Sea Otter: Contemplation? Or just an itchy beard?
Sea Otter
Mark Seth Lender Watching Sea Otter Watching Mark Seth Lender
One of the things I love about sea otters is “The Look.” This is when an otter stops what he’s doing - in this case grooming - and meets your gaze head on. In general, eye contact does indicate a degree of concern or even threat. When a grizzly bear does that, run (not that it will do you any good). That said, there’s more going on when an otter eyes you than prudence. I’ve never had an otter turn away and leave after eye contact, or make a hostile move. Don’t laugh. Despite their furry faces and playful demeanor they are quite capable of taking care of themselves, if they need to. But that gaze is always more than a glance, more than a brief survey of what I am and where and how close. It is steady, and goes on for a long time, which I believe indicates a high degree of interest. As if, while doing fieldwork on them, they were doing fieldwork of their own, on me.
The Book: Salt Marsh Diary, A Year on the Connecticut Coast
This is my premier book, a collection of my wildlife writings including some of the work I’ve read on PRI’s Living on Earth (heard on most NPR stations). I’ll have some autographed copies if you are interested, at the cover price ($19.95). Or ask you local (preferably Independent!) bookstore. Amazon also carries the book at a discount. Here’s the most recent review from Library Journal:
Lender, Mark Seth. Salt Marsh Diary. St. Martin’s. Apr. 2011. c.128p.
illus. ISBN 9780312656010. $19.99. NAT HIST
Lender, best known as a contributor to NPR’s Living on Earth, here
crafts a series of essays marking the passage of the seasons outside his Connecticut window. His sparse yet lyrical prose shows the natural world of the salt marsh in all its glory, with the detached description of a naturalist and the intimacy of an inhabitant. He draws incisive and often unexpected parallels between the rhythms and locales of the salt marsh and society at large, highlighting especially the humor and irony. In “animal personals,” a series of personal ads from the marsh dwellers, he writes, “I’m a thief and I dig it! Recently WW M Raccoon 29, pleasingly plump, knows every garbage can in town and willing to share, wants woman same age who knows how to stay out of traffic.” VERDICT This lively work will appeal to the poetic at heart and nature lovers alike, particularly those who feel the gulf between the world they live in and the simplicity of the world outside. Recommended.-Marianne Stowell Bracke, Purdue Univ. Libs., West Lafayette, IN
