A river otter was spotted on a camera in Chester County’s Ridley Creek, marking the first sighting of the elusive animal in the area in over a century, write Frank Kummer and Kevin Riordan for The Philadelphia Inquirer.
The adorable mammal inadvertently posed for a selfie as it explored the camera and its surroundings for 45 minutes.
The cameo happened in December, and signified the continuation of a revival of the animal that was once almost extirpated from Southeastern Pennsylvania due to water pollution, over-trapping, and deforestation.
“We haven’t caught much else by way of footage, but a homeowner has reported seeing it swim in their pond just a few weeks ago, which is a good sign that it’s hanging out in the area,” said Lauren McGrath, director of the watershed protection program for the Willistown Conservation Trust.
The camera that caught the otter was installed on private property by McGrath’s team to monitor beavers on private land near the 90 acres of the 218-acre Kirkwood Farm the trust recently acquired from movie director M. Night Shyamalan.
Read more about the river otter taking a selfie on a creek camera in The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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