discuss what it takes to get world class wildlife images and how any nature enthusiast can immediately start taking better photos of their...

Sea Otter Mother eating a crab

This is the mother of the baby Sea Otter (from my last post HERE in case you missed it) eating a crab while the snow was gently falling. We usually get Sea Otters (mothers and babies) in Homer Harbor each year during my Eagles Galore Photography Workshops, this year was unusual; all of the Sea Otters in Katchemak Bay seemed to seek the protection from the unusually cold weather in the protected harbor.

Babay Sea Otter Vistek Live and Sony Kudos

In this episode we discuss what it takes to get world class wildlife images and how any nature enthusiast can immediately start taking better photos of their...

Be sure to check-out my Vistek Live interview with Dave Stood from Vistek. This is a much different format than my usual Sony presentations. The event was sponsored by Sony of Canada and Vistek. We had our share of technical difficulties (as is often the case with live events), but I am happy with the results.

Sony Establishes $100 Million COVID-19 Global Relief Fund

Kudos to Sony for reacting quickly and generously to the current COVID-19 disaster. My hope is that many more large corporations will join-in and give back.

Tokyo, Japan - Sony Corporation today announced the establishment of the "Sony Global Relief Fund for COVID-19," a 100 million US dollar fund to support those around the world affected by the COVID-19 virus.

Through this fund, Sony will provide support in three areas: assistance for those individuals engaged in frontline medical and first responder efforts to fight the virus, support for children and educators who must now work remotely, and support for members of the creative community in the entertainment industry, which has been greatly impacted by the spread of the virus.

In terms of medical support, 10 million U.S. dollars of the fund will be devoted first to the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund for WHO powered by the UN Foundation and Swiss Philanthropy Foundation, as well as Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to assist medical workers and others on the frontline of response efforts to the virus. Sony will also work with its external partners to explore ways that it can support activities that prevent the further spread and contribute to treatment of the COVID-19 virus.

In the area of education, where children, who represent the next generation, are losing education opportunities as a result of school closures, Sony will explore ways to leverage its technologies in support of education activities, and cooperate with educators to implement these measures.

Furthermore, in terms of the creative community such as music, pictures, games and animation, together with its group companies engaged in the entertainment industry, Sony will seek ways to support up-and-coming creators, artists and all those in professions supporting the industry, who have been impacted by the cancellation or postponement of concerts and live events, or the shutting down of film and television productions.

Sony also announced that employees will be able to provide their support through a matching gift program that is scheduled to be offered to its approximately 110,000 employees worldwide.

Kenichiro Yoshida, President and CEO, Sony Corporation, said, "Sony extends its condolences to the families of those who have passed away as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, and extends its sympathies to all those who have been impacted. In order to overcome the unprecedented challenges that as a society we now face around the world, we will do all we can as a global company to support the individuals on the frontlines of the battle against COVID-19, the children who are our future, and those who have been impacted in the creative community."

Going forward, Sony will work together with its partners and stakeholders to explore ways to further extend these initiatives.

Happy Thanksgiving

Sea Otter PRAYER (Enhydra lutris) Katmai National Park, AK. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds www.chrisdoddsphoto.com All Rights Reserved. Canon EOS 1DMKIV, 500mm F4 L IS, 2X II Tele-converter, Tripod & Wimberley Head II from open ramp of skiff. ISO 800, F10 @1/320s Manual mode. CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE A PRINT or LICENSE IMAGE FOR PUBLICATION. Image presented with both a visible, and invisible digital watermark by Digimarc.

Here's a favourite from Alaska that was processed exclusively with Nik Software (they have quite a deal today - use coupon code CDODDS to save big). It was a thrill for everyone when we anchored the Coastal Explorer and took the skiff out to photograph a raft of hundreds of Sea Otters during my Alaskan Brown Bears of Katmai workshop/safari in July. Do consider joining me for the trip of a lifetime in July 2011 Bears, Wolves, Otters, Eagles and much, much more.

Happy American Thanksgiving

Thank you for following the blog and for your continued support and encouragement! Happy Thanksgiving everyone. Canadians and Americans celebrate Thanksgiving at different times, but it's always good to stop and take a look around at all we have to be thankful for. If your travelling; travel safe. If your shopping; good luck bargain hunting.

Canadian nature photographer Christopher Dodds sporting the much saught after and rare Canadian Professional Services Tuque. Image copyright and courtesy John Zimmerman.

A tuque is a knitted cap, originally of wool though now often of synthetic fibers, that is designed to provide warmth in winter. Most tuques are tapered; they sometimes have ear flaps, and may be topped with a pom-pom, this style of tuque is sometimes referred to as a boggan or sherpa. Tuques may have a folded brim, or none, and may be worn tightly fitting the head or loose on top although the latter is considered more standard. - Wikipedia
Tuques are indispensable in cold climates, and are worn worldwide in various forms. They have become the common headgear for stereotypical dockworkers and sailors in movies and television. Jacques Cousteau wore one and the most famous media characters to sport this kind of hat are the SCTV characters Bob and Doug McKenzie and U2 guitarist The Edge.

Does Canon have you covered? - FREE TUQUE GIVEAWAY

I got my hands on some super cool, and much saught after, Canon Canada CPS tuques and I want to hear from you. Post a comment on this blog and share your service stories since Canon Canada revamped their CPS program, and I will send a few of you a fancy new Canon Canada CPS Tuque (you must be a CPS member to get one). Did you pay to join? have you sent gear in for repair? was the repair done right and quickly? Have you taken advantage of the loaner equipment? More information about the Canadian CPS program can be found HERE.

Great FREE Gear Giveaway Continues

Sign-up for my newsletter before Dec. 15th, 2010 and you will automatically be entered to win some amazing prizes. Simply fill-in your name and email address in the form in the column to the right of this post and you are entered automatically (only sign-up once please). Tweet, Like or Share this blog entry on Facebook or Twitter, or leave a meaningful comment here for additional chances to win. Don't forget to tell your friends or fellow camera club members about the prizes.

• WH-200 Wimberley Head version II (retail value of US$595.00)
• Think-Tank Photo Urban Disguise 50 (retail value US$169.00)
• Nik Software Viveza 2 (retail value US$199.95)
• Digimarc for Images Professional Edition 1 year subscription (US$99.00)
• One of eight Canon Long Lens Rain Covers (US$125.00 each)

Dec. 15th PHOTO GEEK CHRISTMAS PARTY

I'm hosting my first annual PHOTO GEEK CHRISTMAS PARTY at the ROCKBURN PUB 2461 Mtee Rockburn, Hinchinbrook, Quebec J0S 1E0 (450) 264-2239. All amateurs and hobbyists welcome! It's an à la carte menu and there is no fee (other than paying for your own food & drinks) - I will pass the hat for a soon to be announced charity; donations are optional but encouraged. Come on out and meet me, my friends and make new contacts while networking and showing off a few of your favorite images from 2010. Feel free to bring prints, iPads or laptops with your favorite images. RSVP required - email me at chris@chrisdoddsphoto.com (please type PHOTO GEEK CHRISTMAS PARTY in the subject line) to reserve your spot. Space is limited, so be sure to reserve soon. I will be drawing some great prizes for the Great Gear Giveaway Contest and you get another name in the hat @ the party. Special thanks to Joann for opening the pub just for us!

Update on 2010-12-18 12:39 by Christopher Dodds

Thanks for your comments. I have sent tuques to John Zimmerman and Richard Dumolin, both of Quebec - enjoy!